X to Bermuda no longer kid friendly

[pilewski]

I feel for you Pilewski. We had the same situation. We loved Zenith to Bermuda and have done it 4 times. Great ship, great crew, great food and a reasonable price. We have one 7 year old now and he loved the kids program on Zenith.

 

As a result of X having no family friendly ship leaving from the east coast in summer, we've switched over to Princess. Have you thought about the Crown Princess? It leaves from Brooklyn which is drivable for you. Of course, it's not the same exact itinerary as it only spends one day in Bermuda but it stops in Grand Turk, San Juan and St. Thomas.

 

I understand they have a great kids program and are family friendly. They seem close to X in many areas and they do offer traditional OR anytime dining. We like traditional and that sealed the deal for us. Besides, I'm dying to try their fettucine ;) .

 

If you cruise with kids you won't find much sympathy on this Board. Most X cruisers would like to see no kids on any of the X ships. Their answer seems to always be... if you have kids, then sail RCL. Well, what if you have kids but want fine food, excellent service and the extra nice touches that X provides?? If you like Celebrity I would never steer you to NCL.

 

From my research, it seems that Princess offers the closest thing to the Celebrity experience with the kid friendly aspect to it. I could be wrong but I'm willing to try it. :)

 

 

thanks. i will look into the princess trip. i don't think a majority of X cruisers dislike kids on the ship, although a small and very vocal group exists on these boards. i have been on many cruises and love the treatment i receive on celebrity. i enjoyed disney for what it was and i will be going again in february. the kids LOVED disney. there is just something special about celebrity, especially the butler service. and contrary to a previous post, celebrity has catered to kids in the past. the millenium class ships have a great kids area and program. the century class ships have a smaller area dedicated, but the staff is great. finally, we are not parents who "dump" our children off at 9 and pick them up at midnight, and i realize that there are only 2 days at sea on the bermuda trip. however, children need some entertainment and an opportunity to socialize with other kids in an organized setting. my oldest son, 7, has been on 6 cruises and loved each one. he always asks to see our videos and photos we took on them and vividly recalls the nightly shows and great food. my middle guy who is 4 has been on 3 cruises and feels the same way. i am simply venting my disappointment that i won't be able to enjoy my favorite way to spend my vacation this summer.

[Charles4515]

Charles:

 

I did the summer sailings because I wanted to take my kids to Bermuda. After they were older went back in May without them and had a great time with just wife and myself.

 

By the way, except for the running down the halls knocking on the cabin doors, I saw all the other things you mentioned on the ship being done by adults in Public. Did see an adult who thought it was funny to hit all the elevator buttons so I guess those activites are not exclusive to children...

 

On older ships like Zenith or Century even though there are childrens programs there are limited or no childrens areas and no adults only pools. So when there are a large amount of children it can get out of hand. On newer ships like Crown Princess they have large childrens areas and the have some adults only pools. I think that makes a big difference. I expect the two new mega Celebrity ships being built will have wonderful childrens areas and probably some kind of adults only area. And with more ships Celebrity might come back to the northeast with summer sailings. The Journey and Quest are very small ships designed for exotic sailings. I don't think anyone should read into Celebrity's plans that they are not going to be kid friendly.

 

As far as Bermuda, I think the options for all are becoming more limited, not just for kids. Most of the ships that have called at Hamilton and St. George are will be gone after this summer. Zenith, Horizon, Empress, Crown will be gone.

[ocngypz]

thanks. i will look into the princess trip. i don't think a majority of X cruisers dislike kids on the ship, although a small and very vocal group exists on these boards. i have been on many cruises and love the treatment i receive on celebrity. i enjoyed disney for what it was and i will be going again in february. the kids LOVED disney. there is just something special about celebrity, especially the butler service. and contrary to a previous post, celebrity has catered to kids in the past. the millenium class ships have a great kids area and program. the century class ships have a smaller area dedicated, but the staff is great. finally, we are not parents who "dump" our children off at 9 and pick them up at midnight, and i realize that there are only 2 days at sea on the bermuda trip. however, children need some entertainment and an opportunity to socialize with other kids in an organized setting. my oldest son, 7, has been on 6 cruises and loved each one. he always asks to see our videos and photos we took on them and vividly recalls the nightly shows and great food. my middle guy who is 4 has been on 3 cruises and feels the same way. i am simply venting my disappointment that i won't be able to enjoy my favorite way to spend my vacation this summer.

 

 

The Crown Princess has no triples available this summer. Even double occupancy, the summer is just about sold out. I suggest you try the 9 night Explorer sailings out of Bayonne. Or NCL's Crown out of Manhattan to Bermuda.

[dakodacruiser]

I for one am a loyal Celebrity fan and I love to see family's on the ship's. This is what life is about. I am so impressed when I see family's with multiple generation's on a cruise . Why shouldn't they be on a Celebrity ship? To paraphrase another argument "it is their vacation too" You know when you see a misbehaved child it is not the child at fault. It is the parent at fault after all. I understand that some folks do not enjoy children as much as we do but they should avoid cruising during children's vacation times. Not make cruises adult only my heaven's that would be very sad indeed.

[ocngypz]

I for one am a loyal Celebrity fan and I love to see family's on the ship's. This is what life is about. I am so impressed when I see family's with multiple generation's on a cruise . Why shouldn't they be on a Celebrity ship? To paraphrase another argument "it is their vacation too" You know when you see a misbehaved child it is not the child at fault. It is the parent at fault after all. I understand that some folks do not enjoy children as much as we do but they should avoid cruising during children's vacation times. Not make cruises adult only my heaven's that would be very sad indeed.

 

 

The Xpedition, Journey and Quest are not family-oriented ships. They are called Xpedition Class vessels. With the exception of Bermuda, they feature more exotic itineraries, longer itineraries and more creature comforts to attract the ageing well-traveled boomer population. These are niche market ships.

[dkjretired]

On older ships like Zenith or Century even though there are childrens programs there are limited or no childrens areas and no adults only pools. So when there are a large amount of children it can get out of hand. On newer ships like Crown Princess they have large childrens areas and the have some adults only pools. I think that makes a big difference. I expect the two new mega Celebrity ships being built will have wonderful childrens areas and probably some kind of adults only area. And with more ships Celebrity might come back to the northeast with summer sailings. The Journey and Quest are very small ships designed for exotic sailings. I don't think anyone should read into Celebrity's plans that they are not going to be kid friendly.

 

As far as Bermuda, I think the options for all are becoming more limited, not just for kids. Most of the ships that have called at Hamilton and St. George are will be gone after this summer. Zenith, Horizon, Empress, Crown will be gone.

 

Zenith and Horizon did not have big dedicated areas as they were built as cruising was starting to become popular with families. Century had the first decent size childrens area and they have grown bigger as the ships got bigger. My kids were on Century about two months after she was came into service.

[Tatka]

I did one in July on Century and learned a lesson, don't book when the kids are out of school. Some of the teenagers were puking all over the ship and some were having sex on the outside decks late at night. Also the little kids were running up and down the halls all night knocking on cabin doors. Hmm. Maybe that is why Celebrity doesn't have summer Caribbean sailings anymore!

 

We are driving from Century cruise... our last Century cruise was in July 2003. We definitely didn't see any puking and teenage sex anywhere on the ship even though we were walking over the ship at night picking our son from teen club.

 

It was very classy trip and kids and teens were absolutely not a problem!

[Guienevere_Arianette]

Very true. That is why I avoided the July and August summer sailings to Bermuda. And the Celebrity summer sailings to the Caribbean too. I did one in July on Century and learned a lesson, don't book when the kids are out of school. Some of the teenagers were puking all over the ship and some were having sex on the outside decks late at night. Also the little kids were running up and down the halls all night knocking on cabin doors. Hmm. Maybe that is why Celebrity doesn't have summer Caribbean sailings anymore!

 

You're kidding, right? I didn't realize this happened on such an "upscale" line...is this common?

[JCDeck]

You're kidding, right? I didn't realize this happened on such an "upscale" line...is this common?

 

Very.

[Karynanne]

You're kidding, right? I didn't realize this happened on such an "upscale" line...is this common?

 

Being an "upscale" cruiseline really has nothing to do with children and teen's behavior. This could happen on any line...and probably does.

 

I like how Celebrity is targeting some of it's fleet as adult oriented. A few years ago, they had "Adults Only" cruises. Apparently this program wasn't successful, or they would have continued it...but my point is, that there are cruises for everyone's taste and lifestyle.

 

If Celebrity doesn't fit your needs, then RCL or another line may be a better choice.

 

Karyn

[Tatka]

You're kidding, right? I didn't realize this happened on such an "upscale" line...is this common?

 

It's still very much upscale line comparing to other massmarket lines we sailed on... Even on 5 day cruises. I wouldn't dare to sail 5-dayer on Carnival or even RCCL.

[JCDeck]

It's still very much upscale line comparing to other massmarket lines we sailed on... Even on 5 day cruises. I wouldn't dare to sail 5-dayer on Carnival or even RCCL.

 

 

Bingo.

[Bruin Steve]

This past summer, I cruised on the Oceania Nautica, a sister ship t the Quest and Journey...

 

Of course, Oceania had no kids program on these ships either...but there were some families with kids on board...I don't think I would have taken young kids...as you noted, there is nothing specifically aimed at them...

 

But I also really don't think it was as much Celebrity's choice as it is the nature and design ofthe ship itself and the economics involved...

 

The ship is only 30,000 gross tons--approximately one-third the size of the M-Class ships...it carries only around 700 passengers...

 

The "public areas" are equally down-scaled. The ships do not have a large "showroom", really only one medium-sized lounge--which houses whatever nightly entertainment there is. Thre is only a single pool up top...the rest of the public areas are the dining room, the buffet and two small "specilty restaurants" and a few small bars and a small casino...and a very small lobby/purser/shore excursion desk area...

 

You cannot delete any of the restaurants as the seating is needed to accommodate all 700 guests...You can't eliminate the casino--too big a profit center and a necessity for a lot of guests...the bars include a smallone outside the casino and one at the entrance to the dining room...

 

IOW, there's really nothing you can eliminate to replace it with a kids lounge or playroom...And there's little economic wisdom to dedicating any of the limited space to a specific use such as a childrens' area when, with only 700 passengers at a time and a fairly exotic itinerary, the chances of having any large group of kids to service are pretty low...And there's no way, as on some ships, to give them their own pool either...

 

I think the answer, for the corporation, is that they still have RCCL ships--under the same corporate umbrella-- which also go to Bermuda and still have kids programs...

[Charles4515]

We are driving from Century cruise... our last Century cruise was in July 2003. We definitely didn't see any puking and teenage sex anywhere on the ship even though we were walking over the ship at night picking our son from teen club.

 

It was very classy trip and kids and teens were absolutely not a problem!

 

For some reason the parents never see it :-)

 

I had never seen anything that extreame on a cruise before, and have not seen it since that sailing, which had over 600 kids on the ship. I was surprised because of Celebrity's classy reputation. Since I did not have any kids on board I took it as part of the entertainement but I was surprised that the parents let the kids have the run of the ships and seemed oblivious to what was happening. I think a lot of parents don't want to know but also those things probably happen when the number of children gets to a tipping point where the worst ones influence the others.

[Charles4515]

You're kidding, right? I didn't realize this happened on such an "upscale" line...is this common?

 

I am not kidding. I was quite surprised, it was unexpected, and it was an unforgetable cruise because of it.

[rebeccalouise]

On older ships like Zenith or Century even though there are childrens programs there are limited or no childrens areas and no adults only pools. So when there are a large amount of children it can get out of hand. On newer ships like Crown Princess they have large childrens areas and the have some adults only pools. I think that makes a big difference. I expect the two new mega Celebrity ships being built will have wonderful childrens areas and probably some kind of adults only area. And with more ships Celebrity might come back to the northeast with summer sailings. The Journey and Quest are very small ships designed for exotic sailings. I don't think anyone should read into Celebrity's plans that they are not going to be kid friendly.

 

As far as Bermuda, I think the options for all are becoming more limited, not just for kids. Most of the ships that have called at Hamilton and St. George are will be gone after this summer. Zenith, Horizon, Empress, Crown will be gone.

 

I know that Century does have a decided Fun Factory. It is located on one of the lower decks. There was always a Youth Program on Century and since the Refurbishment, Century actually doubled the size of the Fun Factory. I take note of these things as a parent.

 

I believe Quest and Journey are going to attract the same clinetelle that attracts Oceania. Many Celebrity fans won't jump ship and pay the prices for the Journey and Quest cruises. I know I won't. These ships are going to be small and intimate and offer a higher level of service- also more expensive drink and spa prices. They won't be for the faint of pocketbook.

 

Most of the passengers are going to be older on Quest and Journey and you probably will have plenty of free lounge chairs and an empty pool and hot tubs.

[Charles4515]

I know that Century does have a decided Fun Factory. It is located on one of the lower decks. There was always a Youth Program on Century and since the Refurbishment, Century actually doubled the size of the Fun Factory. I take note of these things as a parent.

 

I believe Quest and Journey are going to attract the same clinetelle that attracts Oceania. Many Celebrity fans won't jump ship and pay the prices for the Journey and Quest cruises. I know I won't. These ships are going to be small and intimate and offer a higher level of service- also more expensive drink and spa prices. They won't be for the faint of pocketbook.

 

Most of the passengers are going to be older on Quest and Journey and you probably will have plenty of free lounge chairs and an empty pool and hot tubs.

 

When I sailed on Century the children's area looked pretty small and limited. That was before the refurb. I don't think teens had a seperate place. The newer ships have a lot more youth areas. A ship like Crown Princess or Explorer of the Seas would be better for youth. These mega ships also have basketball and mini-golf, and on Royal, inline skating and rock climbing.

 

I have the Journey booked. It did not break my wallet. I did think it was going to be too expensive but it turned out we found a good deal. I doubt if the pool and hot tubs will be empty. I hope there are plenty of chairs. I am going with seven others who have cruised together before of varied ages, none of us is retired, and our little group includes a 13 year old.

[dkjretired]

I am not kidding. I was quite surprised, it was unexpected, and it was an unforgetable cruise because of it.

 

I saw it with adults, does that make it okay....

[Zenithfan]

On the Celebrity web site ( one of the worst. You can't find less information anywhere. ) there's not one mention that the youth program isn't available on any ship. Even Xpedition. If you read the youth program section, it gives the impression that all ships offer it. ( it only says pagers are not available on Century, Galaxy and Mercury.

This has to change. They need to put the information up there.

[dkjretired]

When I sailed on Century the children's area looked pretty small and limited. That was before the refurb. I don't think teens had a seperate place. The newer ships have a lot more youth areas. A ship like Crown Princess or Explorer of the Seas would be better for youth. These mega ships also have basketball and mini-golf, and on Royal, inline skating and rock climbing.

 

I have the Journey booked. It did not break my wallet. I did think it was going to be too expensive but it turned out we found a good deal. I doubt if the pool and hot tubs will be empty. I hope there are plenty of chairs. I am going with seven others who have cruised together before of varied ages, none of us is retired, and our little group includes a 13 year old.

 

Century was the first Celebrity ship to have a purpose built childrens area. I remember going to the preview in NYC prior to her sailing in the Caribbean and they were very proud of the childrens areas. It was one of the biggest at the time the ship was built. They had the Sony games as Sony was one of the first named sponsors I saw on a ship. They also had basketball courts at the back of the ship.

[Charles4515]

I saw it with adults, does that make it okay....

 

I never saw it with adults onboard but I did not expect to see teens doing that onboard in public, even though you know that teens may be doing that in private. It was startling. I would not expect to see adults doing it in public either but it would be a different reaction.

[Charles4515]

On the Celebrity web site ( one of the worst. You can't find less information anywhere. ) there's not one mention that the youth program isn't available on any ship. Even Xpedition. If you read the youth program section, it gives the impression that all ships offer it. ( it only says pagers are not available on Century, Galaxy and Mercury.

This has to change. They need to put the information up there.

 

They certainly have created some ambiguity about these ships. I really do think a lot will not be clarified until after the first few sailings. And some of that will probably be changed. I think it is pretty good conjecture if you consider the small size of the ships, the history of the ships, and look at the deck plans, that there is not going to be much of a youth program. Even the adult activities are going to be limited compared to larger ships.

[JCDeck]

I never saw it with adults onboard but I did not expect to see teens doing that onboard in public, even though you know that teens may be doing that in private. It was startling. I would not expect to see adults doing it in public either but it would be a different reaction.

 

Man, I must be going on all the wrong cruises...I never saw any sex out in the ship. What gives? These obviously must be special cruises. Everybody is seeing it, Teens, young people, old people, whoever.. Does Celebrity advertise these?

[Tatka]

IMHO, if you don't want to see kids or teens in common areas - make larger youth areas, but limit booking with kids. That what Princess does. We sailed on Caribbean Princess with 3100 pax double occupancy and hardly saw any kids ( I think there was around 400-500). There was huge facilities for kids, even with own pools. Teens had their own place and events up to 1 am!

 

On Century everything ended for the teens at 11 pm... :(

[lvz2cruz]

Celebrity is our favorite cruiseline and for years we have not even looked at other lines. With the loss of Horizon and Zenith, we are trying NCL Majesty to Bermuda. I am going expecting to have a great time, knowing it will not be the Celebrity experience I know and love.

We have 3 children who have cruised with us all but once. We all love X and are not interested in RCL, Carnival, etc. We probably love X for the same reasons those without kids do and avoid the other lines for the same reasons.