Mediterranean with teens?

[mokiemokiemokie]

Looking at 2025 we are considering a Mediterranean cruise. Princess has the itinerary that intrigues us the most and we would be on the Sun Princess.  At the time our kids will be 14.

 

Are the teen clubs free?  Can the kids come and go without parents signing them in or out?  Are they well attended or ghost towns?

 

Also, any room advice for a family of 4?  Are we limited to suites?  Mini suites?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

[karatemom2]

1 hour ago, mokiemokiemokie said:

Looking at 2025 we are considering a Mediterranean cruise. Princess has the itinerary that intrigues us the most and we would be on the Sun Princess.  At the time our kids will be 14.

 

Are the teen clubs free?  Can the kids come and go without parents signing them in or out?  Are they well attended or ghost towns?

 

Also, any room advice for a family of 4?  Are we limited to suites?  Mini suites?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

What an amazing trip that will be for your lucky teens! And the Sun Princess appears to be a ship that really offers a lot of amenities for families. 
 

We have been cruising Princess with our kids since they were very young, all through their teen years and into adulthood. We are cruising mostly without them now that they are independent adults and I miss them!

 

The kids clubs on Princess are free - included in the cost if your fare. Teens can come and go from the club as they please during open hours, no need for a parent to sign them in or out. They usually have a lot of fun social activities for the teens and our kids always made friends onboard. If you are traveling during school breaks you can count on plenty of kids onboard so they will not be lonely. 
 

As far as room advice, maybe someone who has been on the Sun will weigh in regarding the rooms. We cruised with our kids in every kind of configuration from all of us in an inside, ocean view, balcony, or mini suite or suite to booking two rooms - either side by side or across the hall. Budget and your own space and privacy requirements may dictate your decision. But we always had a great time even when we were all cozied up together in an inside room. 

[mtnesterz]

1 hour ago, mokiemokiemokie said:

Also, any room advice for a family of 4?  Are we limited to suites?  Mini suites?

Go to the deck plan link. Choose your deck. For guests, select 4. Those cabins for four will be highlighted.

Some interiors have Pullmans. Don't know how it works for suites.

https://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=SU

Edited April 15 by mtnesterz

[reedprincess]

3 hours ago, mokiemokiemokie said:

Looking at 2025 we are considering a Mediterranean cruise. Princess has the itinerary that intrigues us the most and we would be on the Sun Princess.  At the time our kids will be 14.

 

Are the teen clubs free?  Can the kids come and go without parents signing them in or out?  Are they well attended or ghost towns?

 

Also, any room advice for a family of 4?  Are we limited to suites?  Mini suites?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Rooms - Sun Princess is different from the others in that all rooms have a sofa.

Insides, it's a small ottoman, and the 3rd and 4th berths are fold down beds mounted in the walls - definitely not recommended, unless that's all you can afford. It's right. Really tight. They're smaller than oast Princess ships also 

 

Oceanview cabins are essentially the exact same as a Deluxe balcony cabin - just a window instead of a balcony.

 

The third and 4th berths in OV, DB and MS will be the same - flip over sofa single bed and Pullman berth that comes down over it. Ladder does not impede the floor space (much) and doesn't block the balcony (if you're in a D or M). 

The room layout alternates with bed by window or bed by door..  

 

 

[Arizona Wildcat]

Suggest a mini suite if you can do it.  They can have their space and you don't need to be always bumping into each other.

When we had teens - 15, 16, 18; they had their own cabin across the hall.  Usually saw once during the day and mandatory for both off ship and dinner.  Was great.

[reedprincess]

2 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Suggest a mini suite if you can do it.  They can have their space and you don't need to be always bumping into each other.

When we had teens - 15, 16, 18; they had their own cabin across the hall.  Usually saw once during the day and mandatory for both off ship and dinner.  Was great.

Have you seen the minis on Sun?

Unless they get one with the bed by the door, the sofa and bed are right next to each other... No separate space.  

[JordanF]

Our move with our two kids was two rooms.  When we were watching the money, we got two inside cabins.  When we had a little extra, we got a balcony and put the kids in an inside cabin across the hall from us.  Some of these cruises were when our kids were around the same age as your kids will be.  For us, I know we all enjoyed the cruise a little more with separate rooms.

 

Also, even if there are not that many kids on the ship, those that are there will find each other pretty fast.  It's like some sort of superpower they have.  Don't be shocked if they find other kids and then don't spend that much time in the actual kids program.

 

Have a great time!

[john watson]

1 hour ago, JordanF said:

 

 

Also, even if there are not that many kids on the ship, those that are there will find each other pretty fast.  It's like some sort of superpower they have.  Don't be shocked if they find other kids and then don't spend that much time in the actual kids program.

 

Teenagers tend to befriend each other early on.  Once they have buddied up they often just use the teens club as a meeting point then the group goes off about the ship. These days it is possible to track the family and other parties if they consent to this.

 

If you have a four up cabin in my opinion, being fairly close to a public washroom is a good idea because some people tend to hog the shower when you want to use other facilities therein.

 

Regards John

[mokiemokiemokie]

2 hours ago, JordanF said:

Our move with our two kids was two rooms.  When we were watching the money, we got two inside cabins.  When we had a little extra, we got a balcony and put the kids in an inside cabin across the hall from us.  Some of these cruises were when our kids were around the same age as your kids will be.  For us, I know we all enjoyed the cruise a little more with separate rooms.

 

Also, even if there are not that many kids on the ship, those that are there will find each other pretty fast.  It's like some sort of superpower they have.  Don't be shocked if they find other kids and then don't spend that much time in the actual kids program.

 

Have a great time!

I love the idea of putting them in an interior room. Thanks for sharing this!

[Over from NZ]

10 hours ago, mokiemokiemokie said:

Are the teen clubs free?  Can the kids come and go without parents signing them in or out?  Are they well attended or ghost towns?

 

We didn't take our teen when we did the Med (twice). However they were "ghost towns". Almost no kids/teens on the ship at all (May/June both times). I even took a pic to show him that he probably wouldn't have enjoyed it like he enjoyed the South Pacific cruises over holiday periods. 

[NavyVeteran]

 

11 hours ago, mokiemokiemokie said:

At the time our kids will be 14.

Also, any room advice for a family of 4?  Are we limited to suites?  Mini suites?

 

3 hours ago, mokiemokiemokie said:

I love the idea of putting them in an interior room. Thanks for sharing this!

Booking an interior room across the hall is a great idea. However, there are a few problems you will need to handle.

Look at the Princess FAQ on Cruising with Family & Kids. Under "Preparing for Your Cruise", it lists minimum ages. The minimum age for them to book them in their own cabin would be 16, so you would have to book one parent and one teen in each cabin. This isn't a big problem, since you can have your medallions programmed at Guest Services to open both cabins, and they don't care where you sleep - just where you're booked.

If you want to purchase Plus or Premier for the two adults but not for the two teens, you could have a problem, since the two people in each cabin (one parent and one teen) would have to have the same package. If you book all four in one cabin, then only the first two have to have the package. Even though they won't be drinking any alcohol, you may want to consider the Plus fare for the teens if they will be using Internet and drinking sodas and mocktails as well as paying the gratuities. There are several threads covering the costs and benefits of Plus.

[Seemecruise]

Cruised 7days in balcony with 4 adults. It’s certainly doable if cost is issue. Of course having two rooms is better for space but I would never not cruise if only choice was 4 in room. You are rarely in room all together.