Any experiences with Celebrity kids club/programs

[cdnliving]

Hello. Can anyone share their experiences/kids experiences using the Celebrity kids clubs - we are considering the constellation for March Break - looks lovely, but have heard mixed revues of the demographics, and the

number of scheduled activites for kids. Thanks.....

[bbspin12]

Hello. Can anyone share their experiences/kids experiences using the Celebrity kids clubs - we are considering the constellation for March Break - looks lovely, but have heard mixed revues of the demographics, and the

number of scheduled activites for kids. Thanks.....

We took our 4 year old son last March on the Zenith to the Western Caribbean from Miami. We were concerned at first at the low number of children on board and thought he might get bored. He had the most amazing time. THe counselors on the Zenith were so much fun and made my son feel like the mayor of the boat. One evening my husband and I were feeling guilty and wanted to take him to the show with us...his reply was "I want to stay with my friends". The shows the kids put on was adorable and Family Disco night is still one of my all time favorite cruise memories.

Celebrity knows how to treat their passengers....especially their little ones!:)

[cdnliving]

bb...thanks for sharing your wonderful experience. I forgot to mention that my kids are 12 & 10 - did you see any of those, and if so what did they do? Also, what was the family disco like? Thanks

[AZPam]

We were on Celebrity about 5 years ago with younger teens at the time, I think they were 12 and 14. I was very disappointed in the planned activites for that age group in the evenings. Basically, none of the kids participated and there were herds of kids roaming the decks with nothing to do. Hopefully that has changed since it's been a few years, but I know it left a bad taste in our mouth and we haven't been back.

[bbspin12]

bb...thanks for sharing your wonderful experience. I forgot to mention that my kids are 12 & 10 - did you see any of those, and if so what did they do? Also, what was the family disco like? Thanks

I have older children who did not go on the cruise...I do believe that they would have had an awesome time as well. My older children would not have participated in as many organized activies as the 4 year old, except maybe the pm activities. The family disco was held in the disco around 7pm and the kids got to strut their stuff. Parents were invited to come down and dance with their kids. Very cute. By that night you could absolutely see the bond between the kids and the counselors. They were amazing with the kids.

N

[mahdnc]

We have taken our 2 kids on 5 cruises with Celebrity so far and they have always loved the kids program. Our most recent cruise was during Spring Break last year when they were 12 and 9 yrs old aboard Horizon. There were quite a few kids and counselors there that week. Our 9 yr old son participated in all of the scheduled activities each day while our 12 yr old daughter hung out with a few friends that she made on board. They participated in the kids program maybe 1/2 - 2/3 of the time.

 

When we cruised aboard Constellation's sister, Infinity, we were very impressed with the kids facilities that they had on board. Here are pictures of the Infinity kids facilities: Fun Factory

[travelingmom37]

My children, now 9 and 12, adore Celebrity. They do not need rock walls, skating rinks, etc. Give them a pool, warm weather , and other kids and they are in heaven. We get two adjoining cabins and they feel so independent. They have created a "restuarant" in their cabin, courtesy of room service and made many friends. They started going when they were 5 and 8. My only objection to the kids club is that there was too much time indoors and they could not take them swimming ( understandable, given the liability). We ussually let them go to the club in the morning after breakfast and then pick them up to go swimming, etc. with us. The evening programs ( free on cruise days) gave us freedom if we wanted a late night. The teens have almost total freedom which can be hard when your 13 year old daughter is with 17 year olds. If the ship is full of kids as in holiday weeks they will be well entertained and supervised.

[SheilaNC]

Our 12 and 14 year old grandchildren had a grand time. They only participated in the kids/teen program part of the time but met other kids their ages and enjoyed making new friends. The 12 year old was sort of inbetween and spent some time with his 10 yo cousin and some time with the 14 yo. It's tough at that age. I wouldn't have given them the freedom that their parents did, but....they loved it!

[sarh]

Mine (14 and 8) dipped in and out of the programme on the Galaxy. The main thing is that they made some great friends (months later they are still in touch regularly). They both said it was their best holiday ever. Some of their new friends had been on RCCI but preferred the Galaxy because there were not so many kids and so it was more individual (and probably led to the closer friendships). One warning though is to take walkie talkies as the older children do tend to just wander, as has been remarked upon above. We've booked the Constellation for next year and the children were keen to repeat Celebrity. Having said that we shall probably try RCCI when there is a suitable itinerary because some of the parents we met said they felt that there was so much more on offer for the children.

[cdnliving]

Thanks for the replies, I'm so glad to hear your kids aged similarly to ours had a great time. Would you mind telling me what kind of programs they offered for the kids. I can't seem to locate a copy of an activity schedule for Celebrity.

[cdnliving]

Mahdnc - I just realized your link, and what a great link it was. Very informative. Thanks so much.

Just a few more questions....

Do the children get an activity sheet each morning under their door, like on other lines?

The kids club looks lovely, but I am not certain my 12 year old would feel compelled to go there, as it seems more designed with the younger ones in mind....many of you have said your older children have been more apt. to hang out with new friends - is this correct? Are there programmed activities for the older ones, and if so what? ....thanks....again!

[mahdnc]

There is a schedule of activities (one sheet for each age group) for the following day that is put in your cabin the night before. There are programmed, planned activities for all the age groups including the older ones.

 

The Fun Factory facility itself tends to be built for the younger kids in mind but on the Millennium class ships, there are a couple of rooms designed for the older kids.

 

I have scans of the daily activity sheets for my 12 yr old daughter's group ("Ensigns") that I can email to you if you are interested. Some of the activities included origami, scrabble, risk, scavenger hunt, karaoke, casino games, trivial pursuit, ping pong. Because Horizon did not have any outdoor sports facilities, activities such as basketball and volleyball were not part of the program.

[cdnliving]

mahdnc you're wonderful - thanks for all the specifics....If you could email the ensigns program sheet I would be most appreciative. You can email me at kgavloski@sympatico.ca

I noted that you are going on the Constellation in December - that's great!

[mahdnc]

I have emailed the scans to you (pdf file). I hope you find them useful.

[rebeccalouise]

First of all- your family will love the Constellation! This is the best ship I have ever sailed.

As for the "Fun Factory"- my son has been on Galaxy, Millenium and Constellation and loves it. He is now six.

For older children I can't speak with much experience. I traveled on the last cruise with a nine year old at my table and she was a little shy at first about the kids programs but once she jumped in- she LOVED it. She especially enjoyed the talent show and the scavenger hunt, which parents are encouraged to participate in.

There is so much for them to do on the ship- I doubt they will get bored.

The eighteen year old at my table also met some nice teens and had a great time too.

Plus parents will love the ship- so relaxing.

Enjoy your cruise!

[wardidaho]

Does anyone have any info on the hours or activities for the 3 or 4 night Pacific Northwest cruises (we're sailing on the Mercury next week). I can't imagine there will be lots of kids on the ship but ours typically love the kids club.

Are they open embarkation and/or port days?

Also, any arcade info would be appreciated (for example some line offer free or discounted games on embarkation day). ;)

Thanks!

[mahdnc]

There is a program on sea and port days.

 

The hours should not be any different for a 3/4 day cruise. As far as program hours go: The free portion of the children's program is done in 3 hour blocks every day: 9am-noon, 2-5pm, and 7-10pm. During embarkation day the program is open during the evening (with a group orientation about the program given to the parents first).

 

The fee based portion of the children's programs takes care of some of the gaps in the free program. This includes a 10pm-1am slumber party in the Fun Factory Playroom every night. On port days there is a noon-2pm lunch party available. Finally there is a 5pm-7pm dinner pizza party on each formal night. The fee based program was $6/hr/child although it is waived for the slumber party and dinner party on the first formal night as a nice gesture to the parents.

 

There is an arcade on the ship. It is free for the kids participating in the youth program but only when it is a formal scheduled activity for their age group.

[rebeccalouise]

Hello. Can anyone share their experiences/kids experiences using the Celebrity kids clubs - we are considering the constellation for March Break - looks lovely, but have heard mixed revues of the demographics, and the

number of scheduled activites for kids. Thanks.....

 

The Fun Factory is available from 9AM-1AM daily without interruption.

Parents are asked to pick their children up anytime between 12 and 2 to take them to lunch. That does not mean that the Fun Factory closes- if the kids are finished eating at 12:30 they can return to the Fun Factory. The staff just doesn't take children to lunch...

except on Port days. Then there is a $6.00 per hour charge from 12-2 and the kids are taken to lunch with the youth staff. This is great if you want to take an excursion but don't want to take the kids.

Except for the first night of the cruise, kids can dine with the other children each night at 6PM in the buffet. There is a $ 6.00 charge for this.

After 10PM there is a $ 6.00 per hour charge for babysitting in the Fun Factory.

On the last 10 night cruise on Constellation- the last (or second to last) night there was no charge from 10PM-1AM. It was a freebee!

[rebeccalouise]

As for my overall thoughts about Celebrity Constellation- you will LOVE it. It is my favorite ship. There are generations of families on board. Nice mix of people. Most are not first time cruisers.

The staff love the kids.

Your children will have a wonderful time. During Easter week this year there were 300 children on board. But your kids will probably like it even better if there are fewer kids- more individual attention.

 

A tip to share with parents. On the night of the magic show- sit in the first row with your kids. The first time I did this, my son was invited up and he was an instant celebrity on board (he was 4). I sat there a second time with my tablemates from dinner and sure enough their son was called up on stage and the Dad was also asked to participate.

[cdnliving]

The Constellation sounds wonderful. I have no doubt that my 10 year old will absolutely loose his mind....I must say I am a bit concerned about my 12 yr old daughter...tweenagers are quite different. Thoughts???

[rebeccalouise]

I think the 12 year old will have fun but she might need a little nudging to get out and meet other teens. Once she meets one or two- you are home free. I imagine at this age they aren't too interested in the organized activities but this is a way to meet kids and then make their own fun.