President's Day Week - Lots of Children?

[lolanm9]

I neglected to check the US holiday calendar before booking my February 15th sailing on Celebrity Reflection. President's Day is February 17th. It never occurred to me that a 1 day holiday would be a big vacation week for families with children. Can you tell I don't have any? ;-)

 

In checking some of the forums, it appears that this week is a school break week for many schools.

 

My bad for not checking. Has anyone cruised on Celebrity during this time in the past? I believe I can reschedule to 1 week earlier, if it's going to be a zoo.

 

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks so much.

[susietb]

Yes, it is a big vacation week, usually several hundred children are on board. If you can book a week earlier or later it would probably even be less expensive, as that week is usually premium pricing.

[20pluscruises]

I neglected to check the US holiday calendar before booking my February 15th sailing on Celebrity Reflection. President's Day is February 17th. It never occurred to me that a 1 day holiday would be a big vacation week for families with children. Can you tell I don't have any? ;-)

 

In checking some of the forums, it appears that this week is a school break week for many schools.

 

My bad for not checking. Has anyone cruised on Celebrity during this time in the past? I believe I can reschedule to 1 week earlier, if it's going to be a zoo.

 

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks so much.

 

Yep, I would try to re-book. Christmas week was insane!!!

[Oville]

Presidents' Day week is school vacation for some of the northeastern states so there may be some more children. It will not be in the same league as the Christmas school break. Most other states take their break in March.

 

Good luck and I wouldn't worry too much.

[lolanm9]

Thanks!

[4cats4me]

Here on the West Coast it hasn't been too overrun with young'uns, more the home schooled kids. Have gone on 3 or 4 cruises on President's week and have always had good conditions

[kitty9]

We did a B2B on Solstice, with the second cruise being during PW. The first week, there were 12 kids on board, but on the second, there were 347 kids. Big difference, IMHO.

[Wine-O]

Do you think Celebrity will let you cancel and book a week earlier? You are way past final payment date. Doesn't hurt to ask.

 

We booked a last minute cruise to Bermuda on Summit in late July. Yes, there were loads of kids, but we stayed in the adult areas (Solarium, Martini Bar, late dining, Elite Happy Hours) and avoided the buffet. It wasn't a big problem.

[beachchairs2]

be prepared to fight for a peaceful , enjoyable cruise...not something you want to do on your vacation.....

 

if there are noisy , badly behaved kids , let celebrity know that many of us feel sailing celebrity is not what it used to be when it was mostly adults....

 

let them know you expect rules to be obeyed by everyone...do not allow kids and their parents to sabotage your holiday...too many of ours were ruined that way....

 

if all else fails, demand that celebrity compensate you for the cruise you expected to have and didnt....

 

as for how many kids are aboard...it only takes one family with rude and abnoxious parents and kids to ruin the atmosphere....of course the odds are that much greater when there are 300 or more aboard....

[Johnny Heedless]

be prepared to fight for a peaceful , enjoyable cruise...not something you want to do on your vacation.....

 

if there are noisy , badly behaved kids , let celebrity know that many of us feel sailing celebrity is not what it used to be when it was mostly adults....

 

let them know you expect rules to be obeyed by everyone...do not allow kids and their parents to sabotage your holiday...too many of ours were ruined that way....

 

if all else fails, demand that celebrity compensate you for the cruise you expected to have and didnt....

 

as for how many kids are aboard...it only takes one family with rude and abnoxious parents and kids to ruin the atmosphere....of course the odds are that much greater when there are 300 or more aboard....

 

Demand that Celebrity compensate you? Really? Really?

 

While we don't cruise with our young children, we do lots of land vacations with them. It's amazing the polar opposite reactions we get from the elderly we encounter while with our kids.

 

The majority will smile, greet, and engage with our kids. They're the grandparent types where kids bring true joy to their lives. The kids they encounter seem to enhance their vacations.

 

Then, there's the curmudgeon types. Even when my kids are perfectly quite and sedate, they'll glare at my kids (or us) and grumble under their breath. Sadly, any kids, regardless of their behavior, seem to be a complete nuisance to them.

 

I hope as I age, I become develop into one of grandfatherly types. They just seem so much happier and content with life than the curmudgeon get-off-my-lawn types.

[attilamom1217]

There will no doubt be more kids than other weeks; however, I think more families end up on RCI, Carnival, Disney than on Celebrity. i wouldn't worry about it.

 

We were on a RCI cruise several years ago that was a vacation week for some school systems (not in ours so I didn't know). The ship had 900 kids - unusual except for summers and Christmas and the ship's staff had difficulty handling that many.

 

I doubt that Celebrity will have anywhere near that many kids that week but they will be prepared as it is a usual week for many schools to be closed.

 

Enjoy and relax.

[20pluscruises]

I neglected to check the US holiday calendar before booking my February 15th sailing on Celebrity Reflection. President's Day is February 17th. It never occurred to me that a 1 day holiday would be a big vacation week for families with children. Can you tell I don't have any? ;-)

 

In checking some of the forums, it appears that this week is a school break week for many schools.

 

My bad for not checking. Has anyone cruised on Celebrity during this time in the past? I believe I can reschedule to 1 week earlier, if it's going to be a zoo.

 

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks so much.

 

There were 700 children on the Christmas break cruise on Equinox, and not every child is well behaved, nor was every adult. However, I don't want to be on a ship with 700 children running around. AND yes, I love children. Have my own. Have even been asked to be godparents to four other couples children because we did such a great job....but even I know mine are not always perfect angels.

 

IMHO...others will have a different opinion

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I'm one of those people that has kids, travels with kids but doesn't want to be on a ship full of kids. That's why I tend to pick Celebrity. Even when the ship is full of kids (summer cruises to Bermuda for example), the kids are well behaved. They do things like sit on the stairs together at worst. I haven't seen them running or misbehaving. So don't sweat it.

 

There may be more kids than usual during President's week but it won't be like Christmas or Easter break. I travel almost every year over Easter break on cruises and Celebrity is really great. Royal Caribbean gets way more kids during school breaks.

Edited January 13, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[rebeccalouiseagain]

The real issue is not that there are kids. The issue is that there are four people to a cabin. That just means more people. I don't like that either. I'd rather be on a ship with only two people to a cabin.

[20pluscruises]

The real issue is not that there are kids. The issue is that there are four people to a cabin. That just means more people. I don't like that either. I'd rather be on a ship with only two people to a cabin.

 

We also found the ship wasn't sold out so they did a last minute sale...3rd and 4th guest cruise free. The ship was sold out. :eek:

[beachchairs2]

and that is what happens...celebrity sells it out 3rd and 4th free, while you paid top dollar by booking early....

 

yes , yes, yes, if your cruise is not what you paid top dollar for, when they gave it away to 4 in a room, definitely ask for compensation....if they lose revenue by compensating, maybe the give aways will stop....

 

do you know of any other way?

[rjrpar]

We cruise every February, Presidents Day is the first thing we check. We love kids but I would definitely rebook a different week.

[cheriberi]

We have cruised on Celebrity during Presidents Week the last 2 years - the Eclipse in 2012 & the Silhouette in 2013. The one thing we noticed was that there were very FEW children on each cruise. We are sailing on the Summit the same week next month & did not hesitate to book during President's Week. Enjoy your cruise!

[DJSchib]

I love my grand kids to pieces BUT I have run a daycare for 30 years and the last thing I want to see and hear is kids running around without their parents caring. We are booked to cruise the 22nd sure hoping the kid numbers are down that week. I need to relax and not be reminded of work while on vacation

[Just love 2 cruise]

and that is what happens...celebrity sells it out 3rd and 4th free, while you paid top dollar by booking early....

 

yes , yes, yes, if your cruise is not what you paid top dollar for, when they gave it away to 4 in a room, definitely ask for compensation....if they lose revenue by compensating, maybe the give aways will stop....

 

do you know of any other way?

 

I have been on several Celebrity cruises with children on board. I couldn't tell you how many because I never see them! Celebrity's children programs keeps the little ones engaged for hours on end. Yes, they may be at the pool and as another CC member posted, the solarium is an option. Listening to their laughter is a joy to hear.

 

However, unruly behaviour should be reported to Guest relations or ship's officers. If your cabin is next to a family of four and it is too noisy mention it to Guest relations. You won't know if you have a problem with your next door neighbours until you are there and again, I have been on ships where my next door neighbours are two adults only and they were noisy, partying in their cabin, long past midnight.

 

The Reflection is a lovely ship and surprisingly there are many places one can go for some quiet or away from the centre of the action (the pool).

 

If you can at last minute switch to another cruise..go for it. Option B, stay where you are and enjoy the sun and destination and observe how bad/good it was to be on a ship with children and then you can apply YOUR personal experience for booking future cruises where children might be more abundant. You may be pleasantly surprised. As was pointed out earlier, you are not on a Disney, RCL or Carnival cruise.

 

What I do not understand from reading some of these posts is to ask for compensation for your mistake in not researching what might interfere with your vacation such as school break, President's day ...

[beachchairs2]

all of us who do NOT bring children on cruises, pay to relax and getaway from stress....if celebrity wants us as customers, they have to ensure that happens...

[kelmac]

Schools out west usually only get one day off for Presidents day, so no cruising from us. My wife is a teacher, so we can only travel during her periods of unemployment; winter break, spring break, and summer recess.

Kids have never been a major problem on Celebrity during these periods for us.

 

We've cruised during winter break the past 12 years and the seven day cruises will have many more kids than the 14 or 15 day cruises. This past cruise was 15 days through the Panama Canal, and there were less than 200 kids onboard.

Since it was an "at-sea" intensive cruise, some of these kids were pretty bored, but never a problem.

 

One advantage for cruising during holiday periods is the lack of upper level Captain's Club members. You hear stories of the TransAtlantic cruises with 900 Elites onboard. This past holiday cruise had 126 Elites, 23 Elite Plus and no Zeniths, so no Vouchers or stress on the Captain's Club hostess.

 

It would be nice to cruise "off-season" and get those great rates, but not until my wife retires.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[20pluscruises]

and that is what happens...celebrity sells it out 3rd and 4th free, while you paid top dollar by booking early....

 

yes , yes, yes, if your cruise is not what you paid top dollar for, when they gave it away to 4 in a room, definitely ask for compensation....if they lose revenue by compensating, maybe the give aways will stop....

 

do you know of any other way?

 

Never book a Christmas cruise again.

 

...and we did do our homework, last year was a different story as to the amount of children on board. A few posts down someone did a 10 day Equinox due to having a great time the prior two Celebrity Christmas cruises. There were 700 children on their cruise this year. She said never again!

 

Kids running through the casino pulling the machine arms

 

Couldn't use the pools or hot tubs due to babies in diapers in all of the outdoor pools and hot tubs...security didn't give a crap...literally:eek:

 

I could go on...

[beachchairs2]

YES it can be very aggravating....and especially so if the staff do not enforce rules.....

 

after a couple of days there is always a questionaire....if anything is not what you paid for..make sure you not only say so on the questionaire but ask to have an appointment set up to go over the rules that staff are to enforce....ask for this appointment with someone higher up....and tell them to call you back asap....

 

we can either never sail holidays....or we can try and wrestle back this time period for all of us by insisting that rules be enforced by staff and if they have allowed way more kids than they can handle, you are entitled to a refund.....yes I know that will never happen...but raise enough hell and it will get noticed....

[20pluscruises]

YES it can be very aggravating....and especially so if the staff do not enforce rules.....

 

after a couple of days there is always a questionaire....if anything is not what you paid for..make sure you not only say so on the questionaire but ask to have an appointment set up to go over the rules that staff are to enforce....ask for this appointment with someone higher up....and tell them to call you back asap....

 

we can either never sail holidays....or we can try and wrestle back this time period for all of us by insisting that rules be enforced by staff and if they have allowed way more kids than they can handle, you are entitled to a refund.....yes I know that will never happen...but raise enough hell and it will get noticed....

 

I wish I had thought of this! The thought didn't cross my mind as I had gone to guest relations to ask for a comment card...wanted to give excellent comments to Nicolina, Vicent and Oom...but was told we could only get them in our stateroom the last night of the cruise. Nothing was ever said about an alternative...:(