Epic -- Good for Teens?

[thurgood]

Last year, my family -- wife, 14 year-old son, 12 year-old daughter, and I -- sailed on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas. My kids loved the teen/tween programming, activities, and facilities. I really had the sense that RCCL knew how to help teens/tweens enjoy themselves. Does anyone have experience with the teen/tween programs on Epic? We are trying to choose between Epic and Oasis of the Seas, and it would be very helpful to hear whether others' teens/tweens have enjoyed Epic, and, if they did enjoy it, what specific features/activities they liked most. Thank you.

[sdmike]

in July my boys were 15 and 13, and they loved the Epic. I gave them each a $5 per day allowance and specific times and places to meet us to check in, have dinner, etc., but they really enjoyed being able to do what they wanted. My older son spent most of his free time in the teen club playing PS3 games and talking with new friends. When he wasn't there he would be reading at the room (he's pretty quiet), or maybe playing games in the arcade. He was generally in bed by 11pm because he's a morning person.

 

My 13 year old did a lot of the same and more. He would hang out with his brother and play tournament games, but he would frequently go off and do other things, like play in a pick-up basketball game on the sports deck, go to the pool with friends (or even take his 10yo sister there), hit the slides, go have a meal (potstickers at Noodle Bar was his favorite), and he usually got permission to go back out after dinner. There were several nights that we let him stay out until curfew (1am), and he really enjoyed it. In fact, he prided himself on getting to bed late and up early so he could start his day and didn't miss anything. :)

 

Just so nobody thinks my kids were running amok, we kept close tabs on them and explained if we saw or heard of any disruptive behavior they would be attached to mom and dad the rest of the trip. We would spot check them at the teen's club and ask if they were being good, and we made sure they had meals and attended shows with us. They often would go places with their cousins that were on the trip too, but they were generally into different stuff.

 

Here are my boys at the end of the Blue Man performance. The

quiet one is in the back. Think they are having fun? :)

 

[chris209]

We just came back from spring break on the Epic with my 16 yr old daughter. She had a good time with us but the teen club was not good the week we were there. Age range was 13-17 and a lot of the kids were younger. Often there was no one at the teen club (they can come and go as they please) and the activities were often changed or cancelled with no notice (she showed up for a deck party at 10:00 as listed but it started at 11 and then ended at 12 instaead of 1 am as listed! Also we could watch as our balcony overlooked the pool deck and the counsellors really did nothing to engage all the kids- just turned on the music and everyone stood around- some danced and many left) Seemed like most teens on board did not use the teen club. She thought RCCL did a much better job. Although some of it is luck of the draw depending on the kids on board that week. Seemed like lots of things to do for younger age groups though

[MiamiSpartan]

Frankly, there is so much to do on the ship with the water slides, etc, i'm not surprised to hear the teen club wasn't very busy....

We had a lot of teens on our trip in January, and they all seemed to be having a great time....

[nathand95]

I'm 15 and leave on the Epic on Saturday. I will be sure to report back on how the teen club is. In my past experiences though my friends and I never used the teen club regardless of whatever line it was on.

One thing we've done on our roll call is to set up a Facebook page so we could get to know each other before the cruise.

[tripgrl]

We were recently on the Epic (Mar 12-19) and my teens, age 14 and 16, didn't use the teen club much. They enjoyed the program on other ships much more than the Epic. In fairness though, we were part of a large group, which included lots of other children, and there was so much to do on the ship.