What does Disney have that SeaDream does not?

[DisneyJen]

Great approach Ragnar -

 

I think that part of the disappointment of those of us who have been on a SD cruise with a significant number of children, some of who were unsupervised and unruly, was the expectation factor. We truly had no idea that it was possible to get that many children on board and since this followed an ideal adults only SD experience, it was a bit of a shock. Again, that was several years ago and SD made a fairly significant pricing change afterwards, so I think your risk gets much lower with each passing week.

 

When you go in with eyes open, its much easier to focus on the fun and not any negatives.

 

Should you encounter unpleasant guests - we found that since almost all the passengers (including kids) were off the ship during the day on excursions, that was the one time we had the staff and TOY, Bali beds, pool, etc all to our adult selves. It may be hard for the DHs to drag Disney Jen and myself off SD on our March cruise (though I hear Disney Jen's DH isn't much for moving off his Balinese bed either) so we'll see if this approach continues to hold up.

 

Have fun

 

look forward to reading your review.

 

FT

 

I have been reading the latest round of these comments and weighing my response as I am a parent who someday would like to take my daughter with us on a SD cruise (say when she is 18 or 21) and I am one of those people who look forward to an adults only vacation.

 

I agree with FT's response about going in with eyes wide open. We did have children/young adults on our cruise last March and we had no problems/issues/concerns. Now, had I never cruised SD before I would have been thrown off as I would have been EXPECTING an adults only cruise based on marketing materials.

 

As FT well knows ... we cruise SD for the ship board experience and not the ports ... with the exception of the beach party:p

 

On a side note ... it isn't just SD that faces the expectation issue. Our one and only cruise on Seabourn fell horribly short in terms of the experience versus the hype while our last Holland America cruise exceeded expectations since we had a lower level of expectation.

 

I do like the idea of adult only week and then family week!

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

(Verbatim from the website)

SeaDream Yacht Club’s policy regarding children

When families are on board parents are expected to manage the behavior of their children to ensure that the enjoyment of other guests is in no manner compromised.

You agree to fully supervise any and all persons under the age of eighteen (18) accompanying you during your cruise.

The onboard crew has been instructed to immediately inform parents about unacceptable behavior of our younger guests!

We do not have formal children’s programs or baby sitting services available on the yacht.

SeaDream follows local laws as it relates to drinking age and this varies from 18 to 21 years of age.

[carlylecat]

Sorry for the delayed response,

 

I was trying to make sure we actually had some money left to afford cruises or anything else for that matter

 

What a few weeks, and what an effect it will have on the travel industry, probably a great thread for us to take a new conversation through

 

To answer Jim's question if Sea Dream went all adult with no children allowed would we would still sail,

 

The answer is yes, just differently

 

We would take the European cruises that we normally do without the children and would pass up the Carribean trips that we take on board during Easter and New Year's when we enjoy being with family

 

I think Jim hit on the key point, it is all about expectations...those of us that feel duped by the advertisement of 55 couples and take a trip in March or the end of December when school is out and find a group of us with six adults and eight young teens and five young adults in tow making up over 20 percent of the cruise audience need to find a way to handle the differnet expectations, I really think designating "family" weeks would help there....

 

What we have found is the couples that were looking for an experience to themselves were fine when we were aboard with the kids, but those that were looking for a cruise that became a broader experience and wanted to meet "new friends" for a group shared experience were disapointed to see us aboard.

 

It is not helpful to these folks that our children are on best behavior or actually behave better than some of the adults on board, they miss out on meeting new folks and sharing the Sea Dream experience they were expecting.

 

I will never forget our first trip on Sea Goddess/ Sea Dream in 1998 when Jean and I met Paul and Susan from Miami that introduced us to champagne and caviar during our life boat drill (when unlimited caviar on demand was the rule of the day!)...leaving port in Venice will never be the same after that ....those folks will be in our travel hall of fame forever, and if we had kids in tow that day we never would have met them or had the experience we did with ten other couples we ended up sharing a 22 day double cruise with from Venice to Rome to Florence to Monte Carlo and Bacelona...we still share holiday cards with them and shake our heads and say a prayer for some of those that have passed as we pull out our travel photograph books from time to time

 

So I know what you are missing and what we are missing when we bring our family along,

 

But I have to tell you if you can get your children and their special friends or spouses, your nephews and neices, sisters and brothers and get a group of ten or twenty of your loved ones together to share Sea Dream it is an unreal experience and one your family will draw strength on for years.

 

So I appreciate both sides of this question, and it is healthy and a good one to explore. I am sorry some of the pro-kids groups fail to share the power that type of experience can have that cant be found on Disney or Carnival ships. They are the intimate experiences that family's really lack in today's society and I think the case for their existence is poorly served by those who use insults to make their case.

 

So Jim thanks for staging these questions and hopefully by sharing we can all get to a better place. I dont think Sea Dream will listen to us and change anything but we will set the expectations of new travelers and that is what these boards are all about anyway.

 

Thanks for letting me share my thoughts and I really hope I get to meet all of you someday,

 

And if you are on board when Jean and I are there (even if it is a trip with the kids) I know we can find a way to have a shared experience that becomes something special, something Sea Dream and something we can all feel great about.

[DisneyJen]

Well said carlylecat!

[frequent traveler]

Sorry for the delayed response,

 

I was trying to make sure we actually had some money left to afford cruises or anything else for that matter

 

What a few weeks, and what an effect it will have on the travel industry, probably a great thread for us to take a new conversation through

 

 

Definitely could change the mix . . . just hope SD doesn't have to resort to donating cruises for charity auctions . . . that's how the family from he _ _ was on our Easter cruise several years ago (wife threw drink at husband . . . husband threatened wife with bodily harm . . . poor James . . . what he had to deal with wasn't pretty).

 

FT

[Jim Avery]

Well said carlylecat!

 

I agree with DJ. I think you hit the nail on the head. If they would just list family cruises and adults only cruises, we could all plan accordingly. I have to say, Lois and I are just one more kid cruise away from finding something else to spend $10,000 plus per week on. I hope SeaDream makes some moves to address this issue.

Thanks again for your response,

Jim.

[Jim Avery]

with about half a shipload of poll voters, the results have held rather steady at approximately 85% wanting all adult sailings or restricted adult areas. It has been an interesting poll with many thoughtful responses. Maybe seadream will listen, maybe not but thanks to all the participants.

Jim

[strawbs1]

I've seen mention of this "kids" problem every so often on this board and I just have to say it boggles my mind! I've never, ever had that problem--sailed them 4 times thus far. I remember only one family and, not being a kid person AT ALL, actually found myself congratulating the father on his children since they were both such normal kids but absolute dreams in terms of behavior.

 

Despite my experiences, this is obviously a problem. I'd just say to watch the sailing date you choose. Make sure it doesn't coincide with school holidays. I once did a late August sailing on a mass market ship and the kids outnumbered the adults by far. It was a nightmare.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Looks like the fal.... ummm... misleading advertising is continuing...

 

 

"Commenting on the economic implosion, Larry Pimentel, President,CEO and Co-Owner of SeaDream Yacht Club, stated "Bookings for 2008 continue to sell briskly at good yields and 2009 shows a strength that belies the economic headlines."

 

Turning to itineraries for next year he said "As in previous years, 2009 will find our small, sleek, 50-couple yachts sailing in the Caribbean in the winter months and European waters in the summer.""

 

2.10.2008

[ALEX1]

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the SDI cruise on 9 Jan 09 will be our first cruise. In planning the cruise I carefully researched the lines and chose SD in large part because of it being geared decidely toward adults.

My wife and I love children having three and plenty of enjoyable grandchildren, but I don't want to depend on parents making sure their children are well behaved on a small cruise ship. The parents can't be with them all the time. I have had vacations essentially ruined at small resorts with ill behaved children present.

I think the Jan cruise is after any holiday school vacations so hopefully there won't be a problem.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Here's a summary of SD's policies towards minors. If you see any violations of any of these, remind the parent and/or ask the crew to enforce the policies (to me, these policies indicate that parents must be with their children that are under 18 *at all times* and that children should not be allowed to run around and disturb other passengers.) [Red hi-lights and underline added by poster for emphasis]:

 

[begin official SD policy, as shown on their website]

 

 

SeaDream Yacht Club’s policy regarding children

When families are on board parents are expected to manage the behavior of their children to ensure that the enjoyment of other guests is in no manner compromised.

You agree to fully supervise any and all persons under the age of eighteen (18) accompanying you during your cruise.

The onboard crew has been instructed to immediately inform parents about unacceptable behavior of our younger guests!

We do not have formal children’s programs or baby sitting services available on the yacht.

SeaDream follows local laws as it relates to drinking age and this varies from 18 to 21 years of age.

 

[End of offical SD policies]

 

 

 

SeaDream Yacht Club’s policy regarding Ragnars

They are not allowed on the yacht, and should be thrown overboard if encountered on the yacht. If you encounter one, keep it distracted with caviar and alcohol until several strong crewmen can be located.

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

I dont think an above 21 year old policy should exisit. I am 14 and last cruise was deeply concenred about what some of the teenagers where doing... I indeed seek no plesure in going to any of the clubs or anything- it doesnt intrest me, I book the cruises and the flights and I go there for the experince. However I think it would be a good idea to limit the amount of under 21's or 18's a family can bring. ie only one per family. Most people have more than one and so they would not take thier children. However if they want to travel with them because they are sensabile comapinons one should be allowed. It limits it but doesnt make it impossible to bring children onbaord.

[carlylecat]

Quite an impressive travel resume for a 14 year old...