kids

I'm sorry..I hope I don't make anyone upset about this post. I just want to know if Princess has become more friendly to kids. We're currently booked on Regal for nov 2015, and I noticed there's some new clubs and things which maybe will draw more families. We like Princess because we're a couple and hoping for some peace and adult time, as our last cruise was not. Not really concerned about it but just want to check..if there's certain times of year we should book that would be more suited to us. we travel about the same time every year, but somehow this time there was a teacher conference and there was more kids onboard. We're going out of Port Everglades, Nov 3d.

Wow - Catherine, you are brave.............

Totally get where you are coming from though. Our kids are grown and luckily they haven't moved back home yet............so we too like some peace and quiet and thus always book longer cruises with sea days - that usually keeps the families with small kids away.

Also the Royal and Regal have the Retreat adults only area which may help.

All that said, we have been on Christmas cruises and Spring Break cruises without any issues - but we sit up on the top sun deck away from the pool and eat later, so even if there are lots of kids they don't have much impact.

Only once in 20 plus years of cruising have we had an issue and that was more of a "well dear lets just let the kids run wild since they can't go anywhere" scenario. Just about everyone on our portion of Dolphin deck, including the room steward were ready to kill the entire family.............not the kids fault, more that of the parents who were probably worse than their kids - yelling at each other, more than at the kids.............domestic bliss it wasn't but once out of 20 isn't too bad of a percentage.

I'm sorry..I hope I don't make anyone upset about this post. I just want to know if Princess has become more friendly to kids. We're currently booked on Regal for nov 2015, and I noticed there's some new clubs and things which maybe will draw more families. We like Princess because we're a couple and hoping for some peace and adult time, as our last cruise was not. Not really concerned about it but just want to check..if there's certain times of year we should book that would be more suited to us. we travel about the same time every year, but somehow this time there was a teacher conference and there was more kids onboard. We're going out of Port Everglades, Nov 3d.

I do believe they are marketing more to families at this time, but it is difficult to say a year in advance how many kids would be on your cruise. I took my two sons in January on a 4 day coastal cruise and there were very few kids on the cruise. We are taking them again on the 30th of this month, I anticipate the number of kids would be fairly small but obviously won't know until I get there.

I would guess given the time of the year that you are sailing, there would not be a significant number of kids as school is most likely still in session.

We like Princess because we're a couple and hoping for some peace and adult time, as our last cruise was not.

If referring to your cruise on the NCL Getaway, you are comparing apples and oranges. Or more like watermelons and kumquats...

Getaway holds nearly 1000 more passengers than Regal Princess, with a much more diverse makeup because of all the bells-and-whistles.

They draw family groups year 'round because of their pricing, their lack of formal nights and fixed dinner seating. Their average age skews younger thanks to a large number of dedicated family cabins that hold 3 to 5 passengers for the same or less fare as 2 on Princess (not to mention also having single cabins).

And as mentioned above, increased children's space has been matched by the larger adults-only areas. Both were added with the summer European market in mind.

But if you are really that concerned about a peaceful, adult, couples environment, switch to a longer cruise rather than the five-nighter you have booked.

We find there are fewer kids:

-When schools are in session

-Longer cruises

-Cruises departing from non-US ports

-Cruises on the small ships. Often there are too few kids for a kids program on the Ocean and Pacific.

-Cruises where beaches are not the main attractions

I think you are safe with Princess. I'm on the Regal in early December with my kids and called Princess to see how many kids are booked on it.

To date...I was told there was 16 kids.....16 kids!!! Can you believe it?

I was shocked with a ship of 3500 passengers.

But ok with it as well....

Anyway.....Princess will give out that info....so just call them and tell them which date you are thinking about.

We find there are fewer kids:

 

-When schools are in session

-Longer cruises

-Cruises departing from non-US ports

-Cruises on the small ships. Often there are too few kids for a kids program on the Ocean and Pacific.

-Cruises where beaches are not the main attractions

This.

You have no doubt heard the old saying that "cruises are for the newly wed and the nearly dead". The cruise industry doesn't like the back half of that equation, and the only way to combat it is to market to younger people. And when you sell space to younger people, children are going to be part of that equation. So, yes, Princess is actively marketing to families and the newly designed youth centers on Royal and Regal are among the very best of their new design changes. They are surely going to capture a fair bit of the family market. So if you want to avoid children, the strategies set forth above are sound.

We just did a 5 day on Emerald Princess out of Houston last week, and there were very few kids on board. Few enough that while I remember seeing some, I don't recall ever seeing more than 2 or 3 together at a time, of the ones I saw most were in the teen range.

Many families with children still prefer the bells and whistles and price of Carnival or the bowling, skating, zip line, rock wall, surfing, waterslides and characters of lines like Royal Caribbean, NCL or Disney as they want to keep the kids occupied so that is their first choice when booking school breaks. That being said, I purposefully chose Princess this time to avoid the onslaught of children and I will be bringing my kids. We like to spend time as a family and thankfully, on a sea days they know how to have a good time playing basketball, ping pong, shuffle board, swimming and yes eating. I too have encountered the families where the children are running helter skelter in the elevators and running the hallways while the parents are sitting at the bar. Not fun. Avoid the breaks and you should be fine.

Only been on one cruise out of 11 that was negatively impacted by kids -- and they were all from the same extended family. My kid said she never saw them in the kids' program rooms so that could have been a problem -- they were bored and their parents were too busy dropping $ in the casino to care. A good program will keep them busy even if the ship doesn't have water slides or walk climbing walls.

And just think, most kids would prefer to be with other kids and not you or I. So go when many kids are in school and to itineraries other than beachy ones and try the small "girls" while Princess still has them. You might see homeschooled kids or ones not yet in school. Most kids in school do a lot more classwork and have tougher schedules than we did. So I don't begrudge them a nice vacation.

Every cruise line will have kids....if they aren't YOURS...ignore them! There are so many places on the ship to be away from the "kid" areas, there is no reason to worry about any of the potential kids at all.

I agree with what others said... Check the school holiday calendar. Also, check the college calendars to avoid that group.

We did have a small surprise on a South America cruise at the end of January, as it was during their "summer break". There were quite a few kids, but they were well managed.

Also, you may want to consider later traditional dining. Typically, it is a bit quieter.

:)

Wow - Catherine, you are brave.............

 

Totally get where you are coming from though. Our kids are grown and luckily they haven't moved back home yet............so we too like some peace and quiet and thus always book longer cruises with sea days - that usually keeps the families with small kids away.

 

Also the Royal and Regal have the Retreat adults only area which may help..

lol about bravery. I'm curious about that retreat. It looks gorgeous on Regal. I also like that it'll be less windy with the cabanas.

I think that you will be fine with a November 3 sailing date.

Since I taught elementary grades for 34 years, my DH and I always had to travel during school holiday times.

We were never concerned about the number of children who happened to be travelling on cruises or to places we visited,we just enjoyed our vacations.

However, many of my teacher friends and I always looked forward to being able to travel i during off-peak times once we retired.

The amusing thing was, though, on the first cruise we took after I retired,we found ourselves among passengers much older than ourselves, many riding on scooters on the ship,.

We found ourselves dodging many of those scooters in the hallways and public rooms instead of children running from place to place. LOL!

My point is this, I don't think you can always choose a perfect time to travel.

Just plan according to your schedule ,be flexible and enjoy your vacation.

If referring to your cruise on the NCL Getaway, you are comparing apples and oranges. Or more like watermelons and kumquats...

 

Getaway holds nearly 1000 more passengers than Regal Princess

NCL Getaway Passenger Capacity: 3,969

Regal Princess Passenger Capacity:3,560

Above are lower berth capacity