Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka Love Being the 'Coolest Parents of the Friend Group' (Exclusive)

The couple shared that their kids' friends have dubbed them the "cool parents"

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka are loving life with their teenagers.

The How I Met Your Mother actor, 50, and his celebrity chef husband, 48, recently chatted with PEOPLE as they prepared to set sail on the high seas on the Disney Wish. The couple, who partnered with the Disney Cruise Line, opened up about life with twins Harper and Gideon, who recently turned 13.

"They've been great," Harris tells PEOPLE. "They're surprisingly great. They're city kids, they live in Manhattan, New York, so I find them fairly mature 13-year-olds, but it's nice to see them navigate the world now that they're teenagers with some sense of knowledge and sense of self."

"That's what we work really hard as parents to do is instill some sort of values into them, and then you sort of let them go and exist and they're crushing it. Very proud of them."

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As their kids transition into their formative teenage years, the couple admits their house hasn't become the place to be — yet.

"Honestly, they're at such a rigorous school. Literally they come home and do homework. It's wild. Not a hangout house yet. I mean there are play dates and sleepovers and things like that, but maybe soon," Burtka says.

But Burtka and Harris can take pride in knowing that they are the cool parents in their kids' friend group.

"We're definitely told we're the coolest parents out of all the friend groups," Burtka proudly shares. "I didn't realize it was a competition!" Harris laughs.

"Oh, it's a full competition," Burtka jokes. "Wow. Okay. Well, I'm glad we know we've ranked," Harris replies.

"You hope as kids get older that they want to share more with you, and are willing to tell you when things are happening as opposed to just keeping you out of the loop. So that's nice to hear," the Uncoupled actor continues.

"The more access you give them to yourself, I think the more access they'll give to you," Burtka adds.

Harris and Burtka are thrilled to be partnering with the Disney Cruise line for this extra special voyage. Their family of four sailed from Port Canaveral, Florida to the company's private island, Castaway Cay, in the Bahamas.

"We're Disney diehards and we love Disney's ability to create these amazing escapist experiences that are accessible to everyone. It's remarkable," Harris says. "Like when we walked on board the Wish, they announced our family name and all the crew members were there and applauded, and Tiana and Naveen were upstairs and we said hello to them and we felt very special."

"And then four minutes later they do the same thing to the Smith family as they walk in, and they feel very special. And I don't know, there's just something kind of wonderful about being treated so well regardless of who you are."

"For all ages too," Burtka adds. "We had been on a Disney cruise when our kids were really little and it was interesting that people remembered us from when we got on the last one."

But the proud dad says that coming on a cruise with teenagers is an entirely different thing.

"It's going to be interesting seeing how we do as a family with older kids this year. I think it's going to be more fun in ways."

The couple's son Gideon has had a particularly exciting winter after starring in his middle school's production of Newsies. "He did great," Harris says. "We were so proud of him and he didn't share too much of the process, but they rehearsed for months before and everyone was great in their own sixth, seventh, eighth-grade ways."

Agreeing that Gideon was very passionate about his craft, Burtka says that "he'd wake up with a spark. And that's so great when your kid finds something that brings them joy in life, it's like a reason to get up and go and see his friends and be part of this tribe."

"We try not to push them towards any skill sets. Let them find their own path," Harris continues. "And so when that path is any sort of entertaining or entertainment even then it becomes its own interesting challenge, because you want to support them and yet you want to give them advice you have performed before."

"But I think it's imperative that they learn things and come to you when they have questions, as opposed to you feeling like you need to shape them in ways that you see fit. It's their journey, and if this winds up being his, he's off to a great start."

While Gideon's off on his own journey in the entertainment space, Harris says there's one thing he'd love for his son to learn now.

"I'm just trying to get Gideon to put the napkin in his lap at a table for a meal," Harris jokes. "Every meal it's as if it has never been explained to him. They are 13 years old and it's still, 'What is this piece of cloth? What am I supposed to do with this thing? It goes where?'"

As for Harper, Burtka says he's trying to make her understand that she can't control what other people are feeling.

"I've been saying to her, why don't you take the emphasis off the other person and worry about yourself a little bit more? Worry about what you are bringing to the table instead of worrying about what other people are doing to you," he says.

"Focus on your own track and keep on point to what you do and what you're responsible for."

As they head into their relaxing vacation, Burtka and Harris say that they're most excited to spend time exploring the Disney Wish. "We'll probably get lost five or six times," Harris jokes. "Exploring the gigantic amazing magic Wish boat will be a treat."

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Read the original article on People.