RCKM43

Not sure about the 18 year old it depends on their likes. I personally have been sailing Celebrity since HS and there were always other teens on our cruises. My 11 year old loves Celebrity as does my 9 year old. We have been on two Celebrity cruises this year, but they have been on 7 Celebrity cruises. There were 500 kids on our April Equinox and 250 on our July British Isles cruise. They do scavenger hunts, various challenges (STEM related) like scavenger hunt for supplies then group egg drops, silent disco, pool olympics, karaoke, s’mores and games night, movies, a talent show, family bingo, x box, Gaga ball (and other games on the basketball courts), free arcade time, sushi demonstration, are just some of the activities they do with the 10-13 age group. All the cruises, except our British Isle cruise, have had 400-500 teen and younger kids on board. My kids always make a lot of friends and even meet up for activities outside the camp at sea (like dance classes on deck 3). They still keep in touch with many of the kids they met. My kids are not kids who just sit around. They have never been bored. They do spend time with us (they eat all three meals with us) and go on excursions and pool time. Then they supplement the above with the camp at sea activities. Expect they will want to go every evening after dinner for the main activities. The 2-5 block usually has some fun activities as well. They eat dinner with us in the MDR then when they finish they walk themselves up to the club and sign themselves in.

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I would bring one. With school in session not sure how many kids will be on board. I expect the kids club will do something for those who are on board. They can tailor activities better to the kids with fewer on board. They put together a nice Easter party with tons of candy. Might not ToT but I would think they might do some sort of party.

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Curious. Approximately how much does the studio cost and what is included. We have done the regular photo package but never looked into the studio.

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Oh and get the unlimited photo package. We do it every cruise. You get photos of every picture they take. We average 150-200 over our trips. It includes boarding and all photos taken on the pier at each port, roaming photographers (including meals) and all pictures taken on decks 3,4, and 5. It does not include the special studio pictures they do in the photo area that are black and white. Most nights they have 3-8 backdrops running and each one will take about 6 photos. So if you plan well you can have fun and get some nice family pictures. It only is good for those in the room who purchased it. But for example we travel with my parents so it includes photos they get in with our kids or our family. We get a package that includes digital and hard copies. Grandparents gets the hard copies we use the digital.

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The Equinox is a great ship. Your child will have probably more fun than you. The camp at sea offers 3 free times a day. 9-12, 2-5, 7-10. The activities vary by time and day. Each age group offers different activities, and then there are family activities you can join in on or she can do with her age group. Some family things (again you can go with her for more family time or she can go with her club) were family bingo, family camp out (s’mores, various group games, teepees, face painting, bracelets, hula hoops) usually it is done on the lawn at night, family silent disco, family karaoke, family scavenger hunts, talent show at the end of the week. In the club they do arts and crafts, various games, science experiments, various themed activities like pirate scavenger hunts and games. Story time, sometimes movies. Aside from the club there is the pool to swim in, my kids like some of the shows, they love to go around the ship and look at and take pictures with various pieces of artwork. A typical sea day...They will have breakfast with us. Then either go to the pool with us, and have lunch then go to the club from say 2-4. Other’s they will go 9 or 10-12 in the club, have lunch, then swim. We go by what activities excite them the most. On port days they always get off with us and we go on a tour together, have lunch and they might go to the club for an hour before getting ready for dinner. Every night unless they want to see a show, they typically head up to the club between 730 and 8 after dinner. They stay until 9 or 10. Nights typically have the more exciting activities and you find have the most kids participating. Our rule is we want them to eat all meals with us, they must do all shore excursions with us, and some swim time. Honestly it tends to balance itself out. Most kids would be in a hurry to go and not want to leave at the end. We never use the paid times. You do not have to go for the whole free block. You can go for as little or as much as your child wishes. So mine would go sometimes just for an hour before coming back to shower and dress for dinner. The staff is amazing with the kids and we have had some on several cruises we have done. They always remember our girls and always are fabulous with them. The club is what you make of it. My kids say there are kids who are in there all day every day, and others who only go 1 hour a day. If you want more time you can pay for lunch 12-2, dinner 5-7 or slumber party 10-1. I believe it is $6 an hour. They have a vip package where you get a bridge and backstage tour, goody bag and unlimited paid times for a set price, but we have never used it. My kids have done 7 Celebrity cruises starting at ages 2/4 and now 9/11. We were on the Equinox twice, once last June and this past April.

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Link did not work for me but I found the video quite easily,

 

Looks like a nice program, if they have enough trained staff to carry it through..

 

 

 

Would also like to see the pre schooler spaces b/c we might do a family cruise including a grandchild in a year or so,,,,, at 2 he is perfect for Sesame Place right now!

The video is actually the current fun Factory/kids at sea program. They offered it on our Equinox cruise in April and again on the Eclipse two weeks ago. My kids enjoy the programs.

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The splash area is very cute but they must be potty trained. We saw them going over to those clearly in diapers and asking that they remove them. They were pretty much on most of the day except when they had some entertainment such as the silent disco.

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We had a family veranda on the Summit so cannot comment on the M class ships, but we have been on several S class with 4 in a room (kids are now 9 and 11) and have never had an issue. On S class the couch does not pull out so there it plenty of walkable space at night. They put the pull down away during the day, I would imagine a pull out couch might take up more room but when they make up the room in the mornings they would fold it back up. It would only be tight at bedtime. One cabin is perfectly doable with kids that age.

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Looks very crowded..esp if upper berth person needs to use the bathroom

It actually isn’t. They don’t keep that draw open. It has always been closed for us. The berth doesn’t come out farther than the couch does.

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No, it is only on the Equinox. Not sure if the bartenders know how to make those drinks on the Solstice. You could ask, but no there is not a similar official menu.

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We have never had the couch left as a bed during the daytime. It is always returned to a couch in the morning and turned down at night.

 

 

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They have for our last four cruises. We just ask to put it back to the couch. Sometimes they are great about it, others not so much and need reminders. The berth though always goes away.

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That picture above is not very accurate. Here is a better picture for comparison. The top berth and the couch both made up. The top berth is the same size as the couch. I think but could be wrong it holds some like 300 or 500 lbs. but size wise is the same as the could in length and width. I slept in them in college when traveling on Celebrity many years ago with no issue.

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Better to do berth if you are ok with that choice. It is actually pretty comfortable and has a light up there they can turn on and off. They put it away every morning and take it down at evening turndown. Whereas they always leave the couch set up like a bed and you have to ask several times to get it put back in the morning.

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Where are pics taken? What kind of backdrops? I’m a scrapbooker so photo packages are my souvenir but it’s been many years since I’ve cruised. I regularly come home from Disney trips with hundreds of pics; my family is well-trained to stop for photographers. But I wasn’t sure how many photo ops there would be on a cruise like this.

 

 

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Here are some of the corners of the backdrops...sorry etc kids out of the pictures but it will give you a rough idea..jpg[/img]

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Where are pics taken? What kind of backdrops? I’m a scrapbooker so photo packages are my souvenir but it’s been many years since I’ve cruised. I regularly come home from Disney trips with hundreds of pics; my family is well-trained to stop for photographers. But I wasn’t sure how many photo ops there would be on a cruise like this.

 

 

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They are taken all over decks 3,4 and 5. Staircases, sometimes the curtains by the martini bar, or the grand piano. Backdrops include things like...the ship in port at night, titanic staircase, plain white backdrop you stand or sit, sunsets, there are quite a few. Most nights there are 4-7 stations, sometimes more. If you ask they will tell you where they are each night. They also have a few roving photographers as well. We try to hit all of them nightly with the kids so that we get the most out of the package.

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We purchased the all inclusive package for our upcoming cruise. Question...in the OP post you said it included all but the in studio photos. Are those the more formal posed photos and do they cost extra. I was hoping for a few pics with our family dressed all dressed up. Thanks!!!

The studio is just that a studio where they take pictures. Think 1-2 people black and white background or black and white type pictures. Nice if you want to do formal photography. You don’t need it. There are anywhere from 5-9 backdrop/photographers every night. You will get plenty of group shots from them. We have seen many large (think 15-30 people) groups getting theirs done on the main staircase. The backdrops all over the ship, as well as, the characters and dock photographs are all included. If you hit several of the stops each night and each photographer takes several pictures you can easily get over 200. The more effort you put into getting them taken, the more you will have.

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Here are the dates for the roll out of all X ships after they have their makeovers (S and M class). I hadn't seen this posted anywhere yet, but maybe someone else already posted it.

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/Travel_Advisory_Panel_8.5x11_flyer.pdf

The link won’t open. Are they starting dates for these. The next post shows when it ends, but not when each ship starts.

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We get the premium for our kids on the past few cruises. They get cans of soda to take back to the room. They get frozen non alcoholic drinks, on the equinox they were able to get non alcoholic drinks at slush too. They also got drinks like raspberry fizzes etc. The premium package will pretty much get them anything non alcoholic that they want. Not sure they have milkshakes, never saw any, but they can get virgin pina coladas, various daiquiri’s etc. My kids had plenty of choices .

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We upgrade our kids to the premium. It is only $4 a day difference. Then they can get pretty much anything that is non alcoholic. Including non alcoholic versions of the drinks at slush on the Equinox.

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The couch converts to a single bed length wise (they remove the seat cushions and add a mattress) so you only have one open side. It would be ok for an almost 2 year old. They put the cushions between the wall and the couch. Just place the cushions on the floor in case he rolls out. I bought blow up bed rails. You would only need one. Much better and easier to pack than a pool noodle. You slip it under the sheets. The alternative is the couch has a drawer with a mattress. I bet they would make that up. It is practically on the ground so you wouldn’t have to worry about him falling out. I found a picture online of what the couch and pull out look like. They must on occasion make up the drawer rather then the pull down as our cabin steward has asked which we prefer. We always use the couch and pull down, but you can see the two items I am referring to in the picture.

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Where are people getting children’s Bonine? My search is only turning up the 25mg tablets

 

 

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I don’t believe they make it anymore. The only ones I see are for kids 12 and up/adults. Older posts indicate they stopped making the children’s and it is not listed on Bonine’s website.

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Spring break is late next year. In the NY area it usually starts on Good Friday with the following week off. You will find schools in the NY area are off the 19th-26th of April in 2019. Best if you wish to avoid kids steer clear of March/April.

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We have been asked several times various ports. We ask guest services to make a copy of our passports. I put the copies in a zip lock so they don’t get wet. We just show that and our seacard. Never had an issue, safer than carrying the actually passport off the ship.

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Talk to your ped. But mine take kids Dramamine. Our ped recommends taking it about an hour before we sail. If they are doing ok, don’t continue. Allergy meds do not work for my children. Nor do the bands or ginger alone. We are on our 5th cruise and find the lowest dose works for both of mine. But be careful once you start to get sick it is hard to alleviate the feeling. They need to take a nap to feel like themselves again. Now I just know to give it every 6 hours and then as soon as they wake up on sea days. I believe they discontinued children Bonine. They do make kids Dramamine.

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I like trunk bay on St John’s. That is what we always do in St Thomas. We usually take the ship excursion to make it easier. Beautiful beach. Gentle not deep or sharp slope crystal clear water. Adults can take turns snorkeling. Water is generally calm so you kids can sit and play or splash in the shallow water. Often some fish will even come up to your kids in the shallow area so they can see fish. It is calm enough you could hold the baby and wade in a bit.

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