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Reflection with kids- spring break


jamin jul

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We typically cruise Celebrity during the breaks. There have not been many children on Celebrity at those times. The staff does keep them busy during the week but they do not have the activities of the RCCL or Disney ships. Most of the passengers have been in the 50 plus range. Our child loved RCCL when she cruised as she met many others her age and there is a much higher energy level.

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We are thinking about doing the Reflection with kids spring break. Any input from others who have done this. We usually do RC- but would like to try something different. How are the kids programs? Is there alot of kids on the boat?

 

I am sailing Reflection on march 30 which is spring break. I also sailed Eclipse last year at the same time and there were more kids on that one then our previous Solstice cruise that was not during school break time. If I was taking my school aged children on a cruise it would be RCCL or Carnival. They offer so much more for the kids. While I have not used celebrity children's programs the ship cannot compare to the offerings of Carnival and RCCL offer. The kids will have an ok time on celebrity but you will have a better time with them on other lines.

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While I have not used celebrity children's programs the ship cannot compare to the offerings of Carnival and RCCL offer. The kids will have an ok time on celebrity but you will have a better time with them on other lines.

 

We took our son on RCI, Carnival, and Celebrity. He said he liked Celebrity the best.

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We have 9 Celebrity cruises under our belt and my son (now 12) has been on all of them. He has also sailed Royal, Carnival, Princess, Holland, Disney and NCl and he says Celebrity is the best.

 

As to Easter break- I have cruised over Easter break on Celebrity and there were many children.

 

Passengers sailing without children have no idea how many are onboard (unless they ask this question of the youth staff or front desk). The kids are so well entertained that they are in the fun factory much of the time.

 

Your children will love Celebrity.

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My question is always - are the kids coming along on a family vacation with you, or are you planning a fun vacation for your kids? (I have to admit, I am of the school of thought that until they are paying for it, they are lucky to be joining us on a nice vacation:D). There are some kids on Celebrity during breaks, but not nearly as many as on RCCI for example. Celebrity also does not have the "wow" stuff like RCCI for kids. But they do have a nice program and I can tell you my son sailed Celebrity for years and loved everything about it except for the evening entertainment (he thought Princess excelled there).

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We are thinking about doing the Reflection with kids spring break. Any input from others who have done this. We usually do RC- but would like to try something different. How are the kids programs? Is there alot of kids on the boat?

 

I'm in the same boat. I will be on the Mar 30 sailing with 5 year old twins. We've done Spring break with them before but this will be our first time on Celebrity. I've read many of the forums regarding the Fun Factory. While it may not have the "wow" factor of other lines, most parents rave about how much fun their children had.

 

Join us and we can find out together.

 

Mrs B

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We are cruising on Equinox over Easter break with daughters 13 and 11. Our previous 2 cruises have been with HAL and much like X, they were known more for being pro-adult (senior) than for children but that did not stop us from trying it. My DH and I wanted to relax and enjoy being together as a family. RCCI, NCL and Carnival seemed too busy and for lack of better words, cheesy ;). I was worried the girls would not have fun but I could not have been more wrong.

 

Less kids equalled more attention from the awesome Club HAL team. They did not have water slides or ice rinks but they did spy hunts, sports challenges, trips for ice cream, skits and a talent show. On the ships with more kids they would never get the one on one attention from Cool Counselors that remembered their names and high fived them when they saw them walking around the ship with their lame parents... well it could happen but if your kid is one of hundreds, chances maybe slim.

 

I also liked the comfort of an intimate ship as the girls could travel the 2 floors up to the lido for the Terrace Grill cheeseburger and come right back to the room or head to Club HAL while we relaxed at the pool. It was an excellent mix of Our time, Their time and then Family time. They were not initially happy that we would be trying a new cruise line as they feel very loyal to HAL!

 

I am sure the girls would LOVE RCCI or Carnival but I am not sure DH or I would. We do Disney about once a year and that is WORK... I love it but we are all exhausted by the end of each day. Cruising and the word work just do not go together.

 

So... my long drawn out point is, labeling a cruise line as good or not good for kids is all subjective. I have NO DOUBTS that my girls will enjoy Celebrity as much as HAL. The ship is only one aspect of the adventure, if you feel your kids will need more stuff to do, then excursions are an excellent way to add activities. We feel there is a balance by cruising with our kids this way. We all go home happy, a true FAMILY vacation.

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We are thinking about doing the Reflection with kids spring break. Any input from others who have done this. We usually do RC- but would like to try something different. How are the kids programs? Is there alot of kids on the boat?

 

Look at Solstice, Equinox and Eclipse (best one).

Silhouette is less suitable for kids.

Reflection is the worst option.

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Look at Solstice, Equinox and Eclipse (best one).

Silhouette is less suitable for kids.

Reflection is the worst option.

 

We sailed solstice and silhouette, and they were exactly the same for kids, in fact, silhouette was better, and so is reflection, as they have the lawn club to eat at, a real highlight for our boys, making their own pizzas!

 

Here is a short video we did, on silhouette, with our children, and it was fantastic, they love celebrity. I too feel that they are lucky to be with us, and they never complain!!

 

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I always try to research ports of call for fun things to do - a waterpark, a cycle tour, we have water rafted, swam with dolphins etc, we dont make the boys get on long coach trips to look at churches. We also ensure we are with them at the pool so they are not annoying other guests, and we breakfast in the buffet restaurant so they can get their fill of waffles!

The kids clubs are the same on all the celebrity ships, plenty to do.

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We have two boys who are 11 and 14. They've been on 5 different cruise lines. Disney is number 1 with them. Celebrity is number 2.

 

Spring Break is not the same week for schools all over the country. Some weeks during the Spring will be busier than others. But, if you are on a week long cruise during the Spring, you can count on there being many children aboard.

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To the OP. Try Bistro on Five with the kids. It is so much nicer than the buffet and they really get to know your child's tastes and preferences and they have build your own crepes- served with fresh fruit. They also have one called the "Italian" which is bananas, whipped cream and nutella that is fantastic. And for me the "Mediterranean" with chicken, pesto and sundried tomatoes was great. It is $5 pp surcharge and you can eat as much as you want. They also have soups, salads, panini's and dessert. It was our go to place- never crowded.

 

My son LOVED Qsine- so give it a try one night. My son love the Painter's Mignon, the Fish and Chips, the make your own Guacamole (that comes with the tacos) and the Chocolate Tombstone dessert. I liked the Qsine Greens and the Persian Kabob the best. We tried everything on the menu (went 4 times on two different cruises) and the only thing that wasn't good was the Vegetable Purees.

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We will be on3/23 with our 9and 6 YO. We've only sailed RCCL twice once before kids once with one. We loved RCCL. We wanted something different this time. I love WDW but Disney cruises do not appeal to me for some reason. A lot of friends go on Disney and have loved it. So far I've heard great things about the kids club on Reflection.

 

My kids are just so excited to go on the cruise, hang at the pool and explore new beaches/islands. We usually go to Aruba and when we do that we hang at pool, on beach and do some other water/land activities when we feel. I guess it depends on the family/kids too but I feel my kids will have a ton of fun on this cruise (along w/activities on islands) along with some down time perhaps? We do a lot of basketball, travel soccer and gymnastics so for me I feel like a ship with less activities, but just enough to keep them entertained is the perfect balance. Of course I will post afterwards how that works out :)

 

Good luck and have fun no matter what you choose!

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Have sailed with our school age kids 3 times. They prefer celebrity over rcl. Said too much craziness on rcl. They were 14 and 10 on their first cruise. Last year at 17 and 13 they ran the ship on their own but we knew if there was a glass show they would both be there.

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Would love to know why Reflection is the worst?

 

Because he is Bias against the last 2 ships and the changes they made, such as the lawn area, and Reflection with more cruise passengers. Me personally I like Reflection because its one continue deck on the lawn to the front of the ship. Don't like the cabanas but you can't have everything.

 

Kids area looks the same. But if I had kids I would be looking at RCCL.

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I have sailed 3x's on RC with my son now. He came away from our last Royal cruise saying that he wants to do Celebrity from here on out. We've done Celebrity 9x's and it's his favorite.

 

So it's a crock that Royal, Carnival and NCL are better for kids.

 

The Celebrity program is fun, well run and the counselors are fantastic. I believe Celebrity does such a bang up job with their youth program because they don't want kids running around and being nuisances. I swear they must hypnotize the kids with "You will want to come to the Fun Factory, all day- everyday. You will not want to get off the ship. You will want to eat all your meals with the youth counselors." Whatever they do in there- it's addictive and they love to go. Way better than any other youth program I've encountered.

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My 7yo prefers X over RCCL, Princess and Disney. The program is activity driven and with fewer kids than the other lines, she actually gets to make friends as opposed to acquantances. Sometimes there are a lot of kids others there aren't. We just did the Summit and there were only 37 kids 3-17. She said it was the best kids club yet and was crying as we got off the ship

 

Over spring break out of Florida there will be plenty of kids no worries. Somewhere between 2-400.

 

One additional thing that is good about the S class ships for kids, one of the pools is shallower allowing more for kids play. In the past both pools were 4' + and needed an adult in the pool with the kids. On S class they just need to stay nearby

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My 7yo prefers X over RCCL, Princess and Disney. The program is activity driven and with fewer kids than the other lines, she actually gets to make friends as opposed to acquantances. Sometimes there are a lot of kids others there aren't. We just did the Summit and there were only 37 kids 3-17. She said it was the best kids club yet and was crying as we got off the ship

 

Over spring break out of Florida there will be plenty of kids no worries. Somewhere between 2-400.

 

One additional thing that is good about the S class ships for kids, one of the pools is shallower allowing more for kids play. In the past both pools were 4' + and needed an adult in the pool with the kids. On S class they just need to stay nearby

 

Really appreciate your input. Some of these threads had me a little scared. I know it will come down to the kids individually. Glad to hear your daughters' experiences have been positive.

 

Mrs B

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We are thinking about doing the Reflection with kids spring break. Any input from others who have done this. We usually do RC- but would like to try something different. How are the kids programs? Is there alot of kids on the boat?

 

 

My kids are now 21 and 19 and to this date they still prefer Royal Caribbean over Celebrity for the fun factor. Have you tried the Oasis or Allure with the kids?

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