Princess Kids clubs

[Jenjer]

DH and I cruised Princess 10 years ago but since then its been Disney and now we are trying Royal with the kids, next month.

 

To keep me from my post cruise depression (PCD if you may) I want to have another one planned ;)

 

I found that Princess has a cruise that leaves FL, not San Juan for Auruba, having never been that sounds great and would love to see some new ports. We have saild both Easter and Western mulitable times.

 

My biggest concern is the Kids clubs, since the last time we sailed Princess it was a more mature cruise, not many kids period. So I was wondering how your kids feel about the kids clubs? Mine will be 8 and 10 next year. Is there any entertainment for kids on Princess at all?

 

We don't need charicters but they want something more that a room to play video games :).

 

Thanks for your advice

[roe2ship]

Your kids are still young so I think they will enjoy Princess....the older they get....tweens and teens they find the clubs to be boring/lame.

 

Here is a link to give you a general idea about the activities/schedules for the chilidren's club.

 

http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb196/cruisinmama06/Princess%20Patters/

[Toto2Kansas]

DH and I cruised Princess 10 years ago but since then its been Disney and now we are trying Royal with the kids, next month.

 

To keep me from my post cruise depression (PCD if you may) I want to have another one planned ;)

 

I found that Princess has a cruise that leaves FL, not San Juan for Auruba, having never been that sounds great and would love to see some new ports. We have saild both Easter and Western mulitable times.

 

My biggest concern is the Kids clubs, since the last time we sailed Princess it was a more mature cruise, not many kids period. So I was wondering how your kids feel about the kids clubs? Mine will be 8 and 10 next year. Is there any entertainment for kids on Princess at all?

 

We don't need charicters but they want something more that a room to play video games :).

 

Thanks for your advice

 

Some of the answers depend on what month you will cruise. If during breaks from school, there will be lots of other kids onboard and lots of activities in the kids club. If you plan to sail on a non holiday or non summer cruise, then the number of kids could be very small, therefore not as many other kids to interact with in the kids club.

[momto3gr8boys]

We cruised Princess to Alaska two years ago. My kids were 8, 11 and 13 at the time. My 8 and 11 year olds loved the kid's club. Some of the activities were very centered around our destination (which I thought was wonderful and added a bit of an educational experience for them) and others were just fun. They would have spent more time there if it was available. The major difference I noticed between Princess and Disney is that on Disney the club was open all day...on Princess the hours were more limited.

[mic123]

We were on the Ruby over Spring break. My daughter is 7 and we could not keep her out of the kids club. She got to the point where she had us take her to the buffet for dinner when they were closed from 5 - 6 so she would not miss anything. Then My Mom and I would go to the dining room later on our own.

We took her on the Disney Magic last year (her first cruise), and were nervous about having her compare the two and being disappointed. Well, she enjoyed the Ruby so much, and told my Mother that she like it a little bit better than Disney...go figure. Next year she wants to do Princess again.

I have to say though, my daughter is not shy and really likes to get in there and bond with the counselors. They all knew her by name and would recognize her around the ship and say hello to her. She loved the attention. She always wanted to be in the after hours baby-sitting as well, even though she was the only kid there at times.

Can't say enough how great the kids program is. She ended the week with a bag full of projects, arts and crafts, etc. She does not play video games, and there was always something for her to do. They will also play board games with them. She gave it an A+!

[Jenjer]

Thats great to hear Mic123. My DS is the outgoing one, my dd not as much but she loves crafts and games.

 

Do they have kid club when the ship is at Princess Cay? is it onboard or on island?

[mic123]

The club is open every day 9-12, 1-5, 6-10, and then late night from 10-1 for $5/hr. They also offer port sitting that was free, but we always took DD with us in port. The had a play area on Princess Cays similar to Disney's, but they ask that you come back to check on them every half hour or so in case they are hungry or want to go since the pagers don't work there. Mine loved it there. It was completely shaded with a huge sand area and jungle gym. They also had a small pool, but the parent has to stay if they want to go in it. Mine did not. It was very small and shallow. More for much smaller kids.

DD wanted to stay in the play area, so we kept checking, and then took her for the BBQ lunch.

Was nice to not have her baking in the sun all afternoon. Great option.

Let me know if there is anything else you want to know!

[Cruisin' Chick]

I noticed you are going on the Royal. Maybe someone who's been on that ship could speak to whether they actually have a kids' area. Some of the smaller ships don't.

 

If you were going on a sun class or bigger and at a time when there are many kids onboard (when school is out), then it shouldn't be a problem having a full fledged program.

[caribill]

I noticed you are going on the Royal.

 

OP will not be on the Royal Princess which is leaving the fleet about May 2.

 

Maybe OP meant trying Royal Caribbean or meant to name a different Princess ship.

[Jenjer]

OP will not be on the Royal Princess which is leaving the fleet about May 2.

 

Maybe OP meant trying Royal Caribbean or meant to name a different Princess ship.

 

Right we are going on The Freedom of the Seas in May of this year but I am looking into doing a Princess cruise next year in March or April. Unlike lots of other lucky people on here we only do 1 cruise a year...unless we get those loto numbers.

 

I think its the Crown Princess or Grand Princess. I loved the idea of going to Aruba and Curacao having never been and we don't want to have to fly all the way to San Juan.

[mycruz]

Hi Jenn, we were on the same sailing as Mic and had the exact same experience. My grand kids, 6 and 8 absouletly loved the Princess Kids Clubs. I only had Disney to compare them too and I was very pleased with their programs. Ours too begged to go, in fact the 8 yo stayed on board at the club while we went into port in St. Thomas. When we came back I went to check on him and he didn't want to leave. While in port they are open all day, no need to check them out for lunch. Also on formal nights, they keep the children through the 5-6 hour and take them to the Horizon Court for dinner. As one mentioned, I think the time of year is important. We were sailing in March which is spring break time so there were lots of kids. On longer cruises we've taken during the school year you can count the kids on the ship on one hand practically.

[hubofhockey]

We don't need charicters but they want something more that a room to play video games :).

 

Thanks for your advice

 

Not much more than video games or dvd movies in the kids clubs, especially during the day. If you're looking for more, RCI, Carnival, and Disney are probably better options. At that age, mine weren't crazy about the Princess kids clubs. Now, as they enter their tween and teen years, they are more interested in the newer RCI ships or Carnival.

[mariners]

We recently came home from the 10 day Star southern Caribbean. We had a 7 year old in the Princess Pelicans and a 12 year old in Shockwaves. Your children would both be in Shockwaves. The programs were absolutely fabulous. When we boarded the ship, there was a welcoming letter and calendar of events for the whole cruise in our cabin. There was an open house held the same afternoon so that children could be signed up and get to meet the staff. Parents/guardians may choose to allow their child to sign in and out of the club otherwise an authorized person over 16 must sign them in and out. You have to provide them with photo ID which, if you want, can be photocopied by them so that you do not have to carry it with you each time. On sea days the hours were 9 - 12; 1 - 5; and 6 - 10. On port days, the hours were 8 - 5; and 6 - 10. On formal nights, there was an option of the children eating dinner with the group. As we did not use this option, I don't have information that I can give you. On the first evening, they have "Ice Breakers" and a choice of movie. Activities included: T-shirt graffiti where they supplied the T-shirt, ice cream parties, ps2 and 3, games/board games, dance parties, arts and crafts, contests, karaoke, movies, and different themes every evening.

We had the same experience as mic123 on Princess Cays.

The program totally exceeded my expectations and it would be the factor that would have us book a Princess cruise if we were to take our grandchildren on another cruise.

[berlingo]

We were on the Grand Princess last year. This was in school time and to Scandinavia so not overly child friendly destinations. We were nervous that our two girls aged 12 and 16 years may not have many companions of their own age aboard and therefore may not want to use the children clubs.

 

As it was there were not hundreds of youngsters aboard but that seemed to make it easier to make friends. They found the facilities great and rate it as their best cruise so far.

 

I do think that there is no reason why older children should ever get bored on ship. For me the trick seems to be to make sure they go to the children's club welcome meeting-even if I have to drag them there! They then get to meet others before any tight "cliques" form which can make it difficult to join in later.

 

Happy cruising.

[mic123]

Not much more than video games or dvd movies in the kids clubs, especially during the day. If you're looking for more, RCI, Carnival, and Disney are probably better options. At that age, mine weren't crazy about the Princess kids clubs. Now, as they enter their tween and teen years, they are more interested in the newer RCI ships or Carnival.

 

I respectfully disagree. My 7 year old daughter does not like video games and never once played them in the club the entire week. She was always doing arts & crafts, playing board games, playing on the jungle gym or something like that. They also played freeze dance and those type of games.

As I said in my post above, she even preferred the club to Disneys, although she loved theirs as well.

Now, they did have the computers for those that enjoy using them, but by no means was that their only option.

They also had a pajama party on the final night that she said was a lot of fun.

[mic123]

For me the trick seems to be to make sure they go to the children's club welcome meeting-even if I have to drag them there! They then get to meet others before any tight "cliques" form which can make it difficult to join in later.

 

I totally agree. Going to the meet and greet on the first day is important.

[Mapu]

We recently came home from the 10 day Star southern Caribbean. We had a 7 year old in the Princess Pelicans and a 12 year old in Shockwaves. Your children would both be in Shockwaves. The programs were absolutely fabulous. When we boarded the ship, there was a welcoming letter and calendar of events for the whole cruise in our cabin. There was an open house held the same afternoon so that children could be signed up and get to meet the staff. Parents/guardians may choose to allow their child to sign in and out of the club otherwise an authorized person over 16 must sign them in and out. You have to provide them with photo ID which, if you want, can be photocopied by them so that you do not have to carry it with you each time. On sea days the hours were 9 - 12; 1 - 5; and 6 - 10. On port days, the hours were 8 - 5; and 6 - 10. On formal nights, there was an option of the children eating dinner with the group. As we did not use this option, I don't have information that I can give you. On the first evening, they have "Ice Breakers" and a choice of movie. Activities included: T-shirt graffiti where they supplied the T-shirt, ice cream parties, ps2 and 3, games/board games, dance parties, arts and crafts, contests, karaoke, movies, and different themes every evening.

We had the same experience as mic123 on Princess Cays.

The program totally exceeded my expectations and it would be the factor that would have us book a Princess cruise if we were to take our grandchildren on another cruise.

This was the experience that my grandchildren 3 1/2 and 7 1/2 had on the Crown Princess. My son and daughter-in-law were very impressed with the program and my grandchildren had a ball. My son's main concern was that the size of the ship would be overwhelming. They had an aft mini-suite which provided easy access to the club, as well as any other place they wanted to go.

[Aubs-Travel]

We were on Ruby last week.

 

Our girls are 8 & 12. They enjoyed the kids club, and they wanted to be there even more than time allowed. The liked the tshirt making, and the other crafts a lot (shark necklace got a lot of talk too).

 

Frankly, nothing compares to Disney (imo) but my girls are easy and they had plenty of fun on Princess.

 

I hope you guys have a great time on your cruise(s).

[Cruisin' Chick]

Right we are going on The Freedom of the Seas in May of this year but I am looking into doing a Princess cruise next year in March or April. Unlike lots of other lucky people on here we only do 1 cruise a year...unless we get those loto numbers.

 

I think its the Crown Princess or Grand Princess. I loved the idea of going to Aruba and Curacao having never been and we don't want to have to fly all the way to San Juan.

 

Oops, saw "Royal" and thought she was talking about that Princess ship.

 

There should be plenty of kids if you go during spring break.

 

Not much more than video games or dvd movies in the kids clubs, especially during the day. If you're looking for more, RCI, Carnival, and Disney are probably better options. At that age, mine weren't crazy about the Princess kids clubs. Now, as they enter their tween and teen years, they are more interested in the newer RCI ships or Carnival.

 

Not true at all. Unless one goes when school is in session and there's few kids on board, there should be a full program of activities. I don't have a recent Shockwaves program, but I scanned in the Remix pages into my travel blog.

[kclcruise]

We were on the Ruby over Spring break. My daughter is 7 and we could not keep her out of the kids club. She got to the point where she had us take her to the buffet for dinner when they were closed from 5 - 6 so she would not miss anything. Then My Mom and I would go to the dining room later on our own.

We took her on the Disney Magic last year (her first cruise), and were nervous about having her compare the two and being disappointed. Well, she enjoyed the Ruby so much, and told my Mother that she like it a little bit better than Disney...go figure. Next year she wants to do Princess again.

I have to say though, my daughter is not shy and really likes to get in there and bond with the counselors. They all knew her by name and would recognize her around the ship and say hello to her. She loved the attention. She always wanted to be in the after hours baby-sitting as well, even though she was the only kid there at times.

Can't say enough how great the kids program is. She ended the week with a bag full of projects, arts and crafts, etc. She does not play video games, and there was always something for her to do. They will also play board games with them. She gave it an A+!

 

 

This is great to hear we are sailing the ruby next spring break with a very crafty, Non-video game girl. ( and her video game playing brother) :D