kids on sliver shadow

[gillianrose]

Keith; they had a promotion which created a firestorm on these boards,199.00$ PER CHILD and lets end this and get on to more meaningful conversations about our favorite cruise line

 

But this discussion IS extremely meaningful and important information to potential cruisers and also to long time Silversea cruisers who are considering booking summer or holiday cruises which might tend to attract more children than other cruises, for whatever reason.

[chicagogal]

Okay, we are on the last of the Alaskan Shadow cruises this year, Vancouver to L.A. , 9/12. One reason for this cruise, despite my loving grandfather status, is that schools will be back in session! I shall report on the number of children aboard.

 

And we are on the Sept 3rd sailing of the Shadow, which is also after most schools start. I will also report on how many kids are aboard. We chose the date with the US Labor Day holiday and less kids in mind.

[gillianrose]

Celebrity Cruises used to offer some "adults only" cruises, including at least one during the summer when children were out of school. I wish the luxury lines would offer this. We like to cruise during the summer, but don't want to have a lot of children onboard, either.

[bigmjh]

Celebrity Cruises used to offer some "adults only" cruises, including at least one during the summer when children were out of school. I wish the luxury lines would offer this. We like to cruise during the summer, but don't want to have a lot of children onboard, either.

I will second that! Been there ... done that. While we love our kids and grandkids ... we also value "adult" time without them.

[cotto22]

Just as a point of clarification, and not to beat the proverbial dead horse, we took our then teen and pre teenaged kids on a mass market cruise, not on a luxury cruise. And yes, they were were much much more civilized than the other cruisers, which is why I would never return to that line with or without kids.

 

When we cruised on Regent five years ago to Alaska, it was in May while children should have been in school which is why there was just the one or two teenaged grandkids on board. I like kids in general, I just do not want to share my vacation with them unless they are mine, and even then, not on a romantic get a way with my husband! Kids will be kids, no matter how well behaved they are. (There are a few adults who have more money than class whom we have encountered occasionally while traveling, but there is not much you can do about that!) You would think that parents would choose a cruise line that offers programs specifically tailored towards kids.

 

I am done ranting. Sorry!

[endosunshine]

We just returned from the Shadow as well and overall thought everything was great. The staff was wonderful, the best part of the cruise other than the excursions. We found La Terrazza to be a BIG disappointment at night. Food very ho hum, I was not impressed. The Restaurant was very good, some menus more to my taste than others. I am not much of a red meat eater and I found some of the fish dishes to be a bit bland - overall, no complaints to speak of really.

 

I had room service breakfast each day and that was wonderful and prompt. DH went to one of the dining rooms each morning.

 

I only "noticed" about 10-12 kids on board, some of whom were well behaved, some not. There was one particular family with a boy about 10 or 12 yr old who was accompanied by his own body guard. After seeing his wretched behavior, I know why he needed one. As an example - he and the mother went into the H. Stern Jewelry store onboard and he "demanded" to see a certain necklace "immediately" as he wished to "purchase it for my mother". After the piece (a gold necklace) was taken out to view, he forcefully threw it down on the counter, screaming that it was a "piece of crap" and "not nearly heavy enough" for his mother, screaming at the very nice woman that runs the store. The mother just sat there and in a few minutes they left. DH witnessed this, not I, which is probably fortunate b/c I would most likely have told the kid to shut up.

 

That said - for the most part, I did not find the children on board to be a big disturbance. There were several adults I found to be more of a problem than the kids.

 

We did have a wonderful trip and booked South America in 2010. Already looking forward to that.:)

[Keith1010]

Celebrity Cruises used to offer some "adults only" cruises, including at least one during the summer when children were out of school. I wish the luxury lines would offer this. We like to cruise during the summer, but don't want to have a lot of children onboard, either.

 

If you pick the right cruise in the summer you won't have many children on a luxury cruise line. When I say the right cruise if you cruise in Alaska on most cruise lines (luxury, premium. etc) you will see kids. Go to more exotic locations on a luxury line and you'll see far less children.

 

Keith

[wripro]

That boy in the H. Stern boutique was lucky I was not in there when he threw his tantrum or I would have told him the only "piece of crap" in there was him!!!!!

[meow!]

There was one particular family with a boy about 10 or 12 yr old who was accompanied by his own body guard.

Would you kindly elaborate? You mean this is a "potentate" family with individual bodyguards on board the ship?

[endosunshine]

I do not know details on the entire family, but the child in question is the son of a very wealthy Wall Street investor. This investor was associated with someone who eventually became a Wall Street disgrace. (no, not Madoff) We met the body guard (who did not divulge any info) in the bar each evening having a cocktail before dinner, which no doubt he needed in order to put up with the little bas***d. He (the child) ate lunch in Le Champagne each day.

[meow!]

He (the child) ate lunch in Le Champagne each day.

Thank you for the explanation. Being under age, the child wouldn't be able to drink at Le Champagne for dinners!

[endosunshine]

We saw the child at dinner in the Restaurant a number of times, often with the entire extended family. He usually left prior to many of the adults, along with his bodyguard.

[Rocchi]

If kids at this age usually have anyone it's a nanny?

If he has a bodyguard, it makes you wonder who needs protection form whom?

[Keith1010]

Now I'm trying to think through if we ran into that kid and his family. And the body guard.

 

Amazing. Between that family that endosunshine and the one that I wrote about with the three kids, two parents (although Parent might not be the right word to use) some others (maybe grandma, grandpa, and a few others) plus their Nanny it sounds like we had at least two disfunctional families on that cruise. Wow!

 

Regardless, we really enjoyed the cruise and we have booked booked a cruise on one of the other ships for next year and in another part of the world so don't think we'll run into those two families. :)

 

Keith

[billcrooz]

sorry we didn't hook up in Vancouver, how did i miss this little punk ? was he the one with the pushed back hair and glasses ?

[gillianrose]

If you pick the right cruise in the summer you won't have many children on a luxury cruise line. When I say the right cruise if you cruise in Alaska on most cruise lines (luxury, premium. etc) you will see kids. Go to more exotic locations on a luxury line and you'll see far less children.

 

Keith

 

 

I don't want to cruise to exotic locations, but I do enjoy the luxury lines. And, if you consider the Mediterranean to be exotic, there are lots and lots of children (sometimes 100+) on Crystal, at least. Some friends of mine encountered even more than that one summer.

 

I want to cruise close to home, like Alaska, Mexican Riviera, Hawaii, Pacific Coast, and Canada/NE (in the summer, while it is still warm).

 

I want to do this in as adult an atmosphere as possible and don't wish to share hot tubs and pools with chatty children. I don't see why a few "adults only" cruises could not be scheduled. There are still many dates available for families.

[Keith1010]

I don't want to cruise to exotic locations, but I do enjoy the luxury lines.

 

I want to cruise close to home, Alaska, Mexican Riviera, Hawaii, Pacific Coast, and Canada/NE (while it is still warm).

 

I want to do this in as adult an atmosphere as possible and don't wish to share hot tubs and pools with chatty children.

 

I don't see cruise lines outlawing having children on board. Certainly, not in the current economic situation. Maybe at some point. But certainly not now.

 

Yes, pricing can play a role and eliminating promotions that entice kids to cruise will help. But even without promotions in the summer there will be kids on board the luxury lines. For example, it amazes me that anyone would take a child on Seabourn with its 200 passenger ships. Aside from the fact that I don't think it is appropriate, I just think the two hundred passenger ships are a not a good match for kids. Period. Of course, I when our kids were young I didn't take them on a luxury line nor to a five star restaurant. IMHO not fair to them and not fair to others.

 

But, in this day and age all adults don't share that view.

 

Same goes for other things. There are dress codes on many ships and most people are great about that. But not everyone. Even on our Silversea cruise some adults were definitely not dressed appropriately. The good news is most were.

 

I guess its all about expectations. I expected children on board Silversea because it was sailing to Alaska. I am not sure what the rates were for kids for this sailing but even if they were full rates I expected some kids. Why, because we've seen them in the summer on other luxury lines as they are also on Holiday sailings. And twenty kids was no big deal, at least for us. But just like adults all kids are not created equally.

 

Bottom line is that it really was not a big deal. Yes, a few kids were obviously a problem. But a few parents were a problem as well. As I said, we had a great cruise and will return again.

 

Keith

[gillianrose]

I don't see cruise lines outlawing having children on board. Certainly, not in the current economic situation. Maybe at some point. But certainly not now.

 

I don't buy the economic argument. Whichever luxury line offers a guaranteed adult experience in the middle of summer or during spring break will definitely get my extra dollars. That ship would probably have 100% occupancy, even in today's economy. Now we avoid those time periods and do something else on land, even though we would actually like to cruise.

 

There are plenty of luxury cruisers who would rather go to a luxury resort than cruise with a lot of children. Now, since there aren't any "adults only" cruises offered at all (except on P&O), those cruisers may take one cruise per year at a time when they know they will have fewer children on the ship but then will stay in a resort for another couple of weeks during the summer or during spring break instead of cruising.

 

if these same cruisers had the option of an adult luxury cruise during the summer (or spring break), with pools and hot tubs without children in them, they may book an additional cruise. The prices are often similar to luxury resorts and ships have spas onboard, too.

 

The situation is usually not quite so bad in Alaska on a port-intensive cruise, because they are usually off the ship and the weather usually is not warm enough for swimming, but when it is warm outside (including in Alaska), kids head to the pool and stay there longer and make more noise, as any parent well knows.

[Keith1010]

I don't buy the economic argument. Whichever luxury line offers a guaranteed adult experience in the middle of summer or during spring break will definitely get my extra dollars. That ship would probably have 100% occupancy, even in today's economy. Now we avoid those time periods and do something else on land, even though we would actually like to cruise.

 

There are plenty of luxury cruisers who would rather go to a luxury resort than cruise with a lot of children. Now, since there aren't any "adults only" cruises offered at all (except on P&O), those cruisers may take one cruise per year at a time when they know they will have fewer children on the ship but then will stay in a resort for another couple of weeks during the summer or during spring break instead of cruising.

 

if these same cruisers had the option of an adult luxury cruise during the summer (or spring break), with pools and hot tubs without children in them, they may book an additional cruise. The prices are often similar to luxury resorts and ships have spas onboard, too.

 

The situation is usually not quite so bad in Alaska on a port-intensive cruise, because they are usually off the ship and the weather usually is not warm enough for swimming, but when it is warm outside (including in Alaska), kids head to the pool and stay there longer and make more noise, as any parent well knows.

 

We can speculate all we want but I don't see any of the major cruise lines that serve the luxury market going with adult only cruises at this point in time. Often people ask on Cruise Critic if there is an all adult line and there is not one. And, IMHO this isn't going to change in the nearterm.

 

For what it is worth, on the cruise I was just on (which was this same cruise we are all talking about) on most days it was too cold to be outside in the pool or in the spa. The days that it was warm, we were in ports of call such as Ketchikan which turned out to be a nice warm day.

 

Personally, I don't sail to Alaska to be sitting out at the pool. I have sailed there many times on two different Luxury cruise lines and on a couple of Premium Cruise lines and have not seen many people in the pool on any of the cruise; adults or children.

 

I think Bill said it best the other day. I think enough has been said on this thread.

 

As I've said, we had a great time on the cruise and would do it again. And most people we spoke with both first time Silversea passengers and others who have sailed it often had the same response. Some might see it differently and I've never been on a cruise where everyone sees it the same way.

 

As I often say thank goodness for choice.

 

Keith

[gillianrose]

We can speculate all we want but I don't see any of the major cruise lines that serve the luxury market going with adult only cruises at this point in time.

 

Not even once a summer?

[wripro]

This is why I would never book a Caribbean cruise at Christmas time. Too many kids and there they would hog the pool. Too many parents are unwilling to tell their dear little precious babies to be aware of other people and simply shut up!!!!!

[scottjeanne]

We were on the Cloud in the Baltics the end of July. There were at least 20 children on board, my 17 year old being one of them. But by children, i mean late adolescent, young adult. There was one 7 year old girl and another young boy (9ish) with his grandmother who could not have been better behaved or more delightful. Since this itinerary was very port intensive, we were off the ship for the majority of each day. The young adults did play pool volleyball and got a game of poker together in the evening (casino closed since wer were in port).

 

I would not want to see alot of children on Silversea. I warned my daughter that there would not be anyone her age. The handful she met was a bonus.

[chicagogal]

Our Sept 3rd Silver Shadow Alaska cruise had only 2 (very young, very well behaved) children in the same family.

 

Once when the boy - maybe 3 years old - got slightly loud in the dining room at breakfast the mother looked right at him and said "Lower your voice" and that was that. He did. The little girl - Mia, aged 2? - was a charmer.

 

I don't think they were a disruption to anyone. At least I didn't hear it mentioned.

[Rally]

Our Sept 3rd Silver Shadow Alaska cruise had only 2 (very young, very well behaved) children in the same family.

 

Once when the boy - maybe 3 years old - got slightly loud in the dining room at breakfast the mother looked right at him and said "Lower your voice" and that was that. He did. The little girl - Mia, aged 2? - was a charmer.

 

I don't think they were a disruption to anyone. At least I didn't hear it mentioned.

 

Hear, hear!!! Vent your anger not at the children but at the parents. Unfortunately, today, someone might have reprimanded the parent for speaking harshly to her son. Sad. Once (not on a ship) our grand-daughter hit several floors on an elevatore for a lark; I told her harshly not to do that! Someone else in the elevator scolded me not to talk to a child that way. Oh well.

[DebbieH103]

Last Christmas, we were on Regent Voyager, and there were 65 children. The most PEOPLE (adults and children) ever in the pool at once was 7, and the ship sailed with something like 653. We were at 10% kids. They were all off in the kids program in rooms adults were not using during those hours, and at dinner, most attended the family dinners. There were more lap babies than anything, and the only time I was annoyed was a couple of elevator button pushers and one toddler that was proving he could open doors. There were never more than 2 kids in a hot tub, and they were never in both. Voyager has the same two hot tub setup that Shadow does and almost double the guests, but you never know cruise to cruise. It is still far better than the 25% kids that I sailed with on Royal Caribbean in July.

 

We all know SS marketed Alaska heavily to families this year, hence all the controversy we had a few months ago on this board. I know the message was received that the average sailor wants a mostly adult experience (or all). I don't think the marketing will be that heavy next year, but I might be wrong. Who knows what the economy for luxury cruising will do by then.