Young Kids on Princess???

[pnccruisers]

Hi Y'all!

We are experienced Carnival cruisers, as are our kids. We are taking our first Princess cruise to Alaska this summer and are wondering about how the kids (ages 6yrs & 23mo at TOC) will go over. Since booking, we've heard that Princess IS NOT kid-friendly. Is that wrong, or should we cancel with Princess and go back to a more kid-friendly cruise line?

Thanks in Advance!

[Toto2Kansas]

Hi Y'all!

 

We are experienced Carnival cruisers, as are our kids. We are taking our first Princess cruise to Alaska this summer and are wondering about how the kids (ages 6yrs & 23mo at TOC) will go over. Since booking, we've heard that Princess IS NOT kid-friendly. Is that wrong, or should we cancel with Princess and go back to a more kid-friendly cruise line?

 

Thanks in Advance!

 

The one problem you might have on Princess is that there is no child care of any kind for the 23 month old. You can escourt them to the kids area but you must stay with them. The children's program on Princess is for age 3 and up that are totally potty trained, no exceptions. And there is no private in cabin babysitting.

Also, no non-potty trained children in any of the pools, swim diapers are not allowed.

So, if you stick with Princess, make sure you are ready to spend 24/7 with the 23 month old as there will be no getting away for dinner or a show without them.

I think Princess if fairly 'kid friendly', but they are not 'baby friendly' in those reguards.

[wineforhealth]

Not sure what you mean by kid friendly? Princess has a great kids club and depending on when you go to Alaska the numbers change. May/June not so many.

 

Hope this helps

[pnccruisers]

I guess by kid-friendly I mean how "froo-froo" is Princess. I have no problem having the little one with us at all times, so the kids activites won't be an issue. I mean more along the line of will the kids be an "intrusion" in the minds of other passengers. I've heard that Princess is more for the older couples, not the young couples with families. We're just used to Carnival where there seem to be just as many kids as there are adults.

[ceilidh1]

We did our first Princess Alaska cruise when my little one was 14 months old. We were also concerned, especially as it was on a "small" ship not designed for kids. The crew and other passengers were fabulous and treated the baby like a VIP. There really weren't any child activities on the smaller ship, but in terms of being kid friendly, I would say definitely! We are taking her bakc to Alaska on Sapphire in May and plan on checking out the kid areas - though she isn't old enough for kids club yet (not that I would leave her anyways...). I think you will have a great time with Princess.

[DonnaK]

Alaskan cruises generally draw an older crowd no matter the cruiseline. However, you'll be cruising during the summer, which is prime family cruising time. So, it's hard to tell.

 

We've only been on one Princess cruise, and it was on a similarly traditionally geriatric itinerary (Canada/New England), yet there were no issues with the kids onboard not being made to feel welcome.

 

Princess will definitely have a more elegant atmosphere than Carnival, however your cruise is what you make it. You mentioned that you aren't concerned with the kids program/activities - our kids, who are teens now, always preferred hanging around with us (or with each other) so demographics are never something that affects us greatly.

[pnccruisers]

Thanks so much for the info! I feel alot better about the kids going now!

[luvlake]

We were on the Coral Princess with 20 family members including grand daughters 4 & 9 in 2007. At the time we went school was not out for all parts of the country and so the children in the Fun Zone were low. This acutally was great for them and they loved it. They made some good friends and the staff was extremely nice with many activities. They asked to go quite often.

 

As far as the dining room they have a kids menu and the staff is very attentive to children.

 

I would not think twice about taking my grand children on Princess again.

 

The one thing you will find on an Alaska cruise is that no matter what cruise line you take it is a more laid back atmosphere. The pool area use is almost non-existent. The hot tubs will be the item of choice although Princess does have retractable roofs on many of there ships.

 

The main entertainment in Alaska is the scenery. There are many excursions that are geared toward scenery but you may be a little limited with a 23 month old no matter which cruise line you take.

 

Happy Cruising!:)

[notentirelynormal]

I guess by kid-friendly I mean how "froo-froo" is Princess. I have no problem having the little one with us at all times, so the kids activites won't be an issue. I mean more along the line of will the kids be an "intrusion" in the minds of other passengers. I've heard that Princess is more for the older couples, not the young couples with families. We're just used to Carnival where there seem to be just as many kids as there are adults.

 

It always surprises me when I hear that Princess is not kid friendly and an older crowd. My kids are now 31 and 25 and they are both Elite cruisers. They started cruising on Princess when they were around 7 YO. Back then ships didn't have kids clubs but they still were treated like royalty and found plenty to do. My DD can fold napkins with the best of them, danced with the Captain and CD etc. My grandkids now cruise with us - all on Princess. The staff absolutely loves kids. They miss their own kids, nieces and nephews and really go out of their way to say hello to them and make them feel special. Yes, you will get people that don't want your kids on the ship, but I don't think that is the line itself, it could happen on any ship. Your child will have a great time and it is rare for anyone to comment otherwise (in person that is). Sure there are old people on board, but lots and lots of young families as well.

[tikcho]

We took a Princess cruise with our then 18 month old and had a good time. But, it was a Caribbean cruise and during spring break week. There was only one other toddler on the ship but lots of families with older kids and lots of college kids so in regards to passengers most were always willing to play with my son and thought he was cute. Most of our sea days were spent by the pool or in general out in the sun (lots of pool games to watch and tracks to run on) and in the ports we usually just went to the beach. Our one issue was dining in the dining room (anytime dining) because it took forever and the waiter were not willing/able to speed up the process, even when we asked them to. So we ended up eating most of our meals in the buffet because a toddler cannot sit still for two hours. The crew were pretty nice to him, no complaints.

With that said, several people from my family went to alaska last summer and reported that the crowd in general was much older (50-60+), it was too cold to be by the pool and the activities were mostly geared towards older people (bingo, cards, trivia). Also, the ports themselves did not offer as much entertainment and you HAD to do a tour or pretty much just walk around a tiny town all day. So just think about what your toddler will be doing on the cruise - my son is super active and I know this atmospehere is not for him. But if your child is more quiet, can play by themselves, etc, then you'll probably be fine. Also, think abput what tours you can go on with a toddler and are there enough activities to keep them entertained on sea days. Again, as I have not been to alaska I cannot offer any insight. But we have decided to wait until my son is in school before we cruise Alaska we we'll stick to the Caribbean and maybe Europe while he is still young. Either way - good luck and enoy!

[Lobez]

My wife and I have been on 3 Princess Cruises in the last 3 years. We have 3 boys ages 15,12, and 9 who have been along with us. We were on the Star, Crown and Dawn and on all the ships the boys were treated very well and we had few problems. The occasional passenger would complain about the kids, but this was not the norm. Most on board were friendly to the boys who seemed to get to know more people than me. They kid's programs were generally good, but most times my boys wanted to do other things. As long as children are polite and not out of control, there shouldn't be any problems. We are booked on the Caribbean Princess for the May transition cruise, but just my wife and I. Are booking again in July on the CB for a family reunion that will have 9 children ages 18mths to 16.

[lovespositano]

BTW, children under 3 do not require a child's ticket for shore excursions.

[junglejane]

I agree with Toto. Princess is kid friendly but not especially baby friendly. We have been on 4 Princess cruises with our kids starting when they were 4 and 8. They always have a great time. My only issue would be whether you want to have in-cabin babysitting available, because you can't get it on Princess. As long as you don't mind being with your toddler 24/7, then you'll be fine on Princess.

 

--Junglejane

[notentirelynormal]

BTW, children under 3 do not require a child's ticket for shore excursions.

 

Is this true in all respects - or just if they don't require an actual seat on the excursion? I know I bought a ticket for my GS last year for his train trip and now I'm wondering if I could have saved myself $100. Plus I have 2 more coming on the next one that will be under 3.

[Dorset Cruiser]

We took our two small grandchildren (5 & 3) on Ruby last month. They had a great time. The children's facilities and activities are first rate. They both loved dressing up for formal night with my 5 year old grandson in a proper dark suit with white shirt, black tie and proper cufflinks - just like his Dad. They got no end of compliments from other passengers as to how well behaved they were and how cute they both looked.

 

The only downside we found was that there was no children's paddling/wading pool which would have added to their enjoyment as they are both non-swimmers as yet and so the available pools were much too deep for them. However, we did know this before booking - we just wanted our family to experience a Princess ship as we think the ships are wonderful.

[lovespositano]

Is this true in all respects - or just if they don't require an actual seat on the excursion? I know I bought a ticket for my GS last year for his train trip and now I'm wondering if I could have saved myself $100. Plus I have 2 more coming on the next one that will be under 3.

We are talking ship's excursions here. No ticket for those under 3 if they sit on your lap. The way around is that we always arrive late and make sure we are on the last bus. It is never full, and you can have the whole back seat of the bus to yourself - no one wants to sit back there. You can spread out with the kid/kids and be totally comfortable. Worked great for us on a Med cruise last year.

[Desert Cruizers]

On our 2006 17 day Panama Cruise, we had the pleasure of parents and their 2 1/2 yr old on our cruise. He went everywhere with his parents, and was a big hit among the passengers. We saw them one evening in the Centrum listening to the music, & the little boy visited everyone. We have seen several children on our two Princess cruises.

[ocntscha]

The only downside we found was that there was no children's paddling/wading pool which would have added to their enjoyment as they are both non-swimmers as yet

We took our then 3 and 5 year olds on the Crown Princess Feb. of 2008. They LOVED the Princess Pelicans kids area, they where always more than willing to spend time there. Anytime we wanted to drop our kids off at Princess Pelicans, and we did it a lot, the kids where always literally excited and happy to be going there. They keep the kids busy with all sorts of planned activities and contests.

 

I concurr though about the unfortunate wading pool situation. The Crown Princess actually does have a wading pool and we took the kids there several afternoons, they really enjoyed playing in that wading pool. We are booked to go on the Emerald Princess this coming April and after booking I've since come to learn that it does not have a wading pool like the Crown. That is a big disappointment. I had just assumed since the Crown and Emerald are "sister" ships that the Emerald would have a wading pool just like the Crown does. I truely may not have booked the cruise had I known that in advance. Apparently the Ruby doesn't have a wading pool for kids either according to the post a couple above this one. I guess my advice would be if you want a wading pool and want Princess try and pick a cruise on the Crown.

[nycgirl12345]

Princess is a friendly kid cruise. I am going on the Alaska cruise and am looking foreward to it. The age start at 3 for kids club. Your 23 month old can go to the kids club if you are there to play with the toys. For a price group babysitting is available, I do not know what age the babysitting starts. :):):)

[caribill]

For a price group babysitting is available, I do not know what age the babysitting starts. :):):)

 

Must be potty trained.

[smoosh21]

Hi Y'all!

 

We are experienced Carnival cruisers, as are our kids. We are taking our first Princess cruise to Alaska this summer and are wondering about how the kids (ages 6yrs & 23mo at TOC) will go over. Since booking, we've heard that Princess IS NOT kid-friendly. Is that wrong, or should we cancel with Princess and go back to a more kid-friendly cruise line?

 

Thanks in Advance!

 

Last year, while I was on the Summit, we were in port several times with the Crown Princess, and it was full of kids of all ages. It was also Presidents Day Week, which is a big Holiday week for New England, so a lot of people from that area on family vacations..

 

There were no children on Celebrity, so it was quite easy to see the difference in passenger demographics.

[Toto2Kansas]

Must be potty trained.

 

AND they must be a minimum of 3 years old to be left, even for babysitting purposes.

[Bigwave1129]

We have sailed Carnival twice and my two boys have always enjoyed the late night party that they have (on one night of the cruise, they stay up till 3:00 a.m. and play games, have scavenger hunts, etc. When they are done, the counselers drop them back at your room so the parents don't have to get up at 3:00 a.m.) Does Princess offer something similar?

[kooljamming]

It always surprises me when I hear that Princess is not kid friendly and an older crowd. My kids are now 31 and 25 and they are both Elite cruisers. They started cruising on Princess when they were around 7 YO. Back then ships didn't have kids clubs but they still were treated like royalty and found plenty to do. My DD can fold napkins with the best of them, danced with the Captain and CD etc. My grandkids now cruise with us - all on Princess. The staff absolutely loves kids. They miss their own kids, nieces and nephews and really go out of their way to say hello to them and make them feel special. Yes, you will get people that don't want your kids on the ship, but I don't think that is the line itself, it could happen on any ship. Your child will have a great time and it is rare for anyone to comment otherwise (in person that is). Sure there are old people on board, but lots and lots of young families as well.

 

I bought that Princess was for the old until I realized they were talking about people my age:D We had a wonderful time on our first cruise with Princess. Definitely more elegant, which is why I chose it for this trip. We did not have our kids on this trip but will on the Golden Princess this summer. I spoke with dozens of kids who were having a great time. The pools and video games in the teen center will keep my kids entertain forever. It might be a rude awakening when they find out we are going on many excursion....sheeesh for now:D

[cacy6893076]

did i read 3 am right? no i do not think so, are you kidding? that's crazy!, both form a parental standpoint and for the well being of the children, unless they are 16 or 17. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!then maybe...............I guess i am leaving myself open for criticism or correction here,,,,,,it's okay guys if you want to flamme, but this is new to me if it is available on princess , and it sounds "weird" to me. So they knock on your door at three am and say "here's the kids?"