Celebrity Eclipse with a Kid

[alj1208]

We just returned from our cruise on the Eclipse with our 4-year-old son and wanted to share a few things about our experience.

 

*Though the Eclipse is mostly an adult-oriented experience, there were lots of families with young children, and we didn't feel out of place.

 

*The Fun Factory was great. It was a nice, bright, clean place with excellent staff. I didn't feel nervous leaving my son there, and that's the most important thing. We weren't looking for a kids' club with lots of bells and whistles, and though the Fun Factory has lots of great toys and activities, it doesn't have anything beyond that. We liked that the Fun Factory had maybe ten kids at most in our son's age group at any given time with three or more caregivers. Great supervision and individual attention.

 

*I had visions of checking my son into the Fun Factory every day so I could have a few hours of pool time and then for a few hours to enjoy a nice dinner. In reality, I didn't feel right doing that, because it was supposed to be a family vacation. Not judging others. Go for it, if it works for you. But, I ended up using the Fun Factory maybe a few hours four out of seven days. That meant finding things to do as a family on the ship, and that was a bit challenging during sea days. The pool and fountains were great, but other than that, not a whole lot to do all together on the ship, since it is very much adult-oriented.

 

*We might have been better off on Disney in terms of more family activities, but we were willing to trade that for a more sophisticated, upscale experience on the Eclipse.

 

*If you want upscale and hip, Eclipse is your ship. You will feel welcome if you have children, but you won't be able to enjoy all of the bars, restaurants and nightlife, unless you have grandparents on board, or, make more use of the Fun Factory than we did.

 

*Balcony safety was a huge concern for me. The Eclipse has a child lock near the top of the sliding glass door, and that provided so much peace of mind. We were also vigilant about not letting our son out there alone. We ended up really enjoying the balcony. Our son liked being out there with us, and we enjoyed using it as a "getaway" space when our son was asleep.

 

*Bottom line: If I had to do it over again, I would still choose Eclipse. But, I wish we could have enjoyed more of what the ship had to offer.

[O2cruise_again]

We just returned from our cruise on the Eclipse with our 4-year-old son and wanted to share a few things about our experience.

 

*Though the Eclipse is mostly an adult-oriented experience, there were lots of families with young children, and we didn't feel out of place.

 

*The Fun Factory was great. It was a nice, bright, clean place with excellent staff. I didn't feel nervous leaving my son there, and that's the most important thing. We weren't looking for a kids' club with lots of bells and whistles, and though the Fun Factory has lots of great toys and activities, it doesn't have anything beyond that. We liked that the Fun Factory had maybe ten kids at most in our son's age group at any given time with three or more caregivers. Great supervision and individual attention.

 

*I had visions of checking my son into the Fun Factory every day so I could have a few hours of pool time and then for a few hours to enjoy a nice dinner. In reality, I didn't feel right doing that, because it was supposed to be a family vacation. Not judging others. Go for it, if it works for you. But, I ended up using the Fun Factory maybe a few hours four out of seven days. That meant finding things to do as a family on the ship, and that was a bit challenging during sea days. The pool and fountains were great, but other than that, not a whole lot to do all together on the ship, since it is very much adult-oriented.

 

*We might have been better off on Disney in terms of more family activities, but we were willing to trade that for a more sophisticated, upscale experience on the Eclipse.

 

*If you want upscale and hip, Eclipse is your ship. You will feel welcome if you have children, but you won't be able to enjoy all of the bars, restaurants and nightlife, unless you have grandparents on board, or, make more use of the Fun Factory than we did.

 

*Balcony safety was a huge concern for me. The Eclipse has a child lock near the top of the sliding glass door, and that provided so much peace of mind. We were also vigilant about not letting our son out there alone. We ended up really enjoying the balcony. Our son liked being out there with us, and we enjoyed using it as a "getaway" space when our son was asleep.

 

*Bottom line: If I had to do it over again, I would still choose Eclipse. But, I wish we could have enjoyed more of what the ship had to offer.

Good to hear. My boys (3 and 5) enjoyed the Fun Factory on Celebrity Century so we're trying it again with Eclipse. By the second day of the cruise they were asking to go to the Fun Factory so I was able to enjoy a bit more of the cruise than you were perhaps. Bottom line, for children who can have fun without bells and whistles, X works.