Marketing to families and kids

[MomC]

I just got something from Crystal which is all about attracting families with children—touting their kids program.  YIKES!  I go on smaller, higher end cruise lines to avoid screaming, misbehaving children.  Not that all children misbehave, but the vibe on a ship with children is different than ships of just adults.  I have a cruise planned for next June in Europe and I hope I won’t see lots of families.

 How do the rest of you feel and are you seeing children on the two ships now?  I travel solo and just got a list of cruises with no single supplement from Regent.  I now need to decide if I still remain with Crystal—which has always been a favorite of mine—or switch to Regent where I have maybe seen a total of 5 children in over 10 cruises with them.  I do not hate children—I was a teacher for 25 years— I just prefer to not have them on my cruises.

[Keith1010]

New Crystal like old Crystal markets to solos, couples and families.

 

They still have children's rooms on each ship.

 

On certain itineraries you are more apt to see children and that includes Holiday Cruises particularly when it sails the Caribbean and also Alaska sailings in the summer.  We sailed in Europe last Summer with Crystal and there were not many children on each sailing.  But the good news is unlike many of the luxury lines they have those children's rooms and if there are a certain number of children on board they will bring on Junior Activity Directors.  

 

I really doubt you will see many families particularly in June and in Europe.

 

Keith

[John Cruise]

Totally agree about children on Crystal.

Children under the age of 13 are bored to tears.

Disney Cruises is perfect for young kids.

That is just my opinion.

JC

[MomC]

Thank you for your replies.  I now have a decision to make.  Love Crystal but also love Regent.

[BWIVince]

I just wanted to reiterate what Keith mentioned.  Families haven't been a huge market for Crystal historically, but they HAVE actively marketed to them since day 1.  My first cruise on Crystal was as a kid back when Harmony was brand spanking new, and the children's program was essentially marketed in the same way it is today.  So, status quo, but Crystal hasn't been and probably won't be an adults-only line anytime soon, even though they can be without intention on many sailings.

 

Vince

Edited May 8 by BWIVince

[nnn]

We have brought our kids on two Crystal cruises, largely because there was a kids program available.  I don't think you need to worry, however.  First, there aren't a lot of kids in total on these cruises -- some more than others.  The kids that are on board, in my experience, tend to be well behaved.  It's a similar demographic to a Four Seasons Resort, IME.

[Texas Tillie]

I have been on Crystal cruises with 0 to 100 "children". The 100 was a 7 day, Thanksgiving week, round trip Los Angeles, and the majority of the 100 were 10 - 17 and this was 16 years ago. And I had no issues with the children on that cruise or any others. With the reduced capacity on the ships and the increased fares, I certainly don't see that happening again. For anyone having a problem, I think the answer is any line that doesn't allow children. Other than Viking, are there any?

 

Patty

 

 

 

 

[saminina]

8 hours ago, MomC said:

I now need to decide if I still remain with Crystal—which has always been a favorite of mine—.

Why worry?     Do you really think an ad will change the Crystal demographic?  

"Honey, look what we received from Crystal today.  Maybe we should take the kids on our next cruise."   If it happens, it ain't because of a recent ad campaign.

[Keith1010]

12 hours ago, MomC said:

Thank you for your replies.  I now have a decision to make.  Love Crystal but also love Regent.

So now I think I am confused. If you love Crystal than new Crystal is certainly not any different than you had experienced when it comes to children. I just don't see you having many children in June in Europe.  If you do have children it will likely be a handful based on my experiences sailing Europe in June or anytime in the Summer with Crystal.

 

Keith

[Cancun01]

If it were me I wouldn’t be too concerned.  We were on a holiday cruise where there were 187 children. We didn’t see any screaming kids.  Any children that we interacted with were polite and delightful;  even the two young (11-12)  future entrepreneurs who were charging a $1 for the New Year’s party favours they were asked to hand out by the cruise director!!! I may be wrong but IMO the introduction of the new Icon of the Seas and other ships with all the bells and whistles and “kids sail free” promotions will be more attractive to families in the summer.  

[Keith1010]

12 hours ago, John Cruise said:

Totally agree about children on Crystal.

Children under the age of 13 are bored to tears.

Disney Cruises is perfect for young kids.

That is just my opinion.

JC

I normally would let this go but I don't agree with a blanket statement that says children being bored to tears.  

 

Full disclosure. We brought our adult children and at the time three grandchildren on board Serenity on a seven day California Coastal Cruise in 2017.  The family had a wonderful time. The crew was fabulous as they always are and that included being wonderful with the grandchildren.  The grandchildren had a wonderful time. I look back at the photos and they put a smile on my face.  

 

We celebrated a special wedding anniversary and renewed our wedding vows on the ship. One might we had two crew members who babysit watch the grand children and they were superb. We were very respectful of others and didn't take the grandchildren to specialty restaurants.

 

Is sailing on a luxury line for all grandchildren? No. Is it for all adults? No.  The same goes for just about everything IMHO.

 

Anyway, if someone wants a guarantee not to sail wit any children I believe there are a couple of lines for that.  And finally several years ago I sailed on another luxury line in Alaska and the ship had a lot of children on board. The difference is that they had no special rooms for the children nor did they have any programs and the ship was smaller than a Crystal vessel so that experience was a lot different from any other one I had experienced on a luxury line.

 

Keith

[parallax]

We took our daughter on a 10 Crystal cruise several years ago.  There might have been 15-20 kids on the cruise total.  Still to this day, it is her favorite cruise of all time and she has been on 15+ cruises.   The programming for the children is great, especially for the days at sea.  She also loved the food and the staff.  With port intensive cruises, children will be even less visible as they will be off the ship touring.

[KenzSailing]

On 5/8/2024 at 1:21 PM, Texas Tillie said:

I think the answer is any line that doesn't allow children. Other than Viking, are there any?

 

Patty

 

 

 

 

 

Virgin.

[dimundsR]

I'm presently on Symphony and during dinner in Osteria, there was a young family there who had 2 or 3 very young children with them.  Didn't catch how many as they were tucked into a corner behind me.  However, every once in a while, one of them screeched as young children do and it was an interruption to our conversation.  They could have gone to a more appropriate restaurant. There are other options available for children if the parents wish to have a special dinner.  Just my observation.  OK, let it rain . . . . .

[Txcotn]

Tolerance.

[Tapi]

On 5/8/2024 at 12:12 PM, MomC said:

YIKES!  I go on smaller, higher end cruise lines to avoid screaming, misbehaving children.  Not that all children misbehave, but the vibe on a ship with children is different than ships of just adults.

I don't think that you have much to worry about it. It's been my experience that the families that "adult oriented" cruise lines attract are considerably different than the families that sail on "family friendly" cruise lines. Also, they tend to be a minuscule percentage of passengers onboard. 

 

Although there may be exceptions, children of families that sail on upscale cruise lines tend to be much more traveled and aware of proper etiquette and social behavior. If you even notice these children, chances are that they'll be with their parents, behaving, and you wont see hordes of them running around the ship unsupervised and terrorizing other passengers.

Edited May 9 by Tapi

[ivyleaguegent]

On 5/8/2024 at 12:12 PM, MomC said:

I just got something from Crystal which is all about attracting families with children—touting their kids program.  YIKES!  I go on smaller, higher end cruise lines to avoid screaming, misbehaving children.  Not that all children misbehave, but the vibe on a ship with children is different than ships of just adults.  I have a cruise planned for next June in Europe and I hope I won’t see lots of families.

 How do the rest of you feel and are you seeing children on the two ships now?  I travel solo and just got a list of cruises with no single supplement from Regent.  I now need to decide if I still remain with Crystal—which has always been a favorite of mine—or switch to Regent where I have maybe seen a total of 5 children in over 10 cruises with them.  I do not hate children—I was a teacher for 25 years— I just prefer to not have them on my cruises.

I was on the Regent in March for a 7 day Caribbean cruise (A mistake I will never make again) and, according to the staff, there were approximately 50 kids on board, most under 12.  At least 10 were awful throughout the cruise, screaming, yelling, doing cannonballs in the pool, and were so misbehaved that the cruise director had to ask the families to control their kids on several occasions. I realize that it was unwise to book a 7 day Caribbean cruise during spring break so I blame myself. 

[Texas Tillie]

1 hour ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Virgin.

 

Isn't that a line aimed at a much younger, party crowd, very different from the usual Crystal demographic?

 

Patty

[KenzSailing]

16 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

Isn't that a line aimed at a much younger, party crowd, very different from the usual Crystal demographic?

 

Patty

 

That's their marketing image.  The reality, from everything I've researched,

is a lot of folks in their mid 40s to mid 50s, and older.  Take a look at their prices and that cuts into the (really)younger demo.

 

You know, kind like the photos of the "pax" in any lux cruise line's brochures. 

[Texas Tillie]

1 hour ago, KenzSailing said:

 

That's their marketing image.  The reality, from everything I've researched,

is a lot of folks in their mid 40s to mid 50s, and older.  Take a look at their prices and that cuts into the (really)younger demo.

 

You know, kind like the photos of the "pax" in any lux cruise line's brochures. 

 

With 2770 passengers, I'd say Virgin wouldn't be an option for the Crystal demographic, for sure not THIS Crystal demographic. 🤪Patty

[KenzSailing]

15 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

With 2770 passengers, I'd say Virgin wouldn't be an option for the Crystal demographic, for sure not THIS Crystal demographic. 🤪Patty

 

I appreciate that, and I'm certainly not saying that's it's anything close to a reverse image of the traditional lux lines.  They just seem to be doing a very good job at what they do.  Anyway, I was just originally replying that they are another 18+ cruise line.  

[mariners]

MomC, I'm not sure that Regent will be a better option for a child free cruise.  About 18 years ago, we took our grandchildren (3 and 7) on a multi-generational family cruise on Regent.  There were not a lot of children onboard at that time, but still enough that they started a children's program onboard.  Since that time, to my knowledge, Regent has advertised and provided programming for children on specific cruises (school holidays, specific itineraries, etc.). 

 

On Regent, Seabourn, and Crystal, we have always had children onboard.   As others have stated, if you want to ensure that there are no children onboard, a "child free" cruise line is the best option.  Only you know what is/are the most important criteria for you.  If it's child free, your options are currently limited.

 

Happy sailing whatever you choose.

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, dimundsR said:

They could have gone to a more appropriate restaurant. There are other options available for children if the parents wish to have a special dinner.

 

Curious question.  If the parents are having a "special dinner" in Osteria, just a) where are the kids dining, and b) who is supervising/caring for them?

 

I assume that you weren't volunteering.  And Crystal does not provide babysitting services.  So just what are you suggesting?

 

 

[fisherboe]

As far as I know, the only guaranteed way to avoid kids onboard is to sail Viking or Virgin. Our last Regent cruise had about 20 kids on board. The crazy thing was that many of the kids were delightful and very well behaved. Many of the adults, not so much. 

[Keith1010]

My experience is that I rarely have dine at Osteria (or when it was Prego) or Umi Uma where there were young children.  It' not just that they are specialty restaurants but it's not the type of cuisine that is appealing to many children.  Instead Waterside, and Tastes is where most would dine.

 

As to options:

 

You can arrange for a babysitter(s) to watch the children.  We did this one night when we had a Vintage Room with our adult children while we had two babysitters from Crystal watch the grandchildren.

 

And some children are on board with their extended families. So one night we had dinner with the children in our room while our adult children and their spouses went to a specialty restaurant.  I know others who have done the same thing.

 

Like I said, on many cruises you will see no children or just a handful. Exceptions are Summer in place such as Alaska and over Thanksgiving and Holiday cruises if the ship is sailing places such as the Caribbean.  But you will see children on other lines as we did in Alaska on another luxury line. The difference is that ship had no facilities for children nor an junior counselors.

 

There are a few lines that don't have children but they are not luxury lines. I am not knocking that.

 

The original poster said Europe in June.  I suspect very few children on board and no different than other luxury lines. JMO.

 

Happy Cruising.

 

Keith