Kids allowed at Elite breakfast and cocktail hour?

[cruiser77]

Are kids allowed at the Elite breakfast and cocktail hour? On our last cruise we were going to the senior officer cocktail hour and we were told at the door by Captains Club hostess no kids allowed, so we had to skip it. Same for other events?:confused:

Thanks,

Cruiser

[cruisestitch]

Yes to Captain's Club Coffee Break, no to Cocktails.

 

The specific wording on the invitation, under Captain's Club Social Hour, reads

 

"All Elite members and their companions staying in the same suite/stateroom 18 years old and above are welcome"

Edited May 2, 2014 by cruisestitch

[cruiser77]

Thanks for the quick reply! Glad to hear breakfast is OK for kids.:)

[CRUZBUDS]

Thanks for the quick reply! Glad to hear breakfast is OK for kids.:)

 

 

Just no Bloody Marys or Mimosas for them ;)

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Why would you take your children to a bar? That's what the Elite Cocktail Hour is.

[Lsimon]

I'm not so sure about the Coffee Break either (Coffee Break is the official name for what most here call the Elite breakfast).

 

The listing of Elite events we've received for our last few cruises (most recent was March 2013) indicated that the over 21 requirement applied to all Elite events - or at least that is the way I read it.

 

I also have to say that the selection of breakfast items there isn't really ideal for children. The buffet or dining room would have a much better selection. And I do mean this as kids at the events wouldn't bother me at all.

 

I've attached a copy of the Elite event letter from our last cruise below.

Elite-Captains-Club letter Eclipse-March-9-2013.pdf

Edited May 2, 2014 by Lsimon

[barbels]

Last summer we took our children and grandchildren on the Summit. Since the lite breakfast was always close to empty I had several lovely conversations with Ti Anne, the CC hostess. I asked her if my four year old grandchild to come with us to the formal tea since she loves the whole idea of tea parties and I knew she would be very well behaved. Ti Anne graciously said yes and we had a wonderful time. My grand daughter was treated like a princess by the wait staff and was thrilled. I knew that she would be a perfect angel and she was. The other four are boys and it would not have been the right venue for them. My eight year old grandchild very much wanted to meet the captain. We asked if we could bring him to the officers party and he was a perfect gentleman. He shook hands with the officers, drank his orange juice and conversed appropriately with us. I was very proud of him. i was very Appreciative of Ti Anne's flexibility. If either of the children had misbehaved in any way we would have left immediately.

[ClaudiaB]

How fun that must have been for them! My granddaughter would love that too.

Ti Anne is is wonderful! She was so helpful to us and so available and accessible 2 years ago on Infinity. She knew our names after the first day, so impressive! So, she's moved to Summit?

[carlyshenk]

On our last cruise, December 2013, a couple, mother/mother-in-law and two young children came to the Elite breakfast every day. The children were very well mannered. The parents would seat the children and they would go to the buffet bar and bring the children's food to the table.

[caladezi]

Yes, let's bring all the kids to the adult only events. If you put enough pressure on the hostess she/he might even get some play dough for the kids to throw around the room. I don't know why some can not accept that there is a place to bring their kids or grandkids and there are other places where they should be excluded. Please don't ever put the crew in a position to offend you by telling you no to something that you should know better than to ask for.

[fb0075]

Strange that OP is Elite and doesnt know this--

I really dont want to babysit or watch your children in this atmosphere!

[cruisestitch]

I wish I knew how to scan and post -- or maybe you took a photo of your Captain's Club letter, LSimon? -- in any case it is interesting to note a couple of differences.

 

My letter was arranged a bit differently. And the age requirement was 18 years, not 21 years. Was this due to sailing from Australia? Probably.

 

Mine also is arranged so that the wording makes it look like the special notes are in reference to the Social Hour, not the Coffee Break.

 

Also, there are different dress codes referenced, the Captain's Club Celebration is Casual (no bathing attire, bath robes, holes in jeans) while the Elite Elegant Tea and the Senior Officers' Cocktail Party are Smart Casual and Above (no shorts, T-shirts, flip-flops, sandals, bathing attire, and no rips or holes in jeans)

 

There were a couple of children once or twice at breakfast, no children ever for the evening event.

 

Maybe the different hosts/hostesses have a bit of leeway?

 

So, perhaps my best advice is to ask the Host/Hostess about breakfast and the Captain's Club Celebration, assume that children are not to attend the evening events.

[Crazy Cruzer]

Please don't ever put the crew in a position to offend you by telling you no to something that you should know better than to ask for.

 

This is great advice!

 

 

The host or hostess shouldn't be put into a position to have to decide whether to offend you by saying no or break the rules for your "well behaved children". I'm sure your children are well behaved but does that merit an exception? How are the people deciding whether to break the rules for well behaved children supposed to decide if the children are well behaved. And worse yet, what do they tell me when I bring my bratty kids to the door and ask why they can't come in if yours are already there? after all kids will be kids.

[scifimonkey]

Jeez how bitter can some folk get. If there are rules then it's fine to suggest that we abide by them but why the vitriol? If those in charge of elite events are given some latitude to use their judgement in relation to children at elite events then it is clearly not expected that all children would disrupt the event which is patently correct. Why not just let them get on with their job as they are almost certainly a better judge than any of the rest of us as they do the job all the time. if you are desperate to be in an adults only atmosphere then for goodness sake do us all a favour and go on adults only cruises, there are plenty of them and they probably carry a complementary set of dinosaurs you will be at home with. It's strange how it's now outrageous to use sexist or racist stereotypes but some people seem to believe that it is fine to characterise all kids as brats. You are sad sad people!

Edited May 2, 2014 by scifimonkey

[packyourpixiedust]

Last summer we took our children and grandchildren on the Summit. Since the lite breakfast was always close to empty I had several lovely conversations with Ti Anne, the CC hostess. I asked her if my four year old grandchild to come with us to the formal tea since she loves the whole idea of tea parties and I knew she would be very well behaved. Ti Anne graciously said yes and we had a wonderful time. My grand daughter was treated like a princess by the wait staff and was thrilled. I knew that she would be a perfect angel and she was. The other four are boys and it would not have been the right venue for them. My eight year old grandchild very much wanted to meet the captain. We asked if we could bring him to the officers party and he was a perfect gentleman. He shook hands with the officers, drank his orange juice and conversed appropriately with us. I was very proud of him. i was very Appreciative of Ti Anne's flexibility. If either of the children had misbehaved in any way we would have left immediately.

 

Great story. And good to know that if I want to get my kid in an event and he acts appropriately that it is possible.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[rebeccalouiseagain]

These "Elite" functions on Celebrity are nothing special IMO. I really don't need another excuse to eat. Relax about it. If parents bring their kids- I am sure they have well behaved kids. I wouldn't bring my son simply because it would be boring for him but I don't think it's a big deal.

[Lsimon]

I wish I knew how to scan and post -- or maybe you took a photo of your Captain's Club letter, LSimon? ...

 

Call me a bit weird but I scan all my daily programs and similar stuff into a PDF file I have on my computer. My printer is one of those multifunction units that also has a built in scanner that I can feed a stack of pages into to scan into a PDF file. But there are also apps I have on my iPhone that can use the iPhone's camera to scan to a PDF file - you can find a bunch of these at the apps store if you have an iPhone or iPad.

 

Jeez how bitter can some folk get. If there are rules then it's fine to suggest that we abide by them but why the vitriol? If those in charge of elite events are given some latitude to use their judgement in relation to children at elite events then it is clearly not expected that all children would disrupt the event which is patently correct. Why not just let them get on with their job as they are almost certainly a better judge than any of the rest of us as they do the job all the time. if you are desperate to be in an adults only atmosphere then for goodness sake do us all a favour and go on adults only cruises, there are plenty of them and they probably carry a complementary set of dinosaurs you will be at home with. It's strange how it's now outrageous to use sexist or racist stereotypes but some people seem to believe that it is fine to characterise all kids as brats. You are sad sad people!

 

I can see your point but I can also see the other's points as well - especially the one about putting the staff on the spot. It's well known that a lot of the service staff won't say no and a lot of people here also complain a lot about lack of enforcing the rules. While bringing a kid to an Elite event isn't quite the same as hogging a chair or smoking in a no smoking area it is sometimes hard to define where the line is. I'm also not desperate for an adult only atmosphere but I know lots of others are. There are tons of areas on the ship where kids are welcome with their family, including most of the bars and lounges, so I see no need to ask someone to bend the rules to have then in an area, or event, which has been designated as adults only.

[JEDIKNIGHT]

I have a 5 year old and 2 year old.

 

I would NOT bring them to adult functions, allowed or not.

 

BUt lately DW is convincing me. Every time we’ve been on vacation, even pre-kid….people had no problem with their kids making noise or running around in adult venues.

 

Maybe I shouldn’t be so paranoid.

[Redtravel]

I have sailed with my extended family many times. I often take the babies for walks in their strollers. I have taken them to ship bars. I do not drink. The babies enjoy the entertainment music. I took one to the elite lounge. Not a problem. Baby was well behaved. If a baby is traveling with a elite person, they should be welcomed. If anyone is being loud or disruptive, they should be asked to leave. If you want a ship with no children, do not sail on Celebrity. Celebrity welcomes children.

[TommyD3]

Don't know about the Elite Cocktail hour anymore since my "kids" are 30 +/-.

I was in the Michaels VIP lounge for 20 days on Connie recently.

There is no age limit there. There were several couples with under age kids in the lounge.

If the couple in the Penthouse has under age children with them they are welcome 24/7.

Also walking thru the Michaels Club I saw children (10 +/-) sitting AT THE BAR several times.

Obviously the kids were probably drinking soda pop.

I don't think Celebrity really cares anymore.....

Edited May 3, 2014 by TommyD3

[bbappel]

There always seem to be several camps to anything.

 

There are the THESE ARE THE RULES people - and they seem to believe that every rule should be a hard and fast line drawn in the sand no exceptions kind of rule. Rules like that are easier to enforce and insecure people in positions of power like hard no-exceptions rules, likely because they don't have to make decisions.

 

There are the Rules, schmules folks. An enforcer's nightmare because they don't believe the rules apply to them. We aren't talking about the occasional kind exception, they simply don't follow rules anyway and it is impossible to create a framework that will work for them.

 

There is a middle ground. The majority of people generally follow the rules, but on occasion, would like the rules to be bent a little.

Kind self-confident enforcers can do this.

 

Personally, I wouldn't mind quiet children at an Elite event, and would probably enjoy their presence. It wouldn't irk me that rules weren't being enforced as long as the young person was behaving responsibly.

 

I would mind more active children in these venues, just as I notice and am bothered by rowdy adults (unlimited alcohol, what could go wrong?) and I would wish there were rules to keep them from such behavior. With the children, I would wonder what were the parents thinking?

 

Some children are calm and quiet by nature, some are more active bordering on rowdy. Not a judgment, just an observation. Parents and grandparents, you know which your children are. If you are bringing them to an event where they need to be calm and quiet, and they aren't capable of such behavior, or you aren't willing to give them your undivided attention, you are doing everyone a disservice. If you observe someone at an adult venue whose child is behaving properly and you demand equal treatment for your hyperactive child, you are being unfair to everyone, your child most of all. Children thrive with positive interaction with adults, and they won't get it if they are disrupting an adult event.

 

Can't we all just get along?

[Crazy Cruzer]

It wouldn't irk me that rules weren't being enforced as long as the young person was behaving responsibly.

 

I would mind more active children in these venues, just as I notice and am bothered by rowdy adults (unlimited alcohol, what could go wrong?) and I would wish there were rules to keep them from such behavior. With the children, I would wonder what were the parents thinking?

 

Some children are calm and quiet by nature, some are more active bordering on rowdy. Not a judgment, just an observation. Parents and grandparents, you know which your children are. If you are bringing them to an event where they need to be calm and quiet, and they aren't capable of such behavior, or you aren't willing to give them your undivided attention, you are doing everyone a disservice. If you observe someone at an adult venue whose child is behaving properly and you demand equal treatment for your hyperactive child, you are being unfair to everyone, your child most of all. Children thrive with positive interaction with adults, and they won't get it if they are disrupting an adult event.

 

Can't we all just get along?

 

How are they to determine which children are the well behaved ones that the rules should be broken for and which are the active children for whom the rules should be enforced? That is an impossible standard. You either have to be OK with any and all kids being allowed at the Elite events or no kids. It is easy to talk about what parents should do if their kids are not well behaved but we all know that not all parents do the right thing. Also, not all parents have the same concept of what is acceptable behavior by children in a given situation. My little dear might be a terror to you.

Edited May 3, 2014 by Crazy Cruzer

[SusieV]

I didn't ask, but the Captain's Club hostess on our last cruise specifically invited our four year old son to attend cocktail hour with us. Of course, it probably helped that he was dressed in a tuxedo and was very well behaved. He loved sitting and drinking his "Pirate Punch" (grapefruit juice) while we all had a cocktail and chatted.

 

He didn't disturb anyone (we got lots of compliments on his behaviour) and we would have left immediately and not returned if he didn't respond appropriately to the privilege.

 

The CC Hostess loved him to bits- it was wonderful to watch. She actually got down on the floor to play with him and his toys during her free time on sea days and she kept asking him if she could be his girlfriend. I hope we run into her again on future cruises.

 

Of course, I totally see the other side here. I wouldn't want to deal with someone else's poorly behaved children. Quiet children wouldn't bother me.

Edited May 4, 2014 by SusieV

[conwakr]

Yes, some people have well behaved kids. I was told mine were...BUT if an invitation says "no kids" it is telling you and everyone else invited not to bring the kids - well behaved or total hooligans - sometimes there are things that are just what they say - for adults. I feel the same way about purse dogs and cell phones. If it says turn your phone off or no dogs allowed, please just do what you are asked. If it's not to your liking find another venue. Why or why oh why do people seem to think requests mean everyone but "them."

[ghstudio]

Because people just think their children are special, their dog is special, the rules are made for others. I'm sorry but if you brought your wonderful kids to the event...did you even think that there might have been some others traveling with children who found someone to watch them so they could attend. How do you think someone else at that event felt if, even though their children were very well behaved as well, they followed the rules.

 

IMHO, You should not have brought your child...it's that simple....and the captains club hostess was wrong in inviting him.

Edited May 4, 2014 by ghstudio