Grand Princess - Good for kids?

[odiesam]

My family has sailed Royal Carib Voyager series 2x and are ready for a change. We are a couple in mid-40s who have fun as long as our 12 year old son has fun - which requires a fun video arcade. I would consider one of the newer Grand ships but they do not appear to have much in the way of video gaming. Does the Grand Princess have a big video arcade? We are also attracted to the fresh water pools. Are there plans to put a movie screen on the Grand Princess like the one on the Caribbean Princess? How is the condition of the Grand Princess? Our 2 previous cruises were on a brand new ship, then on one that was only a year old so we are worried we may be spoiled by the newness. Last question is about sailing out of Galveston at the end of March - will it be cool when we leave port and that first day at sea?

 

Thanks for any responses.

[ahracer]

Yes, the Grand has a large arcade..... I have 5, 12 and 13 yeard old daughters I'd would take them on any of the Grrand class ships. We are doing the Star in Feb.

 

We were on the Grand in May and it was in good shape, showing a little wear here and there but it is being dry docked in November so when you sail her she'll be good as new.

 

With kids the freshwater pools that are open 24 hours and PC dining make a big difference.

 

Scott

[odiesam]

Thanks - the Star doesn't have an arcade does it?

[spongerob]

There is more to life than video games. Your son will find that out. The Grand Princess is well-suited to families.

[ahracer]

Thanks - the Star doesn't have an arcade does it?

 

I don't know.

 

Scott

[sue d. miller]

There is no arcade on the Star!!

[odiesam]

Of course there is more to life than video games but being 12 and shy with no siblings (his older brothers won't be coming this time) or friend along - video arcades provide a nice place to frequent and perhaps meet a friend. As a result, at this age we feel it necessary to pick a ship with a nice video arcade.

 

Thanks for the responses.

[Flyer]

As far as the temperature...more than likely it will be comfortably warm. South Texas is warmer than our area in West Texas but in March of this past year San Angelo, Texas high was 91.2 degrees and the low 39.9 degrees. The mean was 62.9.

 

BTW if you go to the Princess site and look at the ports area from your itinerary it will give you all the weather information for the time you will be there.

 

Flyer

[consmarci]

We have sailed the Grand twice with our kids...two years in a row. The little one was 8,9 and the older 11, 12.

They loved the kids program and had such fun on the ship. The video arcade is one of the largest at sea...they had promo days for cheaper rates and that helped. My daughter who is younger did not care about the arcade, but I agree with you about my son, who is shy and it helped him make friends by having the arcade to hang out in and talk "gaming" with his buddies.

It also helped to have him email some kids from the RollCall ahead of time to kind of have someone to look for and look forward to meeting and of course we looked forward to meeting other parents.

Princess does such a great job of limiting the number of kids, so that the kids club is a quality experience and the counselors really get to know the kids. They ate together with other kids a few evenings and could not wait to leave our family dinner to go to the club in the evenings...

You won't regret a week on the Grand...Have fun.

[calliecat]

Thank you for asking this question!!!! We too have a 12 yr old and while there is more to life than video games, he is an only child and makes friends at the arcade. I am so happy to know that the Grand has a large arcade.

We were on the Coral last year and the arcade on it was very nice. He spent a lot of time up there when it was open. The Sun's arcade, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. We will be on the Grand this Christmas. :)

[Jacqueline]

It is an older ship than you are used to and not as flashy- but it is a great ship for kids and teens.

The arcade is big. BTW we usually bring an x-box for down time in the cabin as well as for playing DVDs. But the in cabin tv is better than what you are used to on RCI.

The food is well set up for kids as are the pool areas. I think you will be very pleased as long as you dont expect the same energy level and are happy with a slightly different ambiance.