Celebrity Constellation 4/4/15 with kids

[jrod]

In searching spring break options I came across a deal to my liking for the 5-night Constellation cruise to Key West & Cozumel. The price suited my budget and the cruise length suited the window of time I had to travel. This is my first time on Celebrity and my kids' (ages 15 & 11) second cruise. I've always wanted to try Celebrity but I also recognize this is not Carnival or RCCL so I find myself (needlessly?) worrying whether or not my kids will enjoy the 2 days at sea. The 2 port days will not be a problem. I'm hoping that with it being spring break there might be an above average number of kids on board. Appreciate any thoughts and comments.

[need2bespoiled]

Because it is a short cruise, the roll call isn't terribly active, but you could try here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2105044

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Indymann99]

My family and another neighbor family will be on that trip with kids. 2x 12yr old boys.

 

We were on RC last spring break and it was full of kids (however we also went with 10 neighborhood families so he had all his friends on vacation with him).

 

Basketball court and pool and my son is fine for the sea days. Heck last trip we skipped Puerto Rico as my son wanted to stay on board.

[sprockie]

We're just off the Constellation Jan 24th and 29th back to back. There were 27 kids in the first cruise and 80+ in the second. My kids loved it. One enjoys the kids club and one just likes to hang with me.

[BunnyLebowski]

We took this same itinetary last year with our 9 and 11 y/o boys. They LOVED it. It's a fun itinetary and a great ship, plus not enough time to get bored. If the itinerary and price suit you then go for it. It was great for us.

[jrod]

Thanks. Was having a moment of buyers remorse. The duration fit the window I had to work with (had to be home before Saturday, 4/11) and the itinerary was better than a 4 night Bahamas deal. No doubt my 11 year old social butterfly will make friends with whoever and partake in whatever activities while I could see my 15 year old just hanging with me on deck working on that tan. Looking forward to it.

[corinnv]

We will be on that sailing too. I have two girls. One almost 11 and one turning 16. I'm sure there will be plenty of other kids on the ship since it is spring break! :eek:

[suzook]

In searching spring break options I came across a deal to my liking for the 5-night Constellation cruise to Key West & Cozumel. The price suited my budget and the cruise length suited the window of time I had to travel. This is my first time on Celebrity and my kids' (ages 15 & 11) second cruise. I've always wanted to try Celebrity but I also recognize this is not Carnival or RCCL so I find myself (needlessly?) worrying whether or not my kids will enjoy the 2 days at sea. The 2 port days will not be a problem. I'm hoping that with it being spring break there might be an above average number of kids on board. Appreciate any thoughts and comments.

 

Theres nothing for the kids to do on celebrity. Carnival, ncl, or rccl would be great for them.

[legalmaze]

Thanks. Was having a moment of buyers remorse. The duration fit the window I had to work with (had to be home before Saturday, 4/11) and the itinerary was better than a 4 night Bahamas deal. No doubt my 11 year old social butterfly will make friends with whoever and partake in whatever activities while I could see my 15 year old just hanging with me on deck working on that tan. Looking forward to it.

 

Hi, JRod

 

Hope you don't mind me adding my response...

 

Don't worry! Throw that buyers remorse out the window.

 

I'm taking this same cruise on 03/16/15, a little earlier than you. I have been on 5 other Celebrity cruises, and there is always plenty of things for the kids to do. They have the club for the kids. Both of yours can join in the games they have all day long.

 

Now, quit the worrying and start the planning on all the fun you're gonna have!

 

Rick

[jhans24]

Theres nothing for the kids to do on celebrity. Carnival, ncl, or rccl would be great for them.

 

Please don't respond if you are going to be factually inaccurate.

 

You will have to excuse this poster. Some want an adult only vacation but can't afford it. They try to bully posters into believing there is nothing for kids to do onboard hoping they won't have kids on "their" ship. They are grumpy and wrong.

 

The fun factory is a fantastic program and your kids should have a great time.

[suzook]

Please don't respond if you are going to be factually inaccurate.

 

You will have to excuse this poster. Some want an adult only vacation but can't afford it. They try to bully posters into believing there is nothing for kids to do onboard hoping they won't have kids on "their" ship. They are grumpy and wrong.

 

The fun factory is a fantastic program and your kids should have a great time.

 

When i bring my kids on a cruise, we sail carnival, or rccl. They LOVED it. They were bored on celebrity. Just stating my experience, and my kids experience. Just sating FACTS. So you are saying theres not MUCH more for kids to do on these other lines?

[RCKM43]

Theres nothing for the kids to do on celebrity. Carnival, ncl, or rccl would be great for them.

 

 

I beg to differ. My kids loved their two prior Celebrity cruises, and are very excited about their upcoming Celebrity Cruise. They were not bored at all on the previous ones. Not all kids need or want water slides to have a good time with their family. There are plenty of other posters who also have children who had a great time on Celebrity. Each family should book based on their own personal preferences. I am sure some sail Carnival or RCCL and love them, just as there are kids who love their Celebrity cruises. In fact, I know a few whose children did not prefer NCL or RCCL over Celebrity because of the more person attention. They also said the lines for things like the slides, etc were so long they rarely bothered with them.

[elena7seas]

When i bring my kids on a cruise, we sail carnival, or rccl. They LOVED it. They were bored on celebrity. Just stating my experience, and my kids experience. Just sating FACTS. So you are saying theres not MUCH more for kids to do on these other lines?

 

You have to understand that your take on an experience doesn't make it a fact. It is simply your opinion, which of course your are entitled to hold. Saying that "there is nothing for kids to do on Celebrity" is simply not factual.

 

I was very impressed with the quality of the programme for kids on Celebrity, and with the quality of the youth leaders, who were dedicated to providing a great experience for the kids.

[jhans24]

When i bring my kids on a cruise, we sail carnival, or rccl. They LOVED it. They were bored on celebrity. Just stating my experience, and my kids experience. Just sating FACTS. So you are saying theres not MUCH more for kids to do on these other lines?

 

Nope, never said that. If you had made that statement I would have agreed with you. However, you said there was nothing to do for kids on Celebrity. I pointed out that you were factually inaccurate, which you were.

[The 3 T's]

In searching spring break options I came across a deal to my liking for the 5-night Constellation cruise to Key West & Cozumel. The price suited my budget and the cruise length suited the window of time I had to travel. This is my first time on Celebrity and my kids' (ages 15 & 11) second cruise. I've always wanted to try Celebrity but I also recognize this is not Carnival or RCCL so I find myself (needlessly?) worrying whether or not my kids will enjoy the 2 days at sea. The 2 port days will not be a problem. I'm hoping that with it being spring break there might be an above average number of kids on board. Appreciate any thoughts and comments.

 

I realize that my comments are old news. We cruised, also, on this date.

My grand kids (The 3 T's) ages 15, 10, and 8, really enjoyed the kid's club. If the club is open, they want to be there. We have had some problems on another cruise line (no planned program/management). On another cruise line, they were frightened of the giant slide or thought that the water was too cold for an April cruise. We adults were disappointed in the food choices and especially the desserts. How much creme brulee can a person eat? Their quality has definitely taken a turn. As a test, we will be cruising with them again in September. I hope that I can justify the extra dollars. This will be Celebrity cruise #7. Happy cruising!

[Indymann99]

Posting our Constellation experience with kids.

 

We had 2 families, kids were 2x 12yr boys and 1x 8yr girl.

 

Kids club was great for the 8yr old girl (she was there till 9pm ish most nights).

 

the 2x 12yr old boys played a LOT of basketball. The teen club (12-14) just didnt have enough for them to do.

 

Pools were not very kid friendly as they are small and deep. This lead to little kids standing and playing on the stairs to enter the pool (only place shallow enough for them to touch the bottom). Our kids generally swam to cool off then went off to play Basketball or Ping Pong.

 

The KeyWest stop was better than expected with my son. We did the tourist thing and rode the Conch Train around for 90 min or so. The train was VERY informative and the sights around the downtown area were interesting.

We grabbed a small snack of Conch fritters for my son and wife and then headed back to the ship for lunch and the rest of the afternoon.

Pool was pretty easy to get chairs as many were still in Key West.

 

Sea day to Cozumel

I got up and worked out 5:30- 7am most days. On my way back to the cabin at 7am ish I noticed that towels were already on 95% of the chairs...

We had breakfast and then went to the pool around 10am. Not a single chair to be found anywhere... many with just towels on them. After "sharking around" for well over 30min, I finally asked the towel boy (sorry no offense intended) and he pulled out some paper notes and placed them on some chairs (these are the you towel/belongings have been removed please see attendant notes). After no-one returned in 30min he gave those chairs to us. This worked but was a pain as we had been standing around for 1hr (I started drinking so maybe that helped) People need to be considerate and understand they can't just leave towels on chairs and expect to "reserve" the chairs all day.

 

Cozumel weather was great, I had researched the port schedule and saw 7 ships in port. I told our group we needed to get off the ship by 8:30-9am if we wanted to get any chairs at the beach resorts. We weaved our way through the port shopping maze (they do a good job of making you see every vendor there), and grabbed a taxi for all 7 of us. $35. Our driver was very pleasant and we had planned to go to Mr Sanchos but he recommended Playa Mia as better for the kids (waterslide and more beach toys -paddle boats, etc). We took the advice and went to Playa Mia. It looks like it WAS better for the kids but the food was sub par, and the "all inclusive" $50 was ONLY good for beer and margarita, pina colada drinks... I drank beer all day... We arrived about 10am and the beach chairs were filling up fast. We found good chairs and rented an umbrella and towels (next time take the ship beach towels) by the time we were settled all the chairs were full. Kids said line for the waterslide was maybe 3-5 kids so that was good. Water toys were almost walk up and use for the kids.

 

We headed back around 2pm.

We were surprised as the other families son boarded with us and they didnt bat an eye... hmm on RC in St Martin, us boarding with another families son, resulted in about 5min of questions (parents names, their cabin number, etc).

 

2nd Sea Day

After workout I went directly to the pool grabbed 4 lounges (note I only took lounges for the adults, not 7x for the kids) laid out my stuff and proceeded to read my iPad book for the next 2-3 hrs. By time the families arrived all other lounges were taken.... and the pool boys were busy putting notes and pulling towels. The Port vs Starboard vs crew volleyball was fun to watch, kids had a good time with that as well as some of the "raft races"

 

Some disappointments...

we purchased the kids beverage (soda and water) for my son.

He only drinks Root Beer soda - NONE of the restaurants or bars, or anywhere had ANY Root Beer... in the MDR we asked the manager and he said he would look... never saw him again...

 

Food in the MDR was average (we actually think RC Independance was better). Service in MDR was borderline terrible.... we were seated with our friends at table for 8. For a couple nights the 8yr old girl would skip dinner and stay at the kids club (closed at 10pm I think). Anyway on the 3rd night we noticed that our table was "smaller", we only had 6 people and all our silverware was touching and not even a 7th chair.... we asked our waiter and were assured the table was the same size... (I am going through pictures to prove to my self they switched it).

Also on the 3rd night after being seated we waited 25min for our wine server to show up at the table... I finally had to go to the front desk and find a manager to get wine and drinks... :mad: Our service the rest of the evening was not much better... :(

 

Night 4 was dinner at Ocean Liners - my son had lobster and scallops, they made them without the sauces as he requested. Very good service here.

 

Night 5 (last night) was dinner at Tuscan Grill. - both families here, kids has pasta and shrimp. I had the Filet and it was the best meal of the entire trip... I couldn't even finish it... must have been 16+ oz.. :D

 

The kids had a good time but not as good as RC Independance last year. We booked RC Oasis for next spring break.