Eclipse Baltic Sailings - How many Kids ?

[norwegianwood57]

"The crew would finally just give in."

 

and that is what parents of these children count on happening.

 

Take it higher, demand the standards that are promised and if not, ask for compensation.

 

As for Azamara, it is not kid free, but there is NOTHING for kids to do. Sill they are dragged along. So if there are kids it is even worse than on Celebrity, since they are not in a camp, but in the pool and everywhere else, totally bored.

 

Even on O there were a few babies and toddlers. Hard to understand why.

[ginak1112]

The rule for no kids in the first 3 rows was made after one of our nighmare cruises where kids were climbing onto the stage during the performace. The performance had to be stopped. These kids and parents were asked to leave. They argued in Spanish. Entertainment for that evening was cancelled. That was only one part of this nightmare. We were compensated fully for another cruise. It was on the old Century, when it was still relatively new.

 

Modern Luxury , does not mean people bring kids on board , turn it into a camp so they can enjoy themselves.

 

There is NO reason to bring a baby or toddler to the Baltic.

 

Please bring it to the attention of guest relations and if necessary, the hotel manager, every time Celebrity does not meet with the expectations of Modern Luxury. As long as people say nothing, Celebrity will do nothing about it. If people who bring children were made to obey the rules, they may not bring the little sweethearts next time as it may be too much trouble.

 

Sounds like you are not really a fan of children, lol. The children in the front rows did not dampen the show or impede my enjoyment in any way so there was nothing to complain to Celebrity about. The arguing with the crew was done prior to the shows starting.

 

It does seem strange to bring a baby or toddler to the Baltics but, in many instances, they were traveling with huge extensive families so wouldn't want to leave the baby at home.

 

My point about Modern Luxury seems to be that it is being marketed to a younger crowd, ie, Miami Djs being brought in for entertainment. Younger crowds tend to have young children.

 

When I was a kid, my parents did not take me and my siblings to Europe or on really extravagant trips. I have to say that times have changed. I am guilty of taking my kids on some amazing trips, they are in their 20's now, but don't feel to bad about doing so. We all have wonderful memories. My kids were always well behaved or so I thought. Different cultures, as noted on my recent Baltic cruise, raise their children differently with different levels of discipline and expectations.

[barneymag]

Seems as my original question has gone a little off the rails. My question was how many kids would be on a Baltic cruise on Eclipse. I never expected it to be kid free or turn this into a kid hate thread or start blaming parents who enjoy cruising that want their kids to have the chance to share the cruise experience.

 

I took my own kids on a Med cruise when they were 15 and 17 , this was on a family friendly ship during the school holidays and they loved it. I think if you go on a med cruise in the summer holidays with most mainstream cruise lines then you should expect kids. I think it's wrong to suggest that families shouldn't experience a Baltic cruise as what a fantastic experience it would be for anyone .... kids included.

 

I don't want to book adult only ships as I like X, but I will choose dates and itineraries that are more adult focussed. That is why I asked for experiences of this itinerary.

 

I love kids and enjoyed holidays with my own over the last 20 years, but they're young men now and we can choose a slightly more chilled atmosphere.

 

If there are families on our Baltic cruise next year I won't be looking at the parents with disgust - however with a cruise line like Celebrity I would be surprised if kids aren't supervised correctly as I did with ours.

 

As you may see from my signature we booked the Eclipse Baltic cruise on the 19th June next year.

 

Thanks for all the positive feedback regarding the itinerary and those that have experienced it.

[Katgoesonholiday]

 

As you may see from my signature we booked the Eclipse Baltic cruise on the 19th June next year.

 

Fascinating thread! I am booked on the sailing a month after you - with my three young sons. I hope we don't have any snotty people looking down their noses at me and my kids but if they do then its not my problem, its theirs. :D

[Cruisercl]

I have said many times; I don't mind or dislike children at all, it is the parents with poor parenting skills that come with them. :rolleyes:

 

I have been on some cruises with many children and not once were there issues; the parents needed to be commended. I have also have had the exact opposite happen............:)

[Katgoesonholiday]

I'll join you with rolling eyes at poor parents! My kids are well behaved because that is the standard we expect and enforce. But it makes my job infinitely harder if little Johnny is doing bombs into the pool and I'm having to tell my kids that it's not okay behaviour even though little Johnny's mommy is letting her precious petal do this. Likewise when little miss Posy is running and yahooing through the hallways and I am reminding my sons that we WALK in hallways.

 

Thankfully they are getting to the age where they can understand that not all parents have the same standards of behaviour and sometimes other people's parents behave poorly and don't encourage good sociable behaviour in their offspring.

 

So in summary, I don't have any sympathy with people who are appalled at normal well behaved kids infringing on THEIR cruise line - but I'll be among the first to skewer a misbehaving brat with my finely honed Mom glare whether said brat belongs to me or not. [emoji13]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[barneymag]

Fascinating thread! I am booked on the sailing a month after you - with my three young sons. I hope we don't have any snotty people looking down their noses at me and my kids but if they do then its not my problem, its theirs. :D

 

I certainly wouldn't be the snotty one for just for having kids on a ship, or any other holiday for that matter. I have my own kids and spent the last 20 years on many different holiday experiences, I love kids and have no problem as long as parents (or kids clubs) are supervising them correctly. From my own experiences this is important for my own kids enjoyment and safety, but also not to impact on others who are holidaying with me.

 

I selected the 19th June sailing not because it would be adults only or kid free, but as it's just before the main UK school holidays I would expect "less" kids. I am sure there will be families on this sailing and I don't have a problem with that, but would hope that parents don't take the attitude that they've paid the same for their holiday and their kids can do what they like, regardless of what effect that has on others enjoyment. I would equally be upset with adults only who want to be as loud and obnoxious as possible on holiday without a care on the impact of others enjoyment.

 

Ultimately we all have our own parenting standards and I would have been the first to step in if my own kids were getting out of hand and effecting others enjoyment. Unfortunately there are other parents who will take the opposite attitude and not know or care what their kids are up to.

 

At the end of the day we have started cruising with Celebrity as they are targeting a different audience to other brands (better food, more refined, martini bar, modern luxury etc) and as such the kids that are onboard generally seem to be better behaved and of a smaller ratio.

[BigJH]

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find any kids free cruises. But I am hoping that Celebrity is still relatively sane since it offers very few of the attractions that other lines offer children. However many parents travel with their own pleasure in mind, it does not matter to them that the kids are taken out of school, since those are the cheaper times to travel, it does not matter that the kids will find the itinerary boring. I will never understand why parents drag toddlers in strollers through the Hermitage, but they do.

 

I am a long time champion here for adult cruises. If you encounter any issues, please make it known to Celebrity. Make sure they enforce the rules for kids on the ship. If noisy in the dining room get the Maitre'd to move you to a better table. If the kids are taking over the pool, complain.

 

Make known what kind of cruise you signed up for and what kind you didnt. Yes that takes away from the enjoyment of the trip, but if enough of us do that, Celebrity will take notice.

 

Unfortunately we have suffered through some nightmare scenarios when there were tons of kids on board. But it is not necessarily the amount of kids. On one cruise there was only one family with 3 kids. They emptied the pool of adults every time they were there. Crew and parents did nothing. The father with his huge belly hanging over his swim trunks just said, "we paid same as you did , so we do what the damn we want"

 

I could fill several pages how babies, toddlers, kids and teens impacted on our cruises. Yes we have sailed azamara and oceania, but prefer an adult atmosphere on Celebrity and we have had a few.

 

I'm sure us families with children could also fill "several pages" on how unruly adults and those of senior years have impacted on our cruises too - IMO, those of a certain age tend to be more dusruptive and rude than any children...

[BigJH]

There are a lot of comments about the Baltic not being a suitable itinerary for children - why do people think that?

 

Having done 5 cruises with my family (children now 12 and 8) all to Norway, Scandinavia and the Baltic - I can honestly say, they find it exciting to visit all of the wonderful places, and would find it extremely boring to be sat on a beach or by the pool on the ship for a fortnight.

 

Similarly, why do people think that kids want climbing walls, flowriders, waterparks - not all of them do, which is why the "Modern Luxuru (as quoted earlier) is also attractive for families - why shouldn't we be allowed a little bit of luxury - not all families book 3 star all inclusive hotels in Spain - some want 5 star hotels as opposed to Butlins - which is why Celebrity is attractive to families.

 

We have booked again for 31st July next year and are all (including the children) looking forward to Russia; Estonia; Sweden; Denmark; Germany; Finland and Belgium - all of which have plenty for children to do...