Children

[martinsfo]

I have sailed on Crystal during both the Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays, as well as during the summer vacation, with our son.The kids were always well behaved, and they were kept busy.

[wripro]

Parents who sail with children usually think there's no problem. Just like smokers.

[Travelcat2]

Agree -- most parents are so used to noise, a little running down the halls, playing and splashing in the pool, etc. To most passengers on a luxury cruise line, this is disruptive behavior. If there are truly a lot of kids on board and they were all well-behaved, someone should done a movie and showed it around the world as an example. IMO, children should be able to have fun ..... they can do that on so many cruise lines where it is expected and where all passengers enjoy their company..... just wish they would stay off of Silversea, Seabourn, Regent and Crystal (except during school holidays and summer break when most of us will not travel).:confused:

[Texas Tillie]

Parents who sail with children usually think there's no problem. Just like smokers.

 

Agree -- most parents are so used to noise, a little running down the halls, playing and splashing in the pool, etc. To most passengers on a luxury cruise line, this is disruptive behavior. If there are truly a lot of kids on board and they were all well-behaved, someone should done a movie and showed it around the world as an example. IMO, children should be able to have fun ..... they can do that on so many cruise lines where it is expected and where all passengers enjoy their company..... just wish they would stay off of Silversea, Seabourn, Regent and Crystal (except during school holidays and summer break when most of us will not travel).:confused:

 

I do not/have never had children, have been on 4 Thanksgiving cruises on Crystal, and can tell you that I've never experienced any problems with unruly children on these cruises (including one cruise with martinsfo and his son :)). I have experienced (more than once) unruly adults on Crystal. :eek:

[martinsfo]

Texas Tillie, thanks for backing me up. We were on the Thanksgiving cruise with you to Mexico in 2008. Lots of kids, and we never saw them, including mine!

 

As for kids being noisy, that's just part of kids being kids. And you are right, the parents should control their children. If my son misbehaves, I want to know about it and I will take action. I will also deal with parents whose kids are not behaving right. Part of the problem is that parents feel that kids can be taken anywhere, and not be instructed on adult behavior.

[wripro]

martinsfo,

 

You are truly a unique individual since you control your children. Mostly it's the other way around, the children controi their parents who completely ignore their kids' loud and intrusive behavior, in fact, consider it "cute." If there were more parents like you the problem wouldn't be so acute.

 

The one thing I take issue with is that attitude that kids will be kids. That is exactly why they don't belong on luxury lines. Kids SHOULD be kids and Disney or RCCL is the place for them to do that.

[Travelcat2]

 

As for kids being noisy, that's just part of kids being kids.

 

Had to quote one sentence of your post. I agree completely. IMO, they should be noisy on a different cruise line. Again, children are expected during school and summer breaks. My comments are to passengers sailing luxury cruise lines when school is in session. There are no special programs for the children during these times, no other children to play with, etc. IMO, even parents with babies and children under 5 years of age should travel during times when children are expected onboard. This would be in the best interest of the parents, the children and the passengers on board who are hoping for a quiet, serene vacation.

 

Texas Tillie: Sorry to disagree with you. For some reason, whenever children's behavior is brought up, someone brings up how adults behave. IMO, one thing has nothing to do with another. If an adult is drunk, loud or unruly, the staff would have no problem telling them to keep it down or strongly suggesting that they return to their suite. Most passengers would also speak up in these type of situations. This is why comparisons of adults and children just don't work (IMO)

[martinsfo]

Travelcat,

 

More people should speak up when there are unruly kids, I do. I hold the parent responsible. Ask my son what our reaction has been whenever he has misbehaved. We can get into a big discussion about how poorly my baby boom cohort has been when it comes to raising kids. But we will leave that for another day.

[gillianrose]

Sorry to say that's an unsubstantiated proposition. I have seen plenty of unruly kids on luxury lines. However, during the holidays it has become expected to see children (never used to be on lux lines) so I know enough NEVER to book a holiday cruise.

 

I agree that more children can be expected during the holidays, but it saddens me as we would absolutely love to cruise during the holidays, yet don't like cruises where there are a lot of children onboard.

 

We would love it if one of the luxury lines had an adult sailing for the holidays. Maybe it would be easiest if it's New Year's only, though we really would prefer both holidays be included.

[Travelcat2]

martinsfo: If all parents were like you, I would have a different opinion. However, some parents get extremely angry if anyone dares to tell them that their little darling is doing something that is disturbing others. They feel it is their right to let their children behave in any manner they wish and could care less if they are disruptive.

 

gillianrose: Could not agree with you more. Cruiselines have special programs for children on certain itineraries but do not consider having adult-only cruises. If luxury cruise lines had 2-4 adult-only cruises per year with good itineraries, they would sell out quickly. Hopefully, some day Silversea will give it a try.:)

[Keith1010]

For those of you who do not like to sail with children then you just have to find either a very small ship where you will likely see very few if any children or just not cruise during the holidays. In this economic environment you will not see cruise lines prohibiting children during this time frame.

 

We sailed with Crystal over the Holidays this past year. We had a bout 50 children on board. It was not a problem for us. Children were nicely behaved. In several cases the grand parents were on board. For us it added to the family feeling and the kids were well supervised. We even enjoyed watching them get gifts the morning of Christmas.

 

If it's not for you my advice is to do something else which is no different than most other things.

 

For example if you don't like hot or humid weather or packed ports don't cruise the Med in the summer months and go another time of the year.

 

Keith

[calliopecruiser]

However, some parents get extremely angry if anyone dares to tell them that their little darling is doing something that is disturbing others.

 

Or, worse, get angry if anyone implies that they're not good parents! I've never been bothered by ill-behaved children on cruises, but I certainly see that with ill-behaved children at work.

[martinsfo]

I work at a Napa Valley winery and I see misbehaved kids all the time. Why, because their parents insist on taking them to an activity where they are bored out of their minds. Kids get fidgety, that's their nature. I don't blame the kids, I blame the parents for bringing them. The same goes with a cruise. If you are bringing kids, you need to take them on a ship with a kids program. One of the things we love about Crystal is their very high quality program, the kids are kept on the move and active. Our son was in the teens program, and it was very clever. As teens like to sleep late, it started at 12 noon and went to midnight. I still have great memories of the teens, at their own table in the Palm Court, having tea together. They were all very well behaved, and totally enjoying themselves.

[Travelcat2]

For those of you who do not like to sail with children then you just have to find either a very small ship where you will likely see very few if any children or just not cruise during the holidays. In this economic environment you will not see cruise lines prohibiting children during this time frame.

 

We sailed with Crystal over the Holidays this past year. We had a bout 50 children on board. It was not a problem for us. Children were nicely behaved. In several cases the grand parents were on board. For us it added to the family feeling and the kids were well supervised. We even enjoyed watching them get gifts the morning of Christmas.

 

If it's not for you my advice is to do something else which is no different than most other things.

 

For example if you don't like hot or humid weather or packed ports don't cruise the Med in the summer months and go another time of the year.

 

Keith

 

My suggestion about having one adults-only cruise during the summer would be to accommodate the thousands of teachers, child care workers and others who must vacation in the summer or during school holidays. Even when you love children and work with them every day, a vacation without them can be very relaxing.

[Keith1010]

My suggestion about having one adults-only cruise during the summer would be to accommodate the thousands of teachers, child care workers and others who must vacation in the summer or during school holidays. Even when you love children and work with them every day, a vacation without them can be very relaxing.

 

Always fun to speculate, but I don't see it happening.

 

To me best bet is to just find a cruise with a cruise line and more importantly a ship and itinerary that likely won't have any kids and there are some in this market.

 

Keith

[martinsfo]

As Keith stated, an itinerary that does not appeal to kids would work. For instance, the Crystal Symphony is sailing on New England foliage cruises. I doubt there are many kids on this on. Other ideas would be late season European cruises. It is hard to see a cruise line turning down business by turning away parents.

[Travelcat2]

Always fun to speculate, but I don't see it happening.

 

To me best bet is to just find a cruise with a cruise line and more importantly a ship and itinerary that likely won't have any kids and there are some in this market.

 

Keith

 

So, you feel that adults should change cruise lines rather than parents with children finding a cruise line that is more suited to children? While I have not done the math, it seems to me that there is an overwelming number of cruise ships aimed towards the family market. I will stress again that adults should be aware that children will be on board luxury cruise ships during the summer and school breaks. That is the way it is.

 

My issue (besides parents allowing their children run wild) is that some parents don't want to travel on a ship full of children either and take their children out of school to sail. I truly feel sorry when I see one or two children on Regent -- no one to play with -- nothing to do -- and getting too many ugly looks from passengers. Parents can be so selfish:(

[Keith1010]

So, you feel that adults should change cruise lines rather than parents with children finding a cruise line that is more suited to children? While I have not done the math, it seems to me that there is an overwelming number of cruise ships aimed towards the family market. I will stress again that adults should be aware that children will be on board luxury cruise ships during the summer and school breaks. That is the way it is.

 

My issue (besides parents allowing their children run wild) is that some parents don't want to travel on a ship full of children either and take their children out of school to sail. I truly feel sorry when I see one or two children on Regent -- no one to play with -- nothing to do -- and getting too many ugly looks from passengers. Parents can be so selfish:(

 

No one can guarantee who will be on their cruise. If you want that, then charter a cruise ship.

 

But the reality is you can easily find itineraries on each of the luxury cruise lines that either will have no kids or very few (one or two).

 

As I said it's no different than other items you factor into your cruising decision.

 

Want to sail the Med but don't care for humidity don't sail in the summer. Find a sailing in March, April or October.

 

Want to avoid children, avoid Holiday and Summer cruises on luxury ships/lines.

 

Is there a guarantee there won't be kids? No.

[martinsfo]

Keith,

 

I love your answer to the kids question. Sometimes I feel that people are more antagonistic towards kids on principle, they just need to be more flexible. If there are no kids, there will be no adults in 20 years. Cruise lines treat these kids as future guests, which they are. I'm sure that my son will take cruises when gets older.

[Travelcat2]

IMO, children 5-10 years of age will not be sailing on luxury cruise ships in 20 years -- at least not on the longer itineraraies. Even adults 18+ may not be the majority of luxury cruise passengers in 20 years. While things may certainly change in 20 years, IMO, it is the 30+ age group that needs to be enticed to try luxury cruising now.

 

Another thought........ unless it is guaranteed that your children can afford luxury cruising when they become adults, is starting them out on luxury cruise ships with butlers, etc. really the best thing for children? Many luxury cruisers didn't start there........ they worked their way up the ladder and, when they reached the luxury level, were able to really appreciate the hard work that got them here.

[wripro]

All these heirs have to have some place to cruise!

[orchestrapal]

All these heirs have to have some place to cruise!

 

:confused:Heirs???

Have you not heard the quote "may the last check I write

bounce.":D

[wripro]

Or "die owing."

[orchestrapal]

Or "die owing."

 

Just as good! :D