Thread: cruises for families with teenagers

Which cruise line would you say has the best activities and value for families with teenagers?

Welcome to CLF My first choice would be Royal Caribbean. Ice skating, rock climbing wall. pools, lots of activities. Carnival second.

I agree with Royal Caribbean as first choice but put Princess next - both lines have excellent programs for teens.

Have a 16 year old grandson that has sailed with us since he was 2. Rccl is great - no doubt, for the older teens carnival offers a very good program and seems to have a lot of sports opportunities. Have a great trip. Be sure they go to the programs right away so everyone is new at the same time - seems to help.

I agree with those who mentioned RCCL. It's tough to beat all the amenities they have, especially on their newer ships like the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas. While a little pricey, they have activities you won't find on any other ship, such as rock climbing, surf rider, full-court basketball, ice skating, a huge video/game room, etc, etc.

For the best prices, you can't beat Carnival. And while they do have some nice amenities and you'll enjoy their newer ships, they just don't quite match RCCL.

It really does boil down to what is more important to you; price or amenities.

Pete

We just got off the Golden Princess this week. My 13-yr-old did get signed up for Remix, the teen program, but she says she wasn't impressed with the activities. Of course, she probably wouldn't be by most programs. It's that age. (rolled eyes)

She spent some of her time in the teen center playing video games. She did spend a lot of time in the hot tubs and watching the Movies Under the Stars -- even when it was rainy or cool. We finally made it to a MUTS show, shivering under a couple of blankets -- she showed up and curled up in the deck chair next to us and fell asleep. Probably the earliest she fell asleep during the two weeks. Those teens are like the Energizer Bunny. Anyway, she said she would write up her impressions for my trip report.

As for the other lines' attractions, I would imagine she would like the water slide on Carnival. The rock climbing wall may appeal to her all of five minutes, and she's through with ice skating.

Our daughter's family (two teens) really like Celebrity! While Celebrity is not especially known for children/teen programs, it seems to be a very good fit for all of them.

When our younger daughter was cruising with us as a pre-teen and teen, she didn't want to cruise unless it was on Princess. Probably why we've been on so many Princess cruises.