Should I be worried about my kiddos?

[Unlvswezel]

So I have 2 AQ rooms booked for the Edge on 7/24. We have taken our boys (14 and 5) on HAL twice and actually found the passengers to love on our boys. After reading some of the reports I’m worried about bringing my boys on board. We’ve never hit Celeb and I’m worried about the judgement, particularly in a post COVID cruise world. Any Celeb parents able to provide some encouragement?

 

TIA for suggestions and support!

[GastroGnome]

Our daughter cruised with us on X from about 13/14.  (Shes 22 and still cruising with us...)  We never had any problems for her or with her.  But we did have a couple of cruises where there were kids who got out of hand and it is that which tends to be less popular.

 

There is a kids club which includes the teen hangout.  That either works for you or it doesn't - that tends to depend what the other teens are like on board.  DD has made life long friends amongst teens on board - and had difficult times.  Just stay alert to what the teens might be doing and support your boys if the choices are less than sensible. One memorable (?!) time on Reflection a family was disembarked becuase of the behaviour of thier teens. 

 

For me I would rather have a well behaved teen in a venue that some adults.  But if the teen needs some teen time they can take it to another area of the ship and thats fine too. Just be aware of what the boys are up to - I'm sure you know this but holidays are not a time to abandon parental resposibilty!

 

I'm sure you will have a great time and welcome to the X family!

[tallnthensome]

Worry not what others think as you’ve paid your fare …..

[SWFL Cruisers]

I have seen many kids on Celebrity and there were only a few that anyone ever commented on, the ones who were allowed to misbehave without parental supervision. Bring them!

[tori0417]

We are on that sailing. We have always vacationed with our kids but with our kids being 6 and 2 we are leaving them home because we will that our 2 year old will not comply with the mask policy and it will cause issues; Otherwise we would have brought them. I will say I’m not sure how many kids will be on board for the kids club, as some others have said there are only a handful of kids on these first few sailings. But we absolutely bring our kids with us on celebrity and it always worked out well. 

[ipeeinthepool]

Until your children can be vaccinated they are at risk for contracting Covid.  Although the ship may be a safe place with most people vaccinated, it will be a long time before Covid is under control in most of the ports the ship visits. Most children will not be seriously harmed by Covid but some will become seriously ill.  Is it worth the risk to your children?  For me it wouldn't be worth the risk, but only you can decide.

[ItsADryHumor]

4 hours ago, Unlvswezel said:

So I have 2 AQ rooms booked for the Edge on 7/24. We have taken our boys (14 and 5) on HAL twice and actually found the passengers to love on our boys. After reading some of the reports I’m worried about bringing my boys on board. We’ve never hit Celeb and I’m worried about the judgement, particularly in a post COVID cruise world. Any Celeb parents able to provide some encouragement?

 

TIA for suggestions and support!

I’ve never taken my kids on X, but I am a teacher. As long as your kids aren’t operating above acceptable levels of kid (like flinging food in the buffet, riding the elevators for fun, mistreating staff- all things I have corrected on past cruises), why should they face judgement? Kids are hilarious and fun. 
 

If you mean because they’re unvaccinated, encourage them to follow protocol (masks when required) and otherwise have lots of fun! I’ve taught in person since last August (with masks mandatory until April) and we did well with masks and lots of cleaning. The Delta variant is no joke, but I think with proper protocol they’ll be just fine. 
 

Also, I’m sailing with you. Excited to hear feedback from kids so we can bring ours back in an X cruise soon! 

[hcat]

Most kiddos on X are well-behaved, supervised by parents, nicely  dressed and accepted.

BLU  will be nice for  your family...and there will be activities for them to enjoy!

[DirtyDawg]

I had the same trepidations before our first X cruise with our then 16 year old son. It turned out that the X cruisers actually on the ship were much nicer than the ones who post here on CC. 😉

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by DirtyDawg

[rucrazy]

6 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

It turned out that the X cruisers actually on the ship were much nicer than the ones who post here on CC.

Could that be because onboard they can't "hide" behind the computer screen? just asking? 🙂 

[bEwAbG]

Lots of crossover between HAL and Celebrity passengers (I sail both).  In general, if your kids are well-behaved, no one will give it a second thought as long as they're following the rules of the ship.  Most everyone winces if you bring a toddler into a specialty restaurant, whether they show it outwardly or not.

 

Has COVID changed that?  Hard to tell. You might see people avoiding them since they're not vaccinated, but I think that will be true on any cruise line.

[TeeRick]

Here is a comment/question.  Most people have clearly and overwhelmingly stated over the past 18 months that they would not cruise unless vaccinated.  And unless the ship was fully vaccinated (or now 95%).  As a parent perhaps you are vaccinated and include yourselves in the "only cruise if vaccinated" crowd and would not take unvaccinated kids on board.  But what about those of you who are vaccinated but your kids are not?  Trying to understand your thoughts on why you would you choose to take unvaccinated younger kids on a cruise and possibly expose them to COVID virus particularly from port stops?  

[DirtyDawg]

1 hour ago, rucrazy said:

Could that be because onboard they can't "hide" behind the computer screen? just asking? 🙂 

😁 

Might be. 😉

[BunnyLebowski]

Have sailed with my two boys on Celebrity since they were very young (now teens). Zero issues, the staff couldn’t be more welcoming. We’ve been in the MDR, Aqua, and Luminae for meals and regardless the children were treated as honored guests. To be fair, the kids are very well behaved.

[Babr]

7 hours ago, Unlvswezel said:

So I have 2 AQ rooms booked for the Edge on 7/24. We have taken our boys (14 and 5) on HAL twice and actually found the passengers to love on our boys. After reading some of the reports I’m worried about bringing my boys on board. We’ve never hit Celeb and I’m worried about the judgement, particularly in a post COVID cruise world. Any Celeb parents able to provide some encouragement?

 

TIA for suggestions and support!

It seems to me your question is about unsolicited affection from strangers who find your children adorable, and the perhaps the judgment you fear is from asking those adults to refrain from hugging them. Did I misunderstand your question?

 

If indeed that is the case, I’d think twice about sailing right now. I say so because of a recent news story about kids who returned from a church camp in Texas with 125 infected, at least 3 of which so far have been identified as the Delta variant. Six of those cases were in people who were fully vaccinated. We are not in a post Covid world.  Your children may very well be exposed to the virus in the course of travel whether strangers hug them or not.

[marieps]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Most kiddos on X are well-behaved, supervised by parents, nicely  dressed and accepted.

BLU  will be nice for  your family...and there will be activities for them to enjoy!

I agree.  Sailed AQ with a lovely family who had the front 8 top every meal in Blu.  The children were beautifully behaved.  Not so for the screaming 2 year old (a different cruise) in Le Petit Chef on Edge.   It's not a cartoon show.  It's fine dining.  Your kids sound well past that stage.  Enjoy your cruise. 

[KKB]

Well behaved children are generally appreciated by ALL passengers on all lines.

In 2015 we sailed the Constellation with our children--DS21, DD17 & DS15.

It happened to be quite a "Spring Break" cruise with a number of FSU students on board. 

Our children generally spent most of their time with each other or with us. 

Always well behaved, they had a good time & other passengers commented on their behavior--apparently they had some less than ideal interactions with some Spring Breakers. We luckily did not.

 

Our children have cruised since the youngest was 5--DCL, RCCL, Princess & Celebrity.
I recently asked which was their fav/least fav. 

They said no least fav--that every cruise is great!

 

 

[DCPIV]

Like OP and others who've chimed in, we've cruised with our children numerous times and have had nothing but good experiences.  We started when the were 4 and 2, and they both now are college students.  They got plenty of good-natured attention (whether they wanted it or not). 

 

Personally, I enjoy seeing children while cruising as long as they behave within "acceptable levels of kid" (excellent phrase, @stinkyenglishteacher).  Of course, I'll say the same thing about adult passengers (who tend to behave outside acceptable levels of adult far more often).

 

Like a few others, my only real concern is vaccination.  I will assume that you have weighed your risks about that and have made an informed choice.  However, I would be prepared for a little more "judgment" or, at least, expression of some concern as there is no getting around the fact that your younger son will not be vaccinated.  I would expect that will make some number of fellow passengers uncomfortable, even those who have loved on your sons in the past, so it might be a good idea to be ready for that.

[KKB]

OP--a lot of comments about risk w/o vaccination.

Guess I'm assuming your boys are vaccinated...

[Unlvswezel]

Thanks all for the feedback. All very helpful. I would think that my boys are well behaved and operate in the “acceptable level of kids”. Don’t want their presence to sour anyone’s experience, likewise I don’t want others to sour theirs/mine. 
 

thanks again for your insight!

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

OP--a lot of comments about risk w/o vaccination.

Guess I'm assuming your boys are vaccinated...

AFAIK, there is no approved COVID-19 vaccine for 5 YO children in any country.

[KKB]

11 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

AFAIK, there is no approved COVID-19 vaccine for 5 YO children in any country.

MY BAD--I read too quickly & thought the children were 14 & 15 not 14 & 5...

OF COURSE the 5YO isn't vaccinated...

[markeb]

OP--I don't think your questions can be answered. The answers on this thread are all from experiences prior to March of 2020. And cruising is clearly NOT post-COVID.

 

Because of the media coverage of the first Edge cruising, I believe the report was of 2 children, ages not mentioned, on the ship. Cruise Critic at best is a non-statistical representation of the cruise community, and MOST posters on this board for months have not been very receptive to cruises where 100% of the passengers were vaccinated, which the 5 year old cannot be. I think the Celebrity cruising population is such that I wouldn't expect hostility, if that's even the right word, but I also wouldn't expect greetings with open arms. If the 15 year old is vaccinated with the wristband, probably few issues. I know there are newer Edge threads that I haven't looked at, so I don't know if the number of kids has increased, and what percentage are too young to be vaccinated. I'm not sure what two children did on the first Edge cruise; I would think they either had an amazing time in the kid's club, or were bored to tears.

 

I wish you luck. Everyone has their own risk/benefit decisions.

[Sunshine424]

We are sailing in August on the Edge and it will be my girls' 9th Celebrity cruise. We had 2 cancelled last year.  My kids love Celebrity.  Not sure what to expect this trip, but my kids have been warned it might be a more quiet cruise than normal (past Celebrity cruises have had about 400-500 kids on board).  They are happy if they have the pool, some excursions, drink package to get fun non alcoholic drinks, and like to explore the ship (they also have wifi package so they can text their friends).  Normally they love the camp at sea and their scavenger hunts, silent disco, robotics, etc.  They are 12 and 14 and are very excited.  We have been on various Celebrity cruises (British Isles, Caribbean 3x, Alaska 2x, Bermuda 2x) and have never had a bad time.  We have never had any negative comments and often guests have enjoyed sitting and talking with our kids.  In fact a number of told us they plan on bringing grandchildren the next time they sail after speaking with us.  We do travel only during summers or times like spring break when there are traditionally a lot of families, versus in school times.  I am hoping this cruise that the families on board will be mostly 12 and older but we will have fun regardless.  The Camp at sea staff are outstanding and we have sailed a few times with a number of the same staff, they always remember my girls and take outstanding care of them. 

 

[ch175]

3 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Trying to understand your thoughts on why you would you choose to take unvaccinated younger kids on a cruise and possibly expose them to COVID virus particularly from port stops?  

My kids (7th and 10th grade) were in school either part time or full time last year. We went out to eat in restaurants, traveled and stayed in hotels for baseball, went shopping, and lived life fairly normally. We took several vacations which required air travel.

 

Is there something about covid that makes it more contagious on a cruise ship or in foreign ports than it is in a school or in my home town? Especially when 90+% of the ship is vaccinated versus essentially 0 in the schools last year.

 

Sure, I would consider modifying activities in ports. Like maybe go to a beach or hiking ourselves rather than hanging out in crowded areas. But really, the risk to people under 18 is so low that I’m just not all that concerned especially if some additional thought is put into what we are actually doing when out and about.