"When my 15-year-old daughter asked whether she could bring a friend on our next cruise all sorts of negatives ran through my head. I would have to share a cabin with a stranger. I would be left to dine alone in the evenings as the teenagers did their own thing. What if the friend wasn't interested in seeing the places we were visiting? Worst still, what if she found she didn't like cruising?
My daughter, Ilana, had already picked the cruise she wanted: a 12-night voyage with Princess Cruises from Venice to Barcelona via Athens, Kusadasi, Istanbul, Naples, Rome, Florence and Monte Carlo. Ant (Antonia) had never been to most of these places – so of course she would want to see them, I was told.
I take my hat off to Ilana for her persuasive powers because despite my fears, I found myself in Venice with two teenagers in tow, checking on to the Ruby Princess for a cruise akin to the grand European tours of old.
I consoled myself with the thought that, while I would be worrying about anything and everything, it would be interesting to see the reactions of someone who had never cruised before.
We joined the Ruby Princess, in Venice, the following day. In order to see something of the city that evening, we dumped our hand luggage in the cabin (more a suite with a balcony, to get over my "sharing a cabin" concern) and set off on foot for a flying visit with the promise of dinner in Venice in the bargain.
I saw it as a bit of a test. It's only a 15-minute walk before you get lost amid the alleys and canals. Would two teenagers band together and refuse to walk? But they pounded the streets without a single: "Are we nearly there yet?" and I began to think this cruise might just work out after all.
Back on board, we made rough plans for days out during the rest of the trip, all avoiding the ship's overpriced excursions, which left us free to do as we wanted at each port.
Kusadasi? Ilana and I have been to Ephesus, the former Roman city just outside the port, and Ant was desperate for a swim (an allergy to chlorine put the ship's pools out of bounds). Decision made. We will find a beach.
Piraeus? We'll walk to the station (a pleasant 25 minutes along the harbour), catch the train to Athens and find our way to the Acropolis.
Mykonos? The beach beckoned the girls again, while I had my eye on a nearby waterfront wine bar that I remembered from a previous trip.
Civitavecchia? We'll need an early start to get the first shuttle bus out of the port to catch the train to Rome, if we're to have time to see the city.
Livorno? It has to be Florence as Ant has not been there.
Monaco? We'll wander and dream of a millionaire's lifestyle as we eye up the gin palaces moored in the harbour and Rolls-Royces parked outside the casino.
Seeing the ports in this way showed how easy – and much more fun – it is to explore without joining a group tour.
With each port day mapped out, there was only time on board left to think about. As well as the evenings after our excursions ashore, there were three sea days to fill.
When I cruise with Ilana, we agree that time on board ship is her own, but we dine together in the evening. However, I reckoned the last thing two cool teenagers would want was to eat with one uncool mother, so I left Ilana and Ant to their own devices, with an open invitation to join me for dinner.
In the event, we ate together a few times in the dining room (Princess's "anytime dining option" means you can eat when and with whom you like, so we could mix and match tables to suit) and also in the Crown Grill, the steak and seafood restaurant. Surely not just because I was picking up the $25-per-person tab? We had a delicious meal there, much less frantic than in the dining room, where they serve up to 750 people at the same time.
Leaving the girls free to do what they wanted on board meant I was also free to have my holiday. There were spa treatments to try and a lounger in the adult-only Sanctuary – a peaceful area with faux greenery and sunbeds with deep cushions – with my name on it. One evening I joined the Chef's Table, a dinner for just 12 people that Princess offers on sea days – which includes starters in the galley, a five-course meal and free-flowing wine. All for $75 per person, which was excellent value.
Ilana and Ant, meanwhile, spent the sea days relaxing in the sun, keeping fit in the gym (which Ant declared "amazing"), learning the rumba and cha-cha in the dance classes – yes, really – and grazing their way around the ship. The self-service restaurant is open 24 hours, and there is also a pizza bar and grill for hot dogs, burgers and the like.
They also checked out Remix, the teenagers' club, but were unimpressed with the activities (discos, sports tournaments, pizza parties and karaoke) the youth staff laid on, preferring to do their own thing. It was an interesting lesson for me, discovering that two good friends didn't feel the need to be organised to have a good time. In the evenings, they usually watched films on a big open-air screen by the pool – and so did I. They also ventured into the theatre a couple of times to watch the song-and-dance shows.
We all went to the final of Princess Pop Star – a sort of X-Factor at sea in which the Simon Cowell character struggled to be negative because the singers were surprisingly good – and to watch the hypnotist. "He should only have done one night," Ant whispered after we watched him do an exact repeat of his first show.
So would you cruise again, I asked Ant, as we flew home from Barcelona? "I like the way you can visit lots of different places on a cruise," she said, "but sea days are kind of boring."
I think that means: "yes, as long as the itinerary is right."
Sample holiday
A 12-night Grand Mediterranean cruise from Venice to Barcelona on Ruby Princess on July 16, with calls including Istanbul, Naples and Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, costs from £3,099 per person for a mini-suite including flights and transfers, and £999 for teenagers aged under 16 (0845 3 555 800; princess.com)."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/7511840/Cruising-with-teen-spirit.html
