Kids to Canada...? Am I crazy?!?

[njdevil08]

So...I just booked a cruise leaving in August on the Caribbean Princess leaving from NYC. We wanted to have a bit of a change of pace after sailing RCI in the Caribbean, but now I'm a little nervous. We've read that there aren't that many kids on Princess compared to RCI, and I'm starting to get nervous. Will my kids be ok? To be sure, they're teenagers and pre-teens, so it's not like they need a ton of stuff to do, just maybe at least SOME kids their age and some activities. Can anyone speak from personal experience? My main concern is they'll be going from teenage paradise (Freedom of the Seas) to a ship I've heard doesn't attract too many families.

 

Thanks in advance!

[PatriciaF]

We sailed HAL from Montreal to NYC the last week of August/first week of September with my DD who was 15 at the time. There weren't too many kids on board, but there were plenty for her to hangout with--mostly Californians like us as school used to start the week after Labor Day then.

 

so--if HAL worked for us, I am sure the much younger Princess will work for you.

[Mindy1]

If you are going Aug. 7 there is a roll call with lots of kids listed. We were taking our 18 and 14 grandaughters but oldest is having a cyst removed from her brain in July. So taking her out of the county that soon after is a risk. So check the roll calls for your date.

[scottsgal]

We love Princess for adult cruises but my 2 teens (who were 17 & 13 at the time) were very bored on Caribbean Princess over Thanksgiving 2 years ago and there were families and kids their ages but they didn't care for the activities at all. They've cruise 12+ times and Princess was their least favorite cruise. When they sail with us we do RCI or Carnival, when it's just hubby and I we prefer Princess.

[DonnaK]

We did this trip on the Caribbean Princess the last week of August with our teens - like you, we had previously been loyal to RCI but wanted to do something different. This was a very geriatric cruise, and there were very few teens onboard. In fact, the teen club was usually empty whenever my kids went there.

 

Having said that, my kids were very happy just hanging out with each other, and with us. This is a very port intensive cruise, with only the one sea day, so there really wasn't a lot of down time for them. We woke up early, toured the port, came back in time to get ready for dinner, went to the evening show together, and by then, we were too exhausted for more activity.

 

So, your kids will be OK!

[Cruisin' Chick]

There's probably a major difference between the first week of August and the last week. So the quantity of kids would depend on that. On your suggested itinerary, there's probably also a difference if there's a high percentage of East Coasters as school seems to start back up in mid-August.

 

On cruises with a high percentage of West Coasters, not so much as some schools don't start up again until right after Labor Day.

[DonnaK]

Most east Coasters go back to school after Labor Day, just like in California. That's why we were surprised that so few kids were aboard. Most of the areas surrounding the embarkation port was still on summer school holidays.

 

But, like I said, despite it being a geriatric cruise, my kids still had a great time!! They loved the ports, and they found enough fun things to do to keep themselves busy.