Kids in CL?

[Debde]

I will use the CL lounge before dinner. I would expect other guests to treat my family with respect, as we will respect them. If one person says ANYTHING rude to me or my grandchild, I will go directly and lodge a complaint against that person. I have paid for the right to use the CL with them. I will not be doing anything against policy.

 

People that do not want children in the CL can voice their opinion to the cruiseline, but please do not be rude to me when I am just using a perk that Royal has allowed me to use.

 

Totally agree with this post.

I've said this many times on this subject, I think we have more keyboard warriors here then folks who would actually pick on children and families in real time.

[rubrrick]

Thank you Hostkewlguy - my thoughts exactly.

 

I've read this with interest too. There is an assumption that the only people complaining about the policy change are D+. Wrong assumption. We will be D+ soon BUT we booked a GS on our next cruise specifically to spend time in the CL with friends who are also in a GS. We like the adult happy hour and will most likely spend an hour or 2 in there before dinner every night. We behave appropriately - with occasional shrieks of laughter :D We won't swill alcohol but we will drink - we will also tip nicely for the privilege. If it becomes Romper Room, I will gently voice my concerns to the concierge, mention it on the comment card and contact corporate. We booked with the understanding of what we are getting - once again, RCCL management has changed the rules. Of course, they are entitled to do so just as we are entitled to look around for other options. It's no coincidence our next cruise is now Celebrity - they seem to have switched identities - X is providing MORE perks to their repeat, adult guests while RCCL seems to be catering to families and reducing perks to C&A members. We will be D+ after our next cruise and I fully expect to "lose" CL access, just as we did after we became Diamond. It's frustrating to have RCCL dangle a carrot repeatedly and then snatch it away.

 

I'll be happy to report back on our CL experience when we return from Mariner in early December.

 

 

We expect that you will be with us in the CL on the 27th or 28th, and would love to hear your view points. I'll buy the first round!!:D

 

Rick

[TerriDHair]

TerriDHair-

With all due respect. A child getting loud and a parent going Shhh a few times is not going to make any changes IMHO. Agree with the one poster-no hysteria with those experiences.

I have seen drunk adults do far worse then climbing on the couch.

 

Debde, I agree that these particular incidents are not going to get anyone to change the policy. But I do believe that expressing my opinion in an email, along with many others doing the same, could possibly make a difference at some point.

And I may be mistaken, but I believe Teddie meant that he did not see what the hysteria about my "objective" post was.

Again, what you may have seen drunk adults do is not the point of this thread. The thread was started for people to voice their opinions about the then upcoming policy change to allow children. Now that the change has been implemented and people have experiences to report, it makes sense that the thread has run its course. I do not believe I am the only one who would like to read reports of what people experience, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I plan to start a thread for that purpose. I'm sure there will be posters who use the thread as a way to insult anyone who is opposed to the policy, but again, that is not the point.

 

I am cruising with my two well behaved grandchildren. The cabin we booked has the CL perk. I book high end cabins when it suits our needs.

 

I will use the CL lounge before dinner. I would expect other guests to treat my family with respect, as we will respect them. If one person says ANYTHING rude to me or my grandchild, I will go directly and lodge a complaint against that person. I have paid for the right to use the CL with them. I will not be doing anything against policy.

 

People that do not want children in the CL can voice their opinion to the cruiseline, but please do not be rude to me when I am just using a perk that Royal has allowed me to use.

 

Nowhere have I seen anyone mention that they have or would say anything rude to a grandparent/parent or the child that is with them. It would be well within your right to complain if someone did. Just as it would be well within my right to say something to the adult in charge if their child if the child was misbehaving in such a way that it was infringing upon me and the adult was not correcting them. I would do so in a politie manner and if that did not resolve the issue I would let the Concierge know and let them handle it.

[skeezix]

I myself am happy to hear that we will be able to bring our girl with into the lounge, she is 15 and will be the only kid with us. I have no intention of leaving her unsupervised on the ship. Being able to bring her with us means she will be able to enjoy all of the benefits of our suite with us. I have two younger grandkids and there is absolutely no way would I ever bring them into the CL as they are not well behaved and are loud thus ruining the atmosphere completely, I understand the how most people feel about having a place with no kids, however I think teens providing they act as adults should be able to handle some time in the lounge with parents in tow. I am sure if she is allowed into the lounge most people won't know she's there unless they see her. I am not trying to cause any bad feelings , just my opinion on the kids issue.

[Cindy]

I've read most of this thread, and I've been debating whether to comment or not. I finally decided I can't keep my mouth shut!:o

I can see both sides of this argument. On the one hand, I can understand people in suites wanting to be able to take advantage of the percs they paid for. On the other hand, I can see how too many children in the lounge could diminish the experience for other paying guests or D+ members.

I have a personal interest in this because my husband and I are greatly looking forward to our first OS in March. Even though we don't have children, we have to cruise during school vacation weeks because I'm a principal. Since I know from past experience there are about 1,000 children on the ships from Galveston during Spring Break:eek:, I was looking forward to the CL as a nice "adult" atmosphere in the middle of the madness.

I know I will probably offend some people by saying this, but I do feel that most of an RCCL ship is very child and family friendly, and I don't have a problem with that. However, sometimes I feel like the adults travelling without children are the ones who get overlooked...frequently the venues and activities that are billed as adults only aren't kept that way. Maybe if the cruiselines (not just RCCL) did a better job of enforcing the age requirement in the adult venues I wouldn't care as much about not having an adults-only cocktail hour in the CL.

[yj2cute]

I've read most of this thread, and I've been debating whether to comment or not. I finally decided I can't keep my mouth shut!:o

I can see both sides of this argument. On the one hand, I can understand people in suites wanting to be able to take advantage of the percs they paid for. On the other hand, I can see how too many children in the lounge could diminish the experience for other paying guests or D+ members.

I have a personal interest in this because my husband and I are greatly looking forward to our first OS in March. Even though we don't have children, we have to cruise during school vacation weeks because I'm a principal. Since I know from past experience there are about 1,000 children on the ships from Galveston during Spring Break:eek:, I was looking forward to the CL as a nice "adult" atmosphere in the middle of the madness.

I know I will probably offend some people by saying this, but I do feel that most of an RCCL ship is very child and family friendly, and I don't have a problem with that. However, sometimes I feel like the adults travelling without children are the ones who get overlooked...frequently the venues and activities that are billed as adults only aren't kept that way. Maybe if the cruiselines (not just RCCL) did a better job of enforcing the age requirement in the adult venues I wouldn't care as much about not having an adults-only cocktail hour in the CL.

 

Just to clarify, again, it's not just D+ members unhappy with the new policy. It's suite guests traveling without children, and even with children in some cases, as well as D+ & pinnacle guests who also travel in suites. The people who keep saying that continuous complaints may get D+ booted from the CL seem to keep forgetting that fact.

 

 

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[Debde]

Just to clarify, again, it's not just D+ members unhappy with the new policy. It's suite guests traveling without children, and even with children in some cases, as well as D+ & pinnacle guests who also travel in suites. The people who keep saying that continuous complaints may get D+ booted from the CL seem to keep forgetting that fact.

 

 

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So, could it be that D+ plus were the ones that wanted the change to begin with? We all assume it's suite guests but possibly D+ wanted the new change!! There had to be an awful lot of requests for a long period of time for corporate to make the new change.

 

TerriDHair-great idea for a new thread but I would hope this forum, including myself:o could resist posting opinions and just read about first hand experiences.;) I'd give it my best shot!!:)

BTW-there was someone on one thread that admits the children were well behaved but tried to rally other guests to complain. this also could be a situation runnerandme does not want to encounter and may have read about it.

 

Cindy-great points. I'm no corporate leader but I think Royal is trying to push it's passengers that do not travel with children over to X. If you are diamond with royal-you are already elite with X and have the use of that lounge already cruise one.

I'd actually love to know how X ships are during school breaks. Anyone know??

[Cindy]

Cindy-great points. I'm no corporate leader but I think Royal is trying to push it's passengers that do not travel with children over to X. If you are diamond with royal-you are already elite with X and have the use of that lounge already cruise one.

I'd actually love to know how X ships are during school breaks. Anyone know??

 

I'm a mere Platinum, so I was speaking from the point of view of someone who will be using the CL because I'm in a suite.

I haven't been on X...as long as my time is limited to school vacations, the easiest way to a cruise is an hour down the road in Galveston!

[squale2]

Seems to me that the CL was meant to be an adult environment (my opinion). Somewhat like a separate adult pool area or an adult hot tub.

These areas should be accessible to all but it was decided for some reason that they should be reserved for adults even though everyone paid to get on the ship. In much the same way I feel that the CL use was intended.

But for whatever reason the rules have been changed and though the opinions of many are that the lounge should not have kids I don't feel that it is a judgement on kids but a change in the environment.

Maybe there should be a CCL - Children's concierge lounge (just kidding). I enjoy reading the banter going on so please continue.

[RoyalFan2011]

My eight year old daughter will be traveling this Jan with me on the Allure. We are in a GS and she will joining me in the CL. She knows to behave and I expect no problems. But if she were to act up we would leave. I would much have her with me then in the room by herself.

[rubrrick]

So, could it be that D+ plus were the ones that wanted the change to begin with? We all assume it's suite guests but possibly D+ wanted the new change!! There had to be an awful lot of requests for a long period of time for corporate to make the new change.

 

TerriDHair-great idea for a new thread but I would hope this forum, including myself:o could resist posting opinions and just read about first hand experiences.;) I'd give it my best shot!!:)

BTW-there was someone on one thread that admits the children were well behaved but tried to rally other guests to complain. this also could be a situation runnerandme does not want to encounter and may have read about it.

 

Cindy-great points. I'm no corporate leader but I think Royal is trying to push it's passengers that do not travel with children over to X. If you are diamond with royal-you are already elite with X and have the use of that lounge already cruise one.

I'd actually love to know how X ships are during school breaks. Anyone know??

 

 

I posted on another thread about two incidences that involved children in the CL, during our most recent cruise on the Explorer.

 

On one occasion, the passenger came in alone, and ordered an alcoholic beverage. The concierge came up to him, asked him to step out of the CL.......and the concierge came back alone. The young gentleman was not 21, and not with his parents.

 

On the other occasion, a young man was accompanied by his parents, and was very nice, had a soda, and the family left about 15 minutes later.

 

I went on to say that I'm against the new policy, but that's only my opinion, and Mr. Goldstein calls the shots.

 

Someone tried to shot me down because I used the word incidences, and they found it inflammatory. I simply reported what I witnessed, as I have again here.

 

I'm a PC member, that travels in full suites. I have children and grandchildren, our children are as young as 34, and the oldest grandchild is now 10.

 

I grew up in a society where I would never be allowed in a lounge that was for adults, yet my parents drank in our home, or at a restaurant, and I was allowed to sit with them.

 

I have always thought of the CL as an adults only club. It's private, during the cocktail hours, for adults only.

 

Mr Goldstein has broken the "club" atmosphere, as far as I'm concerned, and the CL will never be the same as it once was.

 

Heck.......the cruiselines continue to downgrade themselves, and Royal Caribbean is no exception.

 

The CL, during the cocktail hour.......was a nice adult perk, that is now gone.:rolleyes:

 

That won't stop me from cruising with them, I just don't hold them quite as high as I once did....again my own feelings.

 

I still get a better bang for my buck in an OS or GS on RCCL, than something smaller in the way of real estate in a cabin on Crystal or any other "posh" line.;)

 

Rick

[benjoon]

My eight year old daughter will be traveling this Jan with me on the Allure. We are in a GS and she will joining me in the CL. She knows to behave and I expect no problems. But if she were to act up we would leave. I would much have her with me then in the room by herself.

 

 

Our daughter is 11 and like yours knows how to behave around adults. We just returned from a Med cruise where we had a grand suite. We didn't use the lounge every night but when we did we had no problems entering with our daughter and many people enjoyed her company. The waiter really enjoyed creating a very an exotic fruit juice for her to enjoy. We loved having the chance for a quiet drink before dinner but never stayed long. I think now I can never travel any other way that a GS or above. We were very spoilt.

[LBcruzman]

I grew up in a society where I would never be allowed in a lounge that was for adults, yet my parents drank in our home, or at a restaurant, and I was allowed to sit with them.

 

I have always thought of the CL as an adults only club. It's private, during the cocktail hours, for adults only.

 

Mr Goldstein has broken the "club" atmosphere, as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

Rick

 

But the real fact is that the CL was originally designed for Suite Guests. The rules changed and they made it available to Crown and Anchor loyalty guests of a certain level (and that keeps changing).

 

Prior to a certain date there were NO CL's on any Royal ships. The cruise lines evolve as does Royal. The rules continually change. Some we like, some we don't. The fact is the rules are now different for the CL. Why? It's anyones guess but my guess is they are going after Families more than loyalty. There is a huge demographic of people who have never cruised and Royal wants them. Loyalty, sure, they are still more generous with the loyalty perks than most. But the times they are a changing.

[PEGLEG]

My eight year old daughter will be traveling this Jan with me on the Allure. We are in a GS and she will joining me in the CL. She knows to behave and I expect no problems. But if she were to act up we would leave. I would much have her with me then in the room by herself.

 

Just have Shrek babysit the little R.B.

[PEGLEG]

I posted on another thread about two incidences that involved children in the CL, during our most recent cruise on the Explorer.

 

On one occasion, the passenger came in alone, and ordered an alcoholic beverage. The concierge came up to him, asked him to step out of the CL.......and the concierge came back alone. The young gentleman was not 21, and not with his parents.

 

On the other occasion, a young man was accompanied by his parents, and was very nice, had a soda, and the family left about 15 minutes later.

 

I went on to say that I'm against the new policy, but that's only my opinion, and Mr. Goldstein calls the shots.

 

Someone tried to shot me down because I used the word incidences, and they found it inflammatory. I simply reported what I witnessed, as I have again here.

 

I'm a PC member, that travels in full suites. I have children and grandchildren, our children are as young as 34, and the oldest grandchild is now 10.

 

I grew up in a society where I would never be allowed in a lounge that was for adults, yet my parents drank in our home, or at a restaurant, and I was allowed to sit with them.

 

I have always thought of the CL as an adults only club. It's private, during the cocktail hours, for adults only.

 

Mr Goldstein has broken the "club" atmosphere, as far as I'm concerned, and the CL will never be the same as it once was.

 

Heck.......the cruiselines continue to downgrade themselves, and Royal Caribbean is no exception.

 

The CL, during the cocktail hour.......was a nice adult perk, that is now gone.:rolleyes:

 

That won't stop me from cruising with them, I just don't hold them quite as high as I once did....again my own feelings.

 

I still get a better bang for my buck in an OS or GS on RCCL, than something smaller in the way of real estate in a cabin on Crystal or any other "posh" line.;)

 

Rick

 

Right On ! ! !

[bplazo]

Just have Shrek babysit the little R.B.

 

What is a R B?

[rubrrick]

But the real fact is that the CL was originally designed for Suite Guests. The rules changed and they made it available to Crown and Anchor loyalty guests of a certain level (and that keeps changing).

 

Prior to a certain date there were NO CL's on any Royal ships. The cruise lines evolve as does Royal. The rules continually change. Some we like, some we don't. The fact is the rules are now different for the CL. Why? It's anyones guess but my guess is they are going after Families more than loyalty. There is a huge demographic of people who have never cruised and Royal wants them. Loyalty, sure, they are still more generous with the loyalty perks than most. But the times they are a changing.

 

And I certainly agree with you on the fact that at one point there were no CL's on any Royal Caribbean ship (why did we need them, we all had alcohol at our bars in our suites, 3 full bottles, courtesy of the line), then they no longer were a gift to the suites, but available for purchase.

 

At some point CL's came along, but did not serve liquor in the evenings. They indeed served the suite guests with other items during the day. The rest of the story is well known, right up to now, where the cruise line is continuing to change.

 

What I find interesting is the fact that it's now harder for me to book a suite, just a short way out, as I could in the past. And, as I pass by suites, many more are being used by familys, than just a couple.

 

I would love to see Royal Caribbean start selling bottles of liquor in the ships store once again. I much prefer to purchase a few bottles, and have another couple in to our cabin, listen to music, and enjoy good conversation, than try to find a place to sit in the CL.

 

As I said in my last post, Royal Caribbean is still a great deal, when it comes to the price of suites, and I'm sure that familys are finding that out, hence the change!:rolleyes:

 

Rick

[yj2cute]

So, could it be that D+ plus were the ones that wanted the change to begin with? We all assume it's suite guests but possibly D+ wanted the new change!! There had to be an awful lot of requests for a long period of time for corporate to make the new change.

 

 

No one is assuming anything. We read AG's blog where he stated a small number of suite guests requested the change.

[snowman]

We just got off the Explorer and it was not a problem at all. I was amoung the people that were against it but this changed my mind. Experience speaks.

[booze brothers]

We'll be on the Explore this December. I am a little concerned about the number of kids at that time of the year but will go into the concierge with an open mind.

 

We only had a few incidents on the Allure so hoping it'll be that way on the Explorer.

 

Sure hope they use the overflow lounge.

[MichelleChell]

I don't think any of you that are against it wil be happy untill ALL kids and familys are not allowed to cruise at all! How dare we with children ruin your time by taking a child on a cruise! Some of you are so rude over this subject and I am so tired of it because all I am hearing is a bunch of kid haters! Some people (like me) do controll there kids in public or remove them from situations if they may bother others. If I pay for that perk your dang straight I will use it and bring my kids too!

[Paulxyz2004]

I don't think any of you that are against it wil be happy untill ALL kids and familys are not allowed to cruise at all! How dare we with children ruin your time by taking a child on a cruise! Some of you are so rude over this subject and I am so tired of it because all I am hearing is a bunch of kid haters! Some people (like me) do controll there kids in public or remove them from situations if they may bother others. If I pay for that perk your dang straight I will use it and bring my kids too!

 

Oh you are painting such a beautiful picture. :) Unfortunately we won´t see that day and while I´d be all for it I realize I have to make a compromise as RCI still performs great in other aspects. To be honest I have to say I´m fortunate enough to usually take my cruises at times when kids have to go to school and on longer itineraries that does not attract families too much and at least on those cruises so far RCI has done an excellent job with locking kids away and out of sight in AO.:)

[gerif]

I don't think any of you that are against it wil be happy untill ALL kids and familys are not allowed to cruise at all! How dare we with children ruin your time by taking a child on a cruise! Some of you are so rude over this subject and I am so tired of it because all I am hearing is a bunch of kid haters! Some people (like me) do controll there kids in public or remove them from situations if they may bother others. If I pay for that perk your dang straight I will use it and bring my kids too!

 

I don't think anyone has a problem with kids cruising - however, there are still venues that should be adult only, just as there are venues that are kids only (how would you like it if I went into AO to play computer games? after all, I paid just as much as your children did to cruise, why can't I go where I want?).

 

I realize that some people do control their kids in public (an I've yet to see anyone post on any of these boards who does not or does not have extremely well-behaved, mature for their ages kids - seriously?), but there are a LOT of parents who feel that vacation also means vacation from parenting. Yeah, I'm enjoying myself having a few drinks and adult conversation, who cares if the little tyke is running around and touching all the snack food on the plate - I'm on vacation and I paid for this perk.

[Elizanessie]

I am curious, parents who take their children into the CL...do you take your children into the other bars onboard the ships...or is it because the CL is a perk ? :confused:

[Mack2]

I realize that some people do control their kids in public (an I've yet to see anyone post on any of these boards who does not or does not have extremely well-behaved, mature for their ages kids - seriously?), but there are a LOT of parents who feel that vacation also means vacation from parenting.

 

There's two themes in this statement.

 

I truly believe that the people who frequent the Cruise Critic boards are conscientious enough to have well-behaved children... I mean, if we are willing to make those extra steps to read and blog cruise reviews to share our cruise experiences, I'm sure we're responsible enough to vacation with our families.

 

I do agree that there are a LOT of parents who vacation from parenting. In fact, this last cruise, we booked an excursion with an outside company. Aboard our powerboat/snorkeling trip, there was a couple with a 3 year-old. Nice folks, but the first opportunity they had to jump out of the boat and go snorkeling... they disappeared... leaving the poor kid basically unattended with the captain.

 

I thought it was unusual... .cute little kid... screamed when they tried to drag her behind them as they snorkeled... so they left the kid on the boat.

 

NOT something I'd do... When my kids were that little, we were staring at butterflies at a butterfly farm or something..

Snorkeling after a bouncy powerboat ride? Not so appropriate.

 

edit:

So as to having children in the CL during happy hour?

Not so appropriate... they'd probably be bored out of their minds.... they'd enjoy AO more than a bunch of old people drinking. That's a fact!