Having second thoughts about family vacation

[wrg]

Hi all,

I was watching a couple's vlog on YouTube (they were on a Carnival cruise) and now I'm having second thoughts about our May 2024 cruise on Princess. Our daughters will be 18 and 20 (almost 19 and 21) and I want to make sure that they enjoy themselves. However, none of us wants to be on an overly crowded ship overrun with young children. We are booked on the Enchanted Princess Eastern Caribbean sailing. DH and I have cruised with Princess in the past and had a great time. Additionally, I found them to be great with my gluten free dietary needs. Am I overthinking this or not? Any suggestions?

[rjack22]

You didn't mention the date.   Is it during the spring break season, roughly March?  If so then there would most likely be a lot of children.   As to sailing full, probably.

Edited May 15, 2023 by rjack22

[Sail away MK]

I took my son and two of his friends age 22-24 on an Eastern Carribean cruise a couple of years ago and they LOVED it.  One won the "Best Legs" contest by the pool; they enjoyed dancing until late when most people had gone to bed; They got dressed up for dinner on formal nights and "adopted" some people in their 80's whom they called Grandma and Grandpa the entire cruise.  Just don't expect the daughters to hang out with you the entire time, because they will be busy on their own.

[skynight]

Probably not a lot of children during May, but if late May you may find more youth on board as some schools do end their year during May. There probably will be a good number of b2b'ers on board. These would not typically be youth. 

Since you have cruised on Princess before you are already aware that there are no water slides, rock walls, and other attractions that draw families with young children. You really should not compare Carnival with Princess. It is a different crowd and experience. You can't get away from crowds. Royal class ships hold 3,600 passengers. If you wish to be on a less crowded ship select one of the older Princess ships or smaller ships from other lines.  

[memoak]

Princess does not attract a vast amount of children unless it is during spring break or summer.  Even then the ship should not be over run with little kids

[JimmyVWine]

Color me confused.  You watched a video about a Carnival cruise and this caused you to be concerned about a Princess cruise.  Why is that?  You also did not mention when this Carnival cruise took place.  Christmas?  March?  July?  May is typically one of the lowest months for family travel.  Lots of schools were off in March and/or April for Spring Break or Easter Break.  There aren't any natural school vacations built in to the May calendar.  May is when the school year is finishing up and there are papers due, tests to take, final work to complete, proms to attend, state athletic tournaments to compete in.  Schools simply do not have vacations in May.  And not many parents will take their kids out of school in May because there is too much going on during that month that the kids don't want to miss out on.  We just got off of a May cruise and you could count the number of 2-18 year olds on the fingers of one hand.  Don't let a Carnival video dictate your behavior. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by JimmyVWine

[Lady Arwen]

2 hours ago, rjack22 said:

You didn't mention the date.   Is it during the spring break season, roughly March?  If so then there would most likely be a lot of children.   As to sailing full, probably.

 May 2024

[sirclean]

Did you involve them in the planning of the trip in the first place?  Do they want to go?  IF they were involved with the decision, it should be fine. 

Otherwise, there is plenty of pool access and other things for them to do on the ship, and there will be plenty of beaches to enjoy while off the ship. 

 

[nini]

IMHO, you and daughters will have a great time! We have taken our daughters on Celebrity to Alaska (they were 17 and 14). We also took them on HAL for the Mexican Riviera (they were 24 and 27).

Never, were they bored and these two lines (IMHO) did not have near the activities that Princess does. May should be a lovely time.

[BamaVol]

There are lots of cruise vloggers on YouTube.  You should not have much difficulty finding some videos that were made while sailing with Princess.  Watch a couple before you make a decision to cancel.

[Kay S]

I would not place too much confidence in a YouTube video.  The creator has edited it to fit his point of view.  If he doesn't like kids, he can make it look like the place is thick with them.  Watch a few videos by other creators and other ships.  Just keep in mind that the creators are showing you only what they want you to see.

[mtnesterz]

Cherish this time together. You can tell by our screen name, those days are past for us.

Probably your last big vacation together.

They are adults. You can't make sure they have a good time. By sailing Princess instead of Carnival, what you're saying, in a subtle way, is they're not kids anymore.

Onboard, they'll gravitate to the onboard activities that interest them, just as you or I would. They are at a tough age, too young to drink, too old to hang out at the older teen area, called Remix I think.  They'll miss friends, be horrified at the thought of bingo and trivia. And spend too much time on phones. 

If they will go, then don't miss this opportunity.

Edited May 15, 2023 by mtnesterz

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 5/15/2023 at 7:10 AM, wrg said:

Am I overthinking this or not? Any suggestions?

 

Yes, way way overthinking it. Princess ain't Carnival (Praise the Lord). Carnival is geared heavily to encourage young kids, Princess is not. Go with the "kids" and have a great time.