Cruises with Tween

[Anonymous]

We’re debating what to do over Christmas break and our 10 (will be 11 by December) year old has said they want to do a cruise. Opinions on best line?

We’d prefer to actually go somewhere (not just the “private island”). I’ve heard good things about Disney but most of their cruises just go to Castaway Cay or are super expensive. Is it worth it?

Ant experiences on Norwegian? Or the newer Royal Caribbean ships?

I don’t think I’m interested in Carnival. I’m typically all about luxury when we travel (5 star resort) so want at least something I won’t be totally grossed out by.

Appreciate all opinions!

[Anonymous]

MSC World America might fit the bill. Splurge for Aurea or Yacht Club class which gives you access to the top 20 solarium which is a nice respite from the crowds.

Tons to do for tweens. Decent waterpark, ropes course, dry slide, etc.

Giant main pool for group gatherings.

The larger ships on NCL would do the trick too. Depends on the itinerary. We liked the MSC Kids programming and kids club better.

Mexican Riveria cruises are great at Christmas time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MSC World America might fit the bill. Splurge for Aurea or Yacht Club class which gives you access to the top 20 solarium which is a nice respite from the crowds.

Tons to do for tweens. Decent waterpark, ropes course, dry slide, etc.

Giant main pool for group gatherings.

The larger ships on NCL would do the trick too. Depends on the itinerary. We liked the MSC Kids programming and kids club better.

Mexican Riveria cruises are great at Christmas time.

MSC looks cheaper than Carnival? How is that luxury?

[Anonymous]

NCl and RCI will both be great for that age and have lots to do. Christmas week will be twice as expensive as any other week. If you can afford it, both lines have a more exclusive area—I’ve stayed at the NCL one so can weigh in a little on that (it’s called the Haven). We went on RCI icon of the seas last year for Christmas break. We’ve also done two disney cruises that just went to their private island and Nassau. Nassau is one of the most boring cruise ports. We did the disney upgrade club for one of the cruises.

Roatan is a great port, as is st Thomas and cayman. Cozumel is great if it’s not too rough for snorkel boats. Jamaica is also pretty good with lots to do. Belize is good although things are a little bit of a trek from the port. For any of these ports, it’s worth researching potential excursions and vendors — the cruise line will try to jam something down your throat. Some of their excursions are good but they are all overpriced and generally they are trying to fill every seat so they end up offering a bunch of excursions that are pretty lousy. Just be a smart consumer there.

I’m a super picky eater. I’m not thrilled with the food on cruises but I can usually find something. If you are willing to pay upgrade it’s somewhat easier. On icon, the Mediterranean bowl place and crepes were okay; the sushi place was good. At Christmas week you’ll want to make reservations for the upgrade places early — we didn’t really do that so didn’t have as many options. The dining hall food was okay for dinner. The buffet was pretty bad.

The disney food is maybes a little better. I do like the food in their club level lounge and the 1923 restaurant or whatever that’s called it good. The marvel restaurant food is terrible and I hated that whole experience (loud, intrusive entertainment that wasn’t very entertaining). The frozen restaurant was okay food and the entertainment was fun if you like that sort of thing.

I’d just price out some ships and itineraries and figure out what you want and can afford. You can price the club level offerings too and see if it’s worth it. Once we get it decided, we usually book through Costco and then Costco will give you a cash card back as a reward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MSC World America might fit the bill. Splurge for Aurea or Yacht Club class which gives you access to the top 20 solarium which is a nice respite from the crowds.

Tons to do for tweens. Decent waterpark, ropes course, dry slide, etc.

Giant main pool for group gatherings.

The larger ships on NCL would do the trick too. Depends on the itinerary. We liked the MSC Kids programming and kids club better.

Mexican Riveria cruises are great at Christmas time.

MSC looks cheaper than Carnival? How is that luxury?

I wouldn’t do a Mexican riviera cruise at Christmas, coming from the east coast. The pacific will be cold and if you have to fly cross country to get on a boat, that defeats the purpose of the easy Florida departure.

[Anonymous]

We did Disney when we had two tweens. They had a wonderful time, and I felt like there was plenty for them to do. We did the western Caribbean trip, and were off the boat 4 days out of 6, I think.

I liked Disney because there are no “all you can drink” packages- so folks weren’t super drunk. The food was great, and our room was so well laid out for our family of 5. We went spring break, so it was definitely crowded, but I liked the kid focus of a lot of the activities.

Saying all that, if we ever cruise again, we’ll probably do a different boat that has more teenager activities (our kids are now older). I’ve looked into one of the big RCI boats, but am not sold.

[Anonymous]

Teens dont want to be around a million ittle kids who are the prime audience for Disney cruises. Nor will teens want to go and watch Moana 2 on the ship deck's big screen at twilight (surrounded by diapered toddlers and annoying ES aged kids).

We did NCL with our MS and HSers and loved it. At that age, they just want to take selfies and pose on the cruise deck, the beach swing on the white sands of the NCL private island, post photos from Umbrella Street in the DR, try expensive food and cocktails at the shop's restaurants, etc.
Fwiw, we spent a day on the front end of the vacation in Orlando and dud Epic Universe which was fun. Ymmv.

[Anonymous]

My kid love Disney. We cruise with Disney and RCL between his age of 8 to 13. He prefers kid clubs in Disney. Rcl kid club is a meh. But for the same price you get better room with rcl than Disney. So when kid is younger, I prefer Disney so he can enjoy the kid club and you can go to adult section. when he s older, like 12 above, RCL.

[Anonymous]

Disney, Royal Caribbean, or Norwegian will be good options.

Watch YouTube videos of ship tours to get a sense of amenities. Not all shops are alike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teens dont want to be around a million ittle kids who are the prime audience for Disney cruises. Nor will teens want to go and watch Moana 2 on the ship deck's big screen at twilight (surrounded by diapered toddlers and annoying ES aged kids).

We did NCL with our MS and HSers and loved it. At that age, they just want to take selfies and pose on the cruise deck, the beach swing on the white sands of the NCL private island, post photos from Umbrella Street in the DR, try expensive food and cocktails at the shop's restaurants, etc.
Fwiw, we spent a day on the front end of the vacation in Orlando and dud Epic Universe which was fun. Ymmv.

Just returned home from a DCL cruise today and judging by the number of tweens and teens that were literally crying getting off the ship, I don't think you're right. They find things to do, and make friendships, that aren't little kid centric

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MSC World America might fit the bill. Splurge for Aurea or Yacht Club class which gives you access to the top 20 solarium which is a nice respite from the crowds.

Tons to do for tweens. Decent waterpark, ropes course, dry slide, etc.

Giant main pool for group gatherings.

The larger ships on NCL would do the trick too. Depends on the itinerary. We liked the MSC Kids programming and kids club better.

Mexican Riveria cruises are great at Christmas time.

We did MSC World America over xmas break to Carribean. It was great with 11 year old. The bumper cars, F1 racing, water park, ropes course, etc.. all big hits. My kid is an only and he loves the kids club too and makes friends and they do fun activities.

It’s a great ship and new ship and would recommend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MSC World America might fit the bill. Splurge for Aurea or Yacht Club class which gives you access to the top 20 solarium which is a nice respite from the crowds.

Tons to do for tweens. Decent waterpark, ropes course, dry slide, etc.

Giant main pool for group gatherings.

The larger ships on NCL would do the trick too. Depends on the itinerary. We liked the MSC Kids programming and kids club better.

Mexican Riveria cruises are great at Christmas time.

We did MSC World America over xmas break to Carribean. It was great with 11 year old. The bumper cars, F1 racing, water park, ropes course, etc.. all big hits. My kid is an only and he loves the kids club too and makes friends and they do fun activities.

It’s a great ship and new ship and would recommend.

PP again, also Carribean is great for warm weather, snorkeling, and beaches over xmas break. Our DS live beach and we always take a boat out to snorkel few places as family when in port.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MSC World America might fit the bill. Splurge for Aurea or Yacht Club class which gives you access to the top 20 solarium which is a nice respite from the crowds.

Tons to do for tweens. Decent waterpark, ropes course, dry slide, etc.

Giant main pool for group gatherings.

The larger ships on NCL would do the trick too. Depends on the itinerary. We liked the MSC Kids programming and kids club better.

Mexican Riveria cruises are great at Christmas time.

We did MSC World America over xmas break to Carribean. It was great with 11 year old. The bumper cars, F1 racing, water park, ropes course, etc.. all big hits. My kid is an only and he loves the kids club too and makes friends and they do fun activities.

It’s a great ship and new ship and would recommend.

PP again, also Carribean is great for warm weather, snorkeling, and beaches over xmas break. Our DS live beach and we always take a boat out to snorkel few places as family when in port.

Typo loves not live

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teens dont want to be around a million ittle kids who are the prime audience for Disney cruises. Nor will teens want to go and watch Moana 2 on the ship deck's big screen at twilight (surrounded by diapered toddlers and annoying ES aged kids).

We did NCL with our MS and HSers and loved it. At that age, they just want to take selfies and pose on the cruise deck, the beach swing on the white sands of the NCL private island, post photos from Umbrella Street in the DR, try expensive food and cocktails at the shop's restaurants, etc.
Fwiw, we spent a day on the front end of the vacation in Orlando and dud Epic Universe which was fun. Ymmv.

So your kids want to spend their vacation posting to social media, eating “expensive” food and drinking cocktails? Hmmm… I might be concerned about them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teens dont want to be around a million ittle kids who are the prime audience for Disney cruises. Nor will teens want to go and watch Moana 2 on the ship deck's big screen at twilight (surrounded by diapered toddlers and annoying ES aged kids).

We did NCL with our MS and HSers and loved it. At that age, they just want to take selfies and pose on the cruise deck, the beach swing on the white sands of the NCL private island, post photos from Umbrella Street in the DR, try expensive food and cocktails at the shop's restaurants, etc.
Fwiw, we spent a day on the front end of the vacation in Orlando and dud Epic Universe which was fun. Ymmv.

So your kids want to spend their vacation posting to social media, eating “expensive” food and drinking cocktails? Hmmm… I might be concerned about them.

Mmhm that was a weird post…