Xmas/New Year cruise with teenager

[DJ1701]

Hi,

 

I am thinking of booking a cruise for the first time. 

Just wondered if anyone had experience of booking a cruise over Xmas/new year with a teenager. I have had a look and there are some with princess/celebrity/TUI and Norwegian. The problem is in searching the ships they all seem to be the older ships. So don’t know if it will be great. Also really need things to keep my 13 year old entertained. Anyone have any experience please or advice. It would be really appreciated.

 

Thanks

Deb

[leaveitallbehind]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  Where are you planning to cruise?  If older ships are a concern and if you are looking at the Caribbean for example, you may want to look at RCI as they are geared towards families with a lot of on board activities that will occupy your 13 year old and feature several itineraries with several of their newer and larger ships. 

 

Celebrity will be more adult focused and TUI will have a German-focused cruising style.  Princess and Norwegian would be similar to RCI in style. 

 

Most cruise lines are decorated over the Holidays and will have many families on board during that time.  But, as asked previously, a lot depends on where you are looking to base your cruise.

Edited January 16, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[DJ1701]

Thank you, we are looking at a Caribbean cruise that keeps my daughter happy with plenty of options for her. My husband and I are very easy going so looking for decent food and drink. Thank you for your help.

[navybankerteacher]

42 minutes ago, DJ1701 said:

Thank you, we are looking at a Caribbean cruise that keeps my daughter happy with plenty of options for her. My husband and I are very easy going so looking for decent food and drink. Thank you for your help.

 

I think you will find that both Princess and Celebrity will provide the “decent food and drink” you adults want -  and that virtually all lines will have activities a teenager will enjoy - but something like Royal Caribbean might provide the most activities.  While it is good to be concerned with the teenager’s activity, you should not ignore your own interests.

[DJ1701]

Thank you for all your help. One more question please if you don’t mind? What is Norwegian Gem like?

 

thanks again

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, DJ1701 said:

Thank you for all your help. One more question please if you don’t mind? What is Norwegian Gem like?

 

thanks again

 

We sailed Norwegian Gem from NY to the Caribbean - a decent itinerary, on a reasonable (about 2400 pax) sized ship - probably a dozen years old  and showing some wear, but generally well maintained,

 

She was the most crowded ship I’ve sailed - public spaces were limited.  The food and service in the MDR were very poor-  part of NCL’s bargain pricing - sell cheap and make it up on add-ons.  If we ever sail NCL again, we will have to opt for specialty dining.  

 

If if you want to sail NCL, at least book one of their larger, newer ships with more bells and whistles.  Alternatively, think about Royal Caribbean - they serve the same markets - perhaps not as inexpensive, but much better value for money spent.

[DJ1701]

Thank you for all your help. You have given great information and I really appreciate it.

 

thank you

[jocap]

Seeing as you're from Derby, and wanting the Caribbean for your first ever cruise, it might be best to go with one of the UK managed ships, because they charter their own aeroplanes, so you're looked after from check in till check out. Marella (TUI, used to be Thomson) and P&O both do this sort of cruise, where you land at one island and are taken to the ship, with your luggage following. 

On most cruises, you have to leave the ship at around 9.30am, but with the charter planes you can stay on board until your plane is arriving with the next group of cruisers.

I'm not sure which ship Marella is using next winter; there should be flights from either East Midlands or Doncaster.

P&O uses 2 very large, family friendly ships, Azura and Britannia, and flies from MAN, possibly Birmingham.

Just a thought! 🙂

[mjkacmom]

4 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

 

We sailed Norwegian Gem from NY to the Caribbean - a decent itinerary, on a reasonable (about 2400 pax) sized ship - probably a dozen years old  and showing some wear, but generally well maintained,

 

She was the most crowded ship I’ve sailed - public spaces were limited.  The food and service in the MDR were very poor-  part of NCL’s bargain pricing - sell cheap and make it up on add-ons.  If we ever sail NCL again, we will have to opt for specialty dining.  

 

If if you want to sail NCL, at least book one of their larger, newer ships with more bells and whistles.  Alternatively, think about Royal Caribbean - they serve the same markets - perhaps not as inexpensive, but much better value for money spent.

The Gem is my favorite NCL ship, food was fine and definitely less crowded than the Breakaway. Spent a lot of time at The Great Outdoors and Spinnakers Lounge, very easy to find seating in La Cucina for the buffet. Family of 7, never made MDR reservations, never had a wait. On all cruises, we get loungers above the pool deck.

[Essiesmom]

The Marella ships sailing from Barbados in Dec. 2019 are Marella Explorer 2 and Marella Celebration.  EM

[zqvol]

My experience with keeping my kids busy when they were that age is that they always managed to find plenty to do without any parental involvement. The real key is how long of a leash will a parent give a child.

[DJ1701]

Thank you for all your help. After all the research I am thinking Caribbean Princess. Good itinerary for us and looks good reviews. Not booked yet as just holding off until I find out more about things to do for my daughter. 

 

Thanks for all your help.

[DJ1701]

Or MSC seaside?

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, DJ1701 said:

Or MSC seaside?

Coming from the UK it makes sense to fly to Florida rather than New York (unless you want to incorporate a few days seeing the city) - a December sailing from NY may mean a couple of chilly days each way, while a Miami or Fort Lauderdale sailing will be in good cruising weather throughout.

 

That said, I think Princess is the one for you:  their itinerary includes great southern Caribbean islands of Curacao and Aruba while MSC's is a back-to-back : returning to Florida for a day halfway through - and their western Caribbean ports do not (in my view) measure up to eastern and southern. I have sailed Princess and found their food, entertainment and service good.  I am not familiar with MSC, but  have heard that it caters more to non-English speakers (nothing wrong with that - other than the multiplicity of multi-lingual announcements which I have heard are annoying).

[SuiteTraveler]

I would recommend that you look at any of the RCCL Oasis class ships.  They. have a ton of stuff to keep a 13 year old entertained plus lots for adults as well.  Their kid clubs are awesome.  It would be an excellent experience for the whole family. 

 

Celebrity will have some kids onboard, but kids are more of an afterthought on Celebrity.  Princess has kids clubs but nothing like the family oriented RCCL ships.  In terms of entertainment offerings and things to do, you really cannot beat RCCL for a family cruise.

[CruisingAlong4Now]

Fastest way to ruin parent's vacation is for a teenager to utter "I'm bored."  Why is that?