Celebrity for Kindergarteners???

[ksmcali]

I posted this in the Family Forum, but thought I might get more information here also.

 

We're considering a Bermuda cruise on the Celebrity Summit for early June. We've never cruised Celebrity before and I was wondering if someone could provide some insight into the Fun Factory. What's been your experience with 5 to 6 year olds and their enjoyment of the program. Celebrity's platform is Modern Luxury and I'm not sure what that translates into in terms of children's programs.

 

I've done alot of research on here and heard positive things, but most of the responses have been in regards to pre-teen/teens. Anyone have any feedback on lower elementary age kids?

 

Thanks for any information you can provide!

[jpf]

I'll put in my 2 cents worth...... obviously you can only decide whats best for you. I really think Celebrity is geared more towards adults, and considering you wish to cruise in early June, there also may not be too many other children going at that time. Just wondering if you also considered going on the NCC Breakaway, also going to Bermuda, and that ship is huge, with probably more to do for kids. Well, you know what they say about opinions.....like I wrote, it's only my 2 cents worth......

[tobias]

Our son and daughter in law travel with their daughter who is now 8 almost exclusively on Celebrity because of the great kids program they have. Even when there aren't many children on a particular cruise they have a great time and Quinn is always asking to go back to the kid's club. She has been on at least 5 cruises with her mom and dad. This past March they cruised RCI and we're not as happy with the kid's club there so next March it's back to Celebrity. Hope this helps.

[chessbriar]

Ignore JPF, if they can't speak from personal experience then they really don't answer your question.

 

My daughter is now 7 years old and we did the Summit in January. She had the time of her life and never wanted to leave.

 

The program for Celebrity's kids club is more activity driven. The kids interact with each other and the counselors interact greatly with the kids.

 

Royal Caribbeans program is a little more project driving and you will come home with a stack of artwork.

 

Go your child will have a blast. Btw, my daughter has been cruising since she was 21 months old. She has never had a complaint about the kids club. She takes each cruise line's club for what it is, makes new friends and had a blast

[Chicagocrooza]

Just got back from the 4/6 sailing on reflection. My two kids were 3 and 5 and they were having a lot of fun at the fun factory. The hrs are 9-12 2-5 and 7-10. We mostly put them in te morning programs and ate lunch with them. Headed back to cabin for an afternoon nap. I did drop them off in te evening in two seperate occasion and never a complaint from them. We hired baby sitter at our cabin 5 out of 7 nights mostly from 10 to 12 so my wife and I could hit the bar or go to a late show.

 

The sitters are the same ppl from the fun factory so they felt comfortable with them.

[jpf]

chessbriar wrote, 'Ignore JPF, if they can't speak from personal experience then they really don't answer your question.' Well, chess, you needed be rude, after all I qualified my response as 'my opinion,' nothing more, as in 'my 2 cents.' You certainly could have just posted your opinion, without making a snide comment. It really isn't a surprise that Celebrity caters to a more mature crowd......from Cruise Critic:

'Celebrity Summit Fellow Passengers

Celebrity Summit's passenger base is composed mostly of well-traveled, middle- and upper-middle-class Americans in the 45 - 65 age bracket.' I certainly pointed out in early June, there might not be many children on board.

I also pointed out the new NCC Breakaway, which I'll bet has much more to offer the kids. The original poster is from Texas and may not be aware the Breakaway leaves the same day, and also goes to Bermuda.

[parallax]

Our daughter, who is 5, loved our March cruise on the Celebrity Summit. She just adored the Kids' Club. They had great activities (treasure hunts, face painting, dance parties etc.). It was nice to see how nice the crew were with the kids. The captain spent some time with the kids on pirate night. Typically, our daughter did the evening session (after dinner) but sometimes did an afternoon session. While it is true that there may not be as many kids on Celebrity as with RCCL and NCL, is that a bad thing? It results in the Kids' Club staff not being overwhelmed and they can focus on the activities.

 

There are a certain percentage of people who want to reserve Celebrity for adults only. Obviously, this is a pipe dream and they are trying to save something that no longer exists. Celebrity is mass market cruise line that markets to families. Don't be discouraged by a vocal minority.

[Algebralovr]

I had the opportunity to speak, somewhat at length, to one of the Fun Factory folk on our last cruise in Feb 2013. They were only expecting 12 children for the week.

 

I would say they are used to small groups of kids and know how to keep the children busy. They had a decent number of toys, including a number of building toys. They had some electronic things as well.

 

Bottom line, I think your kindergartener will be fine. There might not be many other kids, but Celebrity is trying to market themselves to the 40-something's, and they know there are a lot in that bracket with young families and the income and desire to sail Celebrity.

[Leia]

I'd agree with the other posters who have kids, my then 6 year old loved the Fun Factory on the Equinox in 2010. We were in the Mediterranean, so there weren't tons of kids, but he had a great time and enjoyed the other kids.

[chessbriar]

Celebrity Summit's passenger base is composed mostly of well-traveled, middle- and upper-middle-class Americans in the 45 - 65 age bracket.' I certainly pointed out in early June, there might not be many children on board.

But here's where you make an error again. I've been cruising X since I was 31 and there have never been a shortage of people my age on board. And I'm still not in the bracket you list.

 

In addition to that, are you aware Summit is sailing from the New York area during the early summer months. With people able to drive to the port they get far more families. With some schools letting out there are more kids as well as families are willing to miss a little school for their younger kids. Plus with home schooling, an ever increasing trend, there are more kids there as well.

 

There will be no shortage of kids or things to do in the kids club. The program is based on learning and activities and not characters. Something we prefer

 

Sailing out of New York changes from the typical X passenger.

 

We have also sailed during school times on X even flying to San Juan which is not a family friendly departure port for most of the country. My daughter never had a shortage of friends.

 

Attack me if you like, get defensive if you want. That is your choice.

[jpf]

Come on now....'attack you' no! BTW, that description I posted is from Cruise Critic's depiction of the Summit. I indicated that. Early June as the poster suggests has kids in the NYC area still in school.

[Gig103]

Apparently Celebrity is for kindergarteners... Just look at the public slap fest going on between JPF and Chessbriar.

[chessbriar]

apparently celebrity is for kindergarteners... Just look at the public slap fest going on between jpf and chessbriar.

lol:)

[cdbaum]

My 8 year old daughter has been cruising on X since she was 3 years and two days old, if she was old enough she would be Captains Club Elite. She absolutely loves the kids program BECAUSE it has fewer kids. She even prefers X over Disney since it is less regimented and the kids have more interaction with each other and the staff. Also the daily schedule isn't cast in stone, if they all want to change it up a bit then they will. (not an option on some other lines with more kids). On our last cruise 3 of the staff remembered her by name from previous cruises on other ships. It's all we can do to get her to sit through dinner until 7:00 when the Fun Factory opens each evening.

[chessbriar]

Celebrity's phrasing toward "modern luxury" as you put it, refers to a high level of food and service. Well ship side. Over the years read many a post about shore side not being as good as what people receive on the ship.

 

Since the bringing of the Solstice class ships, X had made a huge push to be more family friendly and attracting younger people.

 

Their main goal it to get the multi generational families. Grandparents sailing with parents sailing with kids. It's one of the best sectors for growing the business.

 

We've done a number of those trips over the years.

[chessbriar]

CdBaum,

 

With the kids loving the kid club so much, have you thought about doing late dinner? I've been playing with the idea. Feeding our daughter right before taking her to kids club at 7, then getting ready for dinner myself and having a nice quiet dinner with my wife.

 

It would eliminate the figidiness of my daughter itching to go to kids club.

[ksmcali]

Thank you everyone for the input. Overall I have a higher comfort level in regards to sailing X with my daughter.

 

While my husband and I don't have as many "sea" miles as some of the other seasoned travelers on these boards, we do have some experience with 10+ cruises under our belts and my this would be my daughters 4th cruise.

 

We have reviewed other options, specifically the NCL Breakaway, as we have cruised NCL before and enjoy their perks. However, we do prefer to sail in a suite and for the window we're looking at there are no full suites left. Also, the Breakaway now proves to be competition for the Summit and this has resulted in some very attractive suite prices on Celebrity, at least in the early part of June. Given that we plan to book "last minute" (at least in cruise terms, since we are within the final payment period) I needed to vet my concerns before we book. My primary issue was what the experience would be like for my daughter. I do believe that Celebrity would suit my husband and me well, but I had been unable to attain first hand experience about what the children's program would be like for younger kids. I appreciate the comments of those that have chimed in with their experiences, as this is exactly the information that I had hoped to obtain.

 

jpf, I also appreciate your comment as it reflected my own concerns and was the driver behind originally submitting this post. I am aware of the possibility that given our timing we may not have alot of children on board. However, I do view a lower kid/counselor ratio to be a benefit. Based on my daughters personality, more kids doesn't always equate to more fun for her! That's why my wanted a better understanding of the experience that the children's program would provide.

 

Thanks again to all who have provided insight.

[Onessa]

I think that just about any cruise line's kids' program most kids in the 5-9YO age are ideally targeted and do a decent job.

 

Some of the younger kids may be a bit fussier and may or may not like it. But once kids have gotten the "hang" of school they generally just really like the opportunity to play with other kids and kind of like some structure to their interactions

 

Once kids get to be in the 10-12YO group they may be abit too worldly for the organized play programs. And for the older tweens and teens that is when you have to worry a bit more about matching the ship to your kids' interests (all those whiz bang flow rider, zip lines and stuff)

 

But most 5-9YOs will likely enjoy most of the lines' programs. What we liked about X (and similarly about RCCI, NCL and Princess) was the well-defined age groups. Some lines "lump" too many ages together -- the younger kids get frustrated because they really can't keep up with the older ones, the older kids get frustrated because the little kids are holding things back. At least when DD was still in the kid's programs we had one such situation on our only Disney cruise. She was younger and was really overwhelmed by the "big" kids that that program let join into activities. Some cruises just have way too many kids on them and the staff just seem to need to spend all their time controlling chaos. Very few cruises have too few kids -- and most lines will run their programs no matter how many kids are there.

 

Celebrity's Fun Factory is a solid program run by folks who are hired because they are good with kids. The average kindergartener should have a great time.

[jpf]

ksmcali, I believe you are a 'class act.' I know you're original post concerned Celebrity, specifically the Summit. I wote my opinion, and you know I specified it as such, my '2 cents worth.' I really appreciate that you realized that. I was thinking along the lines that the Summit, being an older ship, with what some call a lack of the 'wow' factor, and with the Breakaway also going to Bermuda the very same day, that that mega ship might have more for the kids to do. Some poster alluded that an ulterior motive was afoot, namely only seniors should be aboard the Summit, which is not my thinking. I truly hope, whatever your family decides, you all have a great cruise.

[cdbaum]

I didn't mean to imply that my daughter is bouncing off the walls during dinner. She actually likes getting dressed for dinner and eating with us. Her main course usually shows up with our salads and then she happily accompanies me to the Fun Factory and I come back for the remainder of dinner. She isn't stuck sitting there with nothing to do while we eat and we get a calmer second half of dinner. I think she would feel left out if it was the buffet every night "by herself" and us going to the main dining room later.

[bplazo]

chessbriar wrote, 'Ignore JPF, if they can't speak from personal experience then they really don't answer your question.' Well, chess, you needed be rude, after all I qualified my response as 'my opinion,' nothing more, as in 'my 2 cents.' You certainly could have just posted your opinion, without making a snide comment. It really isn't a surprise that Celebrity caters to a more mature crowd......from Cruise Critic:

'Celebrity Summit Fellow Passengers

Celebrity Summit's passenger base is composed mostly of well-traveled, middle- and upper-middle-class Americans in the 45 - 65 age bracket.' I certainly pointed out in early June, there might not be many children on board.

I also pointed out the new NCC Breakaway, which I'll bet has much more to offer the kids. The original poster is from Texas and may not be aware the Breakaway leaves the same day, and also goes to Bermuda.

 

I thought that your comments were very informative and I did not understand the "ignore" comment. We were on the Equinox last week and I only saw maybe 10 or 15 children on the whole cruise and it was mostly "older" people (us included).

 

I really enjoyed the cruise and I know that my daughter who is in her early twenties and who loves cruising would not have enjoyed the cruise for this reason, so I think that is important to understand the demographics of the passengers to get a perspective of what to expect. Even when my daughter was alot younger she enjoyed cruises when she had more people her age to mingle with. So it is something to think about.

[Cruise Arizona]

When we first chose Celebrity for our kids we wanted something that would facilitate some quality "down time" with each-other.

 

Our first cruise with the kids was RT San Diego/Hawaii when they were 7 and 9, and most of the kids on that cruise were 3-6 year olds, with only a handful in the 7-12 year old category.

 

Both my kids and the littler kids had a great time. They had lots of fun activities with the youth staff. As my kids have grown older, Celebrity has served them well. They like the smaller groups in the youth facility vs the larger groups that one might incounter on Disney, Royal, or Carnival.

 

It is hard to remember what my daughter did as a 7 year old on that first cruise. And I know 7 is a lot old than 5, but she loved dressing up for dinner, watching the band during the sail-aways. She also attended several of the all ages activities like Hula Lessons and the evening shows. We liked the fact that with all the new fun food, and attentive service they were never bored at dinner. (again 7 is older than 5, but you know your own child)

 

I can't say enough good things about Celebrity for kids. I would say it is a good way for them to experience something more sophisticated rather than characters and the like.

 

On our last cruise Mr. Bayley, the President of Celebrity, was on board and he expressed a desire to find a way to convey that the Modern Luxury image is good for families and he talked about small things like X-Box, but I think Celebrity also has in mind attracting families for Europe as a learning experience, so we may see Celebrity implementing a more educational focus in their youth program.

[mahdnc]

I've done alot of research on here and heard positive things, but most of the responses have been in regards to pre-teen/teens. Anyone have any feedback on lower elementary age kids?

 

Thanks for any information you can provide!

 

From our experience, it is with that "lower elementary age" group that Celebrity kids program shines.

 

Our two kids have been on 7 cruises with Celebrity with us so far. Three of the cruises occurred when at least one of them was in the 5-7 yr old range. They loved the kids program, especially at that age--counselors, facilities, and activities. If they weren't in the Fun Factory, then they were begging us to take them back there.

[SusieV]

I'm really glad to see this thread. We're taking our son who will be four on Summit this October. He loves going to preschool and he'll have started kindergarten in September, so he's used to the routine and is a very social little guy who likes to interact with other people.

 

Hopefully he'll enjoy his trip as much as Mommy and Daddy will!

[nothriver]

I'm glad to see such good reviews of the Fun Factory. Our last Celebrity cruise was 4 years ago on the Millennium and my 4yr old daughter managed to cut one of her fingers pretty badly. "That is MY girl", so I'm not surprised she managed to injur herself in an area designed for child care, if anyone can find a danger in a "safe" space, my kid can. However, I was surprised the staff did not try to find me at a lecture in the theater, then mentioned what looked to be quite a bad cut oh so very casually when I picked her up, and I mostly was surprised that the staff did not seem particularly concerned with how she'd managed to cut herself to begin with. That was only the second day of our trip and we did not go back. The short time she was there, she did very much enjoy the crafts and other activities, there were very few children and the staff was attentive - although they should have certainly been better equipped to handle a minor injury.

 

My daughter will turn 8 on our next Celebrity cruise and I'm hoping for a better experience! That said, I believe she and her older cousin will be in seperate age groups and I'm not yet sure if that will be a good thing, or a bad thing...

 

As others have mentioned, the fact that there are fewer children on board is a big plus in my mind. We are the "three generation" family the cruise lines are catering too, for good reason, as we book several cabins.

 

Our last cruise on HAL was spectacular, my kids loved HAL, frankly, I'm not sure how X will measure up. A little off topic but one thing I loved about HAL regarding children that I don't like about X is that the family pool is on HAL the indoor pool where kids are not allowed in the indoor pool on X, so we could not swim at all on our X cruise in Alaska but we were able to swim indoors nearly every day on HAL in Northern Europe. Hopefully it will warm enough to swim outdoors on our Med cruise but then again you never know.