Which ship to pick:Emerald princess or Independance?

[Teddy11]

We are newbie cruiser's wanting to take my son on a cruise for his 16th birthday in Nov 09. I am looking at either the Emerald princess or the Independance of the Seas. Both have similar intinerary's, but am trying to figure out which ship he would like the best. We are picky about food, and I like the MUTS idea alot, so I find myself leaning towards princess. We are a family that does not need to be entertained all the time...we like live music, dancing, swimming etc. But I don't want to deprive my son of a more fun experiance either. He is not particularly sports orientated so would not use the rock-climbing wall, although he might like the flowrider. Has anybody been on both ships with teenagers that could advise me? We are looking at booking an inside cabin. Any thoughts on which deck? If we go with princess, I was thinking of booking a cabin by the Terrace pool. Does that pool get terribly crowded? One more question...on ships this big, would I need to select a cabin mid-ship if one of us gets seasick? Thanks in advance!

[WeBeGone]

For a cruise a 16 yr old would like I'd suggest the Independance. While I LOVE Princess, I'll be cruising Carnival with the grandchildren in March. I think the Independance offers much more for a 16 yr old than the Emerald. Yes book a cabin that is mid-ship.

[barbarah33]

I agree; if you are looking at which would be best for a teenager I would go with RCCL and the Indy.

 

As for cabins, if you get seasick and you're worried about it on this cruise then get one mid-ship. Why risk it? :p

[sarh]

I have just sailed on the Indy with a 16 year old. He had a fantastic time BUT I was not always comfortable with the situation.

 

There were literally hundreds of teens ( I was told 700 - don't know if that's true). Some activities didn't even start until 1am. My son loved it, but whereas on Celebrity I was confident that he was safe, on the Indy I did listen for him coming back to the cabin and even sent my husband out to look for him one night! If you have a relaxed approached to teenage activities, then it's no problem, if you do get anxious, then it might be!

 

Also because there were so many of them, they were often in separate activities - again on Celebrity the teens had a great time in family karaoke, on the Indy the main karaoke was "adult", presumably for fear the teens might take over! You might want to check on some reviews re teens (one man called the ship "The Independence of the Teens"!!). Having said that the entertainment generally on the Indy was younger and so my son had a great time at, eg, the Britpop night. Graham Seymour is an excellent CD.

 

My son would definitely say go Indy - the reason I know is that we have just booked Ruby Princess and he is not pleased!!! I would just check how many teens are likely to be on board at that time - I wouldn't do UK summer holiday period on it again, but probably would at a quieter time.