Kids Club on Celebrity Solstice

[cidymom]

Hi everyone. I posted this question on the main Celebrity board and didn't get any answers so I'm posting it again on the Family Cruises board hoping some families with kids have cruised the Celebrity line. We've never cruised with Celebrity before. For next year my husband was interested in an itinerary which the Solstice would be departing from Australia. I've read that Celebrity is more for adults without kids. We are older parents and think we would like Celebrity however we also have a young son (7). Our son enjoys spending time in the kids club (most recently on Royal Caribbean). My questions are: Will he be entertained in the kids club on Solstice? Do they have scheduled activities that will keep him occupied? Do the youth staff interact with the kids? We don't want him sitting in front of a computer or tv screen like on Disney and that's why we won't cruise Disney again. Any comments from cruising parents with kids on Celebrity would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your input.

[lmg1230]

We cruised on the Celebrity Equinox last summer when our daughters were 14 and 8 and had a great time. We had previously cruised on Disney, Princess (twice) and Holland America. We are also older parents and have no interest on sailing on any of the ships that have more of a party atmosphere so Celebrity suited us just fine. My 8 year old LOVED the Fun Factory! As far as I could tell the counsellors were very engaging, they were involved in a lot of activities and she made very good friends (so good that they sobbed the last night because they had to say goodbye). There are probably fewer kids on Celebrity than on some of the other lines but that's not necessarily a bad thing as the kids that are there don't feel overwhelmed. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Celebrity - we found it to be family-friendly without being completely focused on the kids and my husband and I enjoyed it as well.

 

Lisa

[kitty9]

I did a back to back cruise on Soltice this past February, and can tell you that unless there are more than just a few kids on board, the kids program could be less than at other times. We had less than 10 kids on our first week, and the program was a lot less than normal. On the second week, there were more kids, not a whole lot but more than the first week, and the program was more comprehensive. So, the kind of program on board will depend on when you're sailing. If its when school is in session, you won't find a lot of kids on board.