Kids in the Solarium

Alright, I've read all the "chair hog" threads, and at the risk of sounding like a crabby old lady, I've gotta vent my biggest cruise pet peeve:

Kids in the Solarium Pool

I love the Solarium. I cruise on RCI because of the Solarium. I love it when it's quiet. I don't want to hear a reggae band. I want to be able to take a quick little swim without a kid doing a cannonball near me.

And most importantly, I don't want to hear:

"Look Ma! Ma! Ma! Ma! Ma! Ma, Look! Ma, Look! Ma! Ma! Ma!"

On my last cruise, there was 2 little girls at the Solarium with their mother all the time. ALWAYS shouting, "Ma! Ma! Look!" before they jumped in, climbed back out, and did it again.

And I felt like such a curmudgeonly old lady admitting this but I REALLY loved it when the pool attendant came around and kicked them out. :p

Anyway, they'd get thrown out, and every time, they'd leave for about 20 minutes, then come back.

But what's the deal? It's not like there's no other pool area for them. And I couldn't help but think that the kids would've had more fun in the big pool with the other kids. (I think it was mom that wanted to stay in the "quiet" solarium.)

I'm not one to always whine about other people's kids (ok, maybe I am) but this really gets to me.

Who's with me?

You are not alone ;) :D

###

AMEN!!!!!!!!

I cant agree with you more! I LOVE the solarium and is also one of the reasons I choose RCI. It never fails that there are always kids during our cruise in there and unforunately the deck patrol rarely does anything about it unless a passenger complains. Luckily we have had some really good passengers lately and some of them will actually tell the kids or parents that they are not allowed in the area.

But, I whole-heartedly agree with you. I enjoy the solarium for the relaxing, quiet-ness of it and it REALLY annoys me when brats or the "my child is an exception to the rule because they are so good" parents bring their kids there. Sorry for the anger, but its really a sore spot with me LOL

I can't recall any kids on our Jewel cruise in the Solarium 2 weeks ago........but I think because it was spring break time, they were more aware of it maybe..........

but I agree with you!!

Wow, so far so good, I was expecting a good flaming from a few of those "my kids are so good the rules aren't referring to them" parents.

I think we oldsters should run in a pack and jump into the Kid's pool, wearing depends. That should give inconsiderate parents quite a hint. ;)

The fact that she kept coming back is just plain ignorant and selfish. I would let the pool attendants do their job, but the 2nd or 3rd time I would probably say something.

Yes....I would have also said something.....similar to:

"How many pools do you think kids need? ALL of them? Do you mind if we have ONE calm-water pool on the ship?"

I should add here that we have had an inground pool for 34 years. It has always been in constant use by our kids, our neighbors kids, our cousins and their kids, and our grandsons and all of their friends. They even brought some of the high school football team to swim daily when they were in training in the summertime.

We love kids!!! But dear GOD....adults are entitled to have a quiet place just like kids are entitled to their fun places aboard.

I of course, have 2 children that are always behaving like little gentlemen:eek: Ha! But I agree wholeheartedly! The Solarium is for adults only. As a matter of fact, I was annoyed that they open it up to those "16 years old and up". The teens can be more obnoxious than the little ones!

I'm with you......Solarium=adults!

Did any of the other passengers (or yourself) say something to those parents? This happened on one of our cruises, and finally, the adults in the pool made the father aware of the rules. He wasn't happy, but then, neither were we! But, he did slink out--kid in tow!!!

I agree. I personally don't mind the cannon balls and such but it is an adult only pool and you should be able to escape in there and enjoy your cruise.

When I raised my kids I listened to the yelling and crying and whatever. My kids now have their own kids & I love them to death. BUT.......... I love it when they leave and the house is quiet again.

I want to make the choice to be around kids, not have it made for me. I'm vocal enough that I would have been letting that parent know her children didn't belong there!

Well, I did actually. Because the sign was only in English, but the cruise was out of Italy, so I thought that maybe this one man didn't understand the sign? There was a man with a little boy, and I saw him looking at the sign for a while, and then they got in the pool anyway.

I said to him, "Excuse me, do you speak English?" And he said he did (with an accent) and I said, "The sign says no children under 16 allowed." And he said he was sorry and took his kid and left.

But I don't want to have to be the pool attendant when I'm on vacation. (And if I have to, they should be paying me, not the other way around.) And the woman who kept bringing her kids in again and again obviously didn't care.

And, the truth is, there were time when there were kids swimming quietly, and it didn't bother me at all. And I wouldn't have said something. But the kids who are doing canonballs or saying, "Ma! Ma! Look!" - that really gets to me.

My daughter is 7. She is a well behaved young lady (mostly). We take her to the dining room for dinner each night as an exercise in civility and manners (plus the good eats). She does not, however, go to the Solarium pool. Why? Cause I can read the sign. We like to have our "grown up" time by the pool with some cocktails. So on a sea day, she goes to AO and we go to the Solarium. Everyone is happy.

On our Legend cruise, we had a similar situation. The pool attendant asked who the 2 boys belonged to and asked them to leave. They (parents and children) were snotty about it, but did leave. We commended the crew member for doing her job. Many times they hesitate to ask people to leave so as not to offend or "get in trouble". How sad that people cannot read a sign and follow the rules.

Last week on the Rhapsody my DS 16 was the one ratting out the younger kids. Every time he wanted to play ping pong there was a younger kid hogging the table. He kept pointing out the sign or getting a pool attendant. I personally never saw any kids thrown out of the solarium and there was a lot of them! I did find the 16-17 y/o kids to be fine (I think they knew they were being watched). On the other hand the 18-25 y/o were the noisy ones.

Most annoying was the people bringing crying babies into the area. I go there for the peace and quiet.

Why put a cafe in an area for adults only? Who wasn't thinking when they planned this?

Denise

Count me in too. :rolleyes:

We are frequent users of the solarium area. We like the peace and quiet, to read, relax, whatever.

On both our cruises it happened that a family casually strolled in, kids in tow, completely ignoring the sign.

Now what is it with some people. It should be painfully obvious when:

a) there are no other kids around

b) the relaxed atmosphere is totally unlike the main pool area they just strolled in from,

c) every one of the occupants is glaring over their bi-focals and giving dirty looks,

d) a few people bump into the "Age Limit" sign trying (unsuccessfuly) to draw attention to it.

Sheesh!

Anyway, they didn't last too long. Eventually, in walks a towel attendant, (who had obviously been tipped off) to say something to the offending party.

Off they go in a huff, deciding to grace some other area with their presence. :rolleyes:

We didn't see any teens ignoring the rules. Any that entered the area, took a quick look around, and decided in short order, that the Solarium wasn't "cool" enough for them and left. ;)

P.S. This absolutly IS NOT a slam on kids. Just a comment about some parents who think pool rules don't apply to them.

On our Grandeur cruise last August, my husband abd I used the solarium pool each day. In general, it was quieter than the outdoor pool and didn't have children under 16 using it. However, one day, a girl, who appeared to be at least 16 and her mother were some of the pool's occupants. The girl kept doing cannonballs and jumping in off of the side of the pool splashing everyone else. Her mother was encouraging her to do the jumping. It was annoying a bit, but they didn't stay too long. I don't remember seeing her any other day. If 16 year olds want to be able to use the solarium pool, I feel that they and any other passenger should respect the other swimmers. If they want to jump into a pool, go use the outdoor one(s).

Last week on the Brilliance, in walks grandma with a 6 or 7 year old in tow. Mommy was there and pointedly looked at the sign and still stayed. The little boy was climbing all over the elephant sculpture in the pool which is pretty high off the ground and is bordered on one side by the pool ledge. We were in some pretty rough seas and all I could picture was this kid falling off the elephant and cracking his head open. I couldn't stand it anymore and decided to go for a swim right next to the mother. I casually mentioned that kids were NOT allowed in here. She says thats ok, he is because we are with him. I politely corrected her that parents or no parents that it was a ADULTS only area and kids were not allowed. She totally ignored me, so I got out of the pool and walked over to a pool attendant on the other side (and I didn't care if the mother saw me or not ) and reported her and the kid. He came over and kicked them out and she made a bit of scene. I tried to do it discreetly but some people don't understand a hint unless it is the size of a brick!!!

The following is an older post of mine from my Grandeur experience.

We saw a young family in the solarium just about every day of our cruise. Baby in diapers, in the pool and no crew ever said a word to them. In fact, one day I saw a crew member helping the mother put the baby down for a nap.

 

The father was very annoying in that he would throw a ball to the baby and then the baby would say "whooo", then the father would yell "whooo." This went on for many minutes...echoing in the closed solarium. While the baby was taking a nap, the father and some other guys played some type of card game. Every so often, the father got up and ran around the pool area decking, yelling something. Not a very peaceful time. :mad:

 

Three rules were broken:

No children under 16

No diapers

No running

 

I love children, it's the parents that are annoying to me.

 

And, the truth is, there were time when there were kids swimming quietly, and it didn't bother me at all. And I wouldn't have said something. But the kids who are doing canonballs or saying, "Ma! Ma! Look!" - that really gets to me.

Had a family with a baby in diapers:eek: and a young handicapped kid(also diapered) in the solarium pool on the EN last year....I told the pool guy about it...........he talked to them,but they stayed..................It was who they knew:mad: :mad: I was not a happy camper(cuz this same whole family was allowed in the CL every night too).......

Heck! I dont care if they are just sitting in the pool twiddling their thumbs,I dont want any kids in there at all.......

 

Had a family with a baby in diapers:eek: and a young handicapped kid(also diapered) in the solarium pool on the EN last year....I told the pool guy about it...........he talked to them,but they stayed..................It was who they knew:mad: :mad: I was not a happy camper(cuz this same whole family was allowed in the CL every night too).......

OMG, I just had to take a blood pressure pill :eek: You have clout so I hope you reported this to someone (after your cruise)!!! ;)

###

Have no problem confronting offenders of this policy or putting the RCL folks on their case.

Bottomline, a call to the Purser's/Security Desk usually solves the problem.

This is why we cruise during the school year and do not cruise Disney.

Have done the kids thing reasonably successfully twice in this life so this is our vacation!

Our absolute horror on a cruise... drunk (under age) kids running wild... and parents who simply do not care.

i hope they do something about keeping kids out of the adult only solarium pool - imho, 16 is too young to be in the pool also- since when is 16 adult?

I have 2 sons, ages 11 and 8. I make arrangements to get some adult time in The Solarium. I make sure that they are in the kids club. My husband and I deserve a vacation too! We were on Brilliance of the Seas in January. We were in The Solarium enjoying the peace and quiet. There were 2 small children jumping in the pool and screaming with joy every time they jumped in. The mother was totally oblivious to the children. I was irritated. This mother felt that she should be the one to interrupt everyone else's "child free" time. If I wanted to be with a screaming child, I would not have made arrangements to have my kids in the Kids' Club. Please, be as considerate of others, as you would want them to be of you.

Susan

Have no problem confronting offenders of this policy or putting the RCL folks on their case.

 

Bottomline, a call to the Purser's/Security Desk usually solves the problem.

 

This is why we cruise during the school year and do not cruise Disney.

 

Have done the kids thing reasonably successfully twice in this life so this is our vacation!

 

Our absolute horror on a cruise... drunk (under age) kids running wild... and parents who simply do not care.

Just about everything I've ever read by other members confirms that Disney is strict about enforcing their adults-only areas (pool, restaurant, etc.). Apparently they are a cruise line which "gets" that adults need adult time too.

Now, if only their fares weren't so high and if only they had more ships...

beachchick