best cruise line for 12-17 yr olds

Hello all! I've been on two carnival cruises. One just adult and one when the kids were 6-11. They had a blast on the carnival Cruise (it was the fantasy I believe), but I'm planning a cruise for Feb of 2017. I was looking at carnivals newest ship. But may branch out to a different line. Those who have done multiple lines what's your favorite? Thanks!

Heidi

Carnival, RCI or NCL are the tops with families....lots to do on all of their ships. More alike than different.

Princess, Celebrity and HAL have a slightly older clientele, and less "bells and whistles" than the 1st 3 I mentioned.

We have done both Royal Caribbean and NCL with our sons (started when they were 9 and 12. They are now almost 13 and 17). They went on RCCI first (The Allure) and loved it. The following year we went on NCL (the Epic). I asked my oldest son what he thought of it and he said "it's nice...but it's not Royal Caribbean." We have since taken them on RC Oasis and RC Radiance (to Alaska last summer- our favorite cruise we've taken!!) and are booked on the Anthem this year. We all love RC. However I would definitely consider NCL again. Both of these cruise lines have tons of family-friendly activities.

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There are many options including RCI, NCL, Celebrity and Princess and of course Disney.

I would recommend taking a look at RCI for your next cruise.

Keith

Hello all! I've been on two carnival cruises. One just adult and one when the kids were 6-11. They had a blast on the carnival Cruise (it was the fantasy I believe), but I'm planning a cruise for Feb of 2017. I was looking at carnivals newest ship. But may branch out to a different line. Those who have done multiple lines what's your favorite? Thanks!

 

Heidi

My 17 year old has done 10 plus cruises on carnival since he was 8 and loved them all. He also enjoyed Princess, but being a teen at the time enjoyed Carnival more, while my then 9 year old actually preferred Princess.

As a general rule, the newest ships with carnival, like Magic, Sunshine, Breeze etc will more than meet your family's needs - especially if they were happy on a Fantasy class ship. And unless you are pulling them out of school, be prepared to pay more, or hugely more (Disney is outrageous IMHO) for other lines.

We have done 4 Princess and 1 Carnival. My kids (now 17 and 16) prefer Princess. As a parent I prefer the Princess teen program because it has hours (it stays open until 1am nightly) and is staffed during the operating hours. Carnival's teen center is open 24 hours a day, but is only staffed a few of those hours.

My daughter is 11. She has been 18 cruises. The Norwegian Getaway is definitely our family favorite. We have been one that ship 3 times and have another one scheduled.

We absolutely loved the Disney Cruise Lines! Extremely clean, pleasant, the most comfortable beds ever, and great food!! All 3 of them, and so far they are my favorite over RCL... Been on the Dream & Fantasy, with plenty of activities for kids and adults.

Our two grandchildren (now in their teens) always enjoy Princess & Celebrity.

They did not like RCCL or NCL.

They've never cruised on Carnival.

Carnival get the children vote in my family but RCCL was a close second.

The number of days on each line is in my signature. D17's favorite cruise line is HAL. S10 and S20's favorite line is Royal Caribbean.

Alas I feel this question is so much based on not only the child themselves, but the staff on the ship, the other children on the ship at the time, and how the kid's program was at the time.

My kids have sailed on Disney, RCCL, Carnival and my youngest (14) will be on NCL soon. Their 2nd cruise was RCCL, and tbh, that is the cruise that my older son, decided he was never going back to a kid's program again. Fast forward 5 cruises later, and he NEVER stepped foot in one...

My younger DS however would rank them as Carnival, Disney, then RCCL. He was okay with RCCL, and would be fine with them now, their kids program was different when we sailed though. It was 12-17 with no age breaks, 2000+ kids on board, and my oldest was.. you guest it, just a few months into being 12.

My mother loves NCL and Princess (never sailed those with my boys though) so hence when I saw a killer deal on NCL I took it. My youngest is happy anywhere, my oldest not as much.

As a parent, I would rank my favorite lines as Carnival, Disney, then RCCL also. It all depends on what you are after though also for your trip and the experience you are looking for.

My kids have been cruising with us since they were 10 months old. They are now 10 and 14. They have been on about 4 + cruises. We have cruised RCCL, CARNIVAL, DISNEY, NCL, PRINCESS. They love all the cruises lines. They especially love RCCL. (We have not sailed on the giant ships like allure of the sea but the "smaller" ships). Overall we all love RCCL. Kids love RCCL

We are about to set sail on NCL in 2 weeks. My kids wouldn't care if we were on a dinghy as long as they are on vacation and missing a few days of school!

My daughter is 12, and has cruised since she was 2. Her favorites are RCCL and Holland America.

RCCL - they are so great because they are very enthusiastic and keep the kids active and get them out of club and out on the ship doing pirate parades, going up to the sports deck to play games, ect.

Holland America - was a pleasant surprise to us -- while their club is open for shorter hours than others, the staff and activities were excellent, and since there were fewer kids than on other lines, the kids received more individual attention.

NCL - She doesn't remember NCL that well because she was only 2 when we sailed with them, but from my point of view the Kid's Club Staff on NCL was the best! They were so enthusiastic and made an apprehensive 2 year old excited about staying and engaging in their activities! We once signed her up for day care on a port day when we had a kayaking shore excursion planned, and were surprised she was the only kid signed up for it. And even more to our surprise, she had the most wonderful time! The counselor was able to keep a 2 year old busy, happy, laughing and playing for the entire day.

Her least favorites, and mine, were Carnival and Princess.

Carnival was simply too crowded, with some out of control, screaming kids.

Princess was a huge disappointment -- we sailed with them following our NCL cruise, and I was expecting the same level of enthusiasm in the kids club staff, but they just seemed burned out. I think they would have benefited from being on a schedule with shorter hours like Holland America. And the kids club room was small, with lots of tables where they spent most of their time sitting around doing art projects and playing table games.

Celebrity - I'm editing this to add Celebrity -- I almost forgot them because they made so little of an impression, so I guess they would rank somewhere in the middle of the ones above.