Honest question: Why do parents take young kids on Celebrity?

[NMTraveller]

16 hours ago, CruisinShips said:

So why do parents with kids choose Celebrity?

Their kids have been bad.  Celebrity is their punishment. 🤣

 

OR

 

Maybe the parent's choices come first.

Edited February 21 by NMTraveller

[Shiba_Lover]

I don't have kids, but I think this would depend on the kids.  If you know what your kids would be more drawn to, that's the vibe you would choose.  If your kids like the atmosphere of water slides, amusement rides, running around, then Celebrity is a poor choice.  I've seen young kids on Celebrity reading and playing cards.  So probably RCCL would be a poor choice for them.  All depends on thinking about what the kids would enjoy too.

[duchesslt]

My kids were young teens when we went on Solstice to Alaska. Was the best vacation we ever had. The kids absolutely loved the ship and the incredible, crazy excursions we went on - like taking a helicopter to the top of a glacier to hang out with the sled dogs!

[CruisinShips]

Interesting responses to this topic.  I see many people said they have taken kids on Celebrity and they love it.  Of course, how could anyone not love a cruise!  I guess the follow-up question would be How many of those kids who love cruising on Celebrity had previously been on more kids-oriented cruises?

 

[Texed]

21 minutes ago, CruisinShips said:

 I guess the follow-up question would be How many of those kids who love cruising on Celebrity had previously been on more kids-oriented cruises?

 

 When our sons were young, we cruised on Celebrity most of the time.  But, I didn't want to be "that kind" of parent.  So, we did one of the Royal Caribbean cruises with all the whistles.  I endured it, and did not complain.  I wanted them to enjoy it.

 

When we got home, I asked them if they had a great time.  They said that they really liked it, but they liked Celebrity better.  🙄

Edited February 21 by Texed

[Salt Lifer]

30-40ish years ago, when I was a kid, our family vacation of choice was always cruising and we always sailed on Royal Caribbean.   Back then, RC was very similar to what Celebrity is now - a quieter crowd, a little more upscale than other lines, better food than the average line.  They had a limited amount of kids club activities, but that wasn't the focus.  Those cruises are some of my favorite childhood memories.  I took advantage of as many regular activities throughout the ship during the day as I could fit in, tried out lots of delicious and unusual food at night, swam in the pool whenever I could, went to the shows with my parents and enjoyed the singing and dancing, and loved exploring the islands we visited as a family.  It was fun and I was never bored.  Kids don't need water slides and gimmicks to have a good time on a cruise.  Frankly, I think we do our kids a disservice nowadays by making them believe everything has to be "kid friendly" and loud to be a fun experience, nor do kids need 24/7 entertainment.

 

My own kids are too young for me to want to take cruising, but when I do introduce them to the world of cruising I would not hesitate to consider Celebrity.

[GatorMomInNC]

1 hour ago, CruisinShips said:

Interesting responses to this topic.  I see many people said they have taken kids on Celebrity and they love it.  Of course, how could anyone not love a cruise!  I guess the follow-up question would be How many of those kids who love cruising on Celebrity had previously been on more kids-oriented cruises?

 

Well, as I mentioned, lots of Disney.   We love Disney, they just have aged out.  These days I take my nephew, who is under 10 still and he LOVES it.  Disney is especially good with special needs kids - ADHD, etc..  Staff is very patient and well trained. 

 

Carnival - A couple when kids were much younger - one of my kids hated the kids club. The other was fine with it.  

 

Holland American - when the kids were pretty young - again, younger one liked the kids clubs;  older one did not (I have since cruised HA on my own and love it!).   

 

Royal - just once, on my own last year, but never with my kids, although I had a couple booked but changed my mind.   My son would see pix and wanted to go on RCCL when he was younger, but just never panned out, I always would end up switching to Disney because the big RCCL ships did not appeal to me. 

 

NCL -one with kids when younger, and the last one with them both was about 2 years ago as teenagers.    They liked it the first time, but mainly they liked the cruise - we were in the Haven  and they liked the private pool - they didn't use kids club much (very port intensive Med cruise).    The more recent one, my youngest was old enough for teen club and that is all he wanted to do - made some great friends and had a wonderful time.  I have been on NCL a few times - the solo rates are good, but I really do NOT like the layouts of their ships. 

 

So the only one they BOTH have liked (in terms of kids clubs/experiences) is Disney and Celebrity.  My oldest is an adult now  (20) and he has told me he would go with me on a Disney cruise, but when I try to actually plan it, he won't commit to going on a Disney cruise with his mom 🤪

 

To be honest, I think your child's temperament has more to do with whether they like the kids clubs or not REGARDLESS of the cruise line.  My younger is social and easygoing, tends to like everything and makes friends easy.   (Him, when younger: "I made a new best friend today!" Me: "Great, what is his name?"  Him: "I don't know".)

 

My older is more introverted, he liked it when the kids clubs were not overcrowded and he found it easier to make friends in smaller social settings. 

[sofietucker]

26 minutes ago, Salt Lifer said:

30-40ish years ago, when I was a kid, our family vacation of choice was always cruising and we always sailed on Royal Caribbean.   Back then, RC was very similar to what Celebrity is now - a quieter crowd, a little more upscale than other lines, better food than the average line.  They had a limited amount of kids club activities, but that wasn't the focus.  Those cruises are some of my favorite childhood memories.  I took advantage of as many regular activities throughout the ship during the day as I could fit in, tried out lots of delicious and unusual food at night, swam in the pool whenever I could, went to the shows with my parents and enjoyed the singing and dancing, and loved exploring the islands we visited as a family.  It was fun and I was never bored.  Kids don't need water slides and gimmicks to have a good time on a cruise.  Frankly, I think we do our kids a disservice nowadays by making them believe everything has to be "kid friendly" and loud to be a fun experience, nor do kids need 24/7 entertainment.

 

My own kids are too young for me to want to take cruising, but when I do introduce them to the world of cruising I would not hesitate to consider Celebrity.

We spent a week in Vegas when I was 11, sibs were 8 and 6. We lived at the pool all day (mommy and daddy slept); had great dinners; went to shows every night--with Shirley Temples as our 3-drink minimum--and got the autographs of Danny Kaye, Red Skelton, etc. Fabulous!

[rcssmom]

We have taken our now adult children on various vacations when they were growing up.  We did everything from camping to cruising, beach vacations, Disney World and Europe.    They loved them all.  We love the fact that they love to travel and love to explore the world.  When we asked our oldest daughter to pick a trip for her family to go on she picked a cruise.  She remembers the fun we had and wants to share that with her daughters.  That is why people bring young kids on Celebrity.  I am a Celebrity Loyalist and would love for my granddaughters to love it too.  April can't come soon enough. 

 

Karen

[CruisinShips]

2 minutes ago, GatorMomInNC said:

To be honest, I think your child's temperament has more to do with whether they like the kids clubs or not REGARDLESS of the cruise line.  My younger is social and easygoing, tends to like everything and makes friends easy.   (Him, when younger: "I made a new best friend today!" Me: "Great, what is his name?"  Him: "I don't know".)

 

First of all, Go Gators!  Second of all, you're exactly right.  I was having this discussion with a young lawyer I work with who has two kids in their early teens.  They cruise often and his kids love the waterslides and the flow rider, etc.  He said his kids would laugh at him if he wanted to take them on a cruise without those things.  My guess is they will outgrow those things eventually, but it's kind of the reason I asked the initial question in this thread.  My wife and I are in our early/mid 60s and we used to cruise Royal but fell in love with Celebrity and won't go back.

[sofietucker]

Most memorable cruise involving kids--since we often cruise on lines (HAL, Azamara, Oceania) or seasons (school year) which tend to be child free, lol--was in the Med once, in Sept. On the Brilliance, before RCI got all fancy with slides, etc. Our MDR table for 8 was all English-speakers: from Ireland, England, Bermuda and the US. The folks from Sheffield had brought their 10-yr-old grandson along, for educational purposes, one of the very few kids onboard*. "His Lordship" was a delight! Well behaved, literate but not precocious, enthusiastic pleasant but not rowdy... He was willing to try new foods but "had" to have ice cream every meal, lol.

*For contrast was the family with 2 girls, whose father, when the maitre 'd initially attempted to seat them at our table, cried "But we don't KNOW those people!" We'd all dodged a bullet, according to His Lordship's reports on their shenanigans and spoilage...

Edited February 21 by sofietucker

[gold1953]

Often when you see a small child or 2 it is the spouse and children of some senior crew members

[Traveling Fools]

Our Daughter and Son-in-Law have been great about letting us take our granddaughter (14) and grandson (11) on both extended cross country RV trips and 7-15 day/night cruises. Our granddaughter being the oldest began cruising just shy of 2-years old on a San Diego to Miami Celebrity cruise.  SIL's mother has also taken them on cruises..all on Disney.

 

As they grow older, they are shying away from 6-8 week cross country RV trips.  There are too many other things they find more interesting to do and friends to hangout with.

 

Most of our cruises with them have been booked in NCL's Haven.  You know those ships with the slides and climbing walls.  The novelty of those amenities wore off after their first cruise on a ship that had them.  DGD has always been a fan of organized onboard youth clubs.  Because he has been to young to be in the same age group as his sister, DGS has wanted nothing to do with the ship's organized youth activities.  That is until this last cruise.  He tried it out and found he really had fun.

 

Here is what they like about cruising:

 

1. Dressing Up:  They both like dressing up for dinner.  On our last cruise with them in January of this year, DGS told us he likes dressing up for dinner on cruises because it is something different from everyday shoreside life.
2. Shore Excursions:  Because they get involved with the planning of shore excursions, they are stake holders in what we do and enjoy them more than they would being told what they were going to do.  They both like history and enjoy visiting ruins with a guide that can stroke their interest levels. 
3. On Board Entertainment: Both of them like attending the different types of shows featured on board.  It is something they both look forward to experiencing on a cruise.
4. Interaction With Both Kids their Age and With Adults: It goes without saying they seek out kids their own age to hang out with.  Many times they are kids from different backgrounds and countries.  DGS will climb into a hot tub filled with adults and engage them in conversation.  It isn't unusual to be told he is one of the most interesting kids they have ever met.

Because internet can be a hit or miss thing at sea, they do not spend much time with their face glued to their phones or playing internet required games.  It is one of those sacrifices they willing make to cruise.

[cruise47]

I feel some parents take their young children on Celebrity to introduce their children what cruising is all about. (A relaxing atmosphere, fine dining and excellent service by ship staff).

[Purplsmurf]

On 2/21/2024 at 12:23 PM, CruisinShips said:

Interesting responses to this topic.  I see many people said they have taken kids on Celebrity and they love it.  Of course, how could anyone not love a cruise!  I guess the follow-up question would be How many of those kids who love cruising on Celebrity had previously been on more kids-oriented cruises?

 

My kids were on Carnival, Princess, NCL, and Royal Caribbean (some more than once), before ever sailing on Celebrity. They were 15 and 13 on their first Celebrity cruise and said it was by far their favorite. They are now 26 and 24, still cruising, and still cruising Celebrity. They have not sailed any other cruise line since their first time on Celebrity 

[gcornell]

I think you are underestimating some kids. We have been traveling with our kids to remote, mostly adult destinations with no dedicated kids activities and no entertainment or other kids - Africa, scuba liveaboards, expedition cruises, etc.  Not once did they say they were bored, they interacted with other adults and are much smarter, mature and worldly as a result. In fact, we refuse to do normal family vacations. Boring!

[Peteymil]

On 2/20/2024 at 6:57 AM, CruisinShips said:

I'm not asking this because we dislike kids...but to the contrary.  Our recent Apex cruise we saw maybe 15 kids the whole time, and each time I couldn't help but think "those poor kids must be so bored".

 

So why do parents with kids choose Celebrity?

My kids (many years ago), and my grandkids (presently) all love Celebrity and were never bored.  They do not need all the bells and whistles to be happy. We swam, played tons of  games, had great meals, listened to music (and they had so much fun dancing), they loved silent disco, and just enjoyed being together.

[Bigdrinks]

I wonder if any children who prefer Celebrity over Royal Caribbean have ever asked their parents to take them to DisneyWorld? 🤔

Edited February 24 by Bigdrinks

[jean87510]

We have done Carnival and Royal Caribbean with our kids.  Will be doing MSC YC with daughter in June.  Never have done Celebrity with the kids but wish I had.  Here's why I would rather take kids on Celebrity.

 

1.  Better and longer itineraries

2.  No theme park in ship

3.  Less catering to families and more so to travelers.

4.  Less obsession with CocoCay for almost every itinerary from the east coast.  I can't stand this place.

 

My 5 kids have traveled with us for years going all over the US and Caribbean.  They liked the cruise ship activities but they always loved the ports where we did "cool" things with the rental cars, boat rentals...etc...  They never liked day passes at hotels for some reason.  They were all pretty active and outgoing and had no problems with what we scheduled.  I have showed them our pictures of the big Oasis class plus videos of Icon and asked would you guys have liked this?  My one son said honestly he never remembered what the ship had when he was young, just the islands we went to.  We have been on the smaller ships (carnival fantasy) which had I think 1 water slide, and on a sea day they just kept going down all day on the one slide.  That's all they needed.  They went to the kids clubs and had fun.  

I read a lot of parents posting on this site and others worried that their kids may not enjoy this ship or others because of activities.  Honestly, being the parent of 5, you don't have to think the ship is Disney and you have to do this and that and be stressed because there's no laser tag or zip line.  If the kids were with us instead of kid's club, we just said where do you guys want to hang out and do?, and that's what we did.  If they liked the buffet for dinner one night, we went there.  If they wanted to play mini golf for hours, we did that.  

[jean87510]

21 minutes ago, Bigdrinks said:

I wonder if any children who prefer Celebrity over Royal Caribbean have ever asked their parents to take them to DisneyWorld? 🤔

Since my kids are 21 through 33, they don't seem to be interested once they saw how much they would have to pay...😉

[gcornell]

41 minutes ago, Bigdrinks said:

I wonder if any children who prefer Celebrity over Royal Caribbean have ever asked their parents to take them to DisneyWorld? 🤔

My kids still love Disney and their favorite cruise line is Silver Sea. Go figure.