VAcrew

Some of the posters here have given great advice. My 8-year old son has been on 5 Celebrity cruises and has loved them all, as have we. His first crise was at 18 months, and that was more of the working vacation another poster wrote about. That cruise was a 12-night and we brought a large toy bag for him onboard. We did use in-cabin babysitting 2 or 3 nights. Our dinners were a mix of MDR, the buffet, and in-room dining (for him, on babysitter nights). If you do MDR, I'd suggest fixed time seating, and if not then make reservations for the same time each night and try to sit at the same table each night. The advantage to having the same waiter each night is they'll learn your cadence, and have the highchair and milk cup waiting. For entertainment, the Fun Factory 3-5 year old area was open for toddlers and their parents an hour each morning (I think 8-9 am). it gave our son a chance to play with Fun Factory toys and other kids his age, in a safe, clean area, and gives you a chance to chat with other parents. The stroller someone mentioned is a great idea - we just had our big "mall" stroller, not the umbrella one, but should have done that! We also spent a lot of time wandering around the ship, and walking up and down hallways. He played with the toys we brought both in the cabin and in public lounges.

After he turned 3 he spent a lot of time in the Fun Factory, because he begged to go. Their day is divided into 3-hour chunks of activities, separated by 2-hour meal breaks. The activity periods are 9am-noon, 2-5pm, and 7-10pm. Each activity is different, so for example the Pirate activity won't be repeated later in the week. Most of our cruises have been during the school year, so there may be 25 kids in his age group, half of whom would show up for any given activity. That is superb, because if your kid loves the blocks odds are he'll always get to play with the blocks - there won't be 100 other children fighting for the same toy. Your kids get a lot of attention in the Fun Factory, and the staff is not overwhelmed. I've never sailed during a 500-kid week so I can't speak to those times.

What is amazing is what a rock star your kids become on Celebrity. We had 2 cruises when he was 4 years old, and I remember the waiters all greeting him as we walked through the dining room in the evenings, making funny faces, making anmal sounds, doing tricks. The shop keepers onboard would hold him, and talk to him, and pay attention to him. The babysitters are superb. Everyone was just so kind!!

Other MDR advice - request a table by the kitchen. One cruise that was our assigned table during early seating, and he was mesmerized by the constanly opening door. We'd keep track of how many plates were stacked on the waiter trays, and one waiter gave him a special pen that he insisted was a magical door opener. It was very cool. The best dinner toy I brought from home was a stack of small paper muffin cups (for the mini muffins). Our son stayed busy spreading them out on our table, then stacking them up again.

Book the cruise and enjoy it!

Your pictures are amazing, and I am getting good tips for our trip next year. Thank you for sharing!

I am sad to read this. I was hoping to meet him next summer!

You've given fantastic information and detail, thank you for sharing. I am planning something very similar for June 2018 and will benefit from your trip report!

I've been wondering about July 4th closures / changes too. I hope there are still plenty of tour choices on the holiday.

Thank you for a fantastic write-up. I've just begun planning an Alaskan trip and this is very helpful!

We sailed over Easter this year, on a 10-night cruise. I think there were about a dozen kids in that age range at the talent show on the last day. There could have been even more in that group who didn't actually attend that specific event. Enjoy your cruise!

Wondering if there will be more kids on board for this sailing being Easter/spring break for many...hoping our kids have other kids to hang out with !!

 

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We'll be on the same cruise, with our 7 year old son. He loves Celebrity, and we can't wait!

SHIP: Silhouette

CABIN #: 7107

DECK #: 7

CLASS: Family Veranda

AREA: very front of ship

BED NEAR: 2 separate bedrooms plus the living room, just as presented on Celebrity deck plans. The kids bedroom is near the cabin door, the master bedroom is through the living room.

QUIET?: No. As others reported, these cabins are at front of the ship so are noisy when docking (due to thrusters and some hydraulic lift)

BALCONY VIEW: side of the ship at the very front, the living room has a forward facing window, as does the master BR (you can see the helicopter pad).

BALCONY SIZE: regular size, part of which has a metal wall (instead of fully open to the air)

WIND A PROBLEM?: no

SOOT A PROBLEM?: no

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: fantastic, huge cabin despite the morning noise. Sofa and 2 chairs plus a round table with 4 dining chairs, TONS of storage, 2 closets, long open shelves. Simply amazing. Look for photos on Google.

Make arrangements as early as possible with the Guest Relations desk, since it's first-come, first-served. They'll try to have the same staff babysit for all the nights you request. At the end of the babysitting time, you'll sign a receipt acknowledging the times, and the charge will be added to your stateroom a few hours later.

The hourly fee covers both babysitters (you get 2 babysitters, for your safety and theirs), and we tipped extra at the end of the week.

Unrelated note: with toddlers you can participate in "Toddler Time" in the Fun Factory, when the room isn't in use by the 3-and-up crowd. It's a nice opportunity for a change of scenery, different toys, and to let small kids play together.

We were on the Silhouette with our 4 year old son 3 months ago, and we all had such a great time we will be back in November. The kids club wasn't crowded (we sailed between Spring Break and Easter) so he received lots of attention, and he attended every morning. They did great crafts/projects and we still have his necklace and paper lei hanging on door knobs. The Kid's Club also had afternoon and evening programs but we didn't participate in those. Instead we exlpored the ship, went to the pool, ate in the MDR every night, had treats in Cova Cafe, watched cartoons while we ate breakfast in bed, and did our own crafts. The in-cabin babysitting is safe, reliable, and friendly. The waiters (ours and others) fussed over him. There are a couple of tables in the MDR near the kitchen doors which are PERFECT for families with small kids - he spent every dinner with his eyes glued to the door watching the waiters and trays going in and out. The room stewards arranged his stuffed animals every night and made towel animals for him. A shopkeeper took a picture with him and paid him lots of attention. The entire staff really does take care of children.

Vacations are an investment and Celebrity with kids is a great choice.