Teens on Princess?

[cmhighto]

We are wanting to book an Alaskan cruise and it looks like we would prefer Princess. How are the activities and entertainment for teens on sea days? They will be 17 and 14

[easyboy]

This info may help:

http://www.princess.com/learn/answer/during_cruise/youth.html

[Rinderoo]

It is not Disney or Royal Caribbean. My kids thought the teen stuff on Princess was pretty awful, but they hate teen clubs anyways because most stuff happens at night, and we get up and are off the ship in the morning. My teens have been on a lot of DCL, HAL, Princess, Carnival and NCL. According to my son "Its all the same stuff in a different room on all cruise lines."

 

I think it is going to depend on your kid(s). If you have social teens who always need something to do, they might not care for what Princess offers. However my kids were happy to just be ON the cruise and brought music (and headphones) and a book (or tablet). My daughter usually found a friend by Day 3; son would go to the sports deck and do soccer or basketball or ping pong. We typically had a balcony so they'd use it, or find a chair somewhere on the Lido or Promenade.

 

If it is a port intensive trip for you then they won't have much time for teen activities and they'll have to weight them against sleep. Keep an eye on the Patters for activities.

 

So that is our experience.

Edited November 7, 2016 by Rinderoo

[JimmyVWine]

Don't be overly concerned with organized activities for teens. On the many cruises my daughter took on Princess when she was a teen, the teen center served as a meeting place for teens who gathered together and made their own fun. They played games, hung out in the hot tub, went to movies, played up on the Sports Deck, etc. Teens have "come and go" piveleges and don't necessarily want or need structured activities. They roam around the ship together. The important question is: "will there be enough teens on the ship so that friendships will form", and on an Alaskan cruise, the answer is "yes".

[Princess Cruises Fann]

I took my 17 and 16 year old daughters on a Princess cruise last year. They had an absolute blast participating in the teen activities. They enjoyed the activities so much and made many new friends. They actually spent more time with their new friends than they did with us.

 

Just make sure you sign them up for the teen program. They will get their own Patter that lists all the activities that are just for teens.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Don't be overly concerned with organized activities for teens. On the many cruises my daughter took on Princess when she was a teen, the teen center served as a meeting place for teens who gathered together and made their own fun. They played games, hung out in the hot tub, went to movies, played up on the Sports Deck, etc. Teens have "come and go" piveleges and don't necessarily want or need structured activities. They roam around the ship together. The important question is: "will there be enough teens on the ship so that friendships will form", and on an Alaskan cruise, the answer is "yes".

 

that was the case on our last two cruises -- the two week Hawaiian RTs during the holidays on Princess. Our daughter was 13 and 15 on those, and an experienced cruiser. she went to the teen area the first night and met others in her age group at that age, they enjoy watching the movies in the pool or the hot tub at night. After the cruise, many of the teens kept in touch via Facebook. In fact, she found out that one of her friends was repeating the same cruise two years later so they made plans to meet up. they added another girl and three boys their age to their group and they hanged together. Sometimes she would come to dinner with us and maybe see a show with us, and she definitely went into the ports with us.

 

Alaska, as long as you're going while school is out between June and August, there should be plenty of kids. But it is a port intensive cruise.