MrsWaldo

Seconding the grand in Stockholm but don't leave to too late

Missed it on 06,,,, so good in 13

Stayed at the Adina in CPH cos i knew wed want to eat homestyle…. mistake

Nimb was excellent but i was with 2 younguns and they did the rides from open until close plus they had some band on that night (not sure who) and we could watch from the window and tix were close to the price of the room!

Does any one know of any drawbacks to 610, 611 or 613.

I'm considering the holiday cruise and pickings are slim :(

Bwahahaha

but an old folk or two being selfish or bitter enough to make such a silly crack is hardy agism and, I'm doubting it was the sentiment of more than a few

Oh but it is only a person or 2…. if you read back over the entire thread I have mentioned that it is not just a small or one off.

You only had to be on the coach that was doing a transfer for boarding in one of our ports….. as Miss W boarded one person moaned "kids" and the entire bus seemed to let out a collective groan Now this person was probably not much older than myself. It was like being the new kid in the class that is really unpopular and they know they have little chance of making friends.

Henry, just as an aside with the dining thing. I am assuming your wife wasn't with you? Since Mr W passed away I have noticed that we are less likely to be sat with a group and that there is an element of "snobbery" because clearly I am too young to be a widow and must therefore be out spending my allowance or chasing someone else's husband… but that is a whole different thread and not just confined to SB…

(FWIW This was way less prevalent on the Antarctica cruise than any other thing I have done)

Miss W has just moved to Bergen for 8 weeks and is spending a week in Tromso so I'll ask her some hot on the ground tips when she gets home.

In Copenhagen I think the thing we most enjoyed was the morning out to Helsingor/Elsinor. Try to get out there early as there is a tour in English in the mornings and it was very informative. The train runs about every 30 mins and you can either connect to a tram our do the pleasant walk out along the water

http://www.kronborg.dk/english/

The other place to definitely walk around is Christiana. Don't be put off by people telling you it is unsafe. Just respect the no photos areas and all is good (although I know a few people took photos of some of the graffiti and ensured there were no people in them)

We stayed at the Adina out near the port as similar theory with schlepping bags. While it was excellent having a 2 bedroom apartment and being able to self cater after indulging on Sojourn, the place was not clean enough for me.

Transport is quite expensive so mark sure you get one of the passes.

Glad to hear Emily is keeping Henry in control just like a good daughter should ;)

The following is my view and also the view of the two people I'm travelling with. I'm donning my flame retardent suit. There are too many kids onboard. The majority are over 12 and aren't a problem. However there is a toddler, referred to previously in this thread, and a few other young kids. We're finding the pool to be unusable because of shouting, screaming, splashing etc. Not blaming the kids - they're bored. We've overheard one set of parents whining that "the kids have nothing to do". Parents doing a little more research prior to booking young kids on SB would help !! The ships are too small and too adult oriented for young kids.

 

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No retardant required here. I agree totally. You can only hope that the fact the kids have nothing to do will get around.

And yes the problem is usually that parents don't quite get that the pool is not really a play area, lots of people like to laze around, soak up the sun and read.

You and me both

I am now looking at next year in Vietnam etc

OH an FWIW Miss W is on her way to Dubai and scored and upgrade…. msg from phone,,,, mum the whole cabin is kids… Kudos to emirates for zoning kids but obviously 20 yo (OMG where did my baby go) fitted into the kid zone

not 14 year olds who are young adults.

Clearly quite a few people consider 14 (or those that are of similar age or at least appear to be) to be children.

Not reining in undisciplined children is a whole new thing...

This is Mrs Waldo's daughter posting from her account because cruise critic is yet to approve me.

To present the argument against children from another perspective:

So X is homosexual. His friends would like to go out and they invite him to come with them to a straight bar. Now X knows that sometimes people in those sorts of bars can be homophobic and make really horrible comments, especially when drunk. He goes anyway because he doesn’t want to miss out on a night with his friends. When a group of people start making nasty comments and harassing X whose fault is it? Is it X’s fault because he went to the bar knowing that is was a possibility? Is it his friends’ fault for putting him in that situation?

Of course not, it is the intolerant individuals who have ruined his night by making hurtful comments before actually getting to know him.

Conversely this could be a straight person in a gay bar, an African American prior to the civil rights movement etc. All these people have as much a choice over their offending feature as Emily has over her age.

Now, as much as I wish Mrs Waldo wouldn’t bring me into this as much she has, I feel I need to mention; My first experience of luxury small ship cruising was when I was eleven. At the time I was really into history and wanted to be an archaeologist when I grew up. I thoroughly enjoyed attending the lectures on Viking history, having dinnertime conversations with adults, trivia and all that cruising has to offer (minus the alcohol of course). Often people would make comments, usually rude ones, about the presence of children on board when I was in earshot. Seriously? If you are going to whinge, grizzle and complain keep it within your own group and only ruin your holiday. My brother and I were far less boisterous and outgoing then than we are now, but we still had a wonderful time. We now return as adults knowing what to expect and having been trained in appropriate conduct aboard cruise ships, whether or not we choose to use this training is up to us (or how much alcohol we have consumed ;) )

How can you expect well mannered, polite and intelligent individuals to step aboard a Seabourn cruise ship if their only idea of cruising is Disney? How can you expect adults to want to go cruising if they view it as an overcrowded experience where everywhere you go has an extra five thousand people just from your cruise ship? Whilst this appeals to some it does not appeal to everyone and age should be no boundary as to what you can enjoy.

Charles,

Mine were slightly younger than Emily when they did their first cruise (albeit SS) :)

And yes I'm not a fan of the u12 group, especially if there is a group:eek:

No one ever answered my question…

what is the difference between a slow minefield and a fast one?

;)

Like Charles I would love to go back and do a land based stay on the Falklands. I felt there was so much more to it than just seeing a few thousand penguins. One of the joys of cruising though is getting a taste of smaller places that you may have a first been hesitant to visit.

The problem are parents putting their children in this situation.

 

Is it right that children get verbally abused on board? Of course not. What I am saying is, it is not hard to predict behaviour of some people towards children on board of this particular cruise line. And some of the people who do not wish to see children on Seabourn have voiced this very clearly on here. It can't come as a surprise, surely.

What if the child actively chose the cruise as mine did? In fact it was at their insistence that we tried Seabourn.

I wonder if the same person who made the snide comments to Emily would be game enough to make similar derogatory comments within the hearing of another passenger to whom they had taken a dislike. I suspect not, because they would expect the other passenger to possibly voice their own offense. Effectively the rude person was a bully (abuse by a person in a position of power via their age). I also wonder if that same person was on ewho does not say please and thank you to the staff.

In posting here, Emily has very effectively responded to the person's behaviour without name and shame (surely a mature way to approach a situation) and to also let other cruisers know that such behaviour is offensive and should not be accepted or tolerated. Emily is changing the world through the power of social media, as young people do.

There are a number of posts on CC that have reinforced having older children aboard.

Quotes from fellow pax on our cruises:

"Breath of fresh air"

"Reminds me of all the things that I used to be able to do"

"Nice to hear a young take on our world when i have become old and cynical"

Because some post a negative on here does NOT make it acceptable for people to be downright rude or necessitate that Emily and her peers should just sit back and accept it.

Fletcher,

May I ask which of the Seabourn Antarctic voyages that landed in the Falklands that you found to have unnecessarily frustrating tendering? I think we waited a grand total of about 5 minutes (and that was purely because we had to load people on)

We found it worked like clockwork...

We did an independent and we had a blast (Nyree at Estanza, Nyree is the biological officer)

We weren't on the first tender but they did allow anyone on the queue to get on. The SB tours waited until all passengers were off the ship until they departed and regrouped at point further along the track.

We actually had Nyree's mum driving our vehicle and they knew the tracks and used different ones to the big convoy. We not only got there about 30 mins ahead of the crowds but got back to Stanley before the main convoy despite leaving at the same time and having a minor issue that was dealt with superbly.

not sure when you are going but Nyree's tours are very popular so this may be too late

Also I believe a 14 year old should hang out with their age group, not adults at all times.

My children went on a family holiday to spend time with their family. They had plenty of time to spend with their peers in their everyday schooling and social life. They genuinely enjoyed educational lectures, thought provoking conversation and the opportunity to be exposed to ideas and views different to theirs. I believe this exposure makes them into well rounded, less biased adults.

I do think small children should not be on board, they do impact for the most part on the enjoyment of others.

Emily had already proven herself on a previous cruise to be a suitable passenger and I would much rather cruise with her than some of the sanctimonious drunks that you sometimes have on board.

Perhaps they should also ban groups of more than 4 as they impact on my enjoyment. They should also ban people with canes and walking frames as they impact on my ability to walk down the corridor unimpeded. Ladies who wear overbearing perfume should also be refused sailing as they irritate my sinus.;) Where do we stop?

I am not basing my comments about Emily or my own children in biased manner. I am basing them on comments made by other guests to myself and i am sure to Henry and on cruise critic about the enjoyment they had when sailing with them.

Emily we came very close to booking the cruise you are on and Miss W said to me this morning, oh…. I wish we had been on that cruise. Emily sounds like someone I can really get on with.

Cashew,

I fully believe Emily has written that eloquent post and it sounds as though it may have also been written by my daughter at the very same age as she too experienced the same 'isms' that Emily is now being exposed to.

Emily,

Like you, Miss Waldo (now 20) was a mature and well travelled young lady. Master W (now 23 although he looks 15), also well travelled, were first exposed to the "tut, tut" children on the cruise :eek: on our first (and only) Silversea (at 14 and 11). Their first visit to trivia they were shunned and no one wanted them in their team, our family was split rather than playing in the same team. The first question was a quote from Pride and Prejudice and no one in the team knew the answer, except for Miss W… when we returned to Trivia the next day both children were highly sort after.

They experienced similar at boarding for our first SB cruise and also as we boarded for Antarctica earlier this year.

Like you they have experienced the tucked in a corner in a restaurant, despite being dressed appropriately and able to use silverware with ease.

Unfortunately you will not change the attitudes of those who have stereotyped children and the views they have towards you being on the ship.

I shall now say the same thing to you that I said to them when they experienced the "ism"

In your heart you know you are equal to anyone on the ship and if those people are ignorant enough to think otherwise, let them spoil their own trip by whinging and complaining. Show resilience and brush off the comments.

You may be hurting on the inside now, but I can guarantee that at the end of this cruise your parents will have received glowing complements about your behaviour, just as they did on your last trip.

If by chance you are considering the Christmas Cruise to Thailand next year, I am sure it would be a pleasure to sail with you and you could swap stories with the little waldo's about the ignorance of some adults.

"It's been a heartbreaking lead up "down under but the the sentiment for peace and forgiveness does not change

Merry Xmas and may we all have Peace on Earth

You'll stop in Ushuaia first

it must be the antarctic mega store;)

If you need something for the trip you will find it there

What's wrong with twenty children? Somebody has to row!

Probably means good bye to the card room so they can set up a kid's club.

If you do go with the taxi to town hall, there is also the 555 bus that is free and goes down to the Quay every 10-20 minutes depending on time of day.

Thankfully we had been in the city the day before.

I had planned to go in Monday and would have been close by, however my plans the weekend before were changed and the markets are only on Sundays so i swapped my days around.

Miss W did have friends in the building who had to climb out the window.

Because of our gun laws things like this are very rare. :(

All the best to you and yours for Christmas

I'll second that. Especially when you encounter the first iceberg

Generally yes.

She can't fit under the bridge.

She has one docking this season at Athol Buoy which will be a tender

It shouldn't be too bad as it isn't a major weekend (Saturday morning early is generally quiet as most people are still in transit. Sundays are much busier due to heavily discounted public transport.

There are 2 Pacific cruises in port but these tend to attract a lot of locals so shouldn't have too much impact.