RC vs Princess with 5 and 7 yr old questions!

[flashy09]

Please help!  We have done 3 Disney cruises and now looking to try Princess  (Caribbean Princess) or RC Liberty of the Seas for a 7 night western caribbean cruise.  Is there enough to do for that age group on Princess?  What are the height restrictions for the slides and activities on RC - neither child is 48 inches.  

 

Are the interior rooms similar?  That is all that is left on both!

 

Are the kids clubs similar?

 

Any help is appreciated!  Thank you! 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

We have been on both, and no, Caribbean Princess doesn't have anything for kids that age. There was a jungle gym playground that I saw pictures of beforehand, but when we showed up to use it, it turned out it was for 8-12 yo group. I know CP got spruced up in dry dock after our sailing, but Princess ships in general don't offer much in terms of family or kid activities. That's why we are going back on RCI in 3 weeks. But Princess offers better food, that's why we are sailing on it after RCI.

 

Liberty is much better for kids. IMHO. Even though when we sailed it, it didn't even have slides. The rules below appear to relate only to the adult/older kid slides Typhoon and Cyclone in Perfect storm. I didn't find anything about the kiddy slide.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/liberty-of-the-seas-389/

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/caribbean-princess-303/

 

P.S. Our 8 yo does not do kid's club, so we are always looking for fun family activities on ships for sea days.

 

 

Edited March 8, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[kitkat343]

I haven't sailed both lines.  Older princess ships don't have a lot for younger kids (we've sailed Coral twice).  Their kids clubs are excellent, so our children are happy to spend all day with us when the ships are in port and all their free time at the kids club when we are at sea, so the lack of amenities on older Princess ships isn't a dealbreaker for my family (it might be if you want to spend more time together on the ship).  We also tend to sail cruises with only one or two sea days, so leaving our child in the kids club all the time might be more of an issue on a sailing with more sea days, or two in a row.

 

Royal caribbean's kids club hours are more restrictive than Princess (Princess kids clubs close for one hour at lunch and dinner, Royal for two for both).  We haven't sailed RC, but found this to be  a bit difficult to manage on NCL, because with kids you want to eat early, and its frustrating if your kid has hit their limit and the kids club isn't open.  Thankfully, Royal Caribbean has solved this issue with Family time dining, in which you start eating dinner with your child, and 40 minutes into the meal the kids club staff comes and picks up the children and take them to the kids club. https://www.royalcaribbean.ae/my-family-time-dining/ 

[cb at sea]

You will find the cabins to be smaller than you're used to on Disney, as well.  Check the deck plans for sq. footage and compare to what you had on your Disney ships....remember the stated size of the cabin INCLUDES the bathroom space!

[Essiesmom]

Caribbean Princess (CB, not CP.  CP is Sea Princess) does not have sofas in the cabins until you get to mini-suite or suite.  Therefore the 3/4 guests sleep in upper bunks.  Even then the fold out sofa is for one and the 4th gets an upper.  In inside and OV cabins, the bunks hang on the side walls.  EM