Travelling with children

[Jo and Rob]

We are considering Celebrity next Summer on the Eclipse and would really like to know from fellow families about your experiences of the kids clubs etc. We have found a really good deal but don't know anything about celebrity so please let us know all you can.

Many thanks

Jo

[dkjretired]

We are considering Celebrity next Summer on the Eclipse and would really like to know from fellow families about your experiences of the kids clubs etc. We have found a really good deal but don't know anything about celebrity so please let us know all you can.

Many thanks

Jo

 

I have traveled with kids over the years on Celebrity and they have excellent childrens programs. Below is a link to a recent review specifically about the childrens programs. Eclipse is an S class ship and they are wonderful ships.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1179803

[Jo and Rob]

I have traveled with kids over the years on Celebrity and they have excellent childrens programs. Below is a link to a recent review specifically about the childrens programs. Eclipse is an S class ship and they are wonderful ships.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1179803

 

Thanks for that. What is a code red? I am a bit confused I assume children are allowed in the dining room with their parents! Also what about formal nights if they want to join in with the formalities is that permitted? Is there a children's menu?

[dkjretired]

Thanks for that. What is a code red? I am a bit confused I assume children are allowed in the dining room with their parents! Also what about formal nights if they want to join in with the formalities is that permitted? Is there a children's menu?

 

Code red had to do with extra cleaning and regulations due to some recent outbreaks of NoroVirus in Charleston which subsequently wound up on the ship.

 

 

Children are absolutely permitted in the dining room. They can particpate in all activities with their parents. The choice is yours and theirs.

[101Jus]

We are considering Celebrity next Summer on the Eclipse and would really like to know from fellow families about your experiences of the kids clubs etc. We have found a really good deal but don't know anything about celebrity so please let us know all you can.

Many thanks

Jo

Hi Jo & Rob. Whilst I can't help you re: kids on Celebrity as it's also our 1st time on Celebrity it may be helpful to know how old your kids are? The kids clubs are separated into different age groups so other people on here may be able to help with specific age groups. Our kids are 11 & 5 and I did extensive research before deciding on Celebrity; in general the reports of the Kids Clubs were very favourable. If you're travelling in school holidays you should have plenty of kids onboard for your children to socialise/make friends with. Getting the kids signed up for the kids clubs as soon as you board and attending the Kids Clubs welcome/open evening seems to be the way forward as they'll meet up with friends straightaway rather than going in once 'cliques' have already formed. I'll post my findings once we return.

 

Like you, we found a really good deal on Eclipse which was significantly cheaper than either Indy or Ventura for the same weeks/itinerary so after a bit of research we snapped it up. Here's hoping!! :)

 

Incidently I'm also from Suffolk (Bury St. Edmunds to be precise) and spent my 1st 18 years there, in fact my parents and several relatives still live there.

 

Justin

[Jo and Rob]

Hi Jo & Rob. Whilst I can't help you re: kids on Celebrity as it's also our 1st time on Celebrity it may be helpful to know how old your kids are? The kids clubs are separated into different age groups so other people on here may be able to help with specific age groups. Our kids are 11 & 5 and I did extensive research before deciding on Celebrity; in general the reports of the Kids Clubs were very favourable. If you're travelling in school holidays you should have plenty of kids onboard for your children to socialise/make friends with. Getting the kids signed up for the kids clubs as soon as you board and attending the Kids Clubs welcome/open evening seems to be the way forward as they'll meet up with friends straightaway rather than going in once 'cliques' have already formed. I'll post my findings once we return.

 

Like you, we found a really good deal on Eclipse which was significantly cheaper than either Indy or Ventura for the same weeks/itinerary so after a bit of research we snapped it up. Here's hoping!! :)

 

Incidently I'm also from Suffolk (Bury St. Edmunds to be precise) and spent my 1st 18 years there, in fact my parents and several relatives still live there.

 

Justin

 

Oliver will be 9 and Emily will be 6. They will experience their first cruise in June on the Indy to Le Havre as a little taster! I would welcome recommendations as to whether it is better to have the first dinner sitting and eat together or let the kids eat early at the buffet and enjoy a late sitting together? We hadn't even considered this but now someone has suggested it I think that sounds like a good idea!

[101Jus]

I would welcome recommendations as to whether it is better to have the first dinner sitting and eat together or let the kids eat early at the buffet and enjoy a late sitting together? We hadn't even considered this but now someone has suggested it I think that sounds like a good idea!

Swings and roundabouts really. On Voyager we fed the kids in the buffet at about 6pm then had late seating at 9.15pm where the kids also joined us and had a second dinner! They had the option of going to the kids clubs but loved being pampered by our phenomenal waiter Harry. We found that it was too much of a rush to get to early seating after shore excursions as there were 4 of us and only 1 bathroom to get ready! Also a bit early for us to eat anyway. We've chosen late seating again at 8.30pm which I'm sure will work out just fine.

 

The downside is that the kids like to eat earlier so they may prefer early seating hence the compromise on feeding them at the buffet first. Also will they be able to stay awake that long? The kids did love dressing up though and had a great time in the MDR. Either way I'm sure your kids will love all the attention they'll get from the staff.

 

Justin

[dkjretired]

Oliver will be 9 and Emily will be 6. They will experience their first cruise in June on the Indy to Le Havre as a little taster! I would welcome recommendations as to whether it is better to have the first dinner sitting and eat together or let the kids eat early at the buffet and enjoy a late sitting together? We hadn't even considered this but now someone has suggested it I think that sounds like a good idea!

 

You can do a comination of both. We had our kids eat with us most of the time in the MDR but it was also nice to have a dinner by ourselves. The childrens groups will have dinner for them on a couple of the nights. Speak to the counselors on the first or second day.

 

One other point, Celebrity does not have a full buffet for dinner on any of their ships. There are options such as pizza, pasta, salads, sushi, etc but not a full buffet as you would get for breakfast and lunch.

[Scrapchick]

We just got off the Equinox with our almost 9 year old DD... The kids clubs on Celebrity are wonderful and the staff are fantastic, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!! The kids are broken down by ages... 3-5, 6-8, 9-11 etc. The Fun Factory is open from 9AM all the way to 1AM, although babysitting costs after 10PM. They charge for lunch and dinner parties on port days only, but other than that, they're always open and there is no charge. They run a full program every single day, port or not.

 

Kids in the 9-11 group and up can sign themselves in and out of the club and there is a daily program sent to the cabin each evening.

 

The dining room has a kids menu and the buffet is also open for dinner, as well as the kids club dinner party option. First sitting is about 6PM and that works best for us, as my DD likes to go back to the kids ckub at 7PM or go to the early show with me, and I can till get her into bed at a decent hour.

 

I am going on the Eclipse in July and am told it is identical in every way to the Equinox Fun Factory. I'd be happy to give you more information if you like. Celebrity doesn't have rock walls and slides, but offers a great way for a family to vacation and there is something for everyone. My DD said it was the best cruise she'd ever been on, and she's been on enough to know.

 

There will be plenty of kids on board during main vacation times. There were 300 last week during Easter, but only 20 were booked on the voyage now sailing, so it varies tremendously. We will be on the Eclipse in early July when the US schools are out, but the UK schools are still in, so it will be interesting to see how many kids are on the ship.

 

HTH. Celebrity is a wonderful cruise line for kids and I think you'll have a great time with your kids. You can also read my just posted Equinox review which mentions the kids club on the CC Home page.

[Jo and Rob]

Thanks Scrapchick.

Did you do second sitting then for dinner? What time is the second sitting? Did your daughter go to the formal nights with you or go to the kids club? What time does the buffet close for the children? What time is the first show?

[Scrapchick]

We did the 6PM dinner seating, got out at about 7.30 most nights and then went to the 8.45 show. The times of the shows vary. Sometimes DD would go to the kids club at 7PM when she was done with dinner, which was fine with us. A couple of nights she went to the dinner party because she met friends who were going and she wanted to be with them. She always went to formal night dinner with us because I always pack nice dresses for her and get a portrait done of the family before dinner.

 

Second sitting is 8.30, which is too late for me and DD. She eats around 6PM at home and would be climibng the walls by 8.30. Another option is Select Dining, where you show up anytime between about 5.30 and 9PM and get assigned to a table and a waiter. I used the prefer the flexibility of that but am coming around to thinking a fixed time is better. The waiters treated DD famously.... Fresh strawberries every evening, cold milk constantly replenished....

 

The evening buffet runs al evening and finishes late. I thought it was fairly extensive and included entree items, fresh sushi, fruit, pasta, pizza, desserts etc. There also the Mast Grill hamburger bar which is open until 6.30. Also, you can order room service off the dinner menu and have it in your cabin. Bistro on 5 also has a crepe/panini menu with salads and desserts too, which is yet another option. Trust me, you'll run out of days on the ship before you run out of food options...

[Jo and Rob]

Did you find it a bit tight getting ready for dinner on port days?

[Jo and Rob]

Just wondering what times the shows are. Do they repeat the shows for 1st and 2nd sitting diners? Can you see a show before the 2nd sitting or does it end up just being a really late night?

[Scrapchick]

Yes, occasionally we had to hustle to get to dinner on time.... There is a 30 min grace period to get in the dining room. However, that's where the other food ptions come in handy. Even with the early seating and 8.45 show it was nearly 10PM by the time we were done and then it was bedtime for DD. There are two show times, usually one around 7PM for the late sitting diners and then 8.45 for the early sitting diners, so everyone has a chance to go. Yes, you can see the early show and then go to dinner, but dinner might not end till 10PM. If you're okay with that, then go for it. For me, I don't want to be just finishing eating that late, and my DD would not handle that well at all, as she usually goes to bed arond 9PM at home and could never behave at dinner that late.

[dkjretired]

My kids always enjoyed the slumber party that the counselors would hold usually around 10:00P.M. The kids would watch movies etc and most of the time they fell asleep, this usually went until around 1A.M. It allows the parents to enjoy some of the night life on the ship together.

[junglejane]

Let me chime in to add that we have had two great experiences taking our kids on Celebrity, once on the Infinity to Alaska (when they were 5 and 9) and then on the Summit to the Med (ages 7 and 11). We just booked the Equinox for June 2011. We booked early traditinal dining because we feel late seating is too late for us. Yes occasionally we have been a bit rushed getting back from port, and on certain days we elected to eat in one of the other venues. But overall it has worked well for us. The waitstaff have been wonderful with our kids.

 

I agree with Scrapchick: don't listen to the naysayers who tell you Celebrity isn't good for families. Some of that advice is well intentioned, some is not, but mostly it is from those without young children and without personal experience of cruising with kids on Celebrity.

[Softball20]

We've cruised on several different lines, and, frankly, the whole experience is all what you make of it, whether it is billed as a family cruise line or not. Our kids (now 17 & 20) have been cruising with us since they were 6 & 9. They have always eaten with us for in the MDR - early or late - and love formal nights. They never had much interest in any of the kids programs, and we've always had great vacations. Although we've tried different lines, we have all decided that we like Celebrity and HAL the best as they offer the best food and best service. For us, that's always been an important aspect of the cruise, and we've never even considered the demographics of the other passengers in deciding on our vacation.

 

As for early or late seating - we have done both. When they were younger we did try early a couple times, but you do sometimes feel rushed getting back on the ship. For many years we have been doing the late seating. You know your kids best and what would work better for them. For us, we would never feed them early from a buffet; we always ate together, even if it meant doing the early seating.

 

Have a great cruise!

[carolinesmom]

We did our first cruise a few weeks ago over spring break. It was on the Century. Our children are 14, 12, 9, and 6. I was nervous about whether Celebrity was the best choice for children, but my travel agent assured me they had a good children's program. It worked out so well. All 4 of our children enjoyed the kid's clubs. They all made friends and were sad for the cruise to come to an end. We did the early dinner in the MDR every night with the kids at 6:00. The kids really enjoyed having a real sit-down dinner every night. The formal dinner was the second night and we did attend. I have 3 daughters and they loved getting dressed up. My son (he is the 9 year old) wasn't as thrilled, but he went along with it. They had a children's menu, but the kids could also order off the regular menu and often did.

 

All 4 of them would go to their respective kid's club after dinner. We would go back to our rooms and they would quickly change their clothes. It would usually be about 8:00 by this time. Then my husband and I would head to a lounge and listen to some music until the show at 9:00. The show would be over around 10:000. We picked up our 6 year old then. Our son could sign himself out and would meet us back at the rooms. One night he was wiped and came home early and got himself into bed. He was sound asleep when we came in at 10:00!

 

My older two daughters were out until past midnight most nights. There were lots of kids on the ship with it being spring break. They let the 9-11 year olds use the teen area a lot, and let the teens take over one of the regular lounges at night. Which was nice for them.

 

My two younger children went to the daytime programs sometimes and other times hung out with us at the pool or playing shuffle board.

 

It was a great experience for all of us.

[Scrapchick]

We've cruised on several different lines, and, frankly, the whole experience is all what you make of it, whether it is billed as a family cruise line or not. Our kids (now 17 & 20) have been cruising with us since they were 6 & 9. They have always eaten with us for in the MDR - early or late - and love formal nights. They never had much interest in any of the kids programs, and we've always had great vacations. Although we've tried different lines, we have all decided that we like Celebrity and HAL the best as they offer the best food and best service. For us, that's always been an important aspect of the cruise, and we've never even considered the demographics of the other passengers in deciding on our vacation.

 

As for early or late seating - we have done both. When they were younger we did try early a couple times, but you do sometimes feel rushed getting back on the ship. For many years we have been doing the late seating. You know your kids best and what would work better for them. For us, we would never feed them early from a buffet; we always ate together, even if it meant doing the early seating.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

I completely agree with this.... If we let our DD pick the cruise we'd be on Carnival because they have a slide. Frankly, I'd rather stay home that do that. DH and I choose the ships and DD has always had a great time. We prefer a more upscale, sophisticated environment an Celebrity meets that desire perfectly. DD said the Equinox was the best ship she'd ever been on. She took advantage of what was on offer, and didn't miss what wasn't. Each cruise really is what you make it, but if you like cruising and go on board with a reasonably open mind, you can't go too far wrong. Every ship is different, every cruise line is different. We've never had a bad cruise yet (well, the one time on Carnival was a low point, but we won't talk about that...) and come home with great memories from every trip we take.

[Infi]

Another vote for Celebrity's kids programs. Though we don't use them much anymore, DD has been cruising Celebrity since she was very young and has always been treated wonderfully by the staff. The ships are never overflowing with kids and the counselors have plenty of time for them as a result. They also always keep the kids active, doing arts and crafts, playing games, etc. rather than parking them in front of a TV to watch a movie.

 

As for buffet dining for dinner, it's not like Princess where the Horizon Court trough (yuck) is open 24/7...on S-class they have a limited nighttime snacks buffet in the Oceanview Cafe. It usually starts late at night (10pm or so) and is leftovers from that day's lunch, along with pizza and pasta and salad bar, and desserts. Because it starts so late, I'd recommend getting your children fed either at dinner in the MDR or through room service. There is a childrens' menu with kid favorites and some different selections, too. When DD was younger, the waitstaff would always bring both the kids' and adult menus and she would order a combination from both - appetizer from kids, adult entree, etc. The waitstaff is very accommodating and loves kids. I think you'll be very pleased with Celebrity for kids.

[Jo and Rob]

We are now thinking that the 1st sitting might be better for us. What is this about the kids clubs having dinner with them a couple of nights? I'd like to know more about this. Is it on normal nights or formal nights?

[Scrapchick]

The Equinox kids club hosts a dinner party EVERY night from 5-7. You have to sign up for it by 4.45. Our DD went a couple of times to eat with friends. I didn't want her doing it every night, but she could have if she wanted as the option was there.

 

This gives you the option of going to one of the specialty restaurants minus the kids or at least having a quiet dinner a deux.

 

I thought the kids club was great for offering this, as most kids clubs shut for lunch and dinner and you have no choice but to have the kids with you for every meal until they're old enough to be left unsupervised. it's not something I would want to use every day, but a great service nonetheless and typical of the premium service you can expect from Celebrity in every way.

[robsmom]

We sailed with my then 10yr old on Soltice last summer and have done a few other cruises on Disney. I was initially concerned that the kids programming would not compare to what he had experienced on Disney. I think it held its own and compared nicely. The facilities are not as elaborate but the counselors and activities were great. I love the layout that has the outside basketball area between the teen and kids area. More playing of games and less video time!! This was used for dodgeball and a bunch of other games besides just basketball. My son liked the scavengar hunts alot. I loved watching the kids in groups trying to find "a german language Solstice Today", a "receipt from an on board store", "anything purple", etc.

 

For meals, I felt there were plenty of options. I prefer early seating as we are not late night people. Most nights my son would dine with us, eat his meal quickly, and leave early to go join the kids for something. I did not buy him a suit for formal night and found that nice pants, a shirt, and tie worked out fine for him in the MDR. There were a couple of nights that he did not dine with us. One night we ordered him room service in the room. This was a huge treat for him and I think the menu choices are quite good. After he was done, he went to the club and went to a 7pm dinner at Tuscan Grill. Another evening, he didn't want to go to Silk Harvest with us and we took him to the buffet first. I know that people say it is limited. For a 10 year, it is just fine. Pizza & Pasta are more than enough to make him happy. An added treat was that my husband got to eat from the Sushi bar as an appetizer to our meal!

 

I think you kids will love the Solstice class ship.

[flagger]

What about taking the kids on a Mekong River Cruise? :)

 

http://www.avidcruiser.com/2010/04/on-the-mekong-appropriate-for-kids-these-parents-think-so/

[Jo and Rob]

What about taking the kids on a Mekong River Cruise? :)

 

http://www.avidcruiser.com/2010/04/on-the-mekong-appropriate-for-kids-these-parents-think-so/

 

Have I missed something? We are going to France for 2 days, isn't that in Asia?