Celebrity and Kids

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I just returned from a wonderful cruise on the Celebrity Infinity and highly recommend this ship for food, service and kids program. My 11 year old said this was his favorite cruise (out of some 25+ cruises).

 

I did want to point out a couple things that I noticed onboard and something I as a parent was really not pleased to see...

 

There were many ill-behaved parents on this cruise. For instance a group from California routinely brought their young children to trivia. Why??? I really enjoy this aspect of the cruise and my son likes it too but young kids have no business being there if they aren't going to be quiet while the questions are being read. That's what the Fun Factory is for. I wished these parents had dropped their kids off there instead of being totally self-absorbed and in their own little world.

 

Also- there were lots of kids behaving badly in the Celebrity Theatre. So much so that the illustionist, Jason Bishop, repeatedly asked some young girls in the balcony to stop gabbering.

 

The worst example was someone left an overturned cup of coffee and half a chocolate ice cream and cone in the elevator. This is not typical of Celebrity and I was grossed out.

 

This is the first time I've seen so many parents allowing their kids to behave badly and they give a bad name to the rest of us who do teach our children manners.

 

Are parents getting worse?

[cb at sea]

I think humans are getting "worse" in general.....being so connected and engrossed in electronic media (smart phones, pads, etc...) have really taken common courtesy out of personal interactions. I think a lot of folks forget there are others who may be affected by their actions.

[Onessa]

The worst example was someone left an overturned cup of coffee and half a chocolate ice cream and cone in the elevator. This is not typical of Celebrity and I was grossed out.

Do you know that it was kids who had left the coffee and ice cream in the elevator?

 

I agree with the previous poster -- it is not so much that kids are getting more poorly behaved, it is that there are more and more people behaving badly.

[crusinmama06]

I agree that people are getting worse in general. We saw those things on 2 of our Carnival cruises - of course both of them were during the Summer. People using the ship as one big garbage can. Throwing apple cores on the stairs. Kids trying to make the grossest combinations they could out of tea bags and ice cream in coffee cups and then leaving it for the crew to clean it up. :(

 

Teens standing in the aisles and refusing to move even when you say politely "Excuse me please" and their parents SITTING right there and not telling them to move.

 

Some people should never leave their homes let alone leave the country. ;)

[quickcat]

What was your sons favorite part of the ship? Our son is 12 and we were thinking of trying the Epic. We've done Carnival (once) and Disney a few times but wanted to try something different. When I looked into Celebrity it didnt seem to have too many activites for kids- I was happy to see your post. If you get time, could you say some of the activities he enjoyed? Thanks! :)

[rebeccalouiseagain]

The Fun Factory offers all sorts of things for kids- games, dances, daily scavenger hunts, etc. The kids never want to leave. Apart from that there were lectures on 5 of the 7 days of our cruise with naturalist Brent Nixon. He is animated and funny and my son was riveted.

 

I mentioned trivia- some of it went over his head but they have Gender Wars and that was great fun for kids and adults.

 

He also enjoyed the comedian and illustionist.

 

There are outdoor pools but they aren't heated in Alaska. The indoor (adults only) heated pool was available to the kids from 4-5 PM each day. There are four large hot tubs outside that were used by the kids.

 

My son loved Bistro on Five ($5 surcharge per person) where they make build your own crepes. He loved having breakfast there and his favorite was the "Italian"- which is sliced bananas, pistachio nuts and drizzled in nutella. It's my fav too! He was crazy about Qsine, which is a whimsical tappas restaurant. We went there twice ($40 surcharge per person)

 

He loved our "Big Nugget" excursion in Skagway where he played with the Iditarod dogs and puppies, panned for gold and learned all about the Gold Rush in Alaska.

 

Marc said that he liked the ship because it never felt crowded and was just the perfect mix or fun and relaxing.

 

He begged me to book another Celebrity cruise and we are now booked on Summit to Bermuda (8/12/12) in three weeks!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Do you know that it was kids who had left the coffee and ice cream in the elevator?

 

I agree with the previous poster -- it is not so much that kids are getting more poorly behaved, it is that there are more and more people behaving badly.

 

Honestly I don't know who left their ice cream cone on the floor or coffee mug overturned in the elevator but I'd hate to think an adult did that. For my part, I got the attention of a crew member when I saw the mess and didn't just ignore it for the next person to contend with.

 

I also want to say that the majority of people and kids were very well behaved but I'm always a bit taken aback by parents that haven't already taught their kids how to behave in public.

[BeagleOne]

 

Some people should never leave their homes let alone leave the country. ;)

 

No, no, they SHOULD leave the country and not come back! :D

[crusinmama06]

No, no, they SHOULD leave the country and not come back! :D

 

Hahahahahahahaha now THIS is true :D

[quickcat]

Thanks so much for the response! We'll definitely have to give Celebrity another look. My son is very quiet and really not too outgoing when it comes to meeting new people so I am thinking this might be a great fit for him with a lot less kids than Disney, for example.

Thanks again :)

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Happy Sailing!:)

[Keith1010]

Sorry to hear about some of the parents.

 

They should be good role models for their kids. It sound like they have not grown up yet.

 

Keith

[Cruisin' Chick]

I think humans are getting "worse" in general.....being so connected and engrossed in electronic media (smart phones, pads, etc...) have really taken common courtesy out of personal interactions. I think a lot of folks forget there are others who may be affected by their actions.

 

Just think of the adults who think nothing of gabbing on a cell phone while driving, or walking in an intersection or parking lot while gabbing on a cell phone, oblivious to oncoming cars (and expecting everyone else to watch out for them:eek:). The one time we saw misbehaving kids on a cruise was when their parents (it was an extended family) were being pains in the you-know-what to other passengers and crew members. The kids were undoubtedly brats, but bored brats. My daughter said that none of them went to the kids' program.

 

I've seen kids at trivia and other activities, but usually they are there because they are interested in joining in, and thus are behaving. In fact, I was on one trivia team about seven years ago, and the boy had many of the answers.

 

If a kid isn't participating in the kids program because their parents are insisting "it's a family vacation" are often shortchanging their kids, IMO. After seeing how much classwork and homework kids nowadays have, wouldn't it be nice to let them have some say so when it comes to vacation activities?

[neoncandle]

As the parent of a very well behaving seasoned traveling three-year-old I do get REALLY tired of people complaining about small children. And their parents. They think we must be crazy for taking our kid on our amazing adventures, but by doing this on a regular basis this is just how we have gotten him to the point he is. He does better at going through security at the airport than many adults and is perfectly content on cross-oceanic flights because he knows the drill. I am sure we will get dirty looks on our Celebrity cruise... but that won't discourage us because we have seen the world and we want our child to see it too.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

My son has cruised since he was 3 months old- so I am not opposed to people with young children cruising - just that so many parents are inept. For real.. I was on the ferry from Victoria- Washington State. Now this should be a great place for small kids but the parents (of twin boys) made them sit in a booth the whole time while they fussed and screamed.

 

I'm NOT blaming the kids. They were like 2 and why weren't the parents walking around with them. The boys would have had a ball out on the deck running around. That's where I would have been if my 2 year old was fussing.

 

But no, self-absorbed Mom and Dad wanted to sit and drink their coffee, while the twins fussed LOUDLY and disturbed the other passengers. I don't get it... it's SOOOO annoying and I have boys and they simply weren't allowed to do that. I'd remove them, reprimand them and more importantly PLAY with them outside where they wouldn't be a disturbance.

 

It's called manners and societal expectations that parents take care of their kids and make sure that they aren't nuisances.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Just think of the adults who think nothing of gabbing on a cell phone while driving' date=' or walking in an intersection or parking lot while gabbing on a cell phone, oblivious to oncoming cars (and expecting everyone else to watch out for them:eek:). The one time we saw misbehaving kids on a cruise was when their parents (it was an extended family) were being pains in the you-know-what to other passengers and crew members. The kids were undoubtedly brats, but bored brats. My daughter said that none of them went to the kids' program.

 

I've seen kids at trivia and other activities, but usually they are there because they are interested in joining in, and thus are behaving. In fact, I was on one trivia team about seven years ago, and the boy had many of the answers.

 

If a kid isn't participating in the kids program because their parents are insisting "it's a family vacation" are often shortchanging their kids, IMO. After seeing how much classwork and homework kids nowadays have, wouldn't it be nice to let them have some say so when it comes to vacation activities?[/quote']

 

My son comes to trivia (he is 11) and my older son was like a sports trivia wiz at age 12. I'm not saying that kids shouldn't be at any or all places onboard but not three bored pre-schoolers who would have been better off in the youth program or elsewhere. The parents were just in their own bubble- oblivious. It happened more than once (same family) otherwise I wouldn't have commented.

 

Did anything RUIN my cruise- no way! Just pointing out here that it does go noticed and hopefully parents will take note. Some parents are just plain old lazy and indulgent.

[neoncandle]

I guess I have been reading a lot of comments from people re: kids on disney cruises. Its a cruise for kids. We were thinking of bringing 5.5 mo old twins on a cruise w friends next year, but my mother in law offered to watch them and let us bring our oldest. I do look forward to bringing them along- on a cruise w adequate child care so all can really enjoy their trip.

[ShelbysMom]

I'm kind of wondering why you mention that the people who took their child to trivia were from California.

 

Signed,

 

a mother from California who has taken her well-behaved child to trivia on numerous occasions - either because the child was too young for the club, or trivia times overlapped with the closing of the club for lunch or dinner

[rebeccalouiseagain]

No reason to mention California other than I knew they were from California and the father happened to be an actor- the guy who does the Nationwide commercials. Kind of goofy guy. But had nothing to do with people from California are rude. Not singling Californians out.

 

Come to think of it.. perhaps I thought someone from that group might read this!

[ShelbysMom]

That would be funny if they did read it. Probably wouldn't change their behavior though.

 

Glad to hear that you don't think all Californians are rude.