Norwegian Epic or Princess Royal for teenagers

[TheDentist]

Hello there ,

We have found a Western Med cruise for a joint family cruise and we range from 13 to 75 .

We have a 13 and 15 yr old who are quite boisterous and need entertaining ,

I had really like the Norwegian Epic for its relaxed dining, drinks package and family friendly style. I figured my kids would disappear to leave me to enjoy myself .

However my BIL has found a similar cruise on Princess Royal which looks fabulous but I get the feeling its is more orientated towards the adults and the kids are an afterthought. Their video does not have any mention of kids/teenagers facilities .

The staterooms look much nicer as well on Royal Princess.

 

can I get some feedback from you seasoned cruisers please ?

Many thanks

The Dentist

[Aquahound]

That's a tough choice. Epic certainly is the better ship with teenagers. However, have you looked at the Epic rooms? Are you ok with showering in front of them or sitting on the toilet behind an opaque door? If you're looking at NCL, I recommend going more for Getaway or Escape instead.

 

Princess Royal Class ships are ok. There's nothing special about them. It would be nice as a couple but as you've seen for yourself, it's not on the same level as NCL for the teens.

[SuiteTraveler]

The best ships for teens are:

 

NCL Epic

NCL Getaway

NCL Breakaway

NCL Escape

 

RCCL Oasis

RCCL Allure

 

These ships are direct competitors with each other. Both lines are pretty relaxed and both have lots to do for all ages. RCCL's shows are more spectacular - high diving, ice skating, acrobatics, Broadway show (Cats or Mama Mia), comedy club, jazz club, dancing...RCCL has lots of specialty restaurants. NCL has a better buffet (huge with much more selection than on RCCL. NCL's shows are smaller and more intimate in scale. Both lines have lots of specialty restaurants. The NCL ships have 1 main pool which is crowded. The RCCL ships have multiple pools plus the adults only Solarium area. The NCL ships have a drastically better spa with an elaborate thermal suite - the best at sea. The RCCL ships have a inside steamroom and sauna and a couple of heated tile loungers - not much in comparison to NCL which has sauna, saunarium, steam room, salt room, water circuit, hot tub, and about a dozen tile loungers which stretch across the front of the ship for the best view.

 

The Princess ships are lovely, but more for adults, so I would choose either NCL or RCCL.

 

Another ship to consider would be the Carnival Vista which has traditional dining and a water park with several slides and a ropes course. It's Carnival's newest ship and very family oriented. Where Carnival is weakest is entertainment - they have mostly comedians and then a few amateurish production shows and a piano bar. Actually, some of the musical acts in the atrium are better than the shows on Carnival (I thinking of a Spanish violin trio that was on Carnival Breeze last October.) They have a nice spa, not as NCL. There is a sushi place and a few other restaurants which are not as good as on RCCL and NCL. Best dining is in the Steakhouse and most of all, Chef's table.

[Bonnie J.]

Carnival's Vista also has 'Any Time' dining where you go at what ever time you want- think its from 5:30 to 9:30pm. There is also tradional dining two set times each night. They will have a lot more kids than Princess too. We never see many kids on Princess but there will be more on Carnival, NCL or RCCL. And Carnival is no longer a 'party' ship, there are now LOTS of families.

Some RCCL ships have the flow rider -surfing on land- and a climbing wall plus slides.

Forget Princess and look at the other cruise lines!

Edited April 28, 2016 by Bonnie J.