April 2010 Spring Break Cruise w/ 14 & 17 year old boys

[lifesabeachbum]

My husband and I took our first cruise in May on RCCL and loved it! Now we want to cruise next April with our almost 15 and already 17 year old sons. Lots of cruises and price points available (Carnival line considerably cheaper than RCCL for example) but without looking into every ship individually can you help me zoom in on "fun ships" for teens? Thanks, in advance, for your help! :o

[crusinmama06]

Let's be honest, kids can make their own fun. However, you want to provide them with the best oppotunity to do that. So, with that being said...the best ships for teen ammenities are going to be the Freedom class and Oasis class on Royal Caribbean ships. There is just no comparison as far as ammenities are concerned. Those ships are bursting with things to do (ice skating, rock wall climbing, basketball, golf similator, mini golf, dedicated teen club area, Wii tournaments, Flowrider Surfing and then of course on Oasis - Zip Lining)

 

So IF budget allows, those are the ships to be on.

 

In comparison, you can do a less expensive Carnival ship, but they wouldn't have the same activities to choose from. BUT, the kids would still have a good time. Just less to choose from. :)

 

If you do choose to do CCL, stick with the newer ships.

[patseacruiser]

And if you're going during Spring Break and need/want adjoining/adjacent rooms you will need to book early and just watch prices to see if they drop at all.

[reallyitsmema]

We have taken our teen twice on the Mariner of the Seas (at 16 & 17). He enjoyed the full size basketball court which they use for dodgeball tournaments, BB, soccer, etc. He hung out in the living room and played in foosball, texas holdem and Wii tournaments. He also went to Fuel most nights for the late night dance parties. We went in June both times and there was around 800 kids with almost 300 teens.

 

We have stayed away from smaller ships that don't have as many things for kids. We will go on one of those after he leaves for college next month.:eek:;)

 

I would suggest getting your teens a soda card so they just have to flash that to get a drink. In the long run, it is worth it with a teen since he knows if he puts a drink down and turns away to do something, he doesn't pick it up again. We also found having post-it notes to be very helpful for notes in the cabin. We left a note telling him where we were and he did the same. If plans changed last minute, he left a voice mail message in the cabin. He was always where he said he would be when we checked up and knew if he wasn't that there would be consequences. We allowed him to have sharging privileges on his sea pass account but set ground rules up front and checked his charges daily. Some go as far as a contract with their children but we haven't found that necessary.

 

All in all he had a great time. He still is in contact with a few kids he met onboard.