Sailing with a toddler

[bertrande]

Hi OP, my soon to be three year old started cruising at 9 months and has gone one 3 cruises so far, with another three booked. We did the Solstice in Alaska last year. For Murano, I booked our group of four adults on two separate days so we could take turns babysitting her. However, they told us all children were welcome at the sea day lunches and we did bring her along. She was fine and they did not charge her any cover. She was also not charged any cover at Tuscan Grill. For the excursions, she was charged for some at half price but not for others. This was because we did not book any through the ship but went independent. Have fun! She was 23 months when on Solstice and had a blast. We all did too. :)

[H2OH!]

I've seen far worse behaviour in the MDR from rude adults than I've ever seen from a toddler. Enjoy your cruise with your family!

 

Completely agree.

 

Note to all...."your" balcony is connected to others...your voice echos for miles. :rolleyes:

 

We had a toddler in the terrible 2 stage next to us and the poor thing cried the entire cruise (not kidding)...the screams just echoed when the family was on the balcony. someone did complain as we heard the family talking about it. It was quite bad. I felt bad for the family and the baby....and for us:D

 

Also had a couple really hard of hearing ..again, their voices echoed for miles. We got a kick out them as they would argue like the Costanzas from Seinfeld with the accent and all. The best was the husband videoing the entrance into port of San Juan...while filming he said we were arriving into St. Thomas...the wife exclaims..."no dummy, its san juan." The man never misses a beat and says..."I mean, San Juan...shut up Joan." We roared with laughter. :D

 

Have fun and enjoy your cruise.

Edited July 26, 2015 by H2OH!

[JERSEYGIRL1983]

Completely agree.

 

Note to all...."your" balcony is connected to others...your voice echos for miles. :rolleyes:

 

We had a toddler in the terrible 2 stage next to us and the poor thing cried the entire cruise (not kidding)...the screams just echoed when the family was on the balcony. someone did complain as we heard the family talking about it. It was quite bad. I felt bad for the family and the baby....and for us:D

 

Also had a couple really hard of hearing ..again, their voices echoed for miles. We got a kick out them as they would argue like the Costanzas from Seinfeld with the accent and all. The best was the husband videoing the entrance into port of San Juan...while filming he said we were arriving into St. Thomas...the wife exclaims..."no dummy, its san juan." The man never misses a beat and says..."I mean, San Juan...shut up Joan." We roared with laughter. :D

 

Have fun and enjoy your cruise.

 

Lol. LOVED the Hard of hearing story! Wish I could have been there. Free entertainment. Thanks for sharing.

[H2OH!]

Lol. LOVED the Hard of hearing story! Wish I could have been there. Free entertainment. Thanks for sharing.

 

It was priceless...lol

[lahlah57]

Posted in the Wikipedia description of Toddler

 

"If I want it, it’s mine.

If I give it to you and change my mind later, it’s mine.

If I can take it away from you, it's mine.

If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.

If it's mine it will never belong to anyone else, no matter what.

If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine.

If it looks like mine, it's mine."

 

From Burton L. White in his Raising a Happy, Unspoiled Child

 

This strangely sounds like Donald Trump...oops...did I say that out loud???:rolleyes:

[searoses]

You beat me to it lah lah!!!

[CelebCruizer]

I again thank everyone for the sailing advice it is great to hear from other parents about their experience. Bertrande you were very helpful in regard to my dining question. if we decide to enjoy specialty dining we will do so during lunch time or hire a babysitter.

 

To some responses out there...Thank your input however we are looking forward to our cruise with our young one and know we made the right choice with Celebrity. We are not disrespectful people and know how to parent our child and do so to make sure we are respecting those around us.

 

I am astonished that my simple question turned into what it did.

[lahlah57]

I again thank everyone for the sailing advice it is great to hear from other parents about their experience. Bertrande you were very helpful in regard to my dining question. if we decide to enjoy specialty dining we will do so during lunch time or hire a babysitter.

 

To some responses out there...Thank your input however we are looking forward to our cruise with our young one and know we made the right choice with Celebrity. We are not disrespectful people and know how to parent our child and do so to make sure we are respecting those around us.

 

I am astonished that my simple question turned into what it did.

 

Some quetions are just hot topics Celeb and I think you hit it on this question!

Don't take it personally.....there are those folks who just tolerate the idea of children on "THEIR" cruise but you will find that your family will have the time of your life regardless of these folks;)

[CelebCruizer]

Thank you lahlah57. We can not wait

[lahlah57]

Lets give that one a WOOP.....WOOP:D

[kathleenmgs]

I am really hoping that some of the people weighing in on this issue chose not to have children themselves. I can't imagine raising my kids thinking that they only belonged at Denny's and would be unwelcome and resented anywhere else. How are we supposed to expose them to different kinds of foods or teach them how to behave in a more formal setting if we can't take them to nice places?

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[norwegianwood57]

Nice places are for very nice children, as soon as they arent, please take them home. Not many parents do that.

 

My other post was removed. I suggested that parents with toddlers sail on Disney, Carnival, Royal Carib, to give others a break.

[ladylemondrop]

Nice places are for very nice children, as soon as they arent, please take them home. Not many parents do that.

 

My other post was removed. I suggested that parents with toddlers sail on Disney, Carnival, Royal Carib, to give others a break.

 

Celebrity is not an adult only cruise line, so people have every right to bring kids along, if you feel very strongly about sailing with other peoples children, then perhaps you should seek out another cruise line - adult only cruises are offered by P&O, Fred Olsen and many other lines these days.

[epichoneymoon]

Nice places are for very nice children, as soon as they arent, please take them home. Not many parents do that.

 

My other post was removed. I suggested that parents with toddlers sail on Disney, Carnival, Royal Carib, to give others a break.

 

 

 

 

I am a long-term forum lurker but I feel compelled to respond to this thread. I am sailing with Celebrity in a RS within the next couple of months and I have a 1 year old child. I have sailed Celebrity previously child-free and decided that we would like a cruise on Celebrity with our baby. I think the attitude of the minority who are against children sailing on celebrity ships is shocking. The new CEO even reiterated in her recent cruise critic interview that Celebrity is a cruise line for all ages. There would not be a childrens club (for over 3s) if they were trying to discourage children from sailing in any of the Celebrity ships. In addition, it was clearly stated in the ‘Suite Class’ Q&A documents that children would be allowed to dine in the suite restaurant. I fully intend to dine in Luminae and the speciality restaurants with my husband and my child during our cruise. We are respectful of other people and we would leave the restaurant if there was any misbehaviour. I agree with the other posters who highlight that drunken adults can often be far more badly behaved than small children.

[dkjretired]

Nice places are for very nice children, as soon as they arent, please take them home. Not many parents do that.

 

My other post was removed. I suggested that parents with toddlers sail on Disney, Carnival, Royal Carib, to give others a break.

 

If people had followed your advice, Celebrity would not exist. If it hadn't been for families traveling on Celebrity the cruise line would have folded long ago.

[bertrande]

I again thank everyone for the sailing advice it is great to hear from other parents about their experience. Bertrande you were very helpful in regard to my dining question. if we decide to enjoy specialty dining we will do so during lunch time or hire a babysitter.

 

 

Just to clarify, although we dined in Murano with our toddler for lunch, we did bring her in to the Tuscan Grill for dinner (where they did not charge her a cover). We also brought her to Bistro on Five a couple of times, can't remember whether there was a dinner or was it two lunches though. The adults also did Murano for dinner separately sans child. No problem about it at all - you don't have to limit your options!

[philpcruiser]

Just to clarify, although we dined in Murano with our toddler for lunch, we did bring her in to the Tuscan Grill for dinner (where they did not charge her a cover). We also brought her to Bistro on Five a couple of times, can't remember whether there was a dinner or was it two lunches though. The adults also did Murano for dinner separately sans child. No problem about it at all - you don't have to limit your options!

I was wondering how you dined in Murano with your toddler? I thought there was a 12 year old age restriction. Was there an exception for lunch? I ask because we would love to bring our 7 year old into Normandie (same 12 yr restriction).

Edited July 27, 2015 by philpcruiser

[bertrande]

I was wondering how you dined in Murano with your toddler? I thought there was a 12 year old age restriction. Was there an exception for lunch? I ask because we would love to bring our 7 year old into Normandie (same 12 yr restriction).

 

 

Yes they allow children of all ages in for lunch. We did not know until we dined there for dinner (my mother and sister ate on a separate day from us) and were telling our waiter how much the other two ladies had raved about their dinner the night before and that tonight was our turn. The waiter asked why we were dining on separate nights and when told there was a toddler who needed babysitting, very enthusiastically informed us that there was a lunch day where all children were welcomed. We then booked for the entire group to dine there. :)

Edited July 27, 2015 by bertrande

[Mistymya]

Hi all, I am hoping someone might be able to give me some tips on sailing with a toddler. I am sailing on Celebrity Solstice in a few weeks, this is the first time taking my toddler with us. Does anyone know if there a toddler under 2 needs to pay cover fees for specialty dining? I know that excursions for under 2 typically have no charge.

 

Please share any suggestions you may have.

 

thanks

 

We traveled with our daughter (8 months then) last october on the Eclipse. We felt very welcome and our daughter got a lot of positive attention. The staff where very friendly and other passengers too. She loved the attention and that was what made the experience great for all of us. Many staff members have their kids at home and they are very good with the kids all over the ship. We never got any negative response.

(There was a grinning party of two old ladys that asked to be seated elsewhere when they got a table next to ours, but we didn´t feel bothered by that at all.

 

 

In the MDR there are high chairs available and they can also prepare special baby food. (If you toddler typically likes pureed potatoes and carrots with some sausage on the side, they can make it. You ask the maitre d a day in advance.)

We had Select dining. This way we got our own table every night and had different people around us. We could also eat whenever it suited us and there was no issues with us wanting to skip the starters f.ex.. She behaved well, but of course with some protesting during these eleven days. We just took her out for a spin if she got upset.

 

In the buffet they also have high chairs and they are open for breakfast early. We have a morning baby, so we enjoyed breakfast on our own every morning as they opened. I would consider bringing some sort of chair you can use in the cabin. They don´t have enough so you can have one there too. I like this one: http://www.totseat.com/english/home/

 

 

We did not go to the specialty restaurants other than Bistro on five. She did not pay a cover there.

 

We loved our cruise and went to play in the kids club every day with her. (We´ve been on 3 cruises before we had her, and the experience was of course different, but all in all, good.)

 

The biggest "problem" is the lack of changing tables in the bathrooms. There is only one onboard. Its up next to the kids club.Would have liked it to be one near the MDR and the other venues. We covered the end of the sofa with some towels and a changing mat at changes her mostly there throughout the cruise. That worked fine, but it was a bit annoying to go all the way to the cabin. If I had known in advande, i would have chose a cabin close to the elevator near the mdr.

 

You should be aware that your stroller should be quite narrow to fit through the stateroom door. Our babyjogger city mini gt just fit, but our regular stroller would not have fit.

 

Please ask, if you have any questions. I did a lot of research and have a lot of pictures of the baby stuff.

 

Have a wonderful cruise :)

[philpcruiser]

Yes they allow children of all ages in for lunch. We did not know until we dined there for dinner (my mother and sister ate on a separate day from us) and were telling our waiter how much the other two ladies had raved about their dinner the night before and that tonight was our turn. The waiter asked why we were dining on separate nights and when told there was a toddler who needed babysitting, very enthusiastically informed us that there was a lunch day where all children were welcomed. We then booked for the entire group to dine there. :)

Are you sure it wasn't the other way around? I checked X's website. It says Murano only serves dinner and the age requirement is 12 and up. Tuscan Grille serves L & D and there is no age restriction.

[bertrande]

Are you sure it wasn't the other way around? I checked X's website. It says Murano only serves dinner and the age requirement is 12 and up. Tuscan Grille serves L & D and there is no age restriction.

 

No I am very sure - even have pictures to prove it :) I am not sure if there was a special occasion or something but Murano was open for lunch that day - Tuscan Grille was not (in our opinion) worth a second visit for lunch. If you take a look at this old thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2100867 you will see the OP also had lunch onboard the Solstice and it was in 2014 as well. Things may have changed since then but we did have lunch in Murano back in 2014.

Edited July 27, 2015 by bertrande
to include link to old thread

[philpcruiser]

No I am very sure - even have pictures to prove it :) I am not sure if there was a special occasion or something but Murano was open for lunch that day - Tuscan Grille was not (in our opinion) worth a second visit for lunch. If you take a look at this old thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2100867 you will see the OP also had lunch onboard the Solstice and it was in 2014 as well. Things may have changed since then but we did have lunch in Murano back in 2014.

I understand about things constantly changing with Celebrity.

[nojoke]

Well, I just have to put in my two cents! Years ago, when we dined with fixed seating in the MDR, we were seated with a 13 year-old boy and his aunt for the entire cruise. He entertained us at every meal, called us by name, inquired about our day, and told us about his activities. It was the most fun table we have ever sat at. As for toddlers, as others have said, in the MDR most people adore them. If they fuss, mom or dad can easily walk around for a bit with the child.

[bEwAbG]

As for toddlers, as others have said, in the MDR most people adore them. If they fuss, mom or dad can easily walk around for a bit with the child.

 

I think a lot of people overestimate the love others have for children, especially while on vacation. Most people are polite and don't say anything out loud but, as a people watcher, I notice the grimaces, hushed whispers, or eye rolls whenever a young child makes an appearance in what is supposed to be a more formal space. It creates an immediate tension. People are relieved when they see the parents actually being proactive about other people's comfort level with the situation. Unfortunately, the good ones have to contend with the behavior of the boorish parents who are either tuned out of the situation (ignoring or used to the noise) or adopt the risible "kids will be kids" mantra so prevalent in our "me-first" culture. So, I wouldn't expect anyone to automatically be delighted to see a toddler in a speciality restaurant.

[wwcruisers]

I think a lot of people overestimate the love others have for children, especially while on vacation. Most people are polite and don't say anything out loud but, as a people watcher, I notice the grimaces, hushed whispers, or eye rolls whenever a young child makes an appearance in what is supposed to be a more formal space. It creates an immediate tension. People are relieved when they see the parents actually being proactive about other people's comfort level with the situation. Unfortunately, the good ones have to contend with the behavior of the boorish parents who are either tuned out of the situation (ignoring or used to the noise) or adopt the risible "kids will be kids" mantra so prevalent in our "me-first" culture. So, I wouldn't expect anyone to automatically be delighted to see a toddler in a speciality restaurant.

 

Very well said. :cool:

 

In our years of cruising, we have seen attentive parents onboard, whose children were delightful. Sadly, we've also been subjected to the flip-side of that coin -- the folks who ignore their child's tantrums or destructive antics, and do not take the child out of the room. :eek:

 

So, I really don't think it's asking too much for there to be a few "adults only" venues on a ship -- like the Solarium and one specialty restaurant. Even Disney provides kid-free zones -- and I understand that they are very good at enforcing their age restrictions!

Edited July 27, 2015 by wwcruisers