Princess or RCI for 11 and 14 year old kids?

[cawhite]

Hi everyone,

 

Can anyone, who has been on both Princess and Royal Caribbean, compare the kids programs please?

 

Our family of 4 is currently booked on a 5 day RCI Enchantment of the Seas cruise next Spring Break. The EOTS is currently in dry dock being stretched and refurbished, and they're adding a "splash zone" water park area and a bungee trampoline area, among other things. We plan to spend 2 days in Ft. Lauderdale pre-cruise (it was quite a bit less expensive to cruise 5 days on RCI and vacation 2 days in Florida than to cruise 7 days on one of the RCI Voyager class ships).

 

I still wonder if we should book with Princess (the Star Princess or the Caribbean Princess) instead. The 7 day cruises on Princess seem more affordable than the 7 day cruises on RCI.

 

But I want to chose the cruise the kids will like best. The majority of people tell me RCI is better for kids. But maybe that's just on the Voyager class ships (which we're not going on). Can anyone convince me that Princess is better for 11 and 14 year old kids?

 

Thank you so much!

[cawhite]

Sorry for the double post! The first time I hit "submit" the message title was there, but no message. Not sure why that happened!

[margu1241]

I don't know if either is "better" for kids your ages. We have been on RCCL Voyager of the Seas (when kids were 11 and 13), and Diamond Princess this spring with our kids. My 16 year old liked the activities better on Voyager, but had a great time on Princess as well. My son had more fun on Voyager, but we were cruising with other friends with kids his age. She thinks it has to do with the mix of kids on the ship, not the ship itself. That said, the modifications to the Enchantment would be appealing to both of my kids (now 13 and 16). I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

Patty

[cawhite]

Thanks margu1241... I know what you mean about the mix of kids. This past spring break on our cruise my oldest (DD) had such a great time... but it was mostly because of the friends she met. My youngest (DS) says his favorite thing was the soft ice cream 24 hours per day!!

[ratherBcruzin]

It depends a lot on the kids (and their attitude) not the ship/line/program. Since you are booked, it is probably too late, but it might be easier to go out of Galveston/Houton or New Orleans instead of Ft. Lauderdale if you are coming from California.

[cawhite]

ratherBCruzin -

 

I do agree N.O. or Galveston would be easier! We cruised out of New Orleans this past April so we thought we'd try something different. The kids have never been to Florida or Texas, but we thought they might enjoy Florida a little more for a day or two pre-cruise??

 

Also, many of the cruises from Galveston and N.O. to go Costa Maya / Progresso / Calica, etc. and we didn't want to visit that area this time around (we don't mind hitting Cozumel again, however, because of the great diving / snorkeling).

 

I guess the Rhapsody of the Seas, out of Galveston, is an option. Maybe I'll check that out! It does the same ports as our current booking, except with Grand Cayman instead of Belize.

 

I wonder if airfare will be significantly less from CA to Houston / Galveston?

 

My kids are looking forward to the newly stretched / refurb'd Enchantment of the Seas with it's Splash Zone water park area... but I'll check out some reviews of Rhapsody of the Seas...

 

Thanks!

[alwalaska]

Thanks margu1241... I know what you mean about the mix of kids. This past spring break on our cruise my oldest (DD) had such a great time... but it was mostly because of the friends she met. My youngest (DS) says his favorite thing was the soft ice cream 24 hours per day!!

 

There is no free 24 hour ice cream on Princess. From what I understand there are a few hours of free ice cream at the buffet in the afternoon and ice cream sundaes as an option in the dining rooms for dessert.

:eek:

 

Good luck. I have heard good things about both cruise lines. This will be our first Princess cruise. My kids were a little bummed about the ice cream, but there is pizza so my son is still happy.

[cawhite]

thanks alwalaska - I actually hear Princess ice cream in the afternoon is made right there on the ship? Yumm...

 

We're hoping to take Sapphire Princess to the Mexican Riviera in the not too distant future... at least we won't have to fly anywhere for that cruise!

[bubbadog]

if it was me id pick princess,royal caribbean is good on voyager class for kids ,but i thought on the radience class it lacked a lil,plus u could like u say go a grand princess class,up to u,whatever u pick just have fun:)))))

[cawhite]

Thanks bubbadog... I guess we could do the Grand Princess from Galveston... We don't really care to go to Costa Maya again, but the other 3 ports are perfect... hmmmm.

 

I'll have to think about that.

[Coral]

Thanks bubbadog... I guess we could do the Grand Princess from Galveston... We don't really care to go to Costa Maya again, but the other 3 ports are perfect... hmmmm.

 

I'll have to think about that.

 

I would stick with the Star. There are some small design changes they made on the Star that were not implemented on the Grand. IMO - the Star is more beautiful (especially the atrium). Besides, I have heard nightmares about embarking in Galveston.

 

Princess ice cream (except the sugar free ice cream) is made on the ship every day for each meal. It is excellent!

[cawhite]

Coral - That's good to know about the Star... thank you. When you look at the Cruise Critic article on best cruises for teens, the only PCL ship it lists is the Grand. I think maybe we'll scratch Galveston anyway. I can't find any pre-cruise hotels we'd be particularly interested in.

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

In my opinion.....based on our experience.....the Adventure Ocean and Teen programs on Royal Caribbean are much better than anything offered on Princess. And in most cases there will be more kids participating because there are more on board RCI ships than Princess ships, in general.

 

BobK/Orlando