Luxury Cruises: Teens Welcome?
Regent Seven Seas' Voyager is one of the more teen-friendly of the luxury cruise ships.
Photo: Regent Seven Seas
Question from reader Heidi6:
"I am looking for a very upscale, sophisticated cruise suitable for my husband, our two teenagers, and me. Is there a ship that can accommodate the adults, who like a quiet, small ship, and the teens, who would like some other teens to hang around with? We can go either over Christmas or between February 15 and 24."
The most luxurious cruise lines tend to have the oldest clientele, but I asked small-ship cruise expert Richard Turen of Churchill & Turen for some advice. He agreed:
"There is no such animal as a teen-friendly five-star cruise experience. Although their brochures will not state it, the luxury brands consider a generally child-free environment one of the advantages of small-ship cruising.
Assuming your teens are generally self-sufficient, I would recommend that you look at Regent Seven Seas as the highest-quality line that will come closest to your requirements. You'll have an increased likelihood of finding other families traveling together over Christmas or New Years, less so in February.
More from Richard, after the jump.
"I recommend Regent's Voyager and Mariner ships because their size -- 700 guests -- allows for more evening options and room for teens to explore. Regent provides young people's programs on selected holiday sailings, and does primarily seven-night itineraries. However, most Christmas space for this year is long gone. You will also pay a hefty premium to sail over the holidays.
"On the Voyager or Mariner you would have to book at least a Penthouse Suite to be able to accommodate the family in one cabin. (On several other five-star lines, quad cabins simply do not exist.)
"I would also look seriously at the Commodore Suites on SeaDream Yacht Club's two ships. These are connected (no interior wall) double cabins with two bathrooms. SeaDream can work well in your situation because it is very sophisticated but also very casual; there are no formal nights of any kind.
"The bottom line, however, is that any 'sophisticated cruise line' does subtle things to discourage large numbers of young people from sailing with them."
I'm afraid this wasn't the answer you were hoping for, Heidi6. If you know your kids are going to be miserable without other adolescents around, you're either going to have to choose a mass-market cruise line without the elegance you're looking for, or consider a land-based vacation.
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Hi, interesting conundrum for teens whose parents prefer luxury cruising and the answer -- Regent Seven Seas being the best choice -- is accurate but it also should be mentioned that Regent has incorporated some "older kid" enrichment programming on cruises that occur during school holidays. Particularly interesting is its eco-program on Paul Gauguin....
As well, Crystal has recently refurbished penthouse suite-level cabins with pull out sofas to accommodate more families.
I think you'll see more lines welcoming teens. Maybe not tots...but teens, watch for developments.
Carolyn Spencer Brown
Cruisecritic.com
Posted by: c26spencer | September 12, 2007 at 03:51 PM
You should also look at Regent's Paul Gauguin which attracts families thanks to their Ambassadors of The Earth Youth Circles of Interest which features naturalists from Jean-Michael Cousteau's Ocean Futures Society and is offered on summer and holiday sailings.
Plus Paul Gauguin has the watersports platform with water based activities sure to entertain your teens...
Michael
Cruise Planners
www.mycruiseplanner.net
Posted by: cruiseplanner | September 12, 2007 at 11:29 PM