New to Cruising on Princess with Teens

[suep]

After cruising on Royal Caribbean and Carnival, we decided to give Princess a try. We’re cruising in October of ’05 to the Mexican Riviera and joining other family members (all older, no children). We will be bringing our two sons, ages 17 and 21, and they will each be bringing a friend, who are the same ages as our sons. The more I’ve read about Princess, it seems like the cruising age on Princess ships is 50+. Being that it’s October, my concern is there will be few people in our sons’ age bracket to mingle with. Can anyone else share their experiences on cruising the Sapphire with older/teenaged children?

 

Are there any other major differences between RCI and Princess that it would be helpful to know about? We’re on the early seating for traditional dining.

 

Thanks!

[kruisey]

From what I have observed during school and college terms there are not as many youngsters on board.In vacation periods there are many on the shorter trips like yours.

Your teens are of the age were they could join in some of the silly adult activities at the pool plus trivia ....then there is a disco at nite plus most of the stage shows and movies....also a teen area....table tennis.....pottery and computer classes,great fitness center..Choice on Shore excursions caters for all age groups.

They do have friends of their own age so I can see no problem.

[kool kruiser]

May I add a couple of points. The 17 year olds will not be allowed in the disco except when it is used by the teen club. The 21 year olds have exactly the same privileges as other passengers but cannot use the teen club.

[lgt]

We have taken our 17y/o with a friend, but in the summer on the Golden. They made lots and lots of new friends. There were many kids on this cruise. They were with us during the day on the different islands, had dinner with us (personal choice dining) and then were free to meet up with their new friends. We gave them a curfew (which they didn't break) of 1:30am because they had to get up in the morning. They had a fabulous time and so did we. We just came back from the Golden again this week and while there were some teens on the ship, not as many as the summer. Their seemed to be quite a few small children. I think if you call ship services they will tell you approx. how many kids are on your ship. Have a great time and keep the questions coming. Everyone here has always been very helpful to me and others.

[Pam in CA]

Comparing Mexican Riviera cruises to the Caribbean is like comparing New York to San Francisco. They're really quite different.

 

A generalization: the Mexican Riviera cruises have more West Coast passengers and is very popular with Californians. This itinerary also attracts older passengers than the Caribbean plus if you factor in the time of the year, there'll be fewer teens and young people.

 

That's true whether you sail on Princess or RCI. The itinerary and time of the year are more of a factor than the cruiseline. In general, Princess is very similar to RCI, including the age groups. There are some things that Princess does better, some things RCI does better. Overall, I think Princess is a cut above RCI. You and your family will have a great time on whichever ship you choose.

[Pam in CA]

Ahhh... you asked about major differences. I didn't respond to that.

 

* Princess has freshwater pools as opposed to saltwater

* Princess has a 24/7 buffet, not just room service.

* Princess has Anytime dining with alternative restaurants so that if you want to eat later, you can go to one of the alternative restaurants.

* Princess Muster is in a lounge, not squashed standing out on a hot deck

[CruiseFever]

I'll only add that I DO think your sons will find others their age on board based on our sailing of the Star Princess on October 24th of this year. There were NOT as many as on our spring break Golden Princess or summer Caribbean Princess cruises but WAY more than I thought there would be.

 

I agree wholeheartedly about the difference between the Caribbean and Mexican Riveria too. We did the Mex itinerary on Carnival and found a ton of locals, not the mix from all over the place that we would typically find on a Caribbean sailing.

 

The age difference of your sons will indeed as noted above keep the younger one legally out of Skywalkers, he'd need to be 18. That distinction, however, will vanish in Mexico where pretty much anything goes. Keep that in mind for whatever that might mean to you.

 

But the popular misconception that Princess is all old people has not been very accurate on the Princess cruises we have taken. I suspect that on longer cruises or cruises to more exotic ports that may be more the case though.

 

One thing I've heard other parents talk about that often ruffles some feathers is that the kids on Princess are of higher caliber than some other lines. You can decide how accurate that is for yourself. I DO know that my kids have had a great time on Princess and are looking forward to returning.

[suep]

Thanks to all of you for your comments! We've had our sons on two other cruises and they had a great time; the Triumph (Eastern Caribbean) and the Radiance (Alaska). However, both of these trips were taken during the summer months, hence my concern with October. And this is the first time they are both bringing a friend, which I think will help a bit too. I feel much better now that I've heard from all of you. We are looking forward to the differences we'll experience from RCI to Princess! (I myself am looking forward to the freshwater pools! What a refreshing change!) Are the pools open at night? In past cruises the pools were closed off at night.

 

I've heard mention of a type of video arcade? Is there one on the Sapphire?

 

Thanks again!

[mgord]

there is no video arcade on the c.p. and the pools being fresh are open 24 hrs.

[suep]

there is no video arcade on the c.p. and the pools being fresh are open 24 hrs.

 

We will be on the Sapphire. Does that ship have a video arcade?

 

Thanks!

[edYYZ]

We will be on the Sapphire. Does that ship have a video arcade?

 

Thanks!

Don't think so.. I was on the Diamond in May and didn't find anything like this.. I've heard there are video games in the teen lounge but apparently that's it.. I could be wrong though...