Review of Kids Program on Solstice 4/12/09

[Racine]

:eek: Hi, I'd appreciate your ideas/comments. We're considering doing the 10 day Med cruise in late June out of Rome on Solstice. We thought it would be a nice compromise: my son could do the kids club (which he loves on cruise ships) and my husband and I could have our food and wine. We did an RC cruise on Freedom of The Seas last summer: my son loved it mostly because of the kids club. My husband and I lost weight on the food -- totally mediocre and not worth wasting the calories on. That said, I don't want to sacrifice my son's experience. We'd like a balance. I seen a lot of negative posts about the kids experience on Solstice.? Do you think there will be a decent amount of kids on the late June sailing? Should we scrap it and take a different vacation or go with a different cruise line?

[Gaynors]

Thanks cruisebunny for the review!! A cruise is definitely what you make of it. Glad to hear you had a great time.

 

We are looking forward to joining you next Easter on the Mercury!:D

[factgirl]

Hi all,

 

We were on a Med cruise two years ago with our then 8 and 10 year old kids. We took them to every city except for Sicily, and are so glad we did! The kids loved seeing the world and meeting all the new and friendly people. Naples was a big highlight for them, we did a tour of a farm in Sorrento, along with a tour of Pompeii. The tour guide was great about letting the kids play, even kicking around the soccer ball with my son and asking the farmer if my daughter could pet the animals (she could and even got to hold a chicken).

 

The kids club was great when we were at sea and they day we left them aboard for a "Mom and Dad date" in Cefalu, but I wouldn't miss the opportunity to show the kids Europe. Consider taking yours along too!:)

 

Facty

[jamesfl]

We will be on the Solstice on June 23 with my just turned 8yo son. We plan on taking him with us for all the port stops, but had planned to use the kids club in the evenings.

 

He has been on a couple of RC cruises and loved the kids club. One of the reasons we picked the solstice over say Princess was that it was similar to RC and had the same age groupings of the kids, I will be very disappointed if he is combined with other groups.

[cruisebunny32]

:eek: Hi, I'd appreciate your ideas/comments. We're considering doing the 10 day Med cruise in late June out of Rome on Solstice. We thought it would be a nice compromise: my son could do the kids club (which he loves on cruise ships) and my husband and I could have our food and wine. We did an RC cruise on Freedom of The Seas last summer: my son loved it mostly because of the kids club. My husband and I lost weight on the food -- totally mediocre and not worth wasting the calories on. That said, I don't want to sacrifice my son's experience. We'd like a balance. I seen a lot of negative posts about the kids experience on Solstice.? Do you think there will be a decent amount of kids on the late June sailing? Should we scrap it and take a different vacation or go with a different cruise line?

 

If I had to guess...I would say that there would be plenty of kids on a late june cruise..since most of the schools are out for summer vacation. I think your son will have a great time. I wouldn't worry about it too much. My 4 and 9 year old kids had fun...whether they were with us or in the kids program. Check out your Roll Call thread and see if there are other kids going and maybe the can email other kids to get their interests etc. prior. My son did this and made a good friend!

[cruisebunny32]

Thanks cruisebunny for the review!! A cruise is definitely what you make of it. Glad to hear you had a great time.

 

We are looking forward to joining you next Easter on the Mercury!:D

 

Hello fellow Mercury cruiser...We are going to have a blast!

[cruisebunny32]

Hi all,

 

We were on a Med cruise two years ago with our then 8 and 10 year old kids. We took them to every city except for Sicily, and are so glad we did! The kids loved seeing the world and meeting all the new and friendly people. Naples was a big highlight for them, we did a tour of a farm in Sorrento, along with a tour of Pompeii. The tour guide was great about letting the kids play, even kicking around the soccer ball with my son and asking the farmer if my daughter could pet the animals (she could and even got to hold a chicken).

 

The kids club was great when we were at sea and they day we left them aboard for a "Mom and Dad date" in Cefalu, but I wouldn't miss the opportunity to show the kids Europe. Consider taking yours along too!:)

 

Facty

 

I agree! We let the kids choose if they wanted to go with us or stay on the ship. The last day we "made" them stay on so we could have a day to ourselves....I highly recommend this. Since it was our vacation too!

 

I definately like taking them to sight see and see the world! They enjoy it too! A little of both is very good! Makes everyone happier!

[cruisebunny32]

We will be on the Solstice on June 23 with my just turned 8yo son. We plan on taking him with us for all the port stops, but had planned to use the kids club in the evenings.

 

He has been on a couple of RC cruises and loved the kids club. One of the reasons we picked the solstice over say Princess was that it was similar to RC and had the same age groupings of the kids, I will be very disappointed if he is combined with other groups.

 

It depends on how many kids are around and participate with the program. The 3-6 and 7-9 groups had very similar daily programs. The differences were a few games or the snack that they got. That was about it.

 

The way the kids area is set up is they each have areas...so they could easily be separated. In the beginning of the cruise, they were separated..but towards the end they were together...It just might have been because we were in port and less kids would be there...I am not sure why they did this.

[OscarOscar]

hey all...

 

i used to work as a youth counselor for celebrity and thought maybe i could clear up some of your concerns...

 

first of all- the program is open every day, all day, from 9 am- 1 am. as previously mentioned, from 10 pm-1 am is babysitting (without scheduled activities...usually free time, video games, movies, etc.) and costs $6 per child per hour. When the ship is in port this same charge applies during the hours of 12-2 (Afternoon party) and 5-7 (dinner party). On a port day if the ship sails before 5 there is no charge for dinner party (5-7 pm). On sea days there is no charge at all until 10 pm...but 12-2 is usually "quiet" time without scheduled activities where you are encouraged to pick up your kids and give them some lunch. 5-7 is dinner party, free on all sea days and port days if the ship has sailed, and the counselors will take the kids to dinner in the buffet.

 

secondly- the program is the same for all ships, including solstice. they have recently split up the teen program and changed the ages of shipmates, cadets and ensigns so if you've sailed with celebrity in the past this might be new for you. the new age groups are 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14 , and 15-17. they do a lot of combining of shipmates and cadets (3-5 and 6-8) on port days because typically there aren't many kids in the fun factory during these times and many activities don't run well with two kids. the two teen groups may or may not combine activities at some times...its all up to the manager. so if you've previously sailed with celebrity on another ship and are now going on solstice its basically the same deal with a different facility.

 

as far as the counselors go- its really just the luck of the draw who you get. any counselor can work on any ship. during peak times (christmas, spring break, summer) they add seasonal counselors who oftentimes are new and might not know exactly what they're doing just yet. i am, however, a little surprised that many of you were dissatisfied with the counselors on solstice because they usually send the better counselors to the newest ship. but, again, its just luck of the draw. I've also worked for NCL and Princess and counselors are counselors regardless of cruise line. there really isn't one company who hires "better" counselors than another.

 

you are right that celebrity does not have as many kids onboard as royal caribbean, NCL, carnival, or disney. there won't be nearly as many kids in the fun factory as there were on previous sailings you might have been on with one of these other cruise lines. for some kids- this is the best part of celebrity....for others- this makes celebrity the worst kids program at sea. it all depends on your child and what other children are sailing on your particular cruise. some kids are shy and prefer small groups of kids...some kids are very out going and would rather sail with tons and tons of kids. i met a lot of kids who hated disney and royal because there were just so many kids that it was overwhelming for them. some cruises the kids all got along great (even though there weren't that many of them) and were devistated to leave and other cruises the kids didn't really get along at all. it really all depends.

 

anyway i hope i cleared up some of your questions- feel free to ask anything else you'd like to know.

[TLP]

Thank you for the reply. I am sure my kids are going to be happy. 1st cruise and all. We can't help but think the less children the better. One of our reasons for going the begining of June. Less crowds and not too hot we hope!

 

During port hours will the counsellors take the children to activities outside of the designated area's, eg. the pool? If not can we pay a babysitting fee for someone to watch our children, ages 5 and 9? Both can swim and are comfortable with babysitters,etc.?

 

 

 

 

i used to work as a youth counselor for celebrity and thought maybe i could clear up some of your concerns...

 

first of all- the program is open every day, all day, from 9 am- 1 am. as previously mentioned, from 10 pm-1 am is babysitting (without scheduled activities...usually free time, video games, movies, etc.) and costs $6 per child per hour. When the ship is in port this same charge applies during the hours of 12-2 (Afternoon party) and 5-7 (dinner party). On a port day if the ship sails before 5 there is no charge for dinner party (5-7 pm). On sea days there is no charge at all until 10 pm...but 12-2 is usually "quiet" time without scheduled activities where you are encouraged to pick up your kids and give them some lunch. 5-7 is dinner party, free on all sea days and port days if the ship has sailed, and the counselors will take the kids to dinner in the buffet.

 

secondly- the program is the same for all ships, including solstice. they have recently split up the teen program and changed the ages of shipmates, cadets and ensigns so if you've sailed with celebrity in the past this might be new for you. the new age groups are 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14 , and 15-17. they do a lot of combining of shipmates and cadets (3-5 and 6-8) on port days because typically there aren't many kids in the fun factory during these times and many activities don't run well with two kids. the two teen groups may or may not combine activities at some times...its all up to the manager. so if you've previously sailed with celebrity on another ship and are now going on solstice its basically the same deal with a different facility.

 

as far as the counselors go- its really just the luck of the draw who you get. any counselor can work on any ship. during peak times (christmas, spring break, summer) they add seasonal counselors who oftentimes are new and might not know exactly what they're doing just yet. i am, however, a little surprised that many of you were dissatisfied with the counselors on solstice because they usually send the better counselors to the newest ship. but, again, its just luck of the draw. I've also worked for NCL and Princess and counselors are counselors regardless of cruise line. there really isn't one company who hires "better" counselors than another.

 

you are right that celebrity does not have as many kids onboard as royal caribbean, NCL, carnival, or disney. there won't be nearly as many kids in the fun factory as there were on previous sailings you might have been on with one of these other cruise lines. for some kids- this is the best part of celebrity....for others- this makes celebrity the worst kids program at sea. it all depends on your child and what other children are sailing on your particular cruise. some kids are shy and prefer small groups of kids...some kids are very out going and would rather sail with tons and tons of kids. i met a lot of kids who hated disney and royal because there were just so many kids that it was overwhelming for them. some cruises the kids all got along great (even though there weren't that many of them) and were devistated to leave and other cruises the kids didn't really get along at all. it really all depends.

 

anyway i hope i cleared up some of your questions- feel free to ask anything else you'd like to know.

[cruisebunny32]

TLP-I have never seen the counselers from the fun factory take the kids swimming...not all are at the same level, and it would be unfair. We took our kids to the pool ourselves.

 

You can get a baby sitter. You can book it at the Desk on deck 4. I forget what the rate is. I don't know if they would take them swimming as well.

[TLP]

Thanks for the information. I really appreciate it. This being our 1st cruise I am not really sure what to expect. The swimming request was just for the days that the children do not come to port with us so will check out the babysitting for those days.

 

The cruise is pretty port intensive and we are in Rome for four days previous and then the Amalfi Coast for a week after so my original thought was they would have some down time in the big city ports and come to the quieter ports and ride donkeys, etc.

 

Was there much motion on your cruise? I'm not sure if I need to be prepared it or if they sell bands, medication, etc on the ship?

 

Thanks again!

Terry

[nunk]

hey all...

 

i used to work as a youth counselor for celebrity and thought maybe i could clear up some of your concerns...

 

first of all- the program is open every day, all day, from 9 am- 1 am. as previously mentioned, from 10 pm-1 am is babysitting (without scheduled activities...usually free time, video games, movies, etc.) and costs $6 per child per hour. When the ship is in port this same charge applies during the hours of 12-2 (Afternoon party) and 5-7 (dinner party). On a port day if the ship sails before 5 there is no charge for dinner party (5-7 pm). On sea days there is no charge at all until 10 pm...but 12-2 is usually "quiet" time without scheduled activities where you are encouraged to pick up your kids and give them some lunch. 5-7 is dinner party, free on all sea days and port days if the ship has sailed, and the counselors will take the kids to dinner in the buffet.

 

secondly- the program is the same for all ships, including solstice. they have recently split up the teen program and changed the ages of shipmates, cadets and ensigns so if you've sailed with celebrity in the past this might be new for you. the new age groups are 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14 , and 15-17. they do a lot of combining of shipmates and cadets (3-5 and 6-8) on port days because typically there aren't many kids in the fun factory during these times and many activities don't run well with two kids. the two teen groups may or may not combine activities at some times...its all up to the manager. so if you've previously sailed with celebrity on another ship and are now going on solstice its basically the same deal with a different facility.

 

as far as the counselors go- its really just the luck of the draw who you get. any counselor can work on any ship. during peak times (christmas, spring break, summer) they add seasonal counselors who oftentimes are new and might not know exactly what they're doing just yet. i am, however, a little surprised that many of you were dissatisfied with the counselors on solstice because they usually send the better counselors to the newest ship. but, again, its just luck of the draw. I've also worked for NCL and Princess and counselors are counselors regardless of cruise line. there really isn't one company who hires "better" counselors than another.

 

you are right that celebrity does not have as many kids onboard as royal caribbean, NCL, carnival, or disney. there won't be nearly as many kids in the fun factory as there were on previous sailings you might have been on with one of these other cruise lines. for some kids- this is the best part of celebrity....for others- this makes celebrity the worst kids program at sea. it all depends on your child and what other children are sailing on your particular cruise. some kids are shy and prefer small groups of kids...some kids are very out going and would rather sail with tons and tons of kids. i met a lot of kids who hated disney and royal because there were just so many kids that it was overwhelming for them. some cruises the kids all got along great (even though there weren't that many of them) and were devistated to leave and other cruises the kids didn't really get along at all. it really all depends.

 

anyway i hope i cleared up some of your questions- feel free to ask anything else you'd like to know.

 

 

 

OscarOscar-

I know this is an older post so I can only hope you (or another counselor?) will see this and reply-

our daughter will have turned 12 a few months before our upcoming June 2010 cruise. I wondered how likely it would be that she will be allowed to be in the group that is age 9-11? She has really enjoyed the "organized" schedules of the kids clubs on RCI and I have some concern about her being grouped in the teenage group when she will not be a teenager. Do you know Celebrity's policy regarding age placement of the kids? If I expressed my concerns would they allow her to stay in the younger group?

Thanks in advance for any reply,

Nicole

[OscarOscar]

hey nicole

 

its usually not a problem at all to move down in age groups...just ask the manager and she/he should be fine with that.

 

have a great cruise :)

[nunk]

hey nicole

 

its usually not a problem at all to move down in age groups...just ask the manager and she/he should be fine with that.

 

have a great cruise :)

 

Thank you for your quick reply!! :)

[Froggitt]

[quote name='OscarOscar']hey nicole

its usually not a problem at all to move down in age groups...just ask the manager and she/he should be fine with that.

have a great cruise :)[/quote]

Hi Oscar

What about moving up a group? We have an "old" 11 year old who would prefer to be in the 12-14 with her sister.

TYIA

[OscarOscar]

well moving up can sometimes be more difficult...but if you ask the manager he/she will more than likely approve the move. they might suggest your daughter "try" her age group for the first night and if they do my advice to you would be to have her try it and then if she hates it ask again for her to be with the 10-12.

"no" is not heard often so if you don't get the answer you want the first time- try, try again...just don't tell the manager you heard it from me :p

[Froggitt]

Thanks.

[cruisebunny32]

[quote name='TLP']Thanks for the information. I really appreciate it. This being our 1st cruise I am not really sure what to expect. The swimming request was just for the days that the children do not come to port with us so will check out the babysitting for those days.

The cruise is pretty port intensive and we are in Rome for four days previous and then the Amalfi Coast for a week after so my original thought was they would have some down time in the big city ports and come to the quieter ports and ride donkeys, etc.

Was there much motion on your cruise? I'm not sure if I need to be prepared it or if they sell bands, medication, etc on the ship?

Thanks again!
Terry[/quote]


I don't know if I missed your cruise...We felt very little motion...if at all on the Soltisce. You may get an occasional bump in the road...but for the most part you should be fine...unless you are really sensitive. I would recommend the bands or the patch behind the ear...but put it on before you get on the ship. I used a medications on my first cruise to Bermuda...the Atlantic is a lot more choppy than the carribean. You should be fine..as long as there are no storms!

[cruisebunny32]

Decided to just bump this up in case people wanted info. Happy Sailing!

[Froggitt]

11 year old welcomed into the 12-14 group with no problems.

Kids went en masse to the pool unsupervised with no problems.

XClub is a great area for the kids to hang out in. They can do whatever is organised eg Karaoke 8pm, Disco 10pm, Movie 12am, or they can go off together.

[LUVTRAVEL6]

Hi Tampacruiser, I was thinking of booking the Solstice for April 4, 2010 as well. We have 2 children 12 & 14 and was hoping there would be other kids on board. We were originally going to book RCCL Liberty of the Seas, but found some great pricing on the Solstice.

Anyone have experience with the older kids activities?

Thanks!

[Onessa]

We just got off Solstice last week (10day Med cruise). Our DD is 14YO.

We were mildly disappointed with the teen club on Solstice. There is a daily schedule of activities -- some are done in tandem with the fun factory (family bingo). The teen group counselors on board our cruise really didn't do anything to try to pull the kids together -- they were just "there".

Our DD independently met a few other girls her age and they pretty much did their own thing. The few times that they did stop by the teen club it was empty (no matter what was on the schedule). While I understand the challenges of dealing with teens and that the concept of organized activities is a bit silly -- there appeared to be little attempt by the staff to "get things going".

I've discovered that teen clubs on ships are kind of a crap shoot -- much depends upon the personalities of the kids on board, their parent's expectations of the kids, and the counselors. We've done four cruises since DD turned 12YO and her experiences have been all over the place.

Our Med cruise was VERY port intensive and DD fell in love with the Hot Glass Show, so she really did not have too much time for teen club activities anyway so she did not miss it much.

[CruiseDad-NYC]

Cruisebunny - thanks for the information. My 2 boys (ages 5 and 7) loved the ball pit and the climbing equipment with the slide in the Fun Factories on the Summit and the Millennium. Does the Solstice have them? I would assume you would have mentioned them if they did. Also, is the outdoor basketball court freely accessible to the kids when they are in the Fun Factory?

We just got off the Independence of the Seas. We loved it and had taken it in part because we thought RCCL would have an even better kids program. Actually, to our surprise, our kids liked the Celebrity Fun Factory better than RCCL in large part because they were more physically active on it.

Thanks in advance!

[Gaynors]

[quote name='CruiseDad-NYC']Cruisebunny - thanks for the information. My 2 boys (ages 5 and 7) loved the ball pit and the climbing equipment with the slide in the Fun Factories on the Summit and the Millennium. Does the Solstice have them? I would assume you would have mentioned them if they did. Also, is the outdoor basketball court freely accessible to the kids when they are in the Fun Factory?

We just got off the Independence of the Seas. We loved it and had taken it in part because we thought RCCL would have an even better kids program. Actually, to our surprise, our kids liked the Celebrity Fun Factory better than RCCL in large part because they were more physically active on it.

Thanks in advance![/QUOTE]

Interesting! One of our last cruises was on the Independence and our kids loved all the things to do: skating, rock climbing, the H2O zone they really loved. They enjoyed the kids program OK but since it was Thanksgiving there were TONS of kids.

This time we are trying Celebrity and don't know what to expect, I'm glad to hear your kids love it. We are also sailing with Cruisebunny32 :D and she has said her kids have loved Celebrity. This is our first cruise on Celebrity with the kids, but they are veteran cruisers.

My kids were 5 and 7 on the Independence too! For this sailing they will be 7 and 9.