cdbaum

We have noticed on most of our cruises that the writing on the card gets blurry after a few drinks.

My fear/thought on anytime dining, no matter which line, is that they will run into problems because most peoples idea of "any time" is roughly the same time. Since the dining area can only hold a set amount of people someone will have to wait.

 

We tried it and went back to traditional seating.

I wonder if you can use OBC for that...

 

Mike

 

Yes, but you have to go through the excursions desk.

A few more points of clarification. The staff working in the Fun Factory are required to have schooling in education (often a degree) or similar curriculum. There are always multiple staff working in the Fun Factory with the kids, this is corporate policy. Any child that is a problem, behaviorally, is not allowed back into the program after the parents are notified. I believe the fewest number of kids that I have ever seen in there was two or three and that was at odd times.

A few quick points. The children are not free to leave on their own unless the parents have signed paperwork to that affect AND the child is over a certain age (11 I think). When picking up a child a person authorized to pick them up must sign them out. The staff to child ratio is much better than in any school or after school care in most of the U.S.

 

My daughter has been part of the kids program since she was 3 (11 now) and thinks that it is fantastic. She in fact prefers it to Disney and so do some of her friends.

My eleven year old daughter has been doing Celebrity cruises since she was three and loves the kids program. She actually prefers it to Disney because of the freedom and smaller size.

I paid for the cruise and I'll slam the door if I feel like it!!!

The beach is typically near the water

Can anyone verify that there are beach volleyball courts in Labadee? It would make my cruise to find a place to get some games in.

On our most recent cruise the occupants in a cabin upwind of us starting smoking before we left the dock and continued off and on for the duration. To make it worse they weren't smoking cigarettes. We did mention it to guest relations, since it was terrible for my daughters allergies, but said they didn't find any evidence of smoking. Not surprising since you wouldn't leave roaches around or your supply in the open.

 

Must have been from Colorado.

Our last cruise on Reflection was so bad... That we will be on her again in 5 days.

A lot of it depends on the child of course. My 9 year old daughter thinks that Celebrity is great. She actually prefers it to Disney BECAUSE there are less kids and therefore the counselors interact more with the kids and the kids have more say in the activities.

 

She took her first X cruise one week after her third birthday and now has about 10 under her belt with another in a month.

 

You just need to know how much "stuff" your kids need.

My 9 year old daughter has been in the Fun Factory on almost every current Celebrity ship, most recently Reflection. She loves the counselors and atmosphere on Celebrity. In fact she prefers it to Disney because there are less kids and more freedom. All of the staff in the kids programs have child care or educational training and appear to enjoy what they do.

 

It probably depends on the type of child also. In her case she is quite happy doing something independently or just reading a book if it isn't full of kids. But she does really like the scavenger hunts, pirate night, the talent show etc.

My 9 year old daughter would be elite on X if she were 18 and she has been invited to both the cocktail hour and the breakfast by Celebrity staff. Since there is no kids program available from 5 to 7 pm it has actually allowed us to attend the cocktail hour prior to dinner. She typically reads while we are there and considers it down time. If she were doing anything that bothered other passengers I would be the first to remove her just as I would in the dining room, pool or any other part of the ship.

Um, location mostly?

Typically she does her set and then we leave. The total time in the "Adult venue" is about half an hour and she doesn't do anything after 8:00 pm. Some of the locations are dinner theatres. (also churches, charity events, Relay for Life) She isn't waiting tables or throwing out drunks. She has also performed in the theatre on cruise ships and I believe there are adults there with drinks. Would that be considered an adult venue? I was using comedy clubs as an example of places that allow kids (in some instances) but serve liquor.

 

I guess my point was regarding the concept of adult venues or bars versus places that serve alcohol and adults. If the local applicable laws allow minors in an establishment then it is up to the judgment of the parents and the owners as to what is appropriate. A true adult venue will not allow anyone under 18 or 21 depending on the type.

 

Now to ruffle a few more feathers - If it is legal for a minor to be seated at the bar then they would have as much right to be there as anyone else who is spending money. The same would go for a non-drinker. And as one I would like to see you remove me from said stool.

 

Please read carefully. I said before and will now restate that I don't think that a bar at night is an appropriate place for kids, but it isn't my call for others kids.

My 8 year old daughter loves the Martini (ice) bar on the Celebrity ships and we have a fantastic picture of her there, at 11:00 am. She would much rather be in the kids club most of the time. She is not prohibited from being there at any time but neither she nor I would want her to be there in the late evening. She loves the elite cocktail hour however and, since the kids club isn't open right before dinner, she needs to stay with us. If we stop in then she will be there too. We really don't drink so we aren't there to get lit up.

 

She has also been in a number of bars and clubs in the U.S. in the evening, while people are drinking (show shocked face now), and it's legal. She has no choice if she has a gig doing comedy and it's allowed if she is a paid performer. She also doesn't hang out there after her set.

 

So if kids shouldn't be allowed in "bars" since adults will be behaving badly what about coffee bars? Ice cream bars? Sand bars? Unless it is an area that is specifically designated as adults only then kids are allowed there. I didn't say they should be there, but they are allowed. The adults can be doing things that they shouldn't see almost anywhere, it doesn't have to be a bar. Been to a football game lately? Movie? Beach? There is no limit to the stupidity of people in public and drinking just raises the bar.

 

It isn't a child problem, it's an adult problem. If you are doing something that you wouldn't want YOUR child to see then it should probably be somewhere that children can't go.

The additional diesel engines being added to the M class ships are for power generation while docked. With the fuel costs going up it was/is impractical to run a gas turbine solely for electricity while docked.