Need recommendation - Royal Caribbean or Carnival with 12 and 13 year olds?

[MouseGirl]

My husband and I are planning a cruise (our first, yay!) next March with our two daughters, who will be ages 12 and 13 at the time of the cruise. I am looking at either Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas or Carnival Miracle. They both look like wonderful ships. so for me it basically comes down to the kids' program for that age group.

 

Both girls are very into sports and active - not much into arts and crafts. I have looked at the daily program guides for each cruise line for the 12-14 year old crowd as posted by cruisinmama (which was so helpful). However, I'm really torn - we can get a bigger cabin with an extra couple of days cruising on Carnival, but the sports-oriented activities on Royal Caribbean look more geared to what our kids like. Need some honest advice to help make our choice and ensure the kids have a good time. I'd be most grateful if anyone has experience or thoughts they could share on this.

 

Thanks a million,

MouseGirl

[travelbugs]

Can't help you out too much with Carnival but I can try and explain what I see happening with our 2 kids.

They have been cruising since they were 3 & 4 (they are 13 & 14 now). When they were small we did Disney Wonder twice. They were more than happy to dance with the 7 dwarves and have tea with Mary Poppins. After those 2 cruises we went back to RCCL.

Fast forward...Our daughter who is 13 is very athletic and does enjoy the sports activities available. It's usually a hit-or-miss with the teen club (Optics) on the ship. Our most recent cruise it was a definite miss. Not because of the teen club per say, it had to do with the other girls hanging out there. She's not in to pedicures and boys yet (thank you Lord) so she was uneasy there and refused to go. Our son who is 14 could care less. He's also athletic but he is more outgoing and can assimilate easily.

On another note...We made the most of every port. They never even asked to do the rock wall this trip. They were tired puppies by the time we got back on the ship. They only went ice skating once (for about 20 minutes). Other than that they would make it to dinner with us ( no choice there), they sometimes took in the nightly show, then they went to bed and watched movies or listened to their Ipods. On our sea day, we explored the ship with them and they wanted to play scrabble, life and rummy with us the rest of the time.

I guess it depends on your itinerary and what you have planned for the ports. If you have quite a few sea days maybe lean toward the ship that offers more. If you have alot of port days with activities and excursions lined up I would absolutely go with a longer cruise and a larger cabin. It's all good. Once you make your decision, never look at the other ship or itinerary again! Focus on everything wonderful the one you chose has to offer! Have a wonderful time~Travelbugs

[honeywell]

My kids are a bit younger, but have been on two Carnival cruises and we are planning our next trip for Spring Break '08.

 

Carnival is fine, but my kids are like yours - prefer physicial play to sitting inside. We booked the Disney Miracle at the suggestion of other families, but I balked at the price and started shopping around.

 

I found the Freedom/Indepenence/Liberty ships of RCCL and showed them to my children. The rock climbing wall, surf rider, ice skating rink, mini golf, water park, boxing ring etc. on the Independence (watch the interactive video on RCCL website) closed the deal. That's the one THEY chose.

 

We have cancelled Mickey!

[mousey]

I have a 13 yr DS. We've been cruising with him since he was very young. I would pick the ship that has the least "At Sea" days. The more port days you have the less you have to worry about keeping them entertained. Our DS never, ever, liked the "Kids Clubs" on any cruise we took. He always goes to the game arcade and makes a new buddy right off. The last cruise it took him all of 20 min. from the time we boarded the ship to make a new friend. We give him a walkie-talkie and he checks in with us several times a day (on At Sea days) to let us know where he is and what he's up to. Dinner together as a family is a must! We don't bend that rule!:D

[crusinmama06]

Between Indy and Miracle, there is no comparison....Independence wins hands down. I know it's tough to decide between cabin and ship, but with kids that age, you will spend even less time in the cabin anyway. And there is so much more to do on Indy than on any other ship.

 

So if you can budget it, go for Indy

[todareistodo]

i really like royal caribbean. Its a lil nice than ccl, and ive always had good time and ive cruised from ages 12-16

[crusinmama06]

And since you first posted this question I guess I backed up my opinion with action...lol....I booked Indy for Feb 1.

 

The kids are totally excited to get back on this class of ship.

[MouseGirl]

We're now booked for Independence of the Seas - thanks so much to all of you for your advice. Can't wait until next March!!

[KC_fn]

Too late for advice, but I'll confirm your decision. We've cruised both lines with teenage girls. They hated all organized activities/areas on Carnival -- "baby-ish" and "lame" was the verdict. But they spent many a happy hour in the teen area on RCI Mariner.

 

Have fun!