soozles

Has anyone done le petit chef with kids? Do they charge you if they’re ordering from the kids menu, or can they order off the kids menu? I think they’d enjoy the experience, but probably not really eat any of the food… 

My 4 yo is sleeping on he couch without complaint, but when he crawled into my bed and started kicking me, I went to lay on it and it was pretty hard. Also smaller than a typical twin bed. 

what’s clear to me from reading this is there is no winning as a parent these days. None of the “older” generation have parented in a digital world. Screens are everywhere, the expectation that we are available to our jobs instantly is everywhere. Don’t like it? Good luck finding a job that pays enough where they don’t expect it. Own your own business? Even more demand to be constantly connected because if you’re not, your clients will go somewhere else. And then when you try to use something like an iPad to keep your kids quiet and not disturb other people, you get judged for being a lazy parent, or for not interacting with your kids. Yet if you don’t give them a tablet, heaven forbid they make a noise in the dining room! Then you’re judged because your kid is being loud. 
 

you get judged if you’re too much of a helicopter parent. And you get judged if you’re too laid back. Heck, I got judged on our cruise the other day cause I sat my almost 4 and almost 5 yo down at a table with their food and went back to the buffet for a couple minutes to get something. They were always in my sight line and they were totally fine. And then I got told from another passenger that I shouldn’t have left them alone. I’m sorry I don’t have 30 hands, and I’m not going to trust my kids to carry a plate in a crowded buffet without spilling when they’re too short to even be in most people’s sight lines. 

I feel ya… I’m around the same age as you, I have 2 kids under 5, and im

starting to feel like I will be some sort of piranha from reading these boards. And all these comments to stick with Royal or carnival? My kids are terrified of the deck parties and all the noise on carnival or Royal. It’s our choice where we choose to spend our money. My kids deserve to take up space just like anyone else. And if they really didn’t want to have kids on a cruise, they wouldn’t have a kids club or a kids menu. 

1 minute ago, helen haywood said:

Normally the Solarium is an adult only air conditioned space.  So if you want AC and don’t want to be in full sun, it’s a nice place.  I understand that in colder climes it has a family/children couple of hours…but what the OP is experiencing is certainly much longer than usual!!

But how many people really used it in the evening? Most people are going to dinner/shows in the evening. It’s not like it’s 7 hours in the middle of the day. It’s probably the time that it had the lowest usage which is why they chose those hours. 

27 minutes ago, sjwebster said:

Also, they have family swim time in the Solarium pool from 4-11pm every day. It’s pretty busy at first, but it begins to thin out around 6 PM when families head to dinner. My kids love that pool! There’s a shallow edge around, and then the depth is about 4’ in the middle section. The 2 hot tubs in there are great too.

 

Camp at Sea often has swim games in the solarium pool starting around 9 PM. We haven’t been yet, but older kids might enjoy that.

My kids are little fish, so I plan to make use of family swim time. 9 pm, they’re likely to be in bed, so I doubt we’ll be doing those events. 

We’ll be on the next sailing with our kids (3.5 and 4.5), staying in an infinite verandah going to Iceland and Ireland. No clue how many kids their age will be on the trip, but I suspect it won’t be a lot… 

are they enjoying the kids club? My kids tend to get overwhelmed if the kids club becomes too loud and chaotic, so I’m hoping with what should be fewer kids their age on board, they might get some more attention and maybe actually stay and enjoy it. And no issues with kids ordering off the main menu? My 4 yo is a little gourmand and is looking forward to getting his lobster. 

I’m glad your cruise is ending only cause it means mine is getting closer. Thanks for taking us along for the ride and giving me a glimpse of what to look forward to in a couple weeks. 

My kids have been in daycare/preschool since they were a year old. They love going to school.  They both refused to go to camp, would cry bloody murder until we picked them up. Wed try to leave them and then get a call 15 minutes later to pick them up. So I hope he’ll like it, but don’t assume… and that’s also why I’d be cautious leaving him onboard while you go on a shore excursion until you know how he’ll like it. 

What are the times of the shuttle into the city center? Just thinking ahead how early would we need to get up to do a little sight seeing that second day. 

Loving the photos

4 hours ago, Poconolady said:

Really interested in your review. We are on the Aug 9 sailing and I have been struggling with what clothes to pack. I know, layers—, but “which” layers? Hoping to get a better idea from watching your report.  Hope you continue having a great trip!

I’m on that cruise as well, and I keep trying to find other people who were in Iceland that time of year and looking at what they wore… even the weather forecast isn’t super helpful because sometimes 50 feels cool, and sometimes it feels warmer depending if it’s sunny, windy, humidity, etc. 

If you remember, could you let me know if the you see the solarium pool open to families at any point? I’ll be on this cruise next month with 2 little fishies, and I heard if it’s cold or bad weather, they may allow kids in the solarium pool at certain times. 

Following! I’ll be on this cruise in August

Maybe a random question, but we’re on a similar itinerary in august and have a tour booked with BS tours as well… did you tip the guides? And did you change currency before leaving home, or can you tip via venmo? I recall the wife saying we can pay via venmo or PayPal for the tour. 

On 6/16/2023 at 4:02 AM, docsneeze said:

We are presently on Apex staying in the retreat with a 5 year old.  Having cruised for 10 days so far, we have had a great experience.   The staff at Luminae become well acquainted with your family and take extra steps to accommodate your needs.  They serve the children early and put us in a pleasant but relatively inconspicuous area of the dining room.  There is only one or two other children, both infants probably similar to your child in the retreat on this sailing.  No issues we have seen at any time.

 

     We had one or two days in which our child became slightly restless due to length of meals but we time it for him to go to the Kids Club at 7 pm and then finish our meals.  He loves the Camp at Sea club here so can't wait to go.  We quickly and quietly take him out of the restaurant way before his "playfulness" becomes disruptive.

 

     The other guests seem to enjoy having our son around although I am sure there are a few who don't.  Nevertheless, the Luminae experience has been very good.

 

     Our butler, Gwen, has been very helpful.  She went out of her way to get children's drawing materials, snacks, and other things to accommodate our 5 y/o.  We wish we had similar services available when our son was an infant on previous cruises.  All of the wait staff have gotten to know our son and have made it pleasant for everyone in the setting of a largely adult crowd.

 

     As mentioned previously, the kids club is great and was actually preferred by our son relative to a Disney cruise we took one month ago.  There are very few families but everyone seems to watch out for each other.  We did not use the retreat much as our son wanted to stay in the kids club but it was a nice area to relax and read or whatever.  We had a trip to Iceland so did not experience Retreat pool but thought it was nice that Celebrity extended family hours from 4 to 11 in the evenings.  Only saw one family in the pool ever and they were enjoying themselves without being disruptive.

 

     Ship is beautiful, food is very good, and the crew has been excellent.  We also had concerns about taking our child on Celebrity after reading some of the comments on these boards.  Thankfully, we did not experience any negativity.  Our son was well accepted by almost everyone, fellow cruisers and staff. 

I think you and your family will have a wonderful time.  Enjoy.

Not to be Ot, but we’re going on the Apex in August with an almost 4 and almost 5 year old. How many kids would you guess were on board? Was the kids club very noisy? My kids get very overwhelmed on other cruise lines when we would drop them off and they had the music blaring and kids running around, they’d just get too freaked out to stay. I’m sort of hoping if it’s fewer kids, it’ll be a calmer environment and maybe they’ll actually like it. 

We’re doing a 12 night iceland/Ireland cruise this summer with our kids who will be almost 4 and 4.5 at the time we travel… we’ve done an 8 day and no one wanted to get off. 

5 hours ago, docsneeze said:

Hi Soozies,  We are taking our just turned 5 yo son on one of the Iceland/Ireland trips this summer so may see you there.  Having done a mid-October cruise with RCL, there were only about 20-25 kids but the Kids Clubs were functioning at all times and our little guy loved it.  Lots of craft based activities and games with the counselors.  Have a great time!!

Which sailing are you on? We’re going aug 9. 

1 hour ago, Bo1953 said:

Yet, just allow them to make those comments and pass them by as their agenda is not the same as yours, which is making sure your children enjoy themselves... while you have a great sailing, too.

 

Check your roll call to find out if anyone there are bringing their children, but I would guess that Camp at Sea would be available, maybe not a full compliment of hours if there are few children, but something would be available...

 

Good luck and bon voyage

So far no kids on our roll call. They’ll be ok even if it’s just the 2 of them, they are super close in age so they’re built in playmates. And we will take legos, magnatiles, and travel board games and puzzles to fill in the gaps. It’s a fairly port heavy cruise anyway, and I’m pretty sure they’ll burn off a lot of energy at the ports. 

I’d look into a bubble bum (inflatable booster) or a ride safer travel vest. 

27 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Happy to help! Also I am very jealous that you’re doing that itinerary with your family.  It’s on my travel bucket list. I think you’ll all have a wonderful time and see some stunning sights. Bon voyage!

I’m super excited, I always wanted to go, and I feel so fortunate that I can show the world to my kids. 

Just now, mahdnc said:

 

Yes, the kids club (aka Camp At Sea) is open even if there are only a few kids.  Sometimes age groups are consolidated, but the kids club goes on.  

 

We just finished a 15 night Transatlantic in late Oct - early Nov on Constellation.  There were 8 kids on our ship.  The kids club was in full operation with their 4 counselors.

 

Sounds great! My kids take a bit getting used to new places, so when they walked into the kids club on carnival with a bunch of other kids running and yelling around them, they just shut down. Actually, the older one shut down and the younger one follows. But when it’s just them getting all the attention? They’d love it. 

2 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

It seems that the first responding poster may not have fully read your post (which was clearly explaining why ships that have those amenities are not a fit for your family) and just saw “kids and water slides” and immediately jumped to the “Celebrity doesn’t have those things!” comment (that was also completely unresponsive to your question). Or perhaps English isn’t their native language.

 

To try and offer some assistance, my experience is a little dated but my 9 year old and I sailed on Millennium last March on a sailing that only had 7 total kids on it and kids club was still open (and my daughter loved it so much that she was sad  when I’d come to pick her up).

 

There was only one child that I saw in the youngest group (the 3-5 year olds that your kids would be in) but it looked like they had staff and toys for her available at all the times that camp was open.

 

 

Thanks for your reply… I suspect that my kids would probably be the among the youngest in this itinerary… luckily they’re super close, and have each other to play with in that youngest group. 

3 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

You know is a Celebrity section and not RCL 🤔

There are none of those things are on Celebrity , thank God 😁

I know… whenever anyone mentions bringing on a kid, lots of people jump in saying that the child won’t like celebrity because there’s no water park/zip line/ice rink/rock wall/etc. Trying to avoid getting those types of comments. 

We’re taking our 3 and 4 year olds on an iceland/Ireland cruise over the summer. Please no comments to leave them at home. My kids hate the deck parties and loud noises and aren’t crazy about water dumping on their heads at the splash pads… they’re too short for water slides and zip lines and rock walls. 
 

I’m expecting that there won’t be many kids on board given the itinerary and that it’s a 12 night cruise. Do they still have the kids club open even if there are only a few kids?