Every parent knows that teenagers can be a tricky bunch to please. And a grouchy teenager does not make for a happy family holiday, particularly if you’re altogether on a ship at sea.
In recognising the influence of the teenager on parents’ choice of cruise holidays, Cruise Lines have got creative in designing activities, facilities and events to make sure they can enjoy themselves.
However, of course, teenagers are not all the same, each having their own interests, from sports to technology or creative activities. So, to help you find a cruise line that will keep your teenager entertained, we’ve selected some of our favourites.
Royal Caribbean
Best for: The adventurous teen
Royal Caribbean Cruises is great for teenagers with an impressive variety of teen-specific activities and amenities. And for teenagers that love the thrill of adrenaline, there’s plenty on offer.
They can perfect their surfing skills on the 12-metre long FlowRider®, race a friend through three storeys of twisting, turning water fun on the dual racer slides of The Perfect Storm℠ or scale the Rock Climbing Wall, reaching 12m above deck.
The fun continues onshore when cruising to the Bahamas and visiting Royal Caribbean’s Thrill Waterpark® at CocoCay®, where waterslides and wave pools bring further exhilarating excitement.
NB: Features may vary depending on the ship.
Princess Cruises
Best for: The sports-loving teen
For teenagers who love sports, Princess Cruises has an excellent range of activities. In its sports centre, teams can enjoy games of basketball, tennis, volleyball and badminton. There’s also a miniature putting green, golf driving cage, ping pong tables, giant foosball and bean bag toss. They can also head over to the Beach House. Developed specifically as a teens’ hangout lounge, it offers hip-hop dance classes, video game tournaments, dodgeball and basketball, and late-night movie viewing.
MSC Cruises
Best for: The high-tech teen
MSC Cruises certainly had the tech-teenager in mind when designing the facilities for their newest ship, Grandiosa. Alongside its aqua parks, games arcades and dedicated teens’ space, it offers three new teen-focused activities: MSC Dance Crew, Spy Mission and The Drone Academy.
MSC Dance Crew is a dance competition experience developed to emulate shows like The X Factor and the Got Talent series.
At The Drone Academy, teenagers can be trained on high-tech drones, navigating obstacles in a relay race – a pretty spectacular sight at night, thanks to the fluo effects and glowing drones.
Meanwhile, teenagers, who enjoy a bit of mystery, can try to unravel the puzzles of Spy Mission, an immersive, roaming spy experience that takes place throughout the ship.
Disney Cruises
Best for: The coolest teen
Once your teenager has gotten past the idea that Disney is just for younger children, they’ll discover that Disney has created the coolest teen-exclusive hangout haven just for them.
Vibe is a lounge with a coffee bar serving fruit smoothies and non-alcoholic drinks and comfy sofas and overstuffed lounge cushions to kick back and chill out with friends. There’s a DJ area, where teens can enjoy karaoke and dance classes, internet access and board games.
Tweens don’t have to look on in envy either, as they have their own area too. Known as Edge, it offers movies, games, art and crafts and more.
Norwegian Cruise Lines
Best for: The laid-back teen
Norwegian Cruise Line is known for its laid-back approach to cruising, and this translates to their activities for teens. Entourage is the teens-only hang out zone.
Home to the Entourage Youth Program, designed for ages 13 to 17, your teenager can enjoy activities, such as singing, dancing and craft projects, football, basketball and dodgeball games, and themed evening party events, like Glow, White Hot Party, and College Night.
Outside of the sessions, teenagers can chill out in Entourage, enjoying movies and video games and self-serve food and soft drink stations. During these times, the centre is unsupervised but still has surveillance.
