Warning - do not sail Celebrity with young children

[miniyorkie]

Thorpeys. Please try to enjoy the remainder of your cruise as a family and not let this spoil your holiday. You now know that P&O are your preferred cruise choice when travelling as a family and they do what they do extremely well. They are first class for catering for children, and whilst I do not have youngsters I have seen the activity leaders with the "crocodiles" around the ships. Celebrity have strong plus points but obviously kids clubs are not one. Enjoy the ports and everything else on board.

[MandyGirl]

Just because a company puts out marketing and says "we're great at this" does not mean they are.

 

 

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I do not believe I said anywhere in my post that they said that they are great. Merely that it is marketed.

 

We board in November for 15 nights on Celebrity wrapping around a holiday, and their website along with positive feedback from other families was a contributing factor along with the appealing itinerary wrapped around a school holiday. My 10- and 6- year olds only have just over 100 nights onboard (each) on cruises so obviously not nearly the expert level of posters here, but this original post and thread helped raise some awareness in a variety of areas. Mine do not spend much time at all in kids club and my oldest has at least three 7nt cruises she didn't bother going to kids club in the past year (youngest had two she didn't bother going), but the three times DH and I have cruised X we had tablemates complimenting the program with repeated cruises for their families on X. Next we will probably hear people saying we parents should not be exposing our children to other cultures, Wonders of the world, or different generations - which we love experiencing on cruises as we are firm believers the world is our greatest classroom. We have been able to use unruly adults or adults without manners as great teaching moments for our children onboard - many great learning opportunities for children aboard cruises. My oldest daughter's favorite cruise ever was Fathom. No kids club, no waterslides, and excellent opportunities to serve others with their on-ground impact activities where she was able to utilize her dual language skills. Minimum age of 8 on Fathom. Not a single adult made remarks about her being onboard but rather welcomed her into conversations in our cohorts and onboard meetings, and partnered with her in our service activities ashore.

 

And yes, we do participate in trivia as a family. As a former high school educator and still a certified principal, we even seek out the library onboard ;) but put my oldest on a baseball field with a bunch of Spanish speaking boys and she can hold her own like she did in the Dominican Republic in May at one of our on ground activities [emoji106] We even spent this last weekend as a mommy / daughters trip to Costa Rica for some immersion opportunities. Thankfully nobody turned around to give us the evil eye for bringing children into Sunday mass, answered our questions at the local farmers market, and we were welcomed at the spa after our hike to the waterfalls. Adults welcoming children. But that wasn't a cruise, just genuine local culture in another country. Our oldest loved to seek out the library onboard and isn't shy about sharing her favorites.

 

Some here may be interested to know that CruiseCritic has a great article for those seeking kid-free cruises worth reading and even it does not specify Celebrity as being child free:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1460

[yvonneh]

We have taken our daughter on several cruises including X, Disney and RC. She prefers Celebrity hands down, and always has. We have sailed on the Eclipse as well. I have never seen only 1 person in FF, ever. There is someone usually at the front desk and the office in there as well. The staff that work in the FF have always been so attentive and made sure we were following the guidelines, such as signing in and out, right down to washing hands before playing.

 

There are 2 doors the kids would have to get out of to escape, and the big glass door to enter the FF is not easy to open for an adult.

 

I have never felt she was unsafe on a X cruise (and I am a worrier). She always has so much fun and makes great friends, that she still keeps in touch with.

 

Every child is different, and if your child needs lot's of activities like slides and wave pools, etc, to entertain them, than I can understand choosing another line. But, definitely not for safety concerns.

 

I am sorry that the OP has had a different experience. I just thought I would share mine.

Edited October 27, 2016 by yvonneh

[Fish Lover]

Off topic, but when I was in first grade 40 years ago, we had 50 kids in class with one teacher (a nun). If the other first grade teacher was absent, we sat 2 to a desk, 100 kids in a room with that 1 teacher. Now I work in a preschool for kids with disabilities and we run about 1 adult to 5 kids.

 

And when I was growing up we had to walk 3 miles in the snow without shoes to get to school....;)

 

We didn't have seat belts then. Smoking was considered harmless. Car seats weren't used. etc..

 

We know better now. And for everyone who insists on comparing this situation to schools or day camp or day care... 1) the school or camp does not allow strangers by the thousands (some of whom are drinking) to mill around just outside, 2) there is no unguarded pool nearby, and 3) there is no huge ocean right over the railing.

 

This is a different circumstance and venue, and the rules need to be applicable. Once again, I don't necessarily agree 100% with the OP or how she handled her disappointment, but I don't think she is way off either.

[texasgirl29]

Celebrity does have a kids club, so despite your personal dislike of younger people, the poster has some valid concerns. I agree that in such a context, a new unfamiliar environment, a second staff member should be present.

 

Many of you seem to have some real, intense issues with people bringing their kids with them on vacation. Celebrity isn't an 'adults only' cruise line, so the poster had every right to bring his or her kids on the cruise.

 

I'm pushing the like button for this one.

[MarinaDCA]

Honestly, and politely, that makes it even worse. What you are saying is that you commandeered between 3 and 4 seats at a bar while no one was taking advantage of what a bar is intended to be used for. Knowing how busy the Martini Bar is on every cruise we have taken, I would find it very rare that adults who wanted to have a drink would not be without seating.

 

Call me curmudgeon or whatever you like, but sailing during non-holiday (US definition of holiday) periods I prefer to not have to share my space with young children.

 

I have to agree with you. There are a ton of places to sit on a cruise ship...why chose a bar? That seems to be one of the worst choices for places to sit with playing kids. If I walked in and saw kids playing I would turn right around. I also picked a cruise the week before school holidays with the hope of minimizing children.

[dkjretired]

And when I was growing up we had to walk 3 miles in the snow without shoes to get to school....;)

 

We didn't have seat belts then. Smoking was considered harmless. Car seats weren't used. etc..

 

We know better now. And for everyone who insists on comparing this situation to schools or day camp or day care... 1) the school or camp does not allow strangers by the thousands (some of whom are drinking) to mill around just outside, 2) there is no unguarded pool nearby, and 3) there is no huge ocean right over the railing.

 

This is a different circumstance and venue, and the rules need to be applicable. Once again, I don't necessarily agree 100% with the OP or how she handled her disappointment, but I don't think she is way off either.

 

And Celebrity is not an adults only cruise line as some uneducated people think, they tried Adult only cruises years ago and they failed.

[SmoothFlying]

Well, maybe the families with young children should consider other types of vacations such as a family friendly resort instead of a cruiseline.

 

I wonder how the other patrons of the Martini Bar or Sky Lounge felt with children of 4 and 5 years old playing with Legos at the bar while their parents were drinking martinis.

 

What the kid ratio to supervision rate is for Disney cruises? My stepson and his wife took their 3 children, ages 7,9,11 on a 12 day repositioning cruise from Hawaii to the west coast this year. The kids LOVED it, my son and his wife,not so much, not because of anything Disney did or didn't do referring the kids, they just thought 12 days was to long for a 1st cruise for adults. They said the kids seemed to be well cared for, and after reading this blog I was wondering if Disney had a lower ratio since, I assume, they must be considered experts on land and sea. Does anybody here know? All of our past cruises have been on CCL and RCL, and we have noticed that usually it seems like with 20-25 children there are usually 4 adults, of course, that was only one age bracket. Both of these cruise lines seem to divide kids up by age. Just curious, Thanks

 

Mac

[warmwinds]

I happen to agree with the OP and all those that cite emergencies that might arise where a second adult would be very helpful.

 

Two other points I'd add is that it is not a situation where the adult knows the kids, and the kids know each other (as in a school). One troublemaker and the whole thing is skewed off. And with a lot of kids of varying ages, it would help to have supervision for the very different activities each age level would be interested in.

 

When our daughter was young we sailed on Sitmar and Princess (yes, that's how old I am now)...she loved it, but I recall ALWAYS having more than one adult (and sometimes two or three) - they were often unpaid college kids just doing it to get a free cruise, which is fine. Not sure what the policies are now.

 

And Celebrity has access to how many kids and what ages will be on each sailing, so they can staff properly if it is a busy family time or if they know there are only 5 kids on board (and I've been on X sailings where there was literally 2 kids and one infant).

[fellesferie]

Respectfully, our kids' (10 and 5 at the time of our last Celebrity cruise) experience with Celebrity has been phenomenal. They loved the Fun Factory, and there were always multiple people looking after the kids any time we dropped off, picked up, or visited. Anyone I saw with the kids was friendly and engaged.

 

When we told the kids we had booked another cruise for this summer, all they cared about was returning to Celebrity and getting to play at the Fun Factory again. They have literally not even inquired about our ports of call.

 

In addition to Fun Factory staff, every single person we encountered on the Silhouette was wonderful to my kids. Many people greeted them by name seeing them around the ship. A QSine server brought them some chocolate covered strawberries one morning at breakfast. Some of their strongest and happiest memories of our 2015 cruise revolve around our sommelier and main dining room server.

 

I can completely respect that other people have different experiences. But I felt compelled to share our positive one.

[the english lady]

I really am quite shocked at some of the replies on here.

The poster posted this on the Pando board as well, and maybe because our rules are more stringent than Celebrities people thanked them.

I do not like children, but if a cruise line advertises that it has facilities to cater for children, would you not assume that they would be fit for purpose.

To actually find out that not really fit for purpose until onboard does not help.

Pando's childrens clubs have a good reputation. Those with families may stick with Pando.

From what I have read children adore the kids clubs on Pando ships. It is not used as somewhere to dump your children. They actually have enough staff to entertain the children and make them want to go back.

If Celebrity just want adults to be on their ships surely the age demographic heads northwards.

[AnOnymously]

We have taken our daughter on several cruises including X, Disney and RC. She prefers Celebrity hands down, and always has. We have sailed on the Eclipse as well. I have never seen only 1 person in FF, ever. There is someone usually at the front desk and the office in there as well. The staff that work in the FF have always been so attentive and made sure we were following the guidelines, such as signing in and out, right down to washing hands before playing.

 

There are 2 doors the kids would have to get out of to escape, and the big glass door to enter the FF is not easy to open for an adult.

 

I have never felt she was unsafe on a X cruise (and I am a worrier). She always has so much fun and makes great friends, that she still keeps in touch with.

 

Every child is different, and if your child needs lot's of activities like slides and wave pools, etc, to entertain them, than I can understand choosing another line. But, definitely not for safety concerns.

 

I am sorry that the OP has had a different experience. I just thought I would share mine.

 

Physical safety is one thing, but not the only thing these days.

 

Byron_1978

I do worry about a case such as described by AnOnymously. But the thing is that as a parent, you have no choice but to trust some other people. I trust Celebrity takes every precaution it can to prevent things like that from happening. That offcourse doesn't mean it can never happen, but it could also happen at school, daycare, ... Also remember that most offenders are actually related to the child...

Trusting is fine until it is your child that gets abused, then are you willing to say "well I trusted them"? Remember too that the experience in the UK at present is that sexual abuse of children is often only revealed many years later. It is often easy to bully, groom, bribe or threaten small children into silence.

 

Is there anything that says that children are looked after by adults with appropriate qualifications or is it as one poster on here said

they were often unpaid college kids just doing it to get a free cruise, which is fine.

 

It is not fine our children deserve to be safe with Celebrity, any other cruise line or anywhere and adults, especially parents, have to make sure that organisations who look after kids do it safely.

Edited October 27, 2016 by AnOnymously

[RCKM43]

Well, first to the OP. I am very sorry you had such a horrible experience. I am guessing you might have traveled during school rather than during a school break? You experience couldn't be more different from our 4 Celebrity cruises with our kids.

 

To those who say Celebrity is not child friendly and do not market to children. This is simply not true. While it is not Disney or Carnival (thankfully) we regularly get mailings with children in the Ads, and family info for Celebrity cruises. They do market to families, but I would imagine most who do not sail with their kids or who have none do not get targeted for those mailings.

 

We have family who are Elite+ who sail Celebrity 3-4 times every year, both with us, and without us. Their observation - While school is in session, longer cruises, such as Transatlantic etc tend to have much older demographics, where 70 year old are the spring chickens. They would not recommend it during those times. On the flip side, Caribbean cruises, Bermuda, Alaska when school is out are filled with families with children of all ages, babies -teens. These are the times that Celebrity is very family friendly. I personally have been sailing Celebrity since the early 1990's. There were always teens, and later those in the 20s, 30s, on board. Now I find that when we sail there are plenty in their 40s traveling with their kids. Not everyone is interested in Carnival, NCL etc. I know many families who listened to those on here saying not to take their kids. But you know what? After going on NCL, Disney, RCCL, can you guess the children's favorite cruise...yup. Celebrity. Most comments come from those who have not taken their kids or grandkids n a Celebrity cruise. Our cruises have had 250-over 500 kids on them.

 

My kids beg to go on Celebrity. They are 7 and 9 now but have sailed since they were 2 and 4. They just took their 4th Celebrity cruise this summer. I was called mean mom for taking them home at the end of the week. They loved the fun factory. They spend most of their week with us, swimming, shore excursions, eating lunch and dinners in the MDR, going to see Brent Nixon. But they do love the fun factory. They go after dinner until 10, and then pick an activity here and there you go to, like the talent show. They are never left to run the ship, and have never complained they were bored. They were able to always find something to do. The staff treats them like royalty. The were in the glory getting escargot every night, salads and steaks.

 

As far as the fun factory. I am sorry to hear about the OPs experience. They have always been great with my kids. One staff member our last cruise even remember them from the Reflection. There are usually 3-4 staff members when I drop my child off of at pick up, even if there were only 1-3 kids in the room. They had to be let in and no way for my child to "just walk out". If so, no way would I have left them. They made them scrub their hands often, and the place was always spotless and the counselors knew all the kids names and were on top of them with tons of attention. I wasn't asked for the password because they knew me, but my husband or parents picked them up, they were asked for it. The only thing I am not a fan of is the sign in sheet lists where the parents are and the cabin number if someone wishes to look it up. When my kids were there, 2-3 other groups were too, so in an emergency I would imagine they would grab from the other group a counselor to take over. Which is why I was curious if this was a non school break time when only a small handful of kids are on board. I find most disappointed or negative kids threads tend to revolve around times school is in session where very few kids are on board. I could see why during those times people would be disappointed or say it is not family friendly. Celebrity is an excellent family line that welcomes families, the key is to travel during school breaks when they are staffed for more kids, and more families are traveling. My kids made a lot of wonderful friends on board, we even had some calling their names and running to hug goodbye at the airport after our cruises.

 

 

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[bengaltiger1]

For those who are assuming that the OP has taken her children out of school during term time. Children in the U.K. are on half term break from school and in some authorities that is for two weeks in October.

 

She has made it clear that she was not consuming alcohol when she was in the Martini bar, during what appears to be the times it is closed. Why should she be limited to her cabin because her children wish to play quietly with Lego?

 

I am not a fan of badly behaved children, but for those who can behave,

they and their parents have as much right as any other passenger to enjoy the facilities they have paid for.

 

 

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[villauk]

For those who are assuming that the OP has taken her children out of school during term time. Children in the U.K. are on half term break from school and in some authorities that is for two weeks in October.

 

She has made it clear that she was not consuming alcohol when she was in the Martini bar, during what appears to be the times it is closed. Why should she be limited to her cabin because her children wish to play quietly with Lego?

 

I am not a fan of badly behaved children, but for those who can behave,

they and their parents have as much right as any other passenger to enjoy the facilities they have paid for.

 

 

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Just curious, which authorities have 2 weeks for half term in October? Not saying there aren't, just wondering where? As the OP did state there were many kids onboard.

[RDC1]

And when I was growing up we had to walk 3 miles in the snow without shoes to get to school....;)

 

We didn't have seat belts then. Smoking was considered harmless. Car seats weren't used. etc..

 

We know better now. And for everyone who insists on comparing this situation to schools or day camp or day care... 1) the school or camp does not allow strangers by the thousands (some of whom are drinking) to mill around just outside, 2) there is no unguarded pool nearby, and 3) there is no huge ocean right over the railing.

 

This is a different circumstance and venue, and the rules need to be applicable. Once again, I don't necessarily agree 100% with the OP or how she handled her disappointment, but I don't think she is way off either.

 

Haven't been around day care, schools or summer activities in major cities much?

 

Also keep in mind that on land those situations are do not have security access within seconds, a fully trained medical staff nearby easily accessed, a closed environment where people cannot leave the ship when at sea or without getting the card swiped and where someones departure can be blocked within seconds.

 

 

While full statistics are not available young children would seem to be at higher risk in the pool area with their relatives, based upon the number of reported deaths and near drownings reported on cruise ships.

Edited October 27, 2016 by RDC1

[bengaltiger1]

My daughters school always had a two week half term in October in Lincolnshire. The point I am making, is that there is an assumption that the OP has taken her children out of school. May be she has, may be she hasn't.

 

In addition, the Government's stance on children being removed from school during term time has taken a knock through the courts lately.

 

I NEVER took my children out of school during term time and now holiday outside of the school holidays, because as my children are grown up I like to relax and excited children do not help with my relaxation. However, I stand by my point that the OP has paid for a holiday and is as entitled as you or I to enjoy all the facilities on board with the proviso that she and her family are not running riot. From her posts it appears that she is keeping her children entertained. Drunken behaviour from 'adults' is more of a problem to me.

 

 

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Edited October 27, 2016 by bengaltiger1

[mandream]

Just because a company puts out marketing and says "we're great at this" does not mean they are.

 

 

That is true. However the far majority of posters (on this thread and others) who have actually taken their children on Celebrity cruises have confirmed it to be true.

 

My 4 and 6 year olds have been on 5 Celebrity cruises so far and LOVE it. One of those cruises was with cousins who have been on Disney - and they liked Celebrity better.

 

I have never found the Fun Factory to be understaffed. While there may at times only be one staff member with a group - there are other staff members with other groups just in the next section, or nearby.

 

Will Celebrity appeal to all kids? Of course not. It doesn't appeal to all adults either (just read these boards). But in my opinion (and many others who've actually done it) - it is an excellent choice for families.

 

Mike

Edited October 27, 2016 by mandream

[bEwAbG]

Again people have been saying things on here which does not bear out in fact.

 

Like how the OP says the kids are unsupervised to the point where a child can get out at any time? Which is blatantly not true? You've also made no secret of the fact that you've not been on a Celebrity ship, yet, so I think your suppositions are the least informed of all.

[teltrainer]

I have no problem with kids using the Martini Bar as long as my husband and I can spend time in the kids club and play games there. We don't have children but we LOVE video games and boards games so we will have to stop by our next cruise.

 

But wait..that won't happen...the kids have THEIR own private spaces we aren't allowed to use.

[Fish Lover]

I have to agree with you. There are a ton of places to sit on a cruise ship...why chose a bar? That seems to be one of the worst choices for places to sit with playing kids. If I walked in and saw kids playing I would turn right around. I also picked a cruise the week before school holidays with the hope of minimizing children.

 

Feel free to walk on by.... the martini bar is CLOSED during the day. The chairs and tables are there to be used by anyone for whatever reason.

I have NEVER encountered children being a problem on a Celebrity cruise. You can certainly choose to travel whenever you wish and by choosing a time when most schools are in session, you are likely to have fewer children on board. However, children are not second class citizens and the ONLY place they are not welcome is the thelasotherapy pool and the casino.

[Fish Lover]

To everyone that has posted and claimed their children had a fabulous time on Celebrity, that too was my experience when traveling with my children. However, whether the kids were having a great time was not the issue the OP had. Her issues are with the safety of the program. She made a few good points regarding safety. As all parents know fun does not equal safe.

[anniebea]

To everyone that has posted and claimed their children had a fabulous time on Celebrity, that too was my experience when traveling with my children. However, whether the kids were having a great time was not the issue the OP had. Her issues are with the safety of the program. She made a few good points regarding safety. As all parents know fun does not equal safe.

 

Well said, Its also wasn't about whether you should take your children on holiday in School time, Which schools have two weeks holiday at half term in the UK or whether your children should be in the Martini bar whether it was open or closed.

 

I wish people could keep to the point.

[cdbaum]

A few more points of clarification. The staff working in the Fun Factory are required to have schooling in education (often a degree) or similar curriculum. There are always multiple staff working in the Fun Factory with the kids, this is corporate policy. Any child that is a problem, behaviorally, is not allowed back into the program after the parents are notified. I believe the fewest number of kids that I have ever seen in there was two or three and that was at odd times.

[MarinaDCA]

Feel free to walk on by.... the martini bar is CLOSED during the day. The chairs and tables are there to be used by anyone for whatever reason.

I have NEVER encountered children being a problem on a Celebrity cruise. You can certainly choose to travel whenever you wish and by choosing a time when most schools are in session, you are likely to have fewer children on board. However, children are not second class citizens and the ONLY place they are not welcome is the thelasotherapy pool and the casino.

 

I never said children are 2nd class citizens? The OP has back tracked and said she was only in the bar when closed, but her original post says "I do apologise to any guests we disturb but we are trying to be as discreet as possible but from talking to fellow passengers they are enjoying engaging with our children and having them around." so clearly they were sitting and playing the the bar when there were people using it.

 

I think they are many options for an indoor seat that does not have to be either the room or a bar. The kids club is just for kids and I cannot go in there, what is wrong with expecting a BAR to be free of small children?

 

And I realize I can travel whenever I want, and chose my time carefully in the hope of fewer children. Of course they are allowed and welcomed, there are facilities just for them! They exist in the world and have every right to to be a cruise and should be an welcomed as every passenger is. However, anyone who has met small children knows they act in a way that can be counter to relaxation. And I will leave the school vacation cruises to those who enjoy them and cruise at an off time myself.

 

What is wrong with that?