Eclipse for teen and tweens

[JBCall]

Hello,

 

I am looking at a cruise to Alaska on the Eclipse and was wondering what kind of facilities it has for teens and tweens?  What has been your experiences as a family on the Eclipse?  How are the kids clubs and are there some family activities?

 

Our kids are experienced cruisers and have been on Disney, Hal, and Royal before. My wife and I have cruised Celebrity a few times but never with the kids.  Any experiences and thoughts would be welcome. 

 

Thanks.

[GastroGnome]

DD was 14 I think the first time we cruised with X.  There is a proper kids club - but she was always a teen so I don't know anything much about the kids side.  There is a teen meet & greet the first evening and then activities organized around who was there and what they wanted.  There was usually one night when the group were allowed in the solarium pool (I don't know about the US but in the Europe sailings that area is off limits to kids).  There were loads of video and traditional games, they did scavenger hunts and all sorts. She always had a fabulous time.

 

[Blockschip]

My two boys (14, 16) went on a 7 night Southern Caribbean with us last April on the Equinox. I think there were maybe a dozen teens/pre-teens on the trip. They still managed to make several friends and had a great time. So much so, that they are going with us on the Summit this coming April.

[jfslcruise]

We took our 19 YO and 15 YO daughters on Equinox last year, Summit to Bermuda when they were 16 and 12 and Solstice to Alaska when they were 14 & 10.  We have fit some RCI & Carnival cruises in the mix as well.

 

As they got older, we have found they simply tend to gravitate towards "hanging out" in the pool, Oceanview Cafe  or simply roam around in groups of 2-10.  They like Celebrity the best because the cruises did not have too many kids.  Our summer cruises on RCI and Carnival (and to a lesser extend the Bermuda cruise) had a ton of kids and I think the programs were overwhelmed.

 

I believe the activities are are more DYI in nature (team scavenger hunts, sports, etc) which did not particularly require any real effort on the part of the staff, but did seem to fit the bill for the kids.  

 

I do know they would jump at the chance to go on another cruise though our eldest is in the dead space being under >17 <21 with seemingly far fewer people on board in that demographic.