RCIvPrincess

[Tenbyman]

We were hoping to book Freedom of the Seas for February 2007 but all balcony rooms for the date we wanted have gone. We have been on the Voyager and Navigator and loved both trips, but we are now thinking of going with Princess Cruises on Crown Princess out of San Juan. We are two families with two boys of 17 will there be a similar amount of teens with Princess as our boys love to mix. Thanks for any help.

[threeofus]

There will lots of kids and teens ONLY if it is a spring or winter break for most of the country. Not many kids onboard during the other times. We sailed Easter week last year and there were many kids....but staff told us it was due to spring break.

That was my experience - hopefully you will hear from others who know more than I do.

[CruiseFever]

Surely there will be more kids when school is out but it always surprises me how many kids are onboard at ANY time of the year.

 

That said, if your boys are looking for a nice "selection" of kids, go when school is out. It's a for sure thing that there will be plenty at those times, on either line.

 

Our youngest is 18. We're almost done with the teen years (thank goodness) but when they talk about "hooking up" it makes me really nervous. Is "mixing" like "hooking"?

 

I asked DD about this for a first-hand, in the trenches, opinion as to if your boys would have others to "hang" with.

 

She replied "Are they hot?"

[Tenbyman]

Maybe here in the U.K. mixing means something different lol. Just asked my son if he thinks he and his friend are hot and he said they like to think they are. Thanks maybe we will Princess a try.

[DHADEN]

Tenbyman;

You started your post with RCI vs PRINCESS. Were you wanting a comparison on the 2 lines or just info on the teens?

 

The biggest difference we saw, besides the Personal Choice Dining vs. Traditional, was that Princess does not enforce the rules for teens and RCI does. When we were on the G. Princess, (July) we never got to enjoy the the "adults only" pool because it was always full of kids. The lounges that clearly posted "18 or older" were harrassed by noisy teens (around 13,14, or 15) being loud and disrespectful.

 

We complained to Security one night at 2:00am in the buffet (can't remember the name, but it was like the Windjammers) about a group of teens tearing up the buffet and throwing food. His reply was, "Yeah I know. Last week we had a group throwing deck-chairs off the ship into the ocean. We can't do anything about it."

[Coral]

Tenbyman;

You started your post with RCI vs PRINCESS. Were you wanting a comparison on the 2 lines or just info on the teens?

 

The biggest difference we saw, besides the Personal Choice Dining vs. Traditional, was that Princess does not enforce the rules for teens and RCI does. When we were on the G. Princess, (July) we never got to enjoy the the "adults only" pool because it was always full of kids. The lounges that clearly posted "18 or older" were harrassed by noisy teens (around 13,14, or 15) being loud and disrespectful.

 

Sort of interesting. I have had the opposite response. I had problems with RCCL enforcing the rules for teens and have not been back to RCCL since because of this. They were awful on our Radiance trip. When brought to the attention of RCCL - RCCL wouldn't do anything. They just said "kids will be kids".

 

I have not had this problem on Princess.

[Tenbyman]

Thanks for all the replies, is food quality and entertainment on board of a similar standard.

[TexasMom2]

Tenbyman, you may get an idea by searching for info on the Golden Princess which sails from San Juan currently, or Caribbean Princess, which is the design the Crown will be based on.

 

If the two teens loved the Voyager class, have you considered the Adventure of the Seas from San Juan? It's a fabulous ship and similar itinerary to the Crown. We (adults) loved it and our then 14-year old son really loved it. You would also be building on your cruise history with RCI for earning future perks.