Which cruise for 1st time teen and dh?

[LazySusan11]

Looking for a cruise in June, dh and I are taking my teen dsd so need to have a ship that has interesting stuff to do on the sea days.

Royal Caribbean do med cruises but the ships don't appear that great, Can anyone suggest a ship that might suit?

Also I am trying to avoid formal nights, have never liked them! Looking to cruise the Med or my preference Greece.

Thank you

What is it about Royal Caribbean that you think doesn't look great? It would help to know what kind of things you want out of your holiday?

We went with them last year (on the Navigator), found plenty to do- the flow rider, mini golf, swimming obviously, rock climbing, films shown indoors and out by the pool, my kids are a bit younger but spent most of their time in kids club which they loved but there was a teen programme too, I think a bit more casual than the organised stuff for the younger ones but they had there own nightclub and stuff. Gym, spa, quizzes, parades, all sorts. We did spend quite a bit of time by the pool but it was the first holiday we've had as a family that we were actually able to relax and switch off- I understand that if you are at a different stage of family life then that might not be as necessary!

Formal night was easily avoided, we just ate away of the main dining room that night (we did take part in one formal night but it wasn't compulsory) and it was no problem.

Thanks for the info Hair, I like RC but the choice of ship is either the Rhapsody or the Jewel neither of which seem to have the Flo rider and teen entertainment.

I'm happy to relax by the pool, go and see places on port days and enjoy some cheesy jazz hands in the evening with my dsd whilst dh relaxes elsewhere.

Just really want a ship with plenty of options for my dsd, it's both her and my dh 1st time cruising so I don't want to pick a dud!

Ah yes I see what you mean- we went (and will go next time) from Southampton so had the Navigator or Independence to choose which have a bit more to do, obviously for the med it means a longer (and more expensive!) trip, and less choice of ports rather than flying over. I'd love to go to Greece and Malta cruising but I can't fly so I'm limited!

Sorry I can't help more- the cruise critic forum might be able to help, thousands of cruise addicts of all kinds over there, they've been really helpful when I've been stuck.

I've been twice with teens on Thomson cruises. I hate formality and that had put me off cruising in the past. Thomsons are much less formal than others and predominantly British passengers which is helpful for teens making friends. Lots of cheesy entertainment all day long, gym, pools. No flow rider but TBH that's a limited novelty.
We did Adriatic last year and med a couple of years earlier.

We did the Med (from Rome - so mainly Italy and Greek islands) with Celebrity Cruises last year. It was our second cruise and we took our teenage dd.
It doesn't have the obvious teenage attractions but she loved it. She went to the teens club the first night and then they generally just hung out with each other. That included playing basketball, table tennis. Xbox etc.
I regularly had 7-8 teens leaving all their stuff by my sunbed whilst they went in the pool, hot tub etc,
She used to join us for the evening meal but apart from that in sea days we hardly saw her.
She reckoned because there weren't as many teens on there as some ships it was easier to meet people and do stuff. There was still a pretty large number of them but you wouldn't have known if you weren't looking for it.
No really formal evenings on there anymore either.
We made sure to do the occasional teen friendly shore excursion as well- can highly recommend the Segway tour in Rhodes.

Have you checked out Norwegian Epic - great ship for teens, with water slides, teen club, bowling alleys, gym, climbing wall, video arcade etc.

It does a great itinerary out of Barcelona. And it's very relaxed, no formal evenings at all.

budgiegirl No formals on Norweigan Epic? I didn't know that. I don't like that element of cruising.
We may be going with 19 year old DS this year. So he's probably too old for 'teen' stuff but would like all those amenities.
Who do you book with to get flight as well?

Norwegian do have an evening or two which are 'dress up or not' and you do see a few people in suits/cocktail dresses on those evenings. But most people don't, and there's no restriction on where you can eat on those nights. I think a couple of the restaurants require men to wear long trousers, but that's as far as a dress code goes.

We've always booked flights and the cruise separately, but I think you can book from the Norwegian website which sometimes includes flights. Or try Cruise1st or Cruisenation, who do packages including flights and a hotel stay.

Thanks all, great info