Celebrity after RCCL?

We cruised to the Eastern Caribbean last year with our 3 children (6, 4, and 2) and although we had a blast as a family (on RCCL's Freedom of the Seas), there was so much the kids were too young for. So although we had a blast, we surely do not need all those bells and whistles.

They were all in separate age groups for the kids club, too - so that was a big problem - they enjoy each other and really didn't like being apart. Hence, they spent maybe an hour or two in the club the entire cruise. My older two enjoyed what the kids club had, just wanted to be together.

So, this brings me to our current situation. We are thinking of grabbing a last minute deal on the Celebrity Summit going to Bermuda. My oldest (now almost 8) is totally not interested and would rather stay home with his grandparents (I'm fine with this, we had a family vacation in February and we have two other family vacations planned this year). Now, my two youngest would be sailing with us. They can be together in the kid's club as they are 5 and 3.

My questions...how is Celebrity's kids club for this age? Anyone have dailies for the Fun factory?

Is Bermuda family friendly? Will it be too cold to swim mid to late May?

I know they will love the aquarium/zoo -

Is Celebrity OK for a family with young kids? Will it be completely different from RCCL's Freedom? Like I said, we don't need all the bells and whistles of Freedom, but we did enjoy the rest of the cruise experience.

Very long winded, sorry...just looking for some thoughts/advice from others who have maybe done both these cruises with kids -

We took a RCI cruise this past September and are trying out the Celebrity Summit later this month.

We LOVED Bermuda. My son was almost 5 at the time and we took him to the beach, up Gibbs Lighthouse and on a tour of the island. Very safe and we all had a nice time. He wasn't overly wowwed with the kids club but that is mostly due to his temperment. He is rough and tumble not arts and crafts. And as an only child, he is used to hanging out with his father and I and (FOR NOW) seems to enjoy doing so :D

We are leaving in 2 weeks for our first Celebrity Cruise which also has a stop in Bermuda. We are doing a cattamaran trip and checking out Crystal Caves on our day and half in Bermuda this time. We think it will be too cold when we go the first week in May, but you may be fine by the end of the month. I can let you know what he thinks of the kids club if he decides to give it a whirl. Our itinerary is very port intensive so he may or may not.

Hope this is helpful

Both lines are kid-friendly, but from everything I've read/heard, RCI is better for children/teens.

Thanks, Ashley - would love to hear what your son thinks of the kids club if he goes, especially since he is 5 like my son.

Our two enjoy arts and crafts and I think the pool and beaches should tire them during the day. We are hoping to use the kids club for some alone time after dinner - a quiet drink and/or show and maybe a few hours on a sea day to relax in the spa or adult only pool area.

Really looking forward to trying out Bermuda. We enjoyed the Caribbean, but I was worried about safety (crazy, fast driving) with my kids not buckled into anything! So many excursions in the Caribbean were not feasible for us with the ages of our kids. Just being able to buy a bus/ferry pass and go to the beach, aquarium, and caves in Bermuda will make life easier!

I have a 7 year old and he's been on celebrity for 4 cruises and we did RCCL for the first time last year.he loved RCCL much more as there was loads to do. I wouldn't say CC was kid friendly, quite the opposite. The staff adore the kids, it's the other passengers! I've had several nasty comments made over the years how kids shouldn't be on there. My child is not unruly like some on these cruises but I would say for kids that age, don't go celebrity. They are from aged 3 upwards, there is nothing for younger ones

I have sailed Celebrity twice, most recently on the Summit (southern Caribbean itinerary so I can't comment on Bermuda) and have sailed on RCI's Indie. My 2 DS's are older than yours, and have never been big fans of any kids club. We sailed on the Millenium when they were 4 1/2 yrs and 15 months, and our youngest learned to walk on that trip, so it is especially memorable for me. At your kid's ages, I wouldn't hesitate to sail with Celebrity, just don't expect there to be a lot of other kids on board to play with; on our recent sailing, there were only 44 kids on board. None the less, between the kids club and the pool, (and the eating) there will still be enough for them to do to keep them busy.

One thing that has become a bit of a tradition for us is to go to a store when we get to the embarkation port to pick up anything that we have forgotten. We often pick up some snacks for the cabin, and a small toy, (usually Lego) for the kids to play with in the cabin when we have some quiet time away from the noisy crowds in the afternoon on sea days. At your kids ages, they may not still nap, but ours definitely benefitted from having some quiet time to themselves. Everyone was more rested for dinner and the evening and there were fewer meltdowns. As well, they were keen to spend time in the cabin since they had a new toy to look forward to playing with.

We did this sailing last year w/ our 4 year old and he LOVED it. Every morning he would wake up and say, ok mom lets go to the Fun Factory. When we would pick him up he would literally cry! He still talks about it and looks forward to going back in a few weeks.

Bermuda is perfect for younger kids!!! It is very clean and safe. You wont be accosted by locals begging for money or trying to sell you things. Transportation is safe and affordable as well.

Celebrity has the perfect balance IMO. Stuff for the kids to do & enjoy as well as Mom & Dad.

Just returned from a spring break cruise through Southern Caribbean on the Summit. This was our first cruise, so I have nothing to compare it to, but we all had a great time. My 6 & 8 year old liked the Fun Factory programs, especially the 6 year old. I don't have pictures or dailies, but the program seemed well-run and the counselors knew my kids' names after their first day, which I thought was a good sign. They take the kids out of the fun factory for some activities and we frequently checked on the kids to see if they were still having fun or wanted to get out, and the groups seemed under control with counselors watching for everyone and keeping track of all the kids.

There were 400 kids onboard that week (spring break), but the ship itself and the fun factory did not feel overcrowded with kids. I heard there were 900 kids on Serenade of the Seas the same week! We all had a great time and would definitely go again on Celebrity and the Summit. We were a multi-generational family group and Celebrity worked very well and satisfied everyone on the trip.

I remember seeing some of the dailies for the Summit and it looked like the same themes/activities were scheduled for the 3-5 and the 6-8. Did you notice if the two groups were in the same area of the club? Doing the same things, just maybe scaled down for the younger ones? I would have 2 in the younger group and one in the 6-8. My oldest is the shy/anxious one, but if he was in the same general area of his siblings, he might feel more at ease.

For the activities in the fun factory, the groups seemed to overlap - the 6-8 year olds would make puppets and put on a show for the 3-5 year old ones, so they were doing stuff together, but different specific activities. When they were out of the fun factory, it looked like they did not combine the age groups.

We were in Bermuda the last week in May two years ago, and it was hot. Definitely beach weather. However, with all the crazy weather conditions we've had this past year, I don't think there are any guarantees.

The nice thing about the Summit Bermuda itinerary is that you are there for almost three full days so you can do your touring or adventuring on a schedule that fits your family rather than being tied to an eight-to-three or twelve-to-eight schedule when you visit multiple islands.