How is the Princess kids program?

[cruisinqt]

We're thinking about trying out the Grand Princess. I've never cruised on Princess before, but the itinerary and price are perfect. I'm just worried about the kids program. We normally do either RCI or Carnival which are known for their great kids programs. Has anyone done these cruise lines with their children? How do the kids programs compare to one another?:confused:

[DavidO]

Our kids (now ages 5 and 7) have been on two cruises with us so far and they are looking forward to our upcoming cruises.

 

They were on the Grand Princess in June 2003 and they loved it. The kids program was very good and they always wanted to go back. They had lots of activities for the kids to do - games, crafts, etc. My kids really enjoed it and would ask us to take them to the kids zone.

 

Their second cruise was on the Celebrity Horizon in March 2004 and they loved the kids program there as well. It was great and once more they wanted to go there every chance they got.

 

Hope that helps.

 

David

[busybusybusy]

My kids, ages 10 and 14, loved Princess's program. They separated the groups up well, and the older ones kind of met and went on their way. My 10 year old couldn't wait to go every evening, and he met some great kids. They had 2 nights where they ate together, which was nice for the adults. They will have a great time. My only word of advice - don't be late for the "sign up" meeting - they wouldn't let me in and I had to return for the next one, which was in the middle of my dinner. I wouldn't have been late if I hadn't gotten lost! This is a big ship, but absolutely beautiful.

 

Have a wonderful time!:D

[cjh]

My kids love the Princess program and don't want to sail on any other line.

[JandD Mom]

HI all,

 

On Celebrity and RCCL, the evening activities for kids ended at 10, but you had the option to have after hours activities until 1 am for a fee. Does Princess have this option?

 

Thanks!

[MERED1TH]

HI all,

 

On Celebrity and RCCL, the evening activities for kids ended at 10, but you had the option to have after hours activities until 1 am for a fee. Does Princess have this option?

 

Thanks!

 

Yes, on the ships that have a program.

[merela]

Not sure how old your children are, but Princess divides kids' club into 4 age groups: 3-5, 6-9, 10-13, 13-17.

 

Here is a list of activities on the kids' patters for our cruise to Alaska. The theme may change depending on your cruise destinations, but the activities don't really change that much.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=76416

 

Here is the kids' menu on board the Princess:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=79028

 

As far as kids' club schedule goes, everything closes at 10pm. So we have to pick up our children from the kids' club at 10pm. It also closes between 12-2pm and 5-7pm for lunch and dinner.

 

We get so tired most nights around 11pm that we didn't even ask about babysitting for a fee outside kids' club hours. Others may be able to tell you more about this.

 

HTH.

 

 

 

Jennifer

[cjh]

Most Princess ships only have 3 age classes 3-7, 8-12 and 13-17. I think only Diamond, Saphire and Caribbean have 4 age groups.

[wellmomof2]

My husband and I are travelling with our two (3 & 5) for the first time. We have been on three other cruises on our own. We didn't wan to take a chance on the kids not enjoying themselves. Friends of ours who have taken several cruises on different cruise lines highly recommended Princess. They have used other kids programs on other cruise lines as well. They said their kids never wanted to spend time with them! Sounds good to me!:D

[MMsteffey]

We cruised on Star Princess with a 6 and 9 year old this summer. Kids staff was great. After 4 cruises on 3 lines with our kids I believe that your kids' experience will depend upon the personalities of the counselors and the other kids aboard who participate in the program. Have a great trip

[whencanicruiseagain?]

We sailed in the Carribbean Princess with our 11 and 7 year old. They had an awesome time. We allowed the older one to sign himself in and out (an option given to you at the time of sign up) and rented those two-way radios for a way for him to reach us. They worked great. We had to beg the kids to sit and eat dinner with us, as they just wanted to grab something quick from the buffet and head back off to the Kid's Zone. It was a good thing that they closed during the 12-2 and 5-7 times, otherwise, we never would have seen them.

 

The counselors were great and really seemed to enjoy the children. Alot of them held degrees in early childhood education. They supervised a plethoria of activities, from scavanger hunts (when the children got to meet the captain) to science themed fun stuff. My youngest got to disect a squid and then they wrote their names using the ink -- gross for me...but she loved it!

 

Also - Princess Cays has a fantastic children's area, which was supervised quite nicely. As opposed to showing the counselors your cruise card and photo id (i.e. license) as you did on the ship when signing your child out, they took a photo of you as you signed your child in and would only release the children to the person in the photo. (hint, if you are travelling with other family members, it's a good idea for all of you to be in the photo at Princess Cays, so that if you are snorkeling, or doing something else, your hubby/parents/sister, etc. can sign the kids out -- oh...and a guardian has to be in there with them if they want to use the pool in the kids area)

 

All in all, I found the kids program to be excellent -- my kids won't sail on any other line (even after being tempted by the rock wall and ice skating rink on Royal Carribbean).

 

Hope this helps.

[roe2ship]

 

Also - Princess Cays has a fantastic children's area, which was supervised quite nicely. As opposed to showing the counselors your cruise card and photo id (i.e. license) as you did on the ship when signing your child out, they took a photo of you as you signed your child in and would only release the children to the person in the photo. (hint, if you are travelling with other family members, it's a good idea for all of you to be in the photo at Princess Cays, so that if you are snorkeling, or doing something else, your hubby/parents/sister, etc. can sign the kids out -- oh...and a guardian has to be in there with them if they want to use the pool in the kids area)

 

At Princess Cays, do you know if the children's area is limited to a certain age? I have a 10 and 3 year old and wondering if both can enter in here. Thanks

[Cruisin' Chick]

On our first Princess cruise, we got to the kids' area for the meeting at exactly (or maybe at the most one minute late) by our watch...we weren't allowed in and had to wait for the next meeting -- which meant not being able to go to our dining room for dinner. The next cruise, we made sure we were early. It's really unfortunate considering that if you are new to that ship, you have to allow time to find the fun zone (including navigating unfamiliar decks, and the elevators or stairs, etc.)

That said, my daughter has enjoyed the kids' programs each time but really liked the play area on the Paradise the best (we also loved the no-smoking policy).

[whencanicruiseagain?]

Roe:

 

I'm not really sure on the age limits, but I'm pretty sure both your children can attend at the same time.

 

This is from Princess' site:

 

"Princess even has a supervised play area on Princess Cays, our private beach in the Bahamas, where young children can make the most of their island adventure. This special playground, which is supervised by the shipboard Youth Staff, provides a safe place for parents to leave their children while enjoying the many beach amenities and water sports offered."

 

If you haven't seen it, it's really just a chain link fence around a large area. (sounds like a prison camp when I put it that way!!), but they had the pool (which, I mentioned YOU had to stay and monitor your own child - which was fine with me), playground equipment, tree house thing, bathrooms.The counselors, which I thought were terrific, arranged "beach"games, i.e. volleyball. They also had water balloon fights.

It was very easy to observe your child in there, and very easy for them to spot you, as long as you weren't under water snorkeling! It made it easy for them to let us know when they wished to leave the play area.

[merela]

On our first Princess cruise' date=' we got to the kids' area for the meeting at exactly (or maybe at the most one minute late) by our watch...we weren't allowed in and had to wait for the next meeting -- which meant not being able to go to our dining room for dinner. The next cruise, we made sure we were early. It's really unfortunate considering that if you are new to that ship, you have to allow time to find the fun zone (including navigating unfamiliar decks, and the elevators or stairs, etc.)

That said, my daughter has enjoyed the kids' programs each time but really liked the play area on the Paradise the best (we also loved the no-smoking policy).[/quote']

 

There was no mention on the Patter that we have to be there before the specific time. It did take us over 15 minutes to find the kids' zone. There was a bunch of irrate parents locked out outside the kids' zone because the next sign up time would not work with their dinner seating. But realistically, you can show up the next morning and sigh up then without any problems.

[merela]

whencanicruiseagain, did you notice any sand toys within the "chain-linked" fence? If they have it, I won't bother taking our sand toys with us.

[whencanicruiseagain?]

Merela:

 

 

There were sand toys (mainly buckets) and the reason I remember this is that the kids were filling them with water (fresh water shower) and throwing them at the counselors! They were having a blast.

[Guest nemo2005]

Among the Princess line, are there certain ships in the Caribbean that are BEST for families? We have a family of 5 and are considering 2 adjoining cabins to fit everyone. We like the idea of the kid's club, as long as the then 9 and 11 year olds would be together.

[roe2ship]

I think the grand class ships are better suited for families - Grand, Golden, Star and their newest the Caribbean Princess. Not sure how the age groups are divided but I believe on the Caribbean Princess they were 3-6, 7-9, 10-12 and 13-17.