Age ranges on Celebrity cruises

[sabba]

Hello,

 

Trying to plan a family cruise for me, hubby, 2 22 year olds, and 2 18 year olds.

 

What is the age range on Celebrity?

 

I know Celebrity is owned by RCC, but considering I will have 4 young adults with me, would I be better to consider the Royal or Carnival lines over Celebrity?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Sabba

[cruisestitch]

When are you considering going? How long a cruise? The age range can be from one to 90+ but what you want is, how many college age cruisers might there be, and that will vary wildly depending on the time of year, the itinerary, and the length of the cruise.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

It also depends on the personalities and interests of the young people in question. That said, X skews older-- their appeal is towards more "sophisticated" (for lack of a better term) tastes. I'd say more country club than night club, though they're not completely lacking in that regard. There will be some people the same age range on board, but generally a lower proportion than on the other two lines.

 

X is pretty much the antithesis of Carnival, which is known for more partylike, raucous behavior. RCI has "younger" activities like rock-climbing walls. On X, things get slower in the evening hours-- the pools close relatively early, bars around midnight (I think-- I'm not up that late, myself), no midnight buffet.

 

It's certainly possible for them to have a great time on a Celebrity cruise-- after all, there's a party all the time for them what choose:cool:;):)-- but they may have more fun on Carnival or RCI.

[Mrs_Tiki]

If you had asked me the same question six months ago, I would have said Royal Caribbean withour hesitation. However, we took our 18-year-old DD and her 19 year-old boyfriend on a Southern Caribbean cruise on the Serenade of the Seas this summer. We had a marvelous time, but we all noticed that they did not take advantage of all of the youth-oriented facilities (rock-climbing wall, putt-putt, etc) that made us think they would enjoy RCI more than X. While they enjoyed more activities, she mentioned that she missed some of the elements of our spring break cruise on the Solstice.

 

So, now my answer would be that it depends on the young people that you are traveling with and on the itinerary that you are considering. Since DD and BF ended up just wanting to have a nice dinner and to hang out with us after long, active days in port, we probably would have preferred to be on an X ship. But if they had been interested in socializing with kids their own age and dancing the night away, an RCI cruise would have been better.

[Gonzo70]

Celebrity has historically catered to an older crowd, but they have been appealing to younger adults the and trying (and succeeding) in becoming a brand that appeals to all ages of adults that appreciate a more sophisticated, relaxing and upscale type vacation without having to splurge for a luxury line. The length of your cruise, the time of year and destination all will impact the average age on any given cruise. Although Celebrity is starting to offer more to young adults than in the past, sister company RCI may be a better choice for 18-21 year olds (especially one of the newer RCI ships) as there are just so many venues and activities geared towards that demographic. Whether RCI or Celebrity would be best though depends on if those in your party want a more upscale, refined experience versus a more action packed experience. FYI Royal Caribbean International does not own Celebrity, but they are both sister brands under the same parent corporation.

[royalcruz]

My Celebrity experience has been Caribbean cruises November through January and I haven't seen a lot of people under 30 other than younger children with their families. If I was that age I would much prefer RCL or Carnival.

[missminnie]

Hi

 

I'm only 33 and went on our first celebrity cruise last month. We have sailed RCI and whilst I did like RCI, I also really enjoyed Celebrity. The entertainment and things to do on RCI was a lot more but you didn't have to do them and I did find on Celebrity things did quieten down during the evening. Whilst on the cruise it was a very slight problem as we ended spending most times in the Martini Bar but upon reflection being home, we actually really enjoyed it. This was because we were very port intensive and was actually quite tired in the evenings so welcomed the rest.

 

On saying this though, I'm not the type of person to party etc. I enjoy the company of older people and chatting and loved meeting everyone on board. People were so friendly without all the drunken peeps I've heard you get on Carnival (sorry not cruised Carnival so can't say whether this is actually true or not). We just found we had a nice relaxing time and came back totally refreshed. There was only about 6 children onboard and very very few people below 30 I would say. I felt the youngest most of the time but I enjoyed it as it was my sort of cruise and crowd of people I enjoy spending time with.

 

It's what you make of it and there was a disco etc onboard but was very empty every night. It's definately a more luxurious, classy and upscale market but at less than what our RCI cruise cost so it suits us all around.

 

Hope this helps or prob not!

[lovestx]

Anyone want to comment on the age range on an Eastern Med cruise on Equinox in June? Taking my high school (15 and 18 yo) kids who don't need to meet lots of kids but would probably like a few their age on board.

[Highlander1]

Even the young folks on Celebrity are old.;)

[junglejane]

Anyone want to comment on the age range on an Eastern Med cruise on Equinox in June? Taking my high school (15 and 18 yo) kids who don't need to meet lots of kids but would probably like a few their age on board.

 

Lovestx, we took our kids to the E. Med. on the Equinox this past June. Here's a link to my review which discusses the teen activities. While there wasn't a huge group of teens, my 14 year old had a great time and overall I felt that the passenger demographic was younger (and more international) than I expected.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1431761

[lovestx]

Thanks so much for posting that link, JungleJane. I think I had read it before but it was good to be refreshed. And I hadn't read the port reviews and that was helpful.

 

Sounds like "it depends" is the answer on the teen question. I'm not that worried as my son and daughter really enjoy each other's company and will happy to be hanging out on the ship with each other. But I will encourage them to go to the teen club the first night just to see if they can connect to other teens early on.

 

Love all the great help here on CC!

[madcitymaven]

Hello,

 

Trying to plan a family cruise for me, hubby, 2 22 year olds, and 2 18 year olds.

 

What is the age range on Celebrity?

 

I know Celebrity is owned by RCC, but considering I will have 4 young adults with me, would I be better to consider the Royal or Carnival lines over Celebrity?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Sabba

 

1 to 101.

[SusieV]

Even the young folks on Celebrity are old.;)

 

Guess that's where we fit in! My husband and I have been cruising X since our early twenties and we love it, but we're not really party animals. Give us a nice bar, a casino, and good food and service and we're happy.

[jdvmd]

My son took his first Celebrity cruise when he was three-months old. It is the favorite line of both of our kids. The three-month old turns 14 next month and our daughter is 21. They have been on every other line as well.

[phoenix_dream]

If you had asked me the same question six months ago, I would have said Royal Caribbean withour hesitation. However, we took our 18-year-old DD and her 19 year-old boyfriend on a Southern Caribbean cruise on the Serenade of the Seas this summer. We had a marvelous time, but we all noticed that they did not take advantage of all of the youth-oriented facilities (rock-climbing wall, putt-putt, etc) that made us think they would enjoy RCI more than X. While they enjoyed more activities, she mentioned that she missed some of the elements of our spring break cruise on the Solstice.

 

So, now my answer would be that it depends on the young people that you are traveling with and on the itinerary that you are considering. Since DD and BF ended up just wanting to have a nice dinner and to hang out with us after long, active days in port, we probably would have preferred to be on an X ship. But if they had been interested in socializing with kids their own age and dancing the night away, an RCI cruise would have been better.

Couldn't agree more. So much depends on what the teens expect/want. My son (now 25) has cruised with us since he was 3, primarily on Celebrity. He loves it and always has. He enjoyed our RCI cruise, but also spent more time hanging with us than with kids onboard (might be different had he had friends or siblings onboard). If they would enjoy a 'crew spoils me rotten and treats me like royalty' cruise where they can spend some quality time with family with a little bit of partying then Celebrity is it. If they want to be constantly active and regularly party the night away, I suggest another line.

[Bridge Maven]

A number of people have posted that they have cruised on Celebrity with young children. When you have, did you ever feel that other passengers resented the fact that they were sharing a ship with children, or are the anti children posters, who are so prevalent on the Celebrity cruise critic boards, not representative of what you experienced?

[jdvmd]

A number of people have posted that they have cruised on Celebrity with young children. When you have, did you ever feel that other passengers resented the fact that they were sharing a ship with children, or are the anti children posters, who are so prevalent on the Celebrity cruise critic boards, not representative of what you experienced?

 

We have never experienced anything like this. We have cruised during summer and school vacations but there have been longer cruises during non-peak times as well. My kids get along quite well with adults and are very well behaved. They are not the types that hit the elevator buttons and then get off the elevator or sit in the stairwells or run up and down the hallways.

[junglejane]

A number of people have posted that they have cruised on Celebrity with young children. When you have, did you ever feel that other passengers resented the fact that they were sharing a ship with children, or are the anti children posters, who are so prevalent on the Celebrity cruise critic boards, not representative of what you experienced?

 

Our experience on the Equinox this past summer was very positive. The only time I sensed any negativity was around the main pool area. I think there are always people at the pools who wish the children/teens would go away. And I mean the main pools, not the adults only pool area. But it was just my parent radar detecting negativity, not any actual confrontations. Our kids had a great time and in fact our teen said it was her favorite cruise (and it was her 11th). She would go back to Celebrity in a heartbeat.

[Esprit]

Our last Celebrity cruise aboard Solstice was in August around the Med'. My 20 yr old son said there were far fewer in his age range compared with Princess and the night club was nowhere near as good.

 

Had our daughter not been working on the ship we would probably have chosen Princess for a family holiday and kept Celebrity just for me and the wife.

[lovestx]

Couldn't agree more. So much depends on what the teens expect/want. My son (now 25) has cruised with us since he was 3, primarily on Celebrity. He loves it and always has. He enjoyed our RCI cruise, but also spent more time hanging with us than with kids onboard (might be different had he had friends or siblings onboard). If they would enjoy a 'crew spoils me rotten and treats me like royalty' cruise where they can spend some quality time with family with a little bit of partying then Celebrity is it. If they want to be constantly active and regularly party the night away, I suggest another line.

 

Thanks, Phoenixdream. This describes my kids perfectly!! They will like the luxury touches, the freedom they will have while on the ship and time with us. If there are fun kids to meet, great. Otherwise, I do think they'll be happy. Thanks for easing my concerns.

[sabba]

Thanks to all who posted. And thanks, too, for clearing up the relationship between RCI and Celebrity. I knew they were related but now I know how.

 

I will talk more with my kids and see what they would be looking for. My initial thought was RCI, so maybe I'll stick with that. But if a good price comes up for Celebrity, I'll take the itinerary, time of year and length of cruise into account.

 

Sabba