Celebrity and Kids

[allready]

Hi, I am new to Celebrity. I have maybe 12 cruise experiences (RCCL, NCL, Disney, MCI, Carnvial). I am trying to find info about traveling with kids on Celebrity. What are the Kids programs like? I have a 9 yr old and 16 yr old. What is the tolerance level for kids on Celebrity? Other cruiselines are very family oriented... Celebrity does not come to mind.

 

Can anyone share the does and don'ts with kids on Celebrity Summitt? My kids are well travelled. They are not the ones loitering in the elevators, but still.

 

Anything that I shouldn't miss with them?

Edited June 17, 2015 by allready

[cruisestitch]

Which itinerary?

 

What time of year?

[norwegianwood57]

Stick to the ones you have enjoyed.

[dkjretired]

Stick to the ones you have enjoyed.

 

As someone who has actually taken their children on numerous Celebrity cruises, they have wonderful children's programs. Much will depend on time of year but if during regular school vacations there will be loads of kids. Staff has always treated the kids very well, unfortunately you will get the occasional grouch who just doesn't believe children should be on cruises but that is their problem.

 

Celebrity does not have rock climbing walls or water slides but if you check back on this board to those who actually have taken their kids on Celebrity cruise, they are generally very satisfied. Some have even said their kids enjoyed themselves more than Disney, NCL or Royal.

 

Nine year old should have a great time in the groups. Sixteen is a funny age, kids that age generally make friends, go off on their own and very often don't join in organized activities.

[cb at sea]

The 16 year old will have a tough time on ANY line,....they don't do much for older teens. The younger child will love any ship but Disney.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

Hi, I am new to Celebrity. I have maybe 12 cruise experiences (RCCL, NCL, Disney, MCI, Carnvial). I am trying to find info about traveling with kids on Celebrity. What are the Kids programs like? I have a 9 yr old and 16 yr old. What is the tolerance level for kids on Celebrity? Other cruiselines are very family oriented... Celebrity does not come to mind.

 

Can anyone share the does and don'ts with kids on Celebrity Summitt? My kids are well travelled. They are not the ones loitering in the elevators, but still.

 

Anything that I shouldn't miss with them?

 

This is a very detailed review (first 4 posts) specifically about sailing on Celebrity with kids, and the kids program, by a family who was very pleased with it on the Solstice. S class ship but at least it would give you an idea of how kid friendly Celebrity is.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=46871503#post46871503

Edited June 18, 2015 by Cruising Is Bliss

[purpletequila]

I would have stuck with Royal.

[Queen of Oakville]

My cruising experience is somewhat similar to yours.

 

My kids (now 7 and 9) LOVE celebrity. They were 7 and 8 when we sailed Reflection and are really looking forward to our Silhouette cruise.

 

What does your 16 year old like to do on a cruise? depending on the sailing, there may not be a lot of teens on board. Will that matter?

 

 

When we sail royal - they enjoy the rock wall, and they love the aquaduck too - but they still prefer Celebrity to the other lines.

[Queen of Oakville]

One part of your question I forgot to address.

 

The tolerance for kids on the Celebrity board at Cruise Critic is different than the tolerance level onboard.

 

You will find responses here like "stick to the ones you've enjoyed".

 

But in reality my kids were very well welcomed onboard -by staff and other passengers. We had no issues. The photographers LOVED my kids and photographed them at every opportunity. The wait staff were always engaging my kids. Even passengers at dinner or at the shows or around the ship would stop to talk to them.

[ladylemondrop]

One part of your question I forgot to address.

 

The tolerance for kids on the Celebrity board at Cruise Critic is different than the tolerance level onboard.

 

You will find responses here like "stick to the ones you've enjoyed".

 

But in reality my kids were very well welcomed onboard -by staff and other passengers. We had no issues. The photographers LOVED my kids and photographed them at every opportunity. The wait staff were always engaging my kids. Even passengers at dinner or at the shows or around the ship would stop to talk to them.

 

Well said! Staff onboard are great with the kids.

[Tatka]

The 16 year old will have a tough time on ANY line,....they don't do much for older teens. The younger child will love any ship but Disney.

 

Actually RCI especially and NCL have wonderful programs for teens. Tons of events. My 17 years old loved it.

 

He also traveled with us on Celebrity 3 times, although on smaller ships - Century & Mercury.

 

It was fun for him when he was 11, but not so much at 14-15. Teen clubs are not Celebrity specialty.

[brekat1]

We sailed Celebrity aboard solstice last may to Alaska with our 7 and 3 year old and we all loved it! We found the tolerance towards our children to be great! As long as the kids behaved themselves (which they did), no one seemed to have any issue with them at all. The staff were great with them, they even provided sprinkle covered candy apples for them free of charge and the dining room waiter always made them little animals out of the cloth napkins. On the one formal night where we dressed them up, they were fussed over by lots of different people and everyone was very friendly!

[dkjretired]

One part of your question I forgot to address.

 

The tolerance for kids on the Celebrity board at Cruise Critic is different than the tolerance level onboard.

 

You will find responses here like "stick to the ones you've enjoyed".

 

But in reality my kids were very well welcomed onboard -by staff and other passengers. We had no issues. The photographers LOVED my kids and photographed them at every opportunity. The wait staff were always engaging my kids. Even passengers at dinner or at the shows or around the ship would stop to talk to them.

 

Excellent post.

[jayoldschool]

The photographers LOVED my kids and photographed them at every opportunity.

 

Of course they did. Parents are more likely to buy photos of their children. They didn't love your kids, they loved the opportunity to make money off your kids. That's their job.

[Queen of Oakville]

Of course they did. Parents are more likely to buy photos of their children. They didn't love your kids, they loved the opportunity to make money off your kids. That's their job.

 

Yes, well except for the fact that they knew we had a photo package, and they knew we were not buying individual photos. They would chase my kids down to take their picture - and not just one. Once they got them, they took tons of pictures. I took home a stack at least 2" thick of photos.

 

Regardless of what their motivation was - it made my kids feel special.

 

I can't say we had the same photography experience on Royal, Disney or any other ship. On those ships, they would take one two or three pictures and be done. On Celebrity, they would shoot 10 to 20 poses each time.

[allready]

Thank you fir your responses. We are going the last week of summer to Bermuda. My teen loves the teen club dances/ parties/ scavenger hunts.

I am going to set her expectations... May not be as exciting as RCCL which we have had great experiences.

[shuang6]

Yes, well except for the fact that they knew we had a photo package, and they knew we were not buying individual photos. They would chase my kids down to take their picture - and not just one. Once they got them, they took tons of pictures. I took home a stack at least 2" thick of photos.

 

 

 

Regardless of what their motivation was - it made my kids feel special.

 

 

 

I can't say we had the same photography experience on Royal, Disney or any other ship. On those ships, they would take one two or three pictures and be done. On Celebrity, they would shoot 10 to 20 poses each time.

 

 

Hi

 

Did you purchase the photo package in advance or on board? What are the pricing for the photo package?

[dkjretired]

Thank you fir your responses. We are going the last week of summer to Bermuda. My teen loves the teen club dances/ parties/ scavenger hunts.

I am going to set her expectations... May not be as exciting as RCCL which we have had great experiences.

 

Just an FYI, not sure which week you are going but if it is the cruise over Labor Day week end, there will not be a lot of kids on board. I did it two years ago.

[Texed]

Regardless of what their motivation was - it made my kids feel speciale.

 

Queen,

 

That is a great post. That is what it is all about. :)

[Dawg74]

Hi there,

 

We have taken our three kids on the Eclipse twice and they loved it. Our experience with the the staff including the photographers, officers, servers, everyone was similar to the other posts. People fussed over them. My son turned 9 on our last cruise and the hostess arranged for the captain to come to our table and wish him a happy birthday and pose for a picture. We had nothing to do with this arrangement. He was thrilled. Even though they do not have some of the waterslides and movie screens and so on that we enjoy on other lines, the attention to detail is very much enjoyed by all in our family. I would encourage anyone to take their kids with them on a celebrity cruise.

 

Have fun!!!

[AnchorsAweigh2011]

We have travelled with our 17 year old son for the last 5 years and found the Celebrity crew and staff to be excellent with him. On our most recent cruise we took our 15 year old niece with us and while they didn’t participate regularly in the Teens Program when they did, they had a great time!

[Queen of Oakville]

Hi

 

Did you purchase the photo package in advance or on board? What are the pricing for the photo package?

 

I can't recall exactly. I think prior to sailing, there was a package available to be bought on line. I "think" it was $220 for all digital files. I had meant to buy it, but tried on the day before sailing, and it was too late. It needed to be bought 24 hours prior to sailing. Once on board, there was a promo - available first day only - for about $250 which included all digital files + all prints. Now, I have to say, I mostly only use digital files. I very rarely print anymore; but it was nice to have the pictures as a "bonus". Also the paper quality on X is much better - the prints were all excellent quality. I've seen some ships (Royal - I think) where the print and paper quality is really poor.

 

 

Queen,

 

That is a great post. That is what it is all about. :)

 

 

: ) thanks Texed.

[Rockogirl]

We travelled celebrity in January school holidays with kids. Kids club activities were well supervised but there was very little for older kids. Teen pool parties were organised but cancelled at last minute. Teens ended up hanging in corridors outside of bars causing a lot of problems. Not really enough to keep some age groups entertained.

[Justbecoz]

Thank you fir your responses. We are going the last week of summer to Bermuda. My teen loves the teen club dances/ parties/ scavenger hunts.

I am going to set her expectations... May not be as exciting as RCCL which we have had great experiences.

 

We had two teenagers on the same cruise last week and both had a very good time. There were a ton of kids aboad.

[robsmom]

I think that it really depends on what your Teenager wants to do. My son has been on 3 or 4 cruises starting at 10 and the last one being at 15. He loves celebrity, but does not participate in the teen programs. I don't think they are bad, but just not big and not his thing right now. As a pre-teen he enjoyed many of the programs. I have never been bothered by groups of kids or inappropriate behavior from teens on Celebrity. It may be the Mom in me, but i like have the kids around. I particularly enjoy seeing kids on the scavenger hunts. I did once have to suggest to a group that the clock in the elevator lobby was probably not the best "something sliver" and maybe they could grab a spoon from the buffet instead! What he enjoys about Celebrity are the excursions, our balcony, and the food. A bit of a foodie and a 6' 2'' teenager, he is all about the meals! Even at the younger ages, we never felt that he was unwelcome. On one European cruise (he was 11), we were with my parents and the 4 adults went to Murano one formal night. We mentioned it to our waiter, and he asked what my son was doing for dinner. When we said that we would take him to the buffet, the waiter insisted that he come to the dining room and they would make sure he got a great meal. He put on his suit and went to dinner by himself and was treated like a King. As he has gotten older, he now enjoys Murano, Tuscan Grill, and Qusine himself!