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FOR teens, it's a cruel fate to be seen with parents, even on vacation. That aversion also goes for traveling with grandparents. But I extended an offer my 14-year-old grandson couldn't refuse for his winter break: a Caribbean cruise.

When we boarded the Grand Princess in Galveston, Texas, last month, my grandson, Austen Pacini, and I were apprehensive. What if there were few other teens aboard, a definite downer? Or what if there were so many kids that I found the cruise a disaster?

I hoped the Grand Princess trip would work. I had booked it for several reasons besides its price. It's a 2,600-passenger ship with lots of activities, a huge movie screen above the main pool and the option of having dinner anytime, which I think works better for teens than traditional fixed-seating dinners.

The ship has a dedicated teen center and a teens-only sun deck with hot tub — and I would enjoy its adult-only spaces away from the main action. Our seven-night trip offered active shore excursions in Belize and several Mexican Caribbean ports.

We quickly went to the Deck 15 hangout for ages 13 to 17, called Off Limits. The entrance was a dimly lighted tunnel, leading to a hideaway with lounge chairs, a jukebox, video games, large-screen TV, dance floor and foosball. It was an adult-free zone, except for opening day, when parents had to register teens who wanted to participate in the program. Parents and guardians were given a brochure with program guidelines for youth.

Teens got an Off Limits Rap Sheet with the schedule of events for the week. Starting with a dance/hot tub party with a disc jockey the first night, it registered cool enough with Austen that he skipped dessert to go.

Teens had their own time at the disco (normally open only to ages 18 and older), cashless poker and blackjack, a mocktail party, free arcade time, ice cream feasts, karaoke, late-night movies, games and more dances and pool parties.

Evidently it was winter break for many kids. Our sailing had 205 passengers ages 13 to 17 and 171 ages 3 to 12. Of those, 125 teens and 119 younger children registered in the youth programs.

Except for shore excursions and dinners together most nights, Austen and I went our separate ways. With designated youth security personnel patrolling, besides regular security, I felt all right about his being out late.

"The program helped me meet other teens," he said afterward. "We could leave [Off Limits] anytime we wanted. When the games were stupid, we left and just hung out on the deck or went to a movie."

He was surprised by the size of the ship. "It had a lot of room and a lot to do," he said. "I never really got totally bored, and the shore excursions were cool." His top pick was a trip from Playa del Carmen to the Cobá ruins in Mexico's Yucatán jungle, where he climbed a 138-foot-tall pyramid. (I had scaled it 20-odd years ago and decided once was enough.) Both of us did a Segway adventure on Cozumel, riding the scooterlike stand-up vehicles along the coast to a beach.

Not every cruise goes as smoothly as ours. March and early April sailings usually have more kids. About 800 is the maximum number of kids ever on the Grand Princess, passenger services director Martin Ford said. Larger ships with 3,000 passengers get as many as 1,000 children on a trip at peak holiday periods.

Until recently, lines focused programs on the younger set. But as more families with teens have begun cruising, the major lines have tried to figure out how to entertain this youth group; they've done research and incorporated teen-friendly environments on ships.

Among the innovators is Royal Caribbean International, whose Voyager-class ships with rock-climbing walls, ice-skating rinks and in-line skating tracks have raised the bar on activities pleasing to teens. One ship now has a bungee trampoline, and RCI's Freedom of the Seas will introduce a large surfing pool when it debuts in late spring.

"Teens have a huge input in the decision-making for family vacations," said Charly McDonald, manager of guest activities for RCI. He noted several key elements from their research: "Teens want to be treated very similar to adults…. They want spaces designed to feel like adult places. They want access to the Internet, and they want outdoor space just for them to hang out, be themselves, meet friends and not be with younger kids or parents," he said.

For teens only, RCI's Mariner of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas now have the Living Room, a "Starbucks-feeling lounge"; Fuel, an edgier nightclub; and the Back Deck for lounging, sunning, eating and dancing.

RCI and Carnival now have activity directors who work only with teens. Carnival has created a new Club 02 on its ships, specifically for the 15-to-17 age group, in partnership with Coca-Cola, and has a teen spa program and teen shore excursions.

Disney Cruise Line's two ships each have teens-only territory atop the ship. Holland America Line, which caters to the older crowd, now promotes multigenerational and family reunion cruising and has added a teen-only hangout and Gilligan's Island-style sun deck. Norwegian Cruise Line has a teen club and a bungee trampoline among attractions.

Not all teens, or tweens, want to join organized activities, and unsupervised kids can be problematic, McDonald said: "One of the biggest challenges is parents who seem to forget that parenting responsibilities don't end when you cross the gangway."

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