Cruising with kids?

[tophatgirl]

I have been reading Celebrity Eclipse (Solstice) reviews and haven't found much for cruising with kids. We are going on a family cruise which includes two 5 year olds. Anyone with experience cruising on this class with children around this age? Wondering if there will even be enough kids on board to have the kids club (whatever it is called) open or even enjoyable for them.

 

Any links to reviews or first hand knowledge would be wonderful!

 

Cruising December 4, 2011.

[dawnn12]

Im not sure if it will help but we are sailing on the summit in april we have two kids with us 12 and 6 turning 7(on the cruise) ill let you know info about kids clubs when we get back is there a certain thing you were looking for?

[kitty9]

I have been on Solstice during the time you're considering, and there were a total of 12 kids on board, and most of those were infants and toddlers. The kids club was very limited. But, if you could cruise a couple of weeks later, there were 576 kids on that cruise, during the holidays. Celebrity doesn't seem to attract a lot of kids when school is in session. A vast majority of my X cruises are when school is on, and you could count on one hand the number of school age kids on board.

[Booyakasha]

Regardless of ship I don't think there will be a lot of kids on your cruise as all school age children are in school and Christmas break is right around the corner so all of those kids with older brothers and sisters will be waiting for that.

 

That being said. Celebrity does a good job with kids but it is not Disney.

 

B.

[dmwnc1959]

Your cruise is neatly situated a full week after the return from the Thanksgiving 4-day Weekend Break and about two weeks before the long Christmas/New Years Break. Chances are as mentioned above you will be able to count the number of kids on your ship on one hand. If you are flexible the sailings before yours, or 1-2 weeks after, will garner much larger numbers of kids. But on the one you are looking at for Dec. 4th? Your kids may be among the very very few onboard. They won't have many playmates.... :(

[tophatgirl]

We aren't flexible in the date, as this is an entire family vacation (10 ppl) and it has been booked. I know there won't be many kids (the date was not my choice), but am looking for information from travelers that HAVE had children on Solstice ships under similar circumstances. Thanks again!

[Gonzo70]

They still will have a childrens' program even though there just won't be many children on board that time of year. In the future Celebrity's sister line, RCI, generally attracts far more children as well as has many more venues geared towards children and teens. Many people do sail on Celebrity with children and have a good time, but it is more of an adult oriented line than RCI and as such most of the public venues are geared towards adults. The Solstice class ships are beautiful vessels though, so the adults are in for a treat.

[tophatgirl]

Thanks for the reply, Gonzo70. I have never researched cruises, it was a surprise from my DH family to us. Never really thought I would cruise with my dd at this young age, so I am really just trying to gather as much info as I can for her. Myself, on the other hand, will be absolutely wonderful no matter the average age of passenger. On a cruise to beautiful locales afterall! :)

[alj1208]

We are taking our 4.5 year old DS on Eclipse March 5. I plan to post a family-oriented review when we return. I have heard only good things about Celebrity's kids club. Previous posters have been very positive, especially for this age. From what I hear, it's the tweens and older kids who might be bored on Celebrity. The little ones don't need as many bells and whistles. Search the Cruise Critic archives for more info on the Fun Factory.

[tophatgirl]

Well, I will try to look for your review! Great to have an honest opinion from someone with a child close to the age of mine. Have a great vacation!

[phoenix_dream]

There will be almost no other kids on that cruise most likely. But they do have a very nice kids club, and they will have activities for the kids. My son loved cruising from the time he was 3 years old and he often didn't even bother with the kids club. He always enjoyed his cruises on Celebrity. Pack alot of quiet time and family activity stuff (games, crafts, etc) and you will have a great time. There must be something in the sea air - kids actually seem to behave a thousand times better once onboard (although there are exceptions here and there:))

[SI Cruiser]

Personally I would look into Disney.

[urkidn]

We aren't flexible in the date, as this is an entire family vacation (10 ppl) and it has been booked. I know there won't be many kids (the date was not my choice), but am looking for information from travelers that HAVE had children on Solstice ships under similar circumstances. Thanks again!

 

Although not a Solstice ship, I have sailed with my son on Celebrity a couple of times when there were very few children on board. There was a time or two when my then 6 yr old was the ONLY child at the Fun Factory but he wanted to stay. It was like having a private babysitter, she kept him busy with activities and he was happy every time we checked on him. I think he preferred it when there were fewer kids on board, less competition for activities and toys. We sailed NCL one year and the kids program was very full and run like a military school. He hated it and refused to go. With Celebrity, he would race through dinner (even refusing dessert) just so he could get to the Fun Factory when it reopened.

[tophatgirl]

Personally I would look into Disney.

 

 

Thanks for the advice, but if you read my post, you would know that Disney is not an option.