They are REALLY pushing Kids Sail Free. Too Bad.

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, Tapi said:

Last time I checked, all Puertoricans are Americans....

Actually, they are American who happen to live in PR...

 

Like I happen to live in NJ, currently.. LOL

 

Thank you and bon voyage

[Aralim]

1 hour ago, Alsmez said:

I also don't necessarily agree that the average Celebrity cruiser today will be their average cruiser in the future. Celebrity's product may still not include waterslides and belly-flop contests, but the price point is generally competitive with lines that do. They are clearly targeting a younger demographic with Edge and the modernization of the rest of the fleet, and it seems to be having the intended effect - we were mid 30s on our first X cruise on Equinox in 2011, and we were two of just a handful of people our age, with most being 70+. On Silhouette last year (in our early-mid 40s), I would say half the passengers were around our age (say 35-50), with the remainder being older but more 60+ than 70+. If they continue to offer incentives like Go Best and children sail free, who knows how that will affect the brand down the line.

 

Before booking my Summit sailing for Aug, 2020, I spoke with a sales rep at Celebrity to ask about what I should expect in terms of number of teens we'd find on that sailing who my own girls might be able to meet and hang out with on sea days or the evenings, given its two weeks long and going to a lot of ports that teens might or might not care for. I felt she was reasonably honest with me and not sales pitching too hard when she told me that there certainly would be more than just my two girls on board, but not loads and loads of kids either. She also told me that Celebrity is making a very concerted effort to attract families in the exact age bracket you mention -- parents in the upper thirties to mid-fifties, with the bulk expected to be around mid-forties.

 

So I hate to be the bearer of bad news to the OP and those who don't want more kids / teens on board, but you'd best start acclimating to the idea. Celebrity needs "new blood" to start booking with them and letting them grow, or their existing passenger base is going to age out and leave them with nothing.

[Alsmez]

9 minutes ago, Aralim said:

 

She also told me that Celebrity is making a very concerted effort to attract families in the exact age bracket you mention -- parents in the upper thirties to mid-fifties, with the bulk expected to be around mid-forties.

 

 

This is exactly what concerns me. There are already plenty of lines for people aged 35-50 who travel with kids in tow. That same demographic also needs a cruise line that caters to what they want when they leave the kids with grandma for some adults-only downtime, and up to this point that is how we have seen and utilized the Celebrity product. Virgin and others like it will end up replacing Celebrity for many if X starts catering to families.

[medtech71]

Find another line....Celebrity is definitely moving to professional with families.  No one cares about your whining.

[Bo1953]

4 minutes ago, medtech71 said:

Find another line....Celebrity is definitely moving to professional with families.  No one cares about your whining.

m - I personally would not take that tact, yet would go so far as to say that there are other lines available when one does not want to be bothered with children aboard can go sail, as well... Viking and Virgin come to mind readily.

 

Especially if X's 'updated business model' is not in agreement with ones desires and reason for continuing to sail the line.

 

bon voyage

Edited March 13, 2019 by Bo1953

[Kellerb]

Well I seem to be the new client Celebrity is targeting.  Early 40s, with a 14 and 10 year old.  We are going on our first cruise to Alaska this summer.  I chose Celebrity specifically because it didn't have all of the crazy kid activities as I want this to be a family vacation where I actually spend time with my family.  Not have them off in a kid area all day long and I never see them.

 

I didn't realize there were so many people hoping not to see children on board.  Oops.  

[Bo1953]

1 minute ago, Kellerb said:

Well I seem to be the new client Celebrity is targeting.  Early 40s, with a 14 and 10 year old.  We are going on our first cruise to Alaska this summer.  I chose Celebrity specifically because it didn't have all of the crazy kid activities as I want this to be a family vacation where I actually spend time with my family.  Not have them off in a kid area all day long and I never see them.

 

I didn't realize there were so many people hoping not to see children on board.  Oops.  

k - not to worry about that at all...

 

It is only here on CC, I would venture positively to say.

 

Please allow your kids to attend the Camp as that will free you up some and lets them make new friends while on vacation, you will still have opportunities to re-inforce your bonding during excursions which are abundant in Alaska.

 

Which ship are you taking for that sailing?

 

bon voyage

[Kellerb]

1 minute ago, Bo1953 said:

k - not to worry about that at all...

 

It is only here on CC, I would venture positively to say.

 

Please allow your kids to attend the Camp as that will free you up some and lets them make new friends while on vacation, you will still have opportunities to re-inforce your bonding during excursions which are abundant in Alaska.

 

Which ship are you taking for that sailing?

 

bon voyage

Thanks!  We are on the Millennium. Vancouver to Seward in July.

[hvbaskey]

2 hours ago, Tapi said:

To anybody with visions of 1000 kids running rampant all over the ship, taking over hot tubs, throwing food across the table at the MDR, wearing Fortnite t-shirts and gym shorts to formal night, or running down hallways at all hours of the day and night unsupervised, and pressing all the buttons in the elevator (as I have seen on more “family friendly” cruise lines), rest assured that those visions will most likely never materialize on Celebrity. The product and price point are just not aimed at that segment of the market.

 

Try South America over the Holidays - LOL!  yep!  happened, not my imagination.  Itinerary brilliant, on board experience was “eventful" - even the staff were commenting about the chaos.  A record # of people were “disembarked”.

Saying that, I am not opposed to kids being on board, but after that one “X”perience (which could have very well have been a one-off), I won’t sail over the Holidays again!

H 😉

[Finnrox]

5 hours ago, Alsmez said:

 

Yes, we will absolutely consider Virgin going forward. However, as others on this thread have mentioned, preferring a child-free vacation doesn't mean we are child haters. It simply means we prefer not to vacation with a lot of them (or their parents, who quite honestly are often a bigger problem than the kids). IMO it is rather short-sighted of Celebrity (and its parent company) to alienate its historical target demographic to try to attract families, given that that will undoubtedly mean stealing business from Royal. They are two separate products and I am happy to have a choice when cruising - I would hate to see Celebrity turn into "Royal lite" just as I'm sure Royal cruisers would hate the reverse.

You are making an assumption that Celebrity is focusing on its "historical target demographic", which I believe is a completely incorrect one.  As one can tell from a review of this board and X's recent actions and plans, it is clear that they are trying to expand that demographic, which realistically is necessary if they want to survive and thrive.  There is a big difference between Royal and X, even though they are owned by the same company, and suffice it to say, I don't think they are "stealing" business from Royal.  What I find most interesting about this thread is that there really hasn't been examples of problems with kids on Celebrity, just a general griping about children.

[Bo1953]

Just now, Kellerb said:

Thanks!  We are on the Millennium. Vancouver to Seward in July.

We were on Millie two (2) years ago and really enjoyed it, with the exception of the fact that two (2) friends were in a suite which had that 'smell' which could not be taken care of... still had a great time.

 

Our sailing was Seward to Vancouver.

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

9 minutes ago, hvbaskey said:

 

Try South America over the Holidays - LOL!  yep!  happened, not my imagination.  Itinerary brilliant, on board experience was “eventful" - even the staff were commenting about the chaos.  A record # of people were “disembarked”.

Saying that, I am not opposed to kids being on board, but after that one “X”perience (which could have very well have been a one-off), I won’t sail over the Holidays again!

H 😉

Yes, I do remember someone commenting about that sailing...

 

It was eventful to say the least...

 

bon voyage

[villauk]

26 minutes ago, Alsmez said:

 

This is exactly what concerns me. There are already plenty of lines for people aged 35-50 who travel with kids in tow. That same demographic also needs a cruise line that caters to what they want when they leave the kids with grandma for some adults-only downtime, and up to this point that is how we have seen and utilized the Celebrity product. Virgin and others like it will end up replacing Celebrity for many if X starts catering to families.

 

 

We’ve obviously not been sailing on the same X cruises as you because if you’re signature is up to date, then my kids have cruised on several more X sailings than you. In fact, I’ve never left them at home with the grandparents as they are my responsibility and we enjoy spending time together on vacation. ‘So up to this point’,  X have indeed been sailing with families onboard. My kids are now older teens and still want to sail with us, even though one is at university. They have met, and still keep in contact, with some wonderful friends from all over the world - even trying to arrange meet ups when sailing to their part of the world.

 

Kellerb,

Our kids loved Alaska so much the first time that when we thought it may be the last time our eldest cruised with us last year, we asked where he would like to visit and he replied that Alaska was one of his favourite places. So, off we went to Alaska again last year. He still wants to keep cruising with us (probably as it is a free ride too 🤣).

 

Prior to sailing, I used to make journals for the kids to complete while we were on the cruise. I’d type questions about the ship and ports of call which they had to complete whilst sitting at the dinner table each evening after ordering. I’d also leave spaces for photos, foreign coins, leaflets etc., any memorabilia they collected during the vacation. It was great for them to keep and take into school once they returned. I recall them writing essays about Anne Frank, Pompeii, The Titanic cemetery in NS etc. All that money taking them around the world has definitely been well spent, obviously OMHO.

 

Enjoy your cruise 😉.

Edited March 13, 2019 by villauk

[Kellerb]

Villauk - Thanks!  That's a great idea.  We are very excited for the trip.

[hcat]

11 minutes ago, hvbaskey said:

 

Try South America over the Holidays - LOL!  yep!  happened, not my imagination.  Itinerary brilliant, on board experience was “eventful" - even the staff were commenting about the chaos.  A record # of people were “disembarked”.

Saying that, I am not opposed to kids being on board, but after that one “X”perience (which could have very well have been a one-off), I won’t sail over the Holidays again!

H 😉

 

Had this  type of  "awful adventure" on Royal C out of Miami some years ago.

 We picked  bad dates...early Easter vacation that yr.   Hundreds of unsupervised kiddos  cruising with large family groups  were running amok up and down in the elevators, hallways, and stairwells.They over ran pools and hot tubs with bad behavior, poured choc syrup  over the art auction, damaged  sculptures in the Adult pool area, and switched all the room service cards,...had to order by phone after that.  Adult behavior was  not much better....pushing and shoving at the indoor  sidewalk sale....never saw that before  or again ( thankfully) 

 

We pick our dates,  itins and ships very carefully and look forward to family cruises when our grandson  is a bit older.  Thinking Royal will be a good choice esp with the  Beautiful Day at Coco Cay coming on line!  But if we select X , he will be well supervised.....he is not free range!

[Alsmez]

16 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

We’ve obviously not been sailing on the same X cruises as you because if you’re signature is up to date, then my kids have cruised on several more X sailings than you. In fact, I’ve never left them at home with the grandparents as they are my responsibility and we enjoy spending time together on vacation. ‘So up to this point’,  X have indeed been sailing with families onboard. 

 

I'm sure my signature is not up to date. I'm also sure we haven't been on the same X cruises, because as I mentioned, we always cruise when school is in session to avoid cruises with lots of children. Many of the cruisers we have met on board have told us they do the same thing. I realize that families sail X all the time but it is not a line that is particularly family or kid-oriented, as evidenced by the lack of waterslides, rock walls, ice rinks, etc.

 

By the way, when I was helping my mother plan a multi-generational family vacation last year (ages 3-80), we considered a cruise, and looked at lines like Carnival, Royal and Norwegian. I have nothing against these lines or any line that caters to families. It is simply nice to have a mainstream option that caters more to adults, and I will be sad to see Celebrity veer away from that if it happens.

[floridatravelersforlife]

24 minutes ago, hvbaskey said:

 

Try South America over the Holidays - LOL!  yep!  happened, not my imagination.  Itinerary brilliant, on board experience was “eventful" - even the staff were commenting about the chaos.  A record # of people were “disembarked”.

Saying that, I am not opposed to kids being on board, but after that one “X”perience (which could have very well have been a one-off), I won’t sail over the Holidays again!

H 😉

 

 

Can confirm this happened to us in SA cruise.   It was the local countries holidays and the ship was full of local's families.  I felt these parents wanted to rely on all the pax to monitor their kids.   We ALWAYS check a candidate itinerary against the world school schedules and holidays.  Twice burned now we learned.  WE are not kid haters, we hate bad parents who won't tend to their children.

[carlmm]

Reading the topic of this thread "pushing Kids Sail Free. Too Bad" I thought it would have a different content than discussing the pro and cons of cruises with/without children/adult only ...

 

Actually I like a balanced mixture of well behaved travellers of all ages, children, young adults to very mature guests,

but what I do regard as totally wrong is the "Kids Sail FREE" part. Basically, given Celebrity's overall pricing, this means that a single traveller has to pay the same price as a family of four. Certainly I do not eat for four, use four loungers at the pool, take four seats in the theatre ...

 

Great, if Celebrity makes families welcome on board, but let them just pay for.

[TeaBag]

What time of year was this "holiday" sailing in South America?

[Jesseslola]

It is a promotional ploy to increase basic pricing using the kids as an excuse.

[bikerunner]

I tend to go on longer cruises 10+ days and those are definitely not aligned with families and children.  There have been some on them and all well behaved and enjoying themselves either with the family or the kids club it seems.  I only had one cruise where many were running everywhere with no supervision.  This was my one and only 7 day cruise I took.  No problems with kids on cruises more problems with the parents and non supervision

[hvbaskey]

5 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

What time of year was this "holiday" sailing in South America?

 

Our “X”perience was Christmas & New Year’s holiday sailing.  Anything and everything happened - OH BOY!

[Pier290]

29 minutes ago, carlmm said:

Reading the topic of this thread "pushing Kids Sail Free. Too Bad" I thought it would have a different content than discussing the pro and cons of cruises with/without children/adult only ...

 

Actually I like a balanced mixture of well behaved travellers of all ages, children, young adults to very mature guests,

but what I do regard as totally wrong is the "Kids Sail FREE" part. Basically, given Celebrity's overall pricing, this means that a single traveller has to pay the same price as a family of four. Certainly I do not eat for four, use four loungers at the pool, take four seats in the theatre ...

 

Great, if Celebrity makes families welcome on board, but let them just pay for.

Absolutely agree here...

[dkjretired]

59 minutes ago, Alsmez said:

 

I'm sure my signature is not up to date. I'm also sure we haven't been on the same X cruises, because as I mentioned, we always cruise when school is in session to avoid cruises with lots of children. Many of the cruisers we have met on board have told us they do the same thing. I realize that families sail X all the time but it is not a line that is particularly family or kid-oriented, as evidenced by the lack of waterslides, rock walls, ice rinks, etc.

 

By the way, when I was helping my mother plan a multi-generational family vacation last year (ages 3-80), we considered a cruise, and looked at lines like Carnival, Royal and Norwegian. I have nothing against these lines or any line that caters to families. It is simply nice to have a mainstream option that caters more to adults, and I will be sad to see Celebrity veer away from that if it happens.

 

Same complaints were on this board 20 years ago, nothing new they’ve been trying to get families for years.

[mayleeman]

18 hours ago, MDTrip said:

Too bad Celebrity is really pushing "kids sail free."   Less kids is one of the reasons I choose Celebrity. They might be ruining this. 

 

Remember, they are more afraid of you than you are of them.