Kids on Royal Princess

[Magster1]

I'm thinking of taking a cruise on the Royal Princess summer 2009 with our 12 year old and looking at Mediterranean Collection and Holy Land itineraries but the Princess web site hints that this is a mainly adult cruise ship. Anyone know if families tend to go on these smaller ships during summer vacation?

[karatemom2]

We have booked a 14 day Alaska cruise on the Pacific Princess next summer after reading some of the reviews posted here about the Tahitian Princess that did the same route last summer. They are both small ships as well. We are going in knowing that there will be fewer children, but at least according to the reviews we read there will be some given that it is summer vacation. As long as there are 20 kids onboard there will be an organized kid's program. Our children are older now (9 and 14) and have been on 10 cruises. They are pretty seasoned cruise travelers at this point and since this is a cruise with a very intense port schedule, I think they will be fine. I think there is much to be gained with older children on one of these smaller ships. With fewer children they may have a chance to really bond with a small group of friends and we will look forward to having a lot of family time together. If you like the itinerary and you think your 12 year old would enjoy the cruise, even though there will be a small group of kids I think you should go for it!

[taxatty]

We brought our then 16 year old DD on the Royal for a Med summer cruise--there were maybe 30 kids of all ages on the cruise, most of whom stuck with their families. We were put at a table for dinner with a delightful Scottish family with their DD of the same age, which really worked out well. On a cruise like this where there was only one sea day out of 12, not having many kids or special activities for them didn't seem that important.

 

Les

[Pam in CA]

There are fewer kids but as others have said, the kids still have a good time. If they are mature for their ages, they appreciate where they're going and what they've seen. A suggestion is to have your 12YO do research about at least a port or two so that they can have "ownership" of those ports and be the "expert."

[karatemom2]

There are fewer kids but as others have said, the kids still have a good time. If they are mature for their ages, they appreciate where they're going and what they've seen. A suggestion is to have your 12YO do research about at least a port or two so that they can have "ownership" of those ports and be the "expert."

 

Pam that's a really great idea. We are visiting four new ports in Alaska next year that my kids have not been to yet. I think I will let them each have two to research and help plan for. They will really like that. Thanks!

[kool kruiser]

I think it really depends on what you want from your cruise. It seems that on a small ship such as the Royal the kids club activities will be somewhat limited and the experience very much that of a family holiday. On the larger ships (this summer the new Ruby, for example) there will be several hundred youngsters on board and their activitities much more extensive with many more facilities. We found that we hardly saw our kids on the large ships, other than when going ashore or at dinner. Think hard as to which works best for you.

[Magster1]

Thank you all, these are all very interesting comments for us to think about. Last year we sailed Celebrity to the Med and my daughter "met" friends on Cruise Critic before sailing, so she had instant friends when she got on board. It was a very successful vacation for everyone, we barely saw her when we were on the ship and she is still retaining a friendship with her English friend through email. I know she is hoping to meet friends the same way if we cruise again. Normally, we just take independent trips through Europe and she certainly doesn't meet anyone that way.

[luvnorway]

Interesting that exactly this question was asked in May. Some of the responses posted then may be of assistance.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=772293