Seabourn Encore NZ to South Pacifik on the 20th december with children

We are from Vienna and would like to travel with our daughter on this sailing. She is 6 years old.

Are on this sailing any sameaged children travelling?

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There may be a few children on board for a Christmas cruise but please bear in mind that Seabourn ships have few if any children's programmes or facilities so you will be responsible for keeping your daughter entertained and occupied.

I don't really think that Seabourn is a suitable cruise line for young children. It is set up as a cruise line mainly attractive to adults ages 40-80. All of the meals cater to adults as does the entertainment. And, as it is, the pool deck is quite small and the other passengers really hope that children will not be on board (that is what I've heard). I think your child (and you as parents) would have a much better time on a cruise that caters to families.

I found this article (from this website) which you may find helpful concerning the best cruise lines for children: https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2

Our daughter first cruised with Seabourn when she was around 12 and this Dec will be her 5th cruise with SB. She asks for them ahead of other holidays or cruises. I came on here, asked questions and ruffled a few feathers. The stock answer was to try Disney or another child friendly line.

It all depends on you & the sprog. Is it well behaved, do you like each others company, is it able to sit through a 2 hour meal at the table? Dont expect the whole ship to pander to the you youngster and dont expect any child specific activities. Occasionally they are arranged but more often than not they aren't. Sometimes Ems has been the only child on board, the most we've seen is about 20 but don't forget Americans see anyone under 21 as a minor. Unless they are sending them off to fight.

You won't be well received if a temper tantrum errupts during dinner, a show in fact anywhere. But not all children have temper tantrums. So ultimately it comes down to you as a family.

On the plus side the atmosphere on board is very civilised. You don't have to constantly queue for stuff and your suite will be much larger than a normal cabin on other lines. There are also free films on tap via the suite TV.

Less formal dining is available in the Colonnade or Patio grill. You can also enjoy room service but to not experience the dining room or TK Grill is missing out the heart of a Seabourn cruise.

If you have any specific questions feel free to fire away and as the owner of a Junior Seabourn cruiser I will try to answer.

Henry :)

Oh, just to add - Father Christmas does visit the ship !

Do you know, is it worth to go to the South Pacific?

How is the weather in december/january occasionally?

Is the see rough ?

Thanks a lot

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It's mid summer so likely to be warm or hot. Sea conditions are impossible to predict but note that time of the year is usually cyclone season in the Southern Hemisphere.

As an alternative Seabourn Sojourn has a 2 week Caribbean cruise Miami to Miami. Other than 2 days at the start and 2 days at the end there are lots of port days so a chance to get off the ship, paddle in the sand or do other Caribbean stuff. If your daughter is anything like ours was a chance to get her hair braided as well !

Don't worry about Sojourn not being the newest ship. Seabourn is very different to other cruise lines, all the ships are well maintained and some people prefer her to Encore. We did Encore last year but are happy to return to Sojourn in December.

Henry :)

Good advice so far - just to suggest that there are likely to be more children on the Caribbean cruise. And, if your little girl is used to restaurant dinners, starting at 7 or later and taking well over an hour, and is happy to sit quietly and enjoy the food (maybe with a bit of help from an ipad or whatever), then you may well enjoy your cruise. Or you can have the menu served in your suite during dinner hours. That would be the most likely time that other passengers might not be pleased to have a small child running around, or making a noise. That, plus in the bars in the evenings. It has been known for families with noisy children to be still running about and shouting at beyond 10 p.m. - not very popular at all!

Do you know, is it worth to go to the South Pacific?

How is the weather in december/january occasionally?

Is the see rough ?

Thanks a lot

 

 

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January can be the wet season in there South Pacific. It's matter of luck. You could have all gorgeous days or run into a hurricane.

I find it interesting that people sometimes felt restricted seeing Emily out and about in say a bar or on the front row of a comedian's show. If I didn't want her to see or hear anything I wouldn't have brought her. The reality is that having been brought up as the daughter of a used car dealer in an environment full of men there is nothing hasn't seen or heard before.

Don't be fooled by the angelic bone china English exterior :D

Children on Seabourn is a very emotive subject and it all boils down to making sure it suits your particular child. Dare I say it but a European child used to eating in restaurants might fare better than some others. Similarly if you have a bundle of energy always running around in 6th gear Seabourn ships are a very limiting environment. As children get older you need to factor in an unlimited internet package to keep the peace - the best $400 you will ever spend for family harmony :)

Emily was 11 on her first Seabourn cruise; we are talking about a child of 6. Quite a difference.

You are absolutely correct. My responses have been more generalisations towards helping people considering bringing minors. It was the topic which introduced me to this forum and is one close to my heart.

For us it works but it won't for everyone.

Henry :)

I will bear that in mind if if and when I would consider bringing a 6 year old on a Seabourn ship.

Happy and healthy sailing!

Thank you very much for your information , all sugestions and all the lovely ideas being part of the cruise.

My husband and me did 5 times a cruise, once with SB in the mediterran ocean etc..

Caribian Ocean might be a wonderfull idea, but me and my husband are very keen in something new, we travelled in this part of the ocean several times with wonderful memories.

We all of us know, as parents, that children are children, they are as they are and should be like this, they should play ,jump, run... otherwise they are not healthy.

My question was, ‚is there anyone in the forum, ‚who is travelling in this Journey with children ‚?

SB say, ‚ families are welcome, on this cruise some few children/teens are already booked‘..

We never travelled this part of the world, a nice idea with our lovely daughter to spend Christmas holidays on this cruise [emoji3]

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I think the real question is whether running, jumping and playing would be welcome by others on a Seabourn cruise. While most of us love children, we don't go on adult centered cruises to watch children run, jump and play. Many of us have grandchildren and see plenty of that at home.

That being said, I think bringing a child who is 11 or 12 years old and very well behaved is an entirely different question.

I wish the best for you in your decision and hope you have a wonderful cruise holiday wherever you decide to cruise.

I guess, you never had children.

I‘m really afraid about your annoyed reaction

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Of course we have children---and grandchildren too! We love them all dearly--but haven't ever thought of taking children under the age of 12 on a Seabourn cruise! Our grandchildren are eight years old, seven years old and almost two. They are delightful children and we spend a lot of time with them . I think it will just be up to you to decide if your six year old will enjoy a cruise of this type and will be well behaved so as not to be a distraction for other passengers. One thing I take into account whenever we take our grandsons somewhere is if the place/venue/restaurant is suitable for their age. For example, I would not take them to a fine dining restaurant in our city (Dallas TX) but would consider a child friendly restaurant. In making choices like this, I am thinking not only of our grandchildren but of other diners/patrons. It is as simple as that.

There were quite a few kids on our R/T Singapore Christmas cruise last year. All seemed to have a good time and the only behavioral issues were adults. If there are more than 10 kids - especially holiday cruises, Seabourn "borrows" a youth counselor from one of their sister lines and converts the card room into a games area.

Michaela, I'm on your side as we bring a child with us when cruising Seabourn but I wouldn't say it's a child friendly cruise line. 95% of the passengers are adult and quite old adults. In fact on some of our cruises over 99% of the passengers were adult !

I don't think there will be many children on your chosen cruise. We have found very few younger children on board over Christmas. Whilst it is perfectly normal and healthy for a child to run, jump and play I'm not sure there are many areas on a Seabourn ship where that can be done without upsetting people. People book Seabourn for a particular lifestyle and I would hate to see you feeling uncomfortable if you constantly have to try and quieten your daughter down or stop her running around.

We manage because our daughter hasn't ever run around screaming and is happy to sit at a dinner table for 2 hours talking to people of all ages. It also helps that we buy her the unlimited internet package :) A young person with internet is a happy person !!!!

I remember when I first asked about bringing a child on board someone said to me make sure you don't force your desire for a particular cruise on your child and I will say the same to you. The cruise you have chosen looks amazing but it's a long way to travel from Europe there and back, there are quite a few sea days and I suspect there will be very few if any other children. By children I mean under 12 or 13, not under 21.

No one is suggesting children should be allowed to be children but Seabourn is an adult themed cruise line. There isn't a kids club and you have to assume there won't be any child based activities. It depends on the specific Cruise Director but the best we've experienced is Pizza and movie night in one of the meeting rooms which probably wouldn't be suitable for a 6 year old.

The most children you will ever see on Seabourn would be on a short Med cruise. The rest of the time expect yours to be the only one!

Henry :)

There were quite a few kids on our R/T Singapore Christmas cruise last year. All seemed to have a good time and the only behavioral issues were adults. If there are more than 10 kids - especially holiday cruises, Seabourn "borrows" a youth counselor from one of their sister lines and converts the card room into a games area.

Having done 4 Christmas cruises now we've never seen a youth programme and the bridge players would go ballistic if you took away the card room :)

Leaving aside crew members children there have been times when Emily was the only one, last year on Encore there were maybe half a dozen or so teenagers. No child activities that I can remember.

Henry :)

I guess, you never had children.

I‘m really afraid about your annoyed reaction

 

 

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Since you seem so concerned about the welfare of your children why not take them on a cruise line like Disney where they would actually have a good time? Instead of Seabourn which is what you yourself seem to prefer completely disregarding your childrens' need to run, jump and play.

Michaela - I fear that your comment about 'run, jump and play' will not sit well with the great majority of Seabourn passengers. Also 'I guess you never had children'. I think that Seabourn CC posters have tried so far gently to suggest to you that unless you have a child who can fit in well with the mostly over 50 year old passengers you - and especially her - will not blend in well with them . Your most recent comments will have not gone down well.

Although I think it is quite possible that you could all three of you have a good time on a Caribbean cruise at Christmas with Seabourn, this would not apply to Encore in New Zealand, and if your daughter's enjoyment is as important as one would hope, you would not be suggesting this as a suitable trip.

Michaela,

The choice is yours to make. But do consider what your child would choose if he wanted to "run, jump and play".

Seabourn ships are not that type of vacation choice. Disney, Royal Caribbean and lines that expressly offer childrens' programs (thereby

ensuring that they are attracting children) are choices that I would consider, instead given your child's needs- as you explained them.

And to take that point a step, further, that would include Christmas cruises. They are more attractive for children on those other lines. And leave the card room for the bridge players who will always outnumber the odd few children on Seabourn cruises all the time.

Happy and healthy sailing!