are celebrity cruises child friendly?

[Onessa]

11, 9 and 5. The kids' program on board is really good for the pre-school and elementary age groups.

 

11YO can be problematic on any line, since many 11YO think of themselves as "too old" to be in the kids program but they are too young to qualify for teen programming. The OP should take into consideration the personality of her oldest child. My DD when she was 11 was perfectly content in the kids program as long as there were other 10-11YO girls there and had a great time. My neice (6 weeks older than DD) refused to go -- because she was too old and always wanted to hang around with kids that were too old for her (and who really did not want a "kid" hanging around with them anyway :))

 

Fast forward one year and DD was 12YO and was in the teen program -- she found five other 12YO girls and (with some strictly enforced guidelines) hung with them and pretty much ignored the teen club. They were happy enough with the activities on board -- hanging around the pool, going to the shows, watching on-demand free movies. But I'm certain that some more "active" 11-12YOs would have been happier on some of the whiz-bang ships with flowriders, ziplines and such.

 

Depends upon your kid's personality, my DD is really all about the ports and much less about the ship. If the "allure" of the cruise was limited to the stuff on board the ship, we could hit the water parks in Wisconsin Dells and spend a lot less money!

[villauk]

Oops - sorry. I hate finding spelling mistakes in my own posts!

 

"On a port intensive cruise you aren't going toO have much time on the ship anyway."

 

You were correct the first time - only one 'o' required in that sentence :).

[Softball20]

You were correct the first time - only one 'o' required in that sentence :).

 

Ok, yep. I'm an idiot today:). When I had first written that I had meant to say too much time, and then for some reason edited incorrectly. That's what I get for trying to post and be on the phone at the same time.

[mpace58]

while sister line (rci) has a lot more activities and features geared towards children, most people who sail on celebrity with children report that their children had a nice time and have positive things to say about the children's program. Personally if i was sailing with children i would opt for rci, but celebrity is definitely an option.

ditto!

[aquaclass]

we are a well traveled couple in our late 30's thinking of taking an alaska cruise this coming August Celebrity Century, Millennium, or Solstice ??. This will be our first cruise and we would like to take our children (11,9 and 5) with us but are worried that they would get bored Depending on which ship/itinerary, Alaskan Cruises tend to a lot of ports of call. If you are on the 7 night Solstice, Seattle roundtrip there are many family activities (excursions) in ports like Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and even Victoria, as well as many things to look at and watch for on the days you will be cruising Tracy Arm and the Inside Passage. I would strongly suggest bringing multiple good (light) pairs of binoculars. Watching for whales, sea lions, dolphins, and coastal birds as well as bears along the shore can be a lot of fun for kids (and adults), but they will need the right equipment. We want a kids club with individualized attention. I have posted in another thread and the majority felt i should take a disney cruise but i don't think i would last a week with just Disney entertainment.. Personally, i want the equivalent of the four seasons (ok) in the cruise world and felt the celebrity cruises is the closest to that probably right for a mass market cruise line. From my reading it also seems the least crowded and most elegant. What do you all suggest? In general, I would suggest, if your children like staying at the Four Seasons (as opposed to a Holiday Inn), then they will probably like Celebrity.