Kids and Teens on CB...

[MamaTried]

I'm now having anxiety about our cruise...I'm reading things that make me think maybe I should have booked Carnival or RC for their kids and teen programs. :confused:

 

Have any of you taken your kids on Princess before and what were your experiences like? Yes I know it's not all about them but it's our first family cruise and I really want them to enjoy themselves.

 

I'm probably way over-thinking this. :rolleyes:

[Cruisin' Chick]

My girl's been on Carnival at 23 months, 3 years and 4 years and then Princess at 5, 7 and 8 years. She really likes both programs. What exactly are your misgivings and what have you heard?

 

Here's some things I can tell you about the Princess program:

1. when you first get to your cabin, there will be a packet of info for your child based on which age group. Not sure if there's separate packets if you have two kids in the same group. This packet is a day-by-day listing of the activities.

 

2. there will be a mandatory registration/orientation on the first night in the fun zone.

 

3. you can decide if your kids over 8 can sign themselves in/out. We decided we would sign our 8-yr-old in/out.

 

4. if you're going during the school year, there will probably be less kids and less activities. If you go during the summer, or during winter or spring break, there will be plenty of kids and plenty of things for them to do. Additionally, Princess has a partnership with the California Science Center, which provides science-oriented activities and crafts, usually based on the itinerary (on our Alaskan cruise, the kids built models of glaciers and the solar system; on our Hawaiian cruise, they dissected squid).

 

5. there's free group kidsitting on Princess on port days, but there are some hours the kids' area is closed so the counselors can eat, so you may take that into consideration if booking excursions without the kids. After 10pm, the kidsitting is pretty reasonable. But usually the older kids won't want to stay there after 10 as they will be "stuck" with hanging out with the much younger ones, watching movies, playing PSII, etc.

 

6. at least once during the cruise, there will be a kids' dinner in the Horizon Court. One side gets closed down with a "private party" sign. You drop the kids off. After the dinner, the kids are escorted to the kids area for the evening activities.

[marinearchit]

I'm 14 and went on the DB with my family.

The Teen Center was great.

I had alot of fun. And we are definately cruising Princess again.

[colin+karen]

Morning everyone,

 

I'll be on the CB from june 24th on a BTB with my 2 daughters (14 & 16) just curious as to how many kids are likely to be on the ship, will the American kids have broken from school for the summer by that time?? :confused:

 

I expect this is the main decider in how many will be on board - also what is the weather like at that time of year:cool: .

 

Thanks

Colin

[mumeof3]

my kids are done school the 15th I think,so I think most US schools will be done by the 24th...we cruise in November with our kids so hopefully there wont be too many kids...

[Cruisin' Chick]

I know our school district goes through late June. But many others finish up before that.

[marinearchit]

In my area where I live the schools get out within the first 3 weeks of June.

The private schools get out within the 1st week of school. The public school get out within the 2nd week of school. And I think there is like 1 or 2 schools who get out in the 3rd week of June.

 

So colin+karen,

There should ba a good amount of kids and teens onboard.

[Joe Pflanz]

I am booked the week prior to that and we expect a goodly amount of the young-uns on board. Typically you can tell the point where Princess expects families to join by the pricing structure. Prices are lower for June 10th, goes up for the 17th , and stays pretty flat for the rest of the summer. Prior to that there is significant difference , except for holiday cruises.

[melmarine]

Got off CB on March 25,2007. My kids 12 and 15 loved it so much that we rebooked for Nov 25. We've been on lots of cruises so when we book a new one, we try to balance the kids and our own needs. The CB did such a good job of keeping all of us happy that we knew we just had to sail her again. Please feel free to ask me any questions and I'll try to answer them for you.

Mel!

[cbpanda]

Morning everyone,

 

I'll be on the CB from june 24th on a BTB with my 2 daughters (14 & 16) just curious as to how many kids are likely to be on the ship, will the American kids have broken from school for the summer by that time?? :confused:

 

I expect this is the main decider in how many will be on board - also what is the weather like at that time of year:cool: .

 

Thanks

Colin

 

We cruised last year June 24-30 on the CB. Our 13 year old son (at the time) loved the teen center and all the activities that were sponsored. There were lots of kids on the ship during those dates (our schools in Maryland let out mid June). He had no problems making friends.

 

So much so, that he is anxiously awaiting our trip this year on the CB again.