Celebrity and Kids ??

[FiggyWig]

Hi,

 

Im very close to booking for Solstice July 2009, eastern Med, but as the ship is so new the details about what facilities there are on board are a little sketchy.

 

We will have our 12 (at time of cruise) year old with us, and whilst I can gather from the forums that there are fewer kids on X cruises, I am putting my trust in the hope that there will at least be some kids attending the kids clubs and facilities that he might be able to enjoy with us - games arcades / sports decks ??

 

I note that there are only 2 pools on Solstice - in the experienced opinion of all you out there, do you suppose there will be enough room on sea days around the pool areas?

 

Also does any one know of any resticted areas (other than casino of course) that he will not be able to go in with us.?

 

Solstice looks like being a lovely ship, the price is good, the itinery is just what we are after, and it will be a 1st cruise for us - if you've not already gathered that :p - so I will be on the forum quite frequently as the questions occur to me.

 

thanks for your help.

[Fang]

I am not sure of all of the facilities on the Solstice, regarding pools etc. But can say that our kids (12 and 9) love Celebrity and the kids programs.

 

There has always been kids in the program, and the one nice thing about not having a lot of kids is that each get a lot of personal attention. By the second day on each of our four cruises on Celebrity, with them, the staff knew each name.

 

I think the only place your son will not be able to go is the disco, after 11PM. He can walk through the Casino, but can not stay there. No big deal to us.

 

There normally are after regular hour "slumber parties" at the kids program, so if you want to go some place that he can not be, he can just stay there.

 

I would have no hesitation at all to book this cruise with your son.

[cavkc]

We first took our boys on a Celebrity cruise when they were 12 and they had an absolute ball. It was a Millennium class ship and there were approx 300 children onboard, it was however over the Christmas period.

 

We have also taken them on Royal Caribbean, which is supposed to be more family orientated, however our boys prefer Celebrity. They found that whilst there were more activities advertised on RCI, when they turned up, quite frequently they were cancelled due to no staff member being available. They felt that the Celebrity club was better run and the activities much better organised.

 

That said, we have booked to sail on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean with them, although they are now 16.

[kitty9]

The answer depends on when you'll be cruising. If it's a time when most kids in the US are in school, and it's a longer itinerary, you will find very few kids on Celebrity. I've been on X cruises where there've been less than 5 kids total on board. So if you cruise during summer, Christmas or Spring Break, you'll be fine with other families on board, but if you cruise most other times, you'll find very few kids on board and a VERY limited program for them, if they even have one.

[cybx]

I don't know how much the kids program has changed, but 11 years ago when I was only 13 I went on my first cruise, and it was on the Celebrity Mercury. I -LOVED- it! It was probably one of the most memorable vacations from that time. There were only about 8 or 9 kids total in my age group and we felt like we had a run of the ship. Aside from port times, breakfast, and dinner I was hardly ever with my parents. I'd crawl into bed everynight at about 12:30AM. I was either doing an activity with the club or just hanging out with the kids from the club.

 

Bet you weren't expecting a reply from somebody with actual experience IN the club ;)

[Amlee]

Solstice will have a kids area. It will also have an arcade area on board. Now I can't say for sure if there will be any kids in those area or not.

[Dawniepoo]

I hear The Solstice is going to have larger kid's facilities and we will be taking our young ones as soon as the price is right!

[FiggyWig]

was wondering where you've heard your info from .... either way, its done now... all booked for Aug 09. Dont know about US holidays, but its bang smack in the middle of the UK and european school holidays, so hopefully our boy wont be entirely on his own. Just 16 months to wait... hope it's built on time:rolleyes:.

 

The more I've dug for details the more I'm learning, from what I can gather there is only the one main pool or general use, hope not all 2800 people want to try and use it at once on sea days, and of course hope there is plenty of other activities we as a family can indulge into pass the time of day at sea.

 

Im hoping Solstice isnt going to be a whole lot different from other X ships, but once again, if any of you experience cruisers can give me any further tips or clues, Im eager to find out.

thanks

[rebeccalouise]

Celebrity does a great job with kids. My son and I will be sailing them for a 7th time and he is only 7 (will be 8 on our next Celebrity cruise).

 

Solstice doesn't really appeal to me. I think the Millenium Class ships are the perfect size.