Kids in CL?

[insulationbabe]

Everyone knows by now what the new ruling is in the concierge regarding children to come in - this subject is getting talked to death I think and maybe it is time to lock the subject, like they have done before
Our only complaint is (and we are suite guests as well as Diamond plus) that on the smaller ships which have a much smaller lounge there would be a bunch of kids taking up seats and us older folks would have nowhere to sit - I'm sure that most parents would remove their little ones if a temper tantrum or a crying spell was taking place - it shouldn't be any different if they were in church, attending a function, etc. where one parent would graciously take their child out and calm them down.
We choose now to cruise other than holiday times and school breaks - although we have a Thanksgiving cruise booked on the Jewel, where they may be a problem, this cruise was booked long ago, so I hope it does work out in a good way:)
Please don't let anyone ruin your holiday, especially in a grand suite:)

[Debde]

[quote name='KittyCat1Million']Please don't let the rantings of some here get you worried about your cruise. RCL wants you and your family to enjoy the CL. You have paid for this perk. Many of the complaining D+ on this thread have been extended an invitation to enjoy the CL and are now complaining. They will reap what they sow. Their complaints will get them ousted from the CL.[/quote]

Cshgrand-Agree with the above statement. You go in the lounge with your child and enjoy your cruise. There will be others joining you now so some here will just have to get over it!!

[Host Kewlguy]

[COLOR="Black"]There's no reason to lock the thread (at the moment) because this is a topic that a lot of people are interested in. With all due respect, if the thread disturbs or upsets you then ignore it and don't participate in the discussion. [/COLOR]

[Rala]

[quote name='LBcruzman']And may I ask (ever so politely:D), why was your sister so interested in what was happening at another table?

I am always surprised at what bothers people with regard to other tables. We usually are so engrossed with our table mates in conversation that I could scarcely tell you what the people at surrounding tables even looked like, let alone how they behaved.

Why can't people just enjoy their cruises and not be so interested/worried/upset about what others do?[/QUOTE]

I would imagine that all of these "antics" by this child were not being done silently and some of the tables in the MDR are not very far apart. She probably could not help but notice the little "darling" ??!! Who says she was at a large table engrossed with her tablemates, maybe she was at a two-top hoping for a quiet dinner with her DH/partner/SO, whatever! :rolleyes:

[Jumbiecruiser]

[quote name='Desertbelle']Except for the self-righteous, know-it-all, self-important, complainers, I rather like the type of people Royal Caribbean seems to be attracting these days.[/quote]

And your post rings loud with the same thing that you are accusing others of being. Pot meet kettle. People who live in glass houses..................:rolleyes:

[lisaf1]

I have been sailing in Suites for several years and I am also D+. I am looking forward to being able to use the CL on my Thanksgiving cruise now that I am able to bring my Daughter in.


Lisa

[wolfganghowell]

Thank you Hostkewlguy - my thoughts exactly.

I've read this with interest too. There is an assumption that the only people complaining about the policy change are D+. Wrong assumption. We will be D+ soon BUT we booked a GS on our next cruise specifically to spend time in the CL with friends who are also in a GS. We like the adult happy hour and will most likely spend an hour or 2 in there before dinner every night. We behave appropriately - with occasional shrieks of laughter :D We won't swill alcohol but we will drink - we will also tip nicely for the privilege. If it becomes Romper Room, I will gently voice my concerns to the concierge, mention it on the comment card and contact corporate. We booked with the understanding of what we are getting - once again, RCCL management has changed the rules. Of course, they are entitled to do so just as we are entitled to look around for other options. It's no coincidence our next cruise is now Celebrity - they seem to have switched identities - X is providing MORE perks to their repeat, adult guests while RCCL seems to be catering to families and reducing perks to C&A members. We will be D+ after our next cruise and I fully expect to "lose" CL access, just as we did after we became Diamond. It's frustrating to have RCCL dangle a carrot repeatedly and then snatch it away.

I'll be happy to report back on our CL experience when we return from Mariner in early December.

[gerif]

[quote name='LBcruzman']And may I ask (ever so politely:D), why was your sister so interested in what was happening at another table?

I am always surprised at what bothers people with regard to other tables. We usually are so engrossed with our table mates in conversation that I could scarcely tell you what the people at surrounding tables even looked like, let alone how they behaved.

Why can't people just enjoy their cruises and not be so interested/worried/upset about what others do?[/QUOTE]

Sometimes you can't miss it. Just the other night our DDIL had flown in for a family wedding and visiting her terminally ill father, so we took her out to dinner to catch up. We're talking white tablecloth/cloth napkin kind of place, not a "family" joint. At a nearby table was a couple with two toddlers. Now, I can't say they were "acting up" and, in fact, were pretty happy - so much so that they were shrieking loudly every few minutes. Could barely hear ourselves think and I left with a pounding headache. Parents might think it's cute, but, trust me, no one else does.

And for those who insist that their kids be allowed into the CL because they must spend ALL their time as a family - seriously, you NEVER send the kids to AO or let the teenagers hang with their friends? You NEVER go to the casino? I'm finding that just a bit hard to believe.

[pcur]

[quote name='LBcruzman']I am sorry you misinterpreted my comments on your postings. I was in no way being critical toward you personally. I was just commenting on your posts like people do here every day.

This is obviously a hot topic. I am sure Royal Caribbean has taken notice. But like I have posted many times, Royal is going after the upscale free spending suite booking family crowd that they hope to capture from Disney Cruise Lines. This is becoming more and more obvious. They want people who feel as you do to move on to Celebrity and Azamara.

Unfortunately this is going to make a lot of very loyal customers upset. But Royal has done this in the past (denying D's the use of the CL) and they got away with it unscathed.

People have the choice of being upset, moving on to another cruise line or vacation choice, going to Celebrity or AZ, or going with the flow of a more family friendly RCL. I am neither promoting or criticizing RCL's new focus, I am just acknowledging it.[/QUOTE]

What's ironic about this is my husband and I REALLY DON'T CARE if they move D+ out of the CL. We don't use it much. The Diamond Event is good enough for us, and having a CL available gives us two options on some ships.

What I am a little lathered about is anyone, anywhere, allowing their children to disturb other people nearby. That's the real issue to me. It's such an easy problem to solve, too. When my two sons were growing up we always, always, always took age-appropriate toys to occupy them anywhere we went. Many times they would just sit at the table and build small things with Leggos if they weren't hungry. Keep a kid occupied.

I asked the Concierge on the Freedom a month ago how the new policy was going in the CL, and he said there had been very few brought in during Happy Hour, and he was keeping a very close eye on things.

I did have one confrontational situation on the Independence in 2009. We were at one of the headliner shows, and I was sitting at the end of a row; it was very crowded. A woman, her mother, and an obviously hyperactive boy came in. This child was running around and screaming in the back where we were, and the grandmother was obviously getting really embarassed. I went over the told the mother nicely that her child was so loud that the rest of us nearby couldn't hear the show. She got huffy and said he had as much right to see the show as I did. I told her I agreed completely, but he DIDN'T have the right to disturb other people while he was watching the show. They left soon after. Several people thanked me after the show was over.

[Bakincakes]

I guess it all comes down to how people view things.

We've sat near small children in the MDR and have really never known they were there.

And then we got to sit next to the family that brought a DVD player for their son to watch during dinner. No headphones...music and dialogue for all around the table to hear.

So through dinner we were treated to the Little Mermaid...

We spoke with the Head Waiter..our waitstaff, who were waiting on the same family. The movie wasn't turned off so we don't know if the parents were spoken to and refused or if no one said anything to them.

Did the parents no know how loud the movie was? I would think unless they were hearing impaired they would have had to know just how loud it was and that everyone around them could hear it. So the only conclusion we could come to was that they really didn't care about anyone else around them.

Not an uncommon school of thought these days:(,

[FLSteve11]

[quote name='pcur']What's ironic about this is my husband and I REALLY DON'T CARE if they move D+ out of the CL. We don't use it much. The Diamond Event is good enough for us, and having a CL available gives us two options on some ships.

What I am a little lathered about is anyone, anywhere, allowing their children to disturb other people nearby. That's the real issue to me. It's such an easy problem to solve, too. When my two sons were growing up we always, always, always took age-appropriate toys to occupy them anywhere we went. Many times they would just sit at the table and build small things with Leggos if they weren't hungry. Keep a kid occupied.

[/quote]

I have to tell you, there are probably a few people who read that last paragraph, and thought to themselves that if that happened in the CL room with them they would have been disturbed by it. Not most, not even many, but there will be some who would think the "clacking sound of the leggo's" completely ruined the atmosphere of the room for them. Leaving out those who would be upset that they were taking up valuable seat and table space if the CL room happened to be crowded at the time.

[Desertbelle]

[quote name='FLSteve11']I have to tell you, there are probably a few people who read that last paragraph, and thought to themselves that if that happened in the CL room with them they would have been disturbed by it. Not most, not even many, but there will be some who would think the "clacking sound of the leggo's" completely ruined the atmosphere of the room for them. Leaving out those who would be upset that they were taking up valuable seat and table space if the CL room happened to be crowded at the time.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. Just the fact that there are children around drive some people mad...doesn't matter if they are behaving well or not.

[Debde]

[quote name='FLSteve11']but there will be some who would think the "clacking sound of the leggo's" completely ruined the atmosphere of the room for them. .[/quote]

I'm going to be sorry but I have to go here.
pcur-
How would you feel and how would you handle a person who came up to you and said the clacking leggo's are bothering them and maybe you should put them away!!!:p

:insert a sense of humor please:

[marci22]

[quote name='gerif']
And for those who insist that their kids be allowed into the CL because they must spend ALL their time as a family - seriously, you NEVER send the kids to AO or let the teenagers hang with their friends? You NEVER go to the casino? I'm finding that just a bit hard to believe.[/quote]

Who's saying that?

[mommabean]

[quote name='Debde']I'm going to be sorry but I have to go here.
pcur-
How would you feel and how would you handle a person who came up to you and said the clacking leggo's are bothering them and maybe you should put them away!!!:p

:insert a sense of humor please:[/QUOTE]

It's funny, I never would have gone up to anyone and said anything about the leggos. But being one who is unusually annoyed by repetitive sounds, I wouldn't like the leggos sound.

A movie or video game noise would have been escalated to the matre di and an immediate request for a table change would have been in order had they not stopped the game playing if it was really disruptive to our enjoyment of dinner.

The leggos issue I would consider the luck of the draw and my problem since most people wouldn't be bothered by it.

I said I was a strict parent. The only "entertainment" at the dinner table at a nice restaurant I would have permitted was a book or a non-talking doll. None of my children were permitted to stand, much less run around. Not EVER! At least not while I was there. ;)

Gina

And there's no reason for you to be sorry about what you said. It just goes to show that different people have different ideas about what might be annoying or acceptable behavior. I do think most people wouldn't approve of having to listen to The Little Mermaid from another table at dinner unless maybe they were eating at McDs.

[pcur]

[quote name='FLSteve11']I have to tell you, there are probably a few people who read that last paragraph, and thought to themselves that if that happened in the CL room with them they would have been disturbed by it. Not most, not even many, but there will be some who would think the "clacking sound of the leggo's" completely ruined the atmosphere of the room for them. Leaving out those who would be upset that they were taking up valuable seat and table space if the CL room happened to be crowded at the time.[/QUOTE]

Where is the world did you come to the conclusion that I am recommending Leggos in the CL at happy hour???????? :eek:

I was merely using that as an example of what we did with our children sometimes when we took them out. And, the Leggos are not noisy; I was sensitive to my kids making noise then, just as much as other people's kids making noise now. Coloring books, puzzles, dvd players with headphones are just as good.

[pcur]

[quote name='Debde']I'm going to be sorry but I have to go here.
pcur-
How would you feel and how would you handle a person who came up to you and said the clacking leggo's are bothering them and maybe you should put them away!!!:p

:insert a sense of humor please:[/QUOTE]

We would have put them away, of course! But, in the several years we did this when our kids were 3-9 years old, we never had anyone so much as glance at us. We used the little Leggos they make cars and airplanes with.

We actually skipped eating out for several years when my youngest was born. He wasn't able to stay quiet until he was around 2 1/2.

OK, forget the Leggos. Not a good example for the point I'm trying to make, which is very young children should have age-appropriate things to do to keep them occupied when they have to sit ANYWHERE for any length of time. We went nowhere without bringing something for them to do. It's common sense, and like I said before, it's an easy problem to solve IF YOU WANT TO SOLVE IT. Many, many parents of young children today cannot be bothered to think about this, and just let their kids bother other people. When it's to the point where we cannot enjoy what we are doing, or cannot hear each other, then I speak up.

If I had been in the MDR with the Little Mermaid playing, I would have either asked to change tables, or gone and gifted that child with a pair of earbuds if I could have found some, or bought the child a coloring book in port. Seriously, it's not necessary to suffer.

[Debde]

[quote name='pcur']
OK, forget the Leggos. Not a good example for the point I'm trying to make, [/quote]

no-it probably wasn't!!!;)

[FLSteve11]

[quote name='pcur']Where is the world did you come to the conclusion that I am recommending Leggos in the CL at happy hour???????? :eek:

I was merely using that as an example of what we did with our children sometimes when we took them out. And, the Leggos are not noisy; I was sensitive to my kids making noise then, just as much as other people's kids making noise now. Coloring books, puzzles, dvd players with headphones are just as good.[/quote]

I wasn't saying you recommended them. But this is a thread about bring children to the CL, and it's an example you used of keeping children occupied in a location. Plus pointing out that, no matter how we try to break it down, you'll never be able to please all the people no matter how much you try.

Personally, leggo's wouldn't bother me, even there. Not that I would bring any myself. Now a movie with no headphones, that would bother me! I would never let my DD do that at dinner, even with headphones we don't bring movies to the dinner table. We bring books (for reading or puzzles) or play a simple game with no pieces (I-spy, Guess who, something like that) if she is looking for something to do.

[sailnsee]

We have paid our way up to D+(several suites included) and enjoyed the perk of CL-free drinks but more importantely meeting others who like to cruise. I love children-mom and grandmom plus a teacher but I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THEM IN THE CL!) It is often crowded and we don't need more little bodies taking up the seating and running around and picking at the appetizers...I can think of a dozen more reasons that they don't belong here. It is a quiet(maybe not) and an adult time away from kids. There are many other ways to keep them entertained. We need entertaining,too.
We will continue to cruise in the "in school" season when there shouldn't be too many children. ( BTW-I agree-why not let everyone who is in a D+ cabin in the lounge too.They are paying more than suite children and hey, they are in the same cabin!)The whold idea is ridiculous....

[MichelleChell]

[quote name='sailnsee']We have paid our way up to D+(several suites included) and enjoyed the perk of CL-free drinks but more importantely meeting others who like to cruise. I love children-mom and grandmom plus a teacher but I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THEM IN THE CL!) It is often crowded and we don't need more little bodies taking up the seating and running around and picking at the appetizers...I can think of a dozen more reasons that they don't belong here. It is a quiet(maybe not) and an adult time away from kids. There are many other ways to keep them entertained. We need entertaining,too.
We will continue to cruise in the "in school" season when there shouldn't be too many children. ( BTW-I agree-why not let everyone who is in a D+ cabin in the lounge too.They are paying more than suite children and hey, they are in the same cabin!)The whold idea is ridiculous....[/quote]
This has been a heated discussion dropped a few weeks ago. Thanks so much for pulling this back up to get started all over again!

[seacat65]

[quote name='MichelleChell']This has been a heated discussion dropped a few weeks ago. Thanks so much for pulling this back up to get started all over again![/quote]

I thought of the very same thing when I saw it "Pop-Up" again....:mad:

I silently said..." Oh No..not again with this same discussion"..? I thought it had been placed to rest...permanently!

[TerriDHair]

[COLOR=darkorchid]I say those bothered by the topic should not read the posts and those who want to state their feelings about it should be able to! Since the last post in October, I have been on a cruise and experienced the lounge post policy change. While not "horrifying", it was bothersome at times. Several families were there every night before dinner with anywhere from 2-3 kids each. One little girl, around 4, was obviously bored and climbed on the couch, approached people to do little dances, etc. One boy would repeatedly use his "outside voice". That would be followed by "shhh!" from the mom. Quiet for a bit then loud again and more "shhh"s, which was also annoying. I could go on, but won't. Thankfully, when we would return after dinner it was only adults each night. We too will never cruise when school is out. I also noted our opinion on the comment card. [/COLOR]

[Cruisergal1208]

Some kids are more well behaved that others. Same as some parents control their kids better than others. Recently had our first experience in the CL and 2 of the cutest, well behaved kids were there each night and never a problem. I would be upset too if left to run all over the place and causing disturbance.

[Larry5440]

[quote name='sailnsee']We have paid our way up to D+(several suites included) and enjoyed the perk of CL-free drinks but more importantely meeting others who like to cruise. I love children-mom and grandmom plus a teacher but I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THEM IN THE CL!) It is often crowded and we don't need more little bodies taking up the seating and running around and picking at the appetizers...I can think of a dozen more reasons that they don't belong here. It is a quiet(maybe not) and an adult time away from kids. There are many other ways to keep them entertained. We need entertaining,too.
We will continue to cruise in the "in school" season when there shouldn't be too many children. ( BTW-I agree-why not let everyone who is in a D+ cabin in the lounge too.They are paying more than suite children and hey, they are in the same cabin!)The whold idea is ridiculous....[/quote]

Well said. We agree.