Just got back from 7-day Celebrity Infinity cruise with 4 kids under 7

[merela]

I will be happy to answer any questions you have about the cruise and cruising with children. Now that I have experience with Princess and Celebrity cruises, I can be a better judge of both cruiselines in term of children.

 

It'll be a few days before I can put together a review of our cruise trip.

 

Weather permitting, Icy Straight Point is the most child-friendly port of call. My kids had tons of fun there.

[mpb43]

Hi Merela,

We are planning a cruise to Alaska in 2009, and I am undecided about Princess compared to Celebrity. At this point, we are leaning toward Celebrity. Our kids will be 13, 11, and 6 at the time of sailing.

What were you initial impressions? Did you do a land tour as well?

Thanks!

[sewolverine]

We are also planning a cruise to Alaska in 2009. Our kids will be 7 and 10 at the time of the cruise. I'm wondering how the kids clubs are, and if there is an in-door family pool on any of the cruises that you have been on?

 

I heard that Celebrity requires formal wear in all public areas on formal night. Is that true? We like to get into our casual clothes after dinner.

[Luxuriate]

We have cruised Celebrity many times and really enjoy it. We now have a little one in tow. Will he be treated great by the crew, passengers, and kids area?

 

We are older, I'm 37 and hubby is 62. We want a relaxing cruise but still want our little guy (currently 2 1/2 years old) to enjoy himself too.

 

I can't wait for your Celebrity review. Please focus on the kids activities and the amount of "fun" they had attending.

 

Thanks, Cheryl

[merela]

Hi Merela,

We are planning a cruise to Alaska in 2009, and I am undecided about Princess compared to Celebrity. At this point, we are leaning toward Celebrity. Our kids will be 13, 11, and 6 at the time of sailing.

What were you initial impressions? Did you do a land tour as well?

Thanks!

 

After 4 Princess cruises (one to Alaska) and the recent Infinity cruise, here

is what I thought of the differences between the two:

 

ROOMS: Although we have always stayed in inside cabins, I think from looking at the floor plans of different rooms, my comments about the inside cabins may apply to other category of cabins, except maybe the suites. Although the sq ft of Princess inside rooms are smaller compared to Infinity's inside rooms, Princess rooms offer more storage space. We were staying in a room that sleeps 5 (with a pull out sofa), we had no space to put our suitcases, so I put them under our bed.

 

We had 2 small children (5 and 7), so the inside rooms are OK for us, but your children are older, so you may want to consider a room for the adults and a room for the children because older children pack more clothes.

 

SWIMMING: No swimming for kids under 18 in the inside pool on the Celebrity. So it's impossible to swim in Infinity's outdoor pool--too cold. The water is also salty sea water, so my kids wouldn't have liked it. So my kids missed Princess' pools. That was a biggie for my kids. Usually, this wouldn't matter if the ports of call are beach cities, but for Alaskan cruises, one would be expected to swim on the ship. So if your kids expect to swim, Celebrity is not the right cruise line for you.

 

LAUNDRY: Although no one wants to do laundry on a ship, I think it's a necessity if one does not want to overpack or if one has children. Princess has self-service coin-operated laundry service and Celebrity has no self-service laundry. But Celebrity's drycleaning is very cheap. You may want to consider bringing your suits and silk dresses that you had no time to send to your regular drycleaners to be dry-cleaned on Celebrity. My husband dry-cleaned his suit for $7, but since we didn't think to do this until the last day on the cruise, there was a 50% additional charge for same day service. That was still cheaper than our drycleaner in LA.

 

FOOD: Celebrity food is better than Princess. But food is very subjective, so it's hard to give a objective opinion. Food is also based on the chefs on board. I've been on Princess cruises that the food was exceptional and other Princess cruises was just OK. For example, on Infinity, 3-4 main entree out of 5 are usually very good, some excellent. On Princess, maybe 1-2 main entrees are very good. Infinity's meat dishes are just exceptional, but it's seafood dishes (except for the salads) are just OK. I think for our sailing, they were unable to procure good seafood. Even their lobster tail was just OK.

 

KIDS' CLUB: I think both are about the same. Infinity has LeapFrog games because it had a contract with LeapFrog. I don't think Princess has that. The games are about the same if your children participates. For older children, it's who they meet on board that matters, not what kind of activities are offered. Just a side note, I did not like the head of Fun Factory--Christy from Peru. It was just my personal opinion and I can't put my finger on what made me dislike this person. Fortunately, everyone else working under her were just great and wonderful. Maybe that's why the kids' program on Infinity seemed less organized. I don't like it when I see typos and mistakes on the kids' daily program/patters. But there were a lot of that on our Celebrity Kids' program. Someone is not proof-reading their work.

 

PORTS OF CALL: We didn't do any organized tours or excursions. We did it on our own because our kids are younger and are not interested in any "culture" or "sightseeing". So Icy Straight Point turned out to be the funnest with the accessible rock/pebble beach and the nature/forest trails. It was beautiful and fun. The weather was wonderful too there. I don't know if Princess goes to Icy Straight Point. It's a cruise company made port, but it's surprisingly unspoiled by tourists yet.

 

In Juneau, we took the kids souvenir shopping. I gave each child $5 and let them free in Alaska T-shirt Company which is just a street across from where we docked. We didn't go to Mendenhall glacier because we went there last time, but you can easily do this on your own by taking the $6 each way bus.

 

In Ketchikan, we just did the suggested walk in Alaska Tour book and walked up to the Hatchery and saw the creek. Unfortunately, we did not see any salmon jumping upstream in July. Our last Alaskan cruise in late August, the salmon were in huge abundance. Also bring rain gear for Ketchikan. It was raining very hard and difficult for my children to walk in the rain. They like the rain, but it was just harder to walk the streets. We are from Los Angeles, so rain is special.

 

PRICES: Infinity to Alaska has been always the most expensive out of all cruises to Alaska. So Princess' Alaskan cruises are generally cheaper than Celebrity cruises.

 

Post if you have more specific questions.

[merela]

We are also planning a cruise to Alaska in 2009. Our kids will be 7 and 10 at the time of the cruise. I'm wondering how the kids clubs are, and if there is an in-door family pool on any of the cruises that you have been on?

 

I heard that Celebrity requires formal wear in all public areas on formal night. Is that true? We like to get into our casual clothes after dinner.

 

There were 3 levels of dressing for dinner on the Infinity--casual, informal, and formal. If you are travelling with your family and sitting together at the same table every night, then it wouldn't really matter what you wear, just don't wear t-shirts, flip flops, jeans and shorts to the dining room during formal nights. But I think as long as you are dressed "nicely", you can probably wear pretty much anything. Our experience on the Princess is similar too, but we were always travelling with our own family, so as long as we didn't wear jeans, we can pretty much get away with wearing anything that you would wear to a nice restaurant.

 

I got my 5YO son a suit jacket at Target when it was on sale after Easter and I put it together with a black dress pants from another outfit. Then I got a dress shirt and tie combination from Sears and that was his formal wear. For informal nights, I had him wear regular pants (not jeans) and button-down shirts from Gymboree. My7YO daughter wore spaghetti strap dresses and a narrow dress with princess sleeves. No puffy Easter dresses for her anymore! She thought that was too baby-ish for her. I usually stock up after Easter for its fancy dress clearances. For informal nights, I just put her in skirt/top ensemble. But after dinner, we all changed into regular/comfortable clothes and shoes to see the shows and roam the hallway. No one said anything to us.

 

I don't think there were a big difference between the dress codes and how people dress on our Infinity sailing compared to our Princess sailings.

I think this is because there were mostly families on our ships. There were many families with 5 -8 children. I think there must have been a huge meeting for large-family groups or a large family reunion, so everyone dressed in their Sunday best and nothing fancy. Of course there were people in long gowns, but even those were very sedate.

 

So I think the strict dress code is not as strict as other stated. During summer months, you get lots of kids on the ship, so it's nice to dress up your kids if they want to, but if they don't want to, it's no big deal.

[merela]

We have cruised Celebrity many times and really enjoy it. We now have a little one in tow. Will he be treated great by the crew, passengers, and kids area?

 

We are older, I'm 37 and hubby is 62. We want a relaxing cruise but still want our little guy (currently 2 1/2 years old) to enjoy himself too.

 

I can't wait for your Celebrity review. Please focus on the kids activities and the amount of "fun" they had attending.

 

Thanks, Cheryl

 

The crew will always treat children with equal respect. But other passengers are hard to say. The key is how you behave if your child "mis-behaves" in public places. I usually remove my kids from public areas as soon as they start mis-behaving (crying, uncooperative, etc...) and back to our room. I'm always constantly telling them not to run, not to talk too loud, or not to laugh too loud, etc... but sometimes, it's still hard to control.

 

One day, we were coming back to our room from the kids' club. I had 4 kids with me (not all mine). Since my kids knew the way back to our room, they were running ahead to get back to our cabin. They skipped down 2 flights of stairs and ran towards our cabin down the Sky deck corridor. I didn't ran after them, but I did walk fast following them. We didn't come upon anyone until 3 doors from our cabin when a man in his late 30s scolded me for letting the kids run in corridors. He said I should not let them run while the ship is at sea because if the ship tilts, the kids will crack their heads. He's probably right, but it was still upsetting to hear that. He is probably a single guy who doesn't have any kids. Kids will always be kids. Anyways, I think you are the best judge of what to do when it comes to your child. So don't worry too much and your child will enjoy anything as long as he is with you.

 

Kids club starts at 3 and you can leave your child there, but unless your child has pre-school or day care experience, it's hard to be left at a place where they are not familiar with. My son didn't want to stay at the kids' club without me until this cruise. He's already 5.5YOs. At our last cruise, he had just started preschool for 8 weeks and the last thing he wanted was to be left at another "school" setting.

 

But for both Celebrity and Princess, you are allowed to play in the kids' area with your under 3 children. Other cruises are not so flexible.

 

Post if you have any questions.

[mpb43]

Merela,

 

Thank you for you very thoughtful and complete answers! I think I am definitely going to look into Princess. The inability to use the pool would be a big deal to my kids. I know the ships and itineraries may change by 2009. I noticed that Celebrity is moving the Millenium to Alaska next year.

I see you have sailed on both the Sapphire and Diamond Princess. Both are currently going to Alaska. Did you have a favorite?

[LisaDee]

Merela,

 

Thanks for the great info on Celebrity. We are considering Alaska for 2009 and I'd love to try Celebrity.

 

Can you tell me whether they had organized family events like on other lines -- scavenger hunt, kids talent show, etc? Also, did they host special kids dinners? Carnival does this every night but the first and last night and it was so nice being able to enjoy quiet grownup dinners knowing that the kids were being fed and entertained.

 

Thanks,

Lisa

[merela]

Merela,

 

Thanks for the great info on Celebrity. We are considering Alaska for 2009 and I'd love to try Celebrity.

 

Can you tell me whether they had organized family events like on other lines -- scavenger hunt, kids talent show, etc? Also, did they host special kids dinners? Carnival does this every night but the first and last night and it was so nice being able to enjoy quiet grownup dinners knowing that the kids were being fed and entertained.

 

Thanks,

Lisa

 

We were on the ship July 4, so they had a carnival (face paint, games, crafts) at the Constellation Lounge (11F dancing club area) in the morning, followed by a parade with the Infinity Celebrity Band leading the way. These guys were walking so fast while playing their instrument that none of the kids and parents can follow them. I think they just want to get this gig over with and be gone. So we went through the 10F buffet area then down the staircase to the 4F atrium, then to the Rendez Vous Lounge for some cookies decorating. It was fun for the kids, but the parents didn't really get enough information on what to expect, so if parents had planned to do something that morning, it was out of the question. I believe it was the morning we were near the Hubbard Glacier. I wish I could have seen more of the scenery that morning, but the kids had fun.

 

My husband and I plus my parents were going crazy trying to find the stuff on the Scavenger Hunt list. With 4 kids in tow (2 are mine and 2 are my sister's), we went up to the Fun Factory as the time allowed, but none of the counsellors were there to collect the items. My husband kind of roamed the area without knowing what to do with that bag of stuff. I came up later and found the head of the department and gave our loot to her. She then collected 2 backpacks full of goodies and gave them to the 2 other families already sitting there. She said the tie breaker was the Quarter from NY State and where she was found. We had both, but I guess the other family got there before we did, so we didn't win anything. You should have seen the 4 disappointing faces for not winning anything. But thank goodness for the first family, they took out a pillow from the backpack and said their daughter has won that already and she said we can have the pillow. It was so nice of them to do so for my kids and my sister's. You know how kids are--they don't care what they win as long as they have something.

 

I thought that head of the Fun Factory (Christy from Peru) should have given out consolation prizes for the third family (us!). Even stickers would have made my kids happy. It's not like they have lots of kids there for the scavenger hunt. I just thought the head of the department should have at least understood this basic child psychology. Anyways, fortunately, everyone else working at the Fun Factory were wonderful, kind, and good to my kids....but that Christy from Peru was something else. I didn't like her from the moment I asked her a question on the first day we visited the Fun Factory. I had forgotten what I had asked her, but it was just the way she answered it--impatient and she showed it. I have no idea how she got to her position. I'm sure others may have a different experience with Christy from Peru, but that's how I feel about her.

 

Well, I will post the list of the 3-7 age group's scavenger hunt later on so all of you can get the stuff ready before the cruise. So you'll all win something from Christy (and for us too!).

 

They had the talent show, but the rehearsal time is never as stated on the Kids' Dailies. The talent show itself was changed from 3 to 2:30pm. We are usually told of the changes that morning when we drop off the kids. So it was crazy trying to re-figuring out what the adults will do that day.

 

It was my son's favorite part of the kids' program--doing something on the stage where he saw all those wonderful shows.

 

BTW, learning to Hoola Hooping is important. There are lots of contest featuring hoola hooping. So kids, practice that at home!

 

I do have the Dailies from all 4 youth programs from Infinity's Fun Factory. I'll have to find time to type all of them out since I don't have a scanner.

 

I have already posted the Kids' Patters from Princess about a year or so ago, so check my previous posts.

 

The kids did a bridge tour and talked to the captain. They cancelled the backstage tour because the singers and dancers added an extra rehearsal time for that night's show.

 

We didn't use their kids' dinner service. I believe they charge $6 per child for this service. Princess offers this service for free on formal nights only. Instead, we take our kids to dinner at 6pm (we had first seating) and order appetizers and if time permits, a meat entree, then they were off to the Fun Factory at 7pm. We pick them up either to see the show or at the required pickeup time of 9:45pm, then we would take them for some ice cream. The ice cream parlor closes at 10pm.

 

Once in a while, I would take my kids up to the buffet for some pizza and sushi around 5:30pm, so if they don't eat a full dinner in the dining room, they won't get too hungry at the Fun Factory.

 

Post if you have more questions.

[merela]

I see you have sailed on both the Sapphire and Diamond Princess. Both are currently going to Alaska. Did you have a favorite?

 

We sailed Diamond in its inaugural year, so everything was new and they must had a great chef on board because everything we ate there were wonderful. They also had themed dining rooms with 4 different themed menus that year. I believe they have changed that part of the dining experience on the Princess.

 

I like the Personal Choice Dining option on the Princess, but now that I have had a taste of the traditional first seating dining, it's not a bad idea to have the same wait staff every night. But first seating choice will only work if you don't have jet lag or time difference. We are from LA, so Alaska/vancouver time is the same or an hour ahead, so 6pm dining is perfect since my kids get hungry between 6 and 7pm. But if we cruise the Caribbean itinerary, we will have to go with PC dining when we can decide when we want to eat our dinner because kids nap at different times and the jet lag factor.

 

There are no difference between Sapphire and Diamond. The ship is identical and it's really the luck of the draw who you get as your room attendant and your dining room servers. Of course, the head chef will make a difference on the overall quality of the food they serve, but I think as a whole, the food on Infinity is slightly better than all the Princess ships I've experienced.

 

I like Princess' customer's loyalty program. Free internet after 5 cruises and lots of perks. Less perks for Celebrity's returning customers.

[merela]

I forgot to mention that the age groups on the Infinity Kids' Club (Fun Factory) was divided into 3-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13-17. But the activities for 3-6 and 7-9 age groups are identical. I thought that was kind of lazy on the part of the Program Director. Imagine the stuff enjoyed by a 3YO is not going to be the same as a 9YO. There should be more fun brainteasers, quizzes, and things involved reading for the older group since kids 7 and up know how to read. I think the program they have now is more suited for the 5-7YO group. The 8-9YOs and the 3-4YOs would find the activities they have now a little too hard or too easy/silly.

[mpb43]

We sailed Diamond in its inaugural year, so everything was new and they must had a great chef on board because everything we ate there were wonderful. They also had themed dining rooms with 4 different themed menus that year. I believe they have changed that part of the dining experience on the Princess.

 

I like the Personal Choice Dining option on the Princess, but now that I have had a taste of the traditional first seating dining, it's not a bad idea to have the same wait staff every night. But first seating choice will only work if you don't have jet lag or time difference. We are from LA, so Alaska/vancouver time is the same or an hour ahead, so 6pm dining is perfect since my kids get hungry between 6 and 7pm. But if we cruise the Caribbean itinerary, we will have to go with PC dining when we can decide when we want to eat our dinner because kids nap at different times and the jet lag factor.

 

There are no difference between Sapphire and Diamond. The ship is identical and it's really the luck of the draw who you get as your room attendant and your dining room servers. Of course, the head chef will make a difference on the overall quality of the food they serve, but I think as a whole, the food on Infinity is slightly better than all the Princess ships I've experienced.

 

I like Princess' customer's loyalty program. Free internet after 5 cruises and lots of perks. Less perks for Celebrity's returning customers.

 

Thanks Merela,

 

Lots to think about! I hope to have a ship picked out in the next few months so I'm ready when the itineraries are released in the spring.

Thanks for all your help!

[bjksgk]

Merela Thanks so much for this thread and your willingness to share your experience! We have done several Celebrity cruises but my DD was 3 the last time we cruises with them and she is now 8. We have done RCCL since and have had wonderful experiences with the Adventure Ocean program. We just booked Millenium for next summer to Alaska and I am trying to get the info I can on Fun Factory, especially since I was already aware that Celebrity does not allow kids in the adult pool the way RCCL does. Do you know if Fun Factory does any High Touch High Tech science experiments? What about the crayola art projects? I kind of thought since Celebrity and RCCL were owned by the same company the kids programs would be similar. Maybe I was wrong?

[Gocruzin]

Thanks Merela for the great review. Sorry you didn't care for Christy. I'm not sure if it is the same Christy from Peru that we had on Mercury last Oct but we really liked her. The ironic thing is that on last years cruise I didn't really care for the Program director named Ruth. She didn't really give me any reason to not like her but I felt she was too fake and not sincere but I don't think the kids notice that. We will be on the Infinity this Oct and we are really looking forward to it. Did the Fun Factory also have an outdoor play area? Where there any water features out there?

 

Thanks

[merela]

Do you know if Fun Factory does any High Touch High Tech science experiments? What about the crayola art projects? I kind of thought since Celebrity and RCCL were owned by the same company the kids programs would be similar. Maybe I was wrong?

 

 

As far as I remember, and after checking the children's dailies, I do not see any High Touch High Tech science experiments at the 3-9 age group. I'll have to go through the dailies from the other 2 age groups to see if science oriented activities were implemented.

 

Crayola washable markers were available for the kids to use during craft period, but I'm not sure if any specific Crayola art projects were headlined as one of the activities in the dailies.

 

Presence of Leapfrog learning toys were everywhere, but I didn't look at them carefully to see what kind of models they were. I'm sure they are not as enticing as Gameboys.

 

I did read about RCCL and Carnival children's programs prior to our Infinity cruise and I was hoping Celebrity would provide a different children program from the Princess (we had been on 4 Princess cruises prior to Infinity), but it was almost at par with Princess' children program. All things being equal, the children have more fun on Princess because they can use the indoor swimming pools on the Princess. Children can also have dinners with their peers free of charge at Princess' kids club during formal nights. Infinity charges extra if you want the children to eat at kids' club.

[merela]

Thanks Merela for the great review. Sorry you didn't care for Christy. I'm not sure if it is the same Christy from Peru that we had on Mercury last Oct but we really liked her. The ironic thing is that on last years cruise I didn't really care for the Program director named Ruth. She didn't really give me any reason to not like her but I felt she was too fake and not sincere but I don't think the kids notice that. We will be on the Infinity this Oct and we are really looking forward to it. Did the Fun Factory also have an outdoor play area? Where there any water features out there?

 

Thanks

 

I think it might be the same Christy from Peru. It's funny when I read your description of Ruth and how you felt about her--it's uncanny that's how I felt about Christy from Peru. It really doesn't matter now, but Christy made me feel that her staff were doing all the work, when she should be more involved. Conclusion: Don't take my word on this. Liking someone (or not liking someone) is very subjective. I figure if my kids were safe and happy at the kids' club, I'm happy.

 

Fun Factory does have an outdoor play area. I think there was a large slide, but I didn't notice any water features. Indoor water play is out of the questions for people under 18. I did see lots of kids, braving the cold, swam in the outdoor pool. It wouldn't be too bad if the water was heated. But it's cold chlorinated sea water--not many kids would enjoy soaking in that!

[Eclipsepearl]

Great info and perfect timing. We're leaving next week from Rome on the Galaxy. That outdoor swimming restriction will not be a problem in the Med in summer but I'm sure the Galaxy wont be as nice as the Infinity you were on.

 

I'm panicking over my son's wardrobe. The suit my mom brought from the U.S. was too small. She was visiting this last week and I asked her to buy it. She probably wont be able to send me the next size up in time! Suits here in France are super expensive for kids so I'm not sure what will swing dress-code wise from what I can find here.

 

What do you advise? It's only summer stuff here right now. It's on sale but not what I need for him!

 

Oh where are Sears' and Penny's when you need them?? (in the U.S.-grrrr!)

[merela]

I'm panicking over my son's wardrobe. The suit my mom brought from the U.S. was too small. She was visiting this last week and I asked her to buy it. She probably wont be able to send me the next size up in time! Suits here in France are super expensive for kids so I'm not sure what will swing dress-code wise from what I can find here.

 

What do you advise? It's only summer stuff here right now. It's on sale but not what I need for him!

 

I don't know how old your son is, but if he's younger than 12, he can just go in a shirt and a tie plus dark dress pants...unless he's self conscious about not wearing a suit. But if you want a formal family portrait on board, bring the suit jacket your mom brought and just wear it for photo op.

 

I heard about the $$$ shopping in Europe. When my friends visit US from Europe, they like to call Target "TarJay". If you know French, that's very funny.

 

Anyways, short of ebaying, you may not be able to find a good bargain for a boy's suit.

 

On our Infinity cruise, there were many families with 5+ children (we thought they had a "large" family convention on the ship). The boys from these families all wore shirts (some short-sleeved) and ties, no suit jackets though. Imagine the expense of buying 5 suits for growing boys!

 

So I wouldn't let this suit business worry you too much.