Best ship for teenagers?

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

We were hoping to sail on the Vista late July/early August, but with the cancellations, there is nothing until after the kids go back to school (nothing on the Horizon either).  Any other ships that would be good to look at for my hard to keep busy teenage boys (13 and 16)??  This is only our 2nd cruise (first was about 9 years ago on the Victory, and we didn't love it).  Don't care too much about ports, although was pretty excited about Belize.  We're in Missouri, so Galveston or New Orleans would be great so we could drive, but definitely not a deal breaker.  Thanks!

[MisterOJ2]

I've got teen girls and they loved the Carnival Dream. It seemed like it was just big enough to give them plenty to do without being too big. They had a blast on it.

 

I wouldn't be too bummed about missing Belize. Of all the regular western Caribbean ports, it's probably my least favorite. But, YMMV.

[Garth2]

The activities are pretty much the same from ship to ship, so you should decide based on the ports, the cost and/or how far you have to travel.  There are pluses and minuses for big ships vs small and new vs old.

[jbethel11]

1 hour ago, Momto2PrncChrmgs said:

Any other ships that would be good to look at for my hard to keep busy teenage boys (13 and 16)

Hi, I am in the age group as well, so I will be able to help you. All Carnival ships are filled with fun things to do, but the best classes of ships for teens would be the Sunshine, Dream, and Vista classes. 

[1025cruise]

Since your are looking to cruise in the next 2 months, the first thing you need to do look at availability. It's a bit last minute to be booking for this summer.

[Midwestgal]

Honestly I would recommend Royal Caribbean for teens. Not sure if your willing to not cruise on Carnival but Royal has much more to offer.....freedom class or oasis class

That being said it’s going to be more about what available and definitely a newer bigger ship

Edited June 27, 2019 by Midwestgal

[jbethel11]

9 minutes ago, Midwestgal said:

Honestly I would recommend Royal Caribbean for teens. Not sure if your willing to not cruise on Carnival but Royal has much more to offer.....freedom class or oasis class

That being said it’s going to be more about what available and definitely a newer bigger ship

Eh, I disagree. I tried Harmony of the Seas and Carnival Horizon last summer, and I personally liked Horizon better. Far more things open on sea days and an overall better atmosphere. 

[GalvestonCruiserx3]

We've always wanted to do Royal's Liberty of the Seas out of Galveston but every time I look their cruises are always 1k more than Carnival.  I recommend the Dream if you want a 5 day cruise.  Freedom if you want 7 day or more.

[Midwestgal]

3 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

Eh, I disagree. I tried Harmony of the Seas and Carnival Horizon last summer, and I personally liked Horizon better. Far more things open on sea days and an overall better atmosphere. 

Yep....cruise are subjective that’s for sure

[jbethel11]

22 minutes ago, Midwestgal said:

Yep....cruise are subjective that’s for sure

I mean, hey, I am a teen myself, I guess I am not like the other teens.

[3smithboys]

My teens prefer Carnival ships as well.... they have had the most fun on them (according to them) and thought the Dream was great- their best to date. We are going on the Breeze in August and can’t wait! My kids will be 21, 16, and 16 and voted for a Carnival cruise over all of the other cruises. 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

I appreciate the feedback!  I know we're doing this pretty last minute, but that's thanks to a 12u baseball schedule with WAY too many rainouts, and a husband who just today finally sent in his passport renewal (expedited, but UGH)...

 

We're also looking at RC Allure of the Seas, which is pretty close to the price we would've paid for the Vista, and has the Flow Rider, rock climbing wall, and zipline, but I'd love to find a Carnival that's a little cheaper.  I just want the boys to have options of things to do on the ship so they're not stuck to us and BORED!   There is also a Norweigan that has ice skating and go carts, but it's about $1000 more (although free booze for 2 people and free wifi may be worth it).  

[GalvestonCruiserx3]

As far as I know Allure has had the same problems Vista is having.  Might want to look into that before you book.

[webzila]

Honestly I would recommend Royal Caribbean for teens. Not sure if your willing to not cruise on Carnival but Royal has much more to offer.....freedom class or oasis class
That being said it’s going to be more about what available and definitely a newer bigger ship

I agree about Royal Caribbean even NCL...
Again it's subjective but after being on 17 cruises as far as ranking by activities and ship it would be Royal > Norwegian > Carnival

*Disney was actually the best cruise I have ever been on even as an adult

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

1 minute ago, webzila said:

I agree about Royal Caribbean even NCL...
Again it's subjective but after being on 17 cruises as far as ranking by activities and ship it would be Royal > Norwegian > Carnival

*Disney was actually the best cruise I have ever been on even as an adult

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 

We are HUGE Disney fans, and Disney World has been our yearly-ish vacation since the boys were little, but after last year, we decided we needed to branch out a little.  Would love a disney cruise, but they're a little pricey!  

[jbethel11]

43 minutes ago, Momto2PrncChrmgs said:

I appreciate the feedback!  I know we're doing this pretty last minute, but that's thanks to a 12u baseball schedule with WAY too many rainouts, and a husband who just today finally sent in his passport renewal (expedited, but UGH)...

 

We're also looking at RC Allure of the Seas, which is pretty close to the price we would've paid for the Vista, and has the Flow Rider, rock climbing wall, and zipline, but I'd love to find a Carnival that's a little cheaper.  I just want the boys to have options of things to do on the ship so they're not stuck to us and BORED!   There is also a Norweigan that has ice skating and go carts, but it's about $1000 more (although free booze for 2 people and free wifi may be worth it).  

I would chose NCL over CCL and RCI any day. However, yes, NCL is way more expensive, but has things teens actually want to do, like a ropes course, a go kart, and trapdoor water slides. 

[lennythenose]

My two boys (20 and 16 now) have been cruising Carnival for almost 10 years. They have LOVED every cruise. The ship size never bothered them from Fantasy to Magic. They have looked at other ships in port with us with the bells and whistles and said they would not want to cruise on them because they looked too big and crowded.  They rarely if ever even go on the water slides and I don’t think either went on the ropes course because they just don’t want to wait in lines. They can do all that at home.  They always make friends in the teen club and hang out with them. 

[GalvestonCruiserx3]

my teens love Carnival.  We've been on Breeze and Magic and they had a blast!  Was scheduled for Vista 7/20, but that got canceled.😢  Now booked on Freedom 8 day next summer due to itinerary.  Not as many bells and whistles but I'm sure they will have a great time.

[Stacie.]

I have four teens and they far prefer CCL over RC. We’ve been on both. Initially they were excited about the fun stuff on RC but the novelty of these items wore off quickly after standing in the sun for 45 minutes waiting for their turn on the FlowRider (after spending at least 30 minutes in line to get the waivers signed and the wristband). The basketball courts were always occupied by the same people so they never got a chance to use them. We did manage to get tickets for ice skating but they are experienced ice skaters (we live in MN on a lake) so the rink seemed so tiny and they pack so many people in each session that they just ended up skating slowly in a circle. They did enjoy people watching on the rink as it appears there were a lot of first time skaters there. They did not enjoy that the ice cream machines were only open for certain times. The lines got really long for that. (This was Navigator of the Seas, right before a dry dock). 

 

To compare, we’ve been on Paradise (before a dry dock) and most recently on Glory. Hands down, they said Glory beat NOS and they say they think they even liked Paradise better. They enjoy the kids/teen clubs much more, they love Hasbro the Game show (five of us actually made it on stage—three on Paradise and two on Glory). The ice cream is 24/7, they find the ship easier to navigate, and the staff went above and beyond to learn their names, high five them in the hall (when they were younger, LOL), leave better towel animals, the MDR staff was absolutely amazing with their dietary needs, etc. They were able to play basketball and volleyball several times. 

 

I prefer smaller ships with less people so DH and I are going on Elation in November. Less expensive and we don’t do rides, etc. We are there to relax, visit, and enjoy the ports and the sun. 

 

[MisterOJ2]

19 hours ago, Momto2PrncChrmgs said:

I appreciate the feedback!  I know we're doing this pretty last minute, but that's thanks to a 12u baseball schedule with WAY too many rainouts, and a husband who just today finally sent in his passport renewal (expedited, but UGH)...

 

We're also looking at RC Allure of the Seas, which is pretty close to the price we would've paid for the Vista, and has the Flow Rider, rock climbing wall, and zipline, but I'd love to find a Carnival that's a little cheaper.  I just want the boys to have options of things to do on the ship so they're not stuck to us and BORED!   There is also a Norweigan that has ice skating and go carts, but it's about $1000 more (although free booze for 2 people and free wifi may be worth it).  

 

I've been on Royal ships with flowriders and rock climbing walls and whatnot with my kids. And you know what? They didn't get to use them. Not because they didn't want to, my kids just don't like standing in a line for over an hour to get to do stuff like that. Those kind of things are cool for sure, but on a big ship - LOTS of people want to do them and the lines are prohibitive for those that don't like waiting around for a long time. 

 

If your kids don't mind waiting in lines, then they will probably love it. But if they do... you may just want to keep that in mind when considering these kind of options and adjust your expectations accordingly.

[jbethel11]

Just now, MisterOJ2 said:

 

I've been on Royal ships with flowriders and rock climbing walls and whatnot with my kids. And you know what? They didn't get to use them. Not because they didn't want to, my kids just don't like standing in a line for over an hour to get to do stuff like that. Those kind of things are cool for sure, but on a big ship - LOTS of people want to do them and the lines are prohibitive for those that don't like waiting around for a long time. 

 

If your kids don't mind waiting in lines, then they will probably love it. But if they do... you may just want to keep that in mind when considering these kind of options and adjust your expectations accordingly.

Exactly! On Harmony of the Seas, the only attraction that I didn't have to stand in line for was the Ultimate Abyss. Although that was fun and admittingly, scary, that was the only attraction I wasn't bored out of my mind waiting for. The zip line was fun, but not worth the twenty-five minute wait in the blazing summer sun.

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

1 hour ago, MisterOJ2 said:

 

I've been on Royal ships with flowriders and rock climbing walls and whatnot with my kids. And you know what? They didn't get to use them. Not because they didn't want to, my kids just don't like standing in a line for over an hour to get to do stuff like that. Those kind of things are cool for sure, but on a big ship - LOTS of people want to do them and the lines are prohibitive for those that don't like waiting around for a long time. 

 

If your kids don't mind waiting in lines, then they will probably love it. But if they do... you may just want to keep that in mind when considering these kind of options and adjust your expectations accordingly.

My kids definitely mind waiting in lines.  ☺️