Princess Cruise Lines have just announced their plan to give the children’s facilities on 14 of their ships a makeover throughout 2018.
With the intention of rebranding its youth programming as Camp Discovery, Princess will continue its partnership with Discovery Communications and renovate the onboard kids’ clubs to include The Treehouse for ages 3 to 7 and The Lodge for ages 8 to 12. There will be a separate facility dedicated to teens, aged 13 to 17 called The Beach House.
The line have confirmed that each space will have its own theme with decor closely matching to the name of each. Camp Discovery will feature hands-on science experiments based on popular TV show Mythbusters, destination-immersive activities that focus on the cultures and nature found in the Caribbean, Alaska and Europe, interactive scavenger hunts, and Animal Planet puppet-and-mask making inspired by local wildlife.
Other activities will include dance classes, miniature golf tournaments, talent shows, video game play, theme nights, paper airplane challenges and LEGO boat-building competitions. A family carnival-type experience with booths and activities will also be set up in the Piazza once on each sailing.
Princess are yet to announce whether the four unscheduled ships will be renovated through 2018 or whether the upgrades will trickle over into 2019.
In other news, Cuba has opened its doors to more US cruise lines and more details of these sailings have been revealed.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has received approval to operate cruises to Cuba, starting in March. All three of the company’s brands- NCL, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas Cruises- will offer guests the opportunity to visit the Caribbean island on select sailings from PortMiami.
The company’s first cruise to Cuba is due to set sail on March 7th on Oceania Cruises’ Marina, followed by Seven Seas Mariner which will call on Havana during two cruises in April. Additionally, Norwegian Sky will offer four-day voyages in May that will overnight in Havana.
Royal Caribbean’s Empress of the Seas will make the cruise line’s first visit to Cuba on an April 19th sailing from PortMiami, and the newly refurbished ship will homeport in Tampa for the summer whilst offering a series of four and five-night sailings that include port calls in Cuba.
Azamara Club Cruises will also be calling on Havana on a twelve-night voyage ‘Hemingway Hideaways’ sailing from Miami March 21st where other stops include Tampa, New Orleans and Mexico.
So, that is today’s news! What are your thoughts on Princess’ plans to revamp the kids clubs? Are your own kids a fan of the line’s children’s facilities? And how about the news on Cuba? Do you fancy sailing there with any of the above cruise lines? Will you seize the chance to sail to a destination that has had a strict ban up until now? Leave us all your thoughts and comments!
