Jump to content

Silversea TRYING to attract KIDS


descartes1
 Share

Recommended Posts

34 minutes ago, Colgal said:

I don’t know what Regent’s position is but Seabourn certainly accepts babies- we had them in the pool during our 14 day Caribbean cruise this past January. 

 

In the regular swimming pool?  Hope not as that is disgusting.  Babies are not permitted in swimming pools on most cruise lines.  Good reason for us to avoid Seabourn.  

 

P.S.  Regent does not takes babies under the age of 1 or 1 1/2 (can't remember since we only sail during the times when school is in session and there are typically 0-3 children on our cruises.

Edited by Travelcat2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

In the regular swimming pool?  Hope not as that is disgusting.  Babies are not permitted in swimming pools on most cruise lines.  Good reason for us to avoid Seabourn.  

 

P.S.  Regent does not takes babies under the age of 1 or 1 1/2 (can't remember since we only sail during the times when school is in session and there are typically 0-3 children on our cruises.

Yes, unfortunately!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Colgal said:

 It’s unfortunate that booking a cruise itinerary is complicated by the concern of having children and babies onboard.

 

 

It's not a concern on two P&O ships.  It's not a concern on Viking.  It won't be a concern on Virgin.

 

Does the fact that Viking is apparently prospering with its no-children policy imply anything?  Viking is not quite in the all-inclusive luxury category.  But I know as a matter of fact that it has attracted at least four previously-loyal Silversea guests because of its guaranteed child free atmosphere.

 

None of the all-inclusive luxury lines (I am thinking here of Crystal, Regent, Seabourn, and Silversea) offers a guarantee of a child-free cruise.  

 

Could Silversea achieve a comparative advantage -- a distinctive marketing angle -- by being the only true luxury line to bar infants and toddlers?  Thus Colgal's concern (and mine!) would be at least in some measure addressed.

 

I would leave it to wiser heads than mine to determine the magic age.  Four?  Five?  Seven?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Observer said:

Could Silversea achieve a comparative advantage -- a distinctive marketing angle -- by being the only true luxury line to bar infants and toddlers?

That seems like an excellent idea to me.  I just went exploring the Viking Ocean website (felt a bit like a spy), and see their answer to your question about the magic age is 18.  I've enjoyed reading all the positive posts about youngster's behavior etc on SS, but I'm also impressed by this top of page Viking statement: "We do not try to be all things to all people."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is interesting to note that even though P&O, Viking and Virgin are not luxury lines, some luxury cruisers would rather go down to a premium/premium plus cruise line than sail with children.  That says a lot!

 

Based on posts on this page, it would be great to have ALL children (including babies) go on Silversea.  Hope that you keep in mind that many families cannot afford Silversea and also that they generally cannot take long cruises.  However, this would make the other luxury lines very happy.

 

IF Silversea draws in babies, really hope (for the safety of everyone) that babies are not allowed in the swimming pool (not even with a swim diaper).  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

TravelCat 2, Look for the "Club Mariner" symbol on Regent Cruises.  This is the special icon for the kids' club on those voyages.  Very prevalent in Alaska summer cruises.  Often special kids' prices too.  I look for that symbol and turn the page to the next cruise.😁.

 

Trying Seabourn next May; hoping for no babies in the pool as there are a lot of sea days.  But at 18 days,, also hoping it's not attractive to families.

 

On Whisper this November.  Will report back on kids.  It seems like parents pull kids out of school a lot these days.

 

Missy

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Infants in nappies (diapers) are definitely not allowed on Seabourn.    On many cruises I have seen this once - I was about to go to a member of staff to report it, when a senior staff member who had obviously been alerted spoke to the father, and it was all over (though father was displeased!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, lincslady said:

Infants in nappies (diapers) are definitely not allowed on Seabourn.    On many cruises I have seen this once - I was about to go to a member of staff to report it, when a senior staff member who had obviously been alerted spoke to the father, and it was all over (though father was displeased!)

That is also true of SS, and there is a notice board on either side of the pool to that effect, however some guests either cannot or will not read/understand English, some believe that it couldn’t possibly apply to them and their precious offspring, and some will just ignore it out of pure spite. IMHO it should be a keelhauling offence at a minimum.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

That is also true of SS, and there is a notice board on either side of the pool to that effect, however some guests either cannot or will not read/understand English, some believe that it couldn’t possibly apply to them and their precious offspring, and some will just ignore it out of pure spite. IMHO it should be a keelhauling offence at a minimum.

 

Thank you for the explanation. Agree that it should be a "keelhauling offense" at a minimum!  Hard to believe that a poster was bragging about going against Silversea's stated rules.  It really is disgusting to even think about. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can barely believe the amount of bleating going on in this thread - to which I say, who cares? I don't.

 

I've cruised SS with children and without and I can tell you that  the cruise that was partially chartered to a Korean company (it wasn't the they were Korean, it was that they remained separate form 'regular ' cruisers) was waaaay way worse than anything an obnoxious ankle biter could do.

Edited by jollyjones
  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, jollyjones said:

I can barely believe the amount of bleating going on in this thread - to which I say, who cares? I don't.

 

I've cruised SS with children and without and I can tell you that  the cruise that was partially chartered to a Korean company (it wasn't the they were Korean, it was that they remained separate form 'regular ' cruisers) was waaaay way worse than anything an obnoxious ankle biter could do.

I think you are missing the point. Some people don't want to be on a luxury cruise ship with a large number of very young children as it negatively impacts their enjoyment. The fact that you may have had a worse experience on a ship that was partially chartered doesn't make being on a ship with lots of infants better. It just means we should also avoid charters. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Thank you for the explanation. Agree that it should be a "keelhauling offense" at a minimum!  Hard to believe that a poster was bragging about going against Silversea's stated rules.  It really is disgusting to even think about. 

Unfortunately we have seen it two separate occasions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, jollyjones said:

I can barely believe the amount of bleating going on in this thread - to which I say, who cares? I don't.

 

I've cruised SS with children and without and I can tell you that  the cruise that was partially chartered to a Korean company (it wasn't the they were Korean, it was that they remained separate form 'regular ' cruisers) was waaaay way worse than anything an obnoxious ankle biter could do.

Dear Jolly, if you do not care then why bother posting on the thread? If you pop onto FB you will see a much more significant reaction than those posted here.

 

Anyway, we are all entitled to our opinion (or bleat). 😁

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Total novice, but I am learning a lot from the people on these threads.  I do care about the SS posts, & hadn't thought of any of them as bleating.  Not sure about the word anyway, and in Bermuda the connotation may be quite different than here in Southern Virginia.  My experience on the CC First Time Cruiser threads may include an occasional bleat though...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/13/2019 at 4:01 AM, markham said:

 

I will be wary of Silversea cruises going forward and trust other luxury lines with my money. I have never heard of its Seabourn, Crystal or Regent doing anything as reckless.

Markham,  By now, you have probably received the Seabourn promotion that offers that a third guest can sail for $99.00 on select Alaskan cruises.  Perhaps Seabourn IS sticking its toe in the water for welcoming young children.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What can I say? They’re all trying to fill these ships with families whose 3rd member will likely be a child.

It’s obvious that Seabourn is trying to introduce itself to families via the Alaskan cruises. There can be no other reason e.g. on a revenue generation drive since it’s already all inclusive and the extras of gambling, spa and premium booze are not gonna happen with extra children’s purchasing power.

 

If the next question will be what will happen on my next 4 future Seabourn cruises, the answer is that I can only hope that these cruises will be as pleasant as past ones. Time will tell if the balance between what I know (and that includes many singles in double cabins) and what a more crowded ship with children delivers as a passenger experience to us all distracts us in a negative way. But I have already decided that I do not care for the Encore class due to its existing and less attractive passenger number:public rooms/deck ratio, and so I will be sticking with the Ody class. That much is certain!

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have sailed with Silverseas, Seabourn, Regent, Oceania, Royal Caribbean, Princess and National Geographic. This past May we sailed on Viking Ocean and loved it. (We had booked two years in advance.) Viking Ocean may not be defined as "luxury", but is was for us. We added the premium spirits beverage package (all alcohol) and paid our tips in advance of the cruise, so there was nothing to pay for on board except when we took "extra" excursion. (One is included at every port.) The "no children" policy was one of the main reason we booked with them. We also loved the no formal nights, no casino, and the focus on educational lectures. That's "luxury" to us. I'm still reading this board because we are interested in Silverseas for Antartica. I can't imagine they would allow anyone under the age of six or so on those cruise, but maybe. It would definitely influence our decision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, NanciEA said:

We have sailed with Silverseas, Seabourn, Regent, Oceania, Royal Caribbean, Princess and National Geographic. This past May we sailed on Viking Ocean and loved it. (We had booked two years in advance.) Viking Ocean may not be defined as "luxury", but is was for us. We added the premium spirits beverage package (all alcohol) and paid our tips in advance of the cruise, so there was nothing to pay for on board except when we took "extra" excursion. (One is included at every port.) The "no children" policy was one of the main reason we booked with them. We also loved the no formal nights, no casino, and the focus on educational lectures. That's "luxury" to us. I'm still reading this board because we are interested in Silverseas for Antartica. I can't imagine they would allow anyone under the age of six or so on those cruise, but maybe. It would definitely influence our decision.

No children, no casino and no formal nights....sounds pretty good to me, too! We did an expedition cruise with Silversea in December to the Galapagos and loved it. A lot of people on our cruise had been to Antarctica with them as well, and raved about it. One woman loved it so much she said was planning a second cruise there.  So worth looking into. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Disappointingly, I write to update the group that the inaugural Moon sail leaving Trieste on August 6th is still being offered as a family discount cruise.  

 

Perhaps M. Conroy was not able to persuade Royal Caribbean management that it is a bad idea for Silversea to be doing this. 

 

Going to have to rethink our plans...  We've booked an alternative as a back-up just in case.

 

I am also thinking the cancellation fee should be waived by Silver Sea because there has been a material change in the product being offered.  It is now a cruise being promoted for kids and babies, which is not what we signed up for.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, descartes1 said:

Disappointingly, I write to update the group that the inaugural Moon sail leaving Trieste on August 6th is still being offered as a family discount cruise.  

 

Perhaps M. Conroy was not able to persuade Royal Caribbean management that it is a bad idea for Silversea to be doing this. 

 

Going to have to rethink our plans...  We've booked an alternative as a back-up just in case.

 

I am also thinking the cancellation fee should be waived by Silver Sea because there has been a material change in the product being offered.  It is now a cruise being promoted for kids and babies, which is not what we signed up for.

Quite agree. We were looking at a Silversea intensive Japan cruise in mid-April of 2021, but have decided against it as it is part of the family discount offer. Not spending that kind of money when there is a risk of a  too many young kids on board.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m still unhappy about this, having been told by the London office that the promo would be reduced to just holiday periods over the weekend, it’s still on our Moon t/a.

 

This is starting to look like a complete screw up. I appreciate that Mark Conroy and Fernando has been posting answers on FB, but IMHO they should be answering questions on here and communicating directly with their customer base.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, QueSeraSera said:

FB is good for keeping up with the grandchildren (and their parents of course), but based on the commentary here I'm not going to follow SS there.

 

We were on the Silver Spirit last june 12, (from London Tilbury, that was a disaster cruise terminal!, to Copenhagen) and every early morning when i walked at deck six to the fitness i hear a baby crying in one of the rooms. What a nightmare if that be your neighbour!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...