Qs About Pool, Entertainment, Night Life, Pax Age

[LBeeE]

Hi, I am so happy with all of the info I have received lately on this forum. Everyone here seems to be really helpful and courteous. I think that tells me Celebrity will be a good fit for us. We have cruised 2x with RC and had some like and dislikes. We are ready to try something different and really think we would like Celebrity. I have a few questions.

 

1-I have read many complaints of not enough loungers near the pool area, can anyone confirm?

 

2-What types of entertainment are there?

 

3-Will there be anything like a calypso/island style band by the pool?

 

4-We aren't party-the-night-away people, but would like to be able to dance a little after dinner. On our most recent RC cruise, the dance club didn't get started until 1am. That's too late with ports the next day! We didn't use the club at all, and were a little sad about that! Also, even if it had been available earlier, it was so full of smoke we wouldn't have wanted to go in! Can anyone tell me what this situation is on Celebrity? I tried to find some You Tube videos, but there were never more than 3-4 people in the clubs in the videos I found, but who knows what time of day they were taken.

 

5-DH and I are 37 (and look a decade younger, lol), we are afraid that if the rest of the pax are much older, they may not be interested in talking with us. We have friends of all ages, and are easy to get along with, enjoy being social, and are only concerned with age from the perspective of being excluded. Also, our kids are 7 & 9, and we hope there will be other kids their ages on whichever cruise we choose. Can anyone give me details on these items?

[chicagopaul]

1. Which ship will you be on? There are not a ton of loungers on the pool deck, so you do need to get there early on sea days. I personally prefer the loungers on the upper deck near the Mast Bar as long as its not too windy. It is typically sunnier, quieter, and I can still run down to the pool or hot tub when I want to. Get to the pool early to secure your chairs. As long as you don't leave your chairs empty for too long (more than a couple hours) the pool butlers won't remove your stuff.

 

2. Depending on the ship, there is plenty of entertainment. You'll find there are a few different production shows, a comedian, some sort of magic/juggling or something of the sort as well as some live music throughout the ship. Again depending on the ship there is an a Capella group, jazz trio, live party band, DJ, piano man, etc.

 

3. Celebrity has a "party band" that will play everything from 60's, 70's music to top 40 and some island style music. They don't play by the pool as much as I'd like, however. I wish they played more. When they're not playing there is always some low level music playing by the pool.

 

4. We like to stay up late, but not too late (typically because we start drinking early!). There is the Sky Lounge on most ships (some have a separate night club). Sky Lounge is hit or miss depending on the night. Some nights we've been there until 2am and its been crowded, other nights it is dead. Martini Bar is always crowded late and on our last cruise on the Constellation, Michael's Club was extremely busy every night with a great piano guy playing from 10pm until around 12:30 to 1am. He would take requests, allow some audience karaoke...it was a blast.

 

5. We are in the same boat! We are 27 and 31 and also look younger. Sometimes even mistaken for teenagers! :eek: While the crowd is older on Celebrity I've found no one really acts older. There was a 70yo couple doing shots of Jameson at the bar on our last cruise haha! We've found that we've never been looked at differently since we are on the younger end of the spectrum for the cruise.

 

Depending on the time of year you'll see more or less kids on the cruise. We don't personally know anyone who has traveled with children on Celebrity but from seeing things on CC, people have had good things to say about the kids club, their staff, etc.

 

Regarding entertainment, I actually enjoyed the entertainment on the Millennium class ships better than S Class. I found the singers to be much better in the production shows and the night life in Michael's Club to be amazing (felt like I was in an English, Irish or Scottish pub). The performers on Millennium class ships are actually hired by a UK based company, while the talent on the S Class ships are hired by an American company. You'll find more circus style shows on S Class (better overall stage setup, choreography), but I found the raw talent of the singers and dancers to be better on the Millennium Class ships.

 

Hope this helps! Cheers and Happy Cruising!

[LBeeE]

Thank you!!

[Clydesmom7865]

1-I have read many complaints of not enough loungers near the pool area, can anyone confirm? I never had a problem but a lot will depend on how crowded your sailing is.

 

2-What types of entertainment are there? Plenty for everyone. Boredom was NOT a problem. Finding enough time to do all the things I wanted to do was.

 

3-Will there be anything like a calypso/island style band by the pool? Not as much as you would like but occasionally.

 

4-We aren't party-the-night-away people, but would like to be able to dance a little after dinner. On our most recent RC cruise, the dance club didn't get started until 1am. That's too late with ports the next day! We didn't use the club at all, and were a little sad about that! Also, even if it had been available earlier, it was so full of smoke we wouldn't have wanted to go in!

 

I am not a dancing kind of person since I am uncoordinated. Celebrity is No Smoking so that won't be an issue in the club but I can't tell you what time it gets going. I have seen plenty of people dancing on the ship though.

 

5-DH and I are 37 (and look a decade younger, lol), we are afraid that if the rest of the pax are much older, they may not be interested in talking with us. We have friends of all ages, and are easy to get along with, enjoy being social, and are only concerned with age from the perspective of being excluded. Also, our kids are 7 & 9, and we hope there will be other kids their ages on whichever cruise we choose. Can anyone give me details on these items?

 

NO ONE will be disinterested in talking to you. I have socialized with people of all ages on my two cruises. Celebrity does not really "cater" to families so there may or may not be a lot of kids the same age on your cruise. They don't have cartoon characters, rock climbing walls or extensive social clubs for kids. Depending on when you cruise there could be a small number of kids.

[dandee2]

I think "attitude" is more important than "age". We are late 40's and did 2 cruises with Windstar, which caters to a similar demographic as Celebrity (I think) and we had so much fun. Many passengers who were older than us did party til the wee hours. We're bringing our 2 late teen sons with us on this one (March 3, Connie)

[jackdiamond]

A goodly number of folks on Celebrity cruises are old like us.

[hughdm]

62, but we'll talk to you! We still talk to our 31 year old twins... Not so sure we look younger than we are. Also I prefer MacAllan over Jamieson's. :cool:

Edited February 11, 2014 by hughdm

[4cats4me]

Party vibe on our sailing last April. Median age 45-65 but lots of fun:D Clubs hopping every night, even at 2 a.m. I know, because I was there!

Great band, but also nice quiet , sophisticated ambience as well

[riclop]

Hi, I am so happy with all of the info I have received lately on this forum. Everyone here seems to be really helpful and courteous. I think that tells me Celebrity will be a good fit for us. We have cruised 2x with RC and had some like and dislikes. We are ready to try something different and really think we would like Celebrity. I have a few questions.

 

1-I have read many complaints of not enough loungers near the pool area, can anyone confirm?

 

2-What types of entertainment are there?

 

3-Will there be anything like a calypso/island style band by the pool?

 

4-We aren't party-the-night-away people, but would like to be able to dance a little after dinner. On our most recent RC cruise, the dance club didn't get started until 1am. That's too late with ports the next day! We didn't use the club at all, and were a little sad about that! Also, even if it had been available earlier, it was so full of smoke we wouldn't have wanted to go in! Can anyone tell me what this situation is on Celebrity? I tried to find some You Tube videos, but there were never more than 3-4 people in the clubs in the videos I found, but who knows what time of day they were taken.

 

5-DH and I are 37 (and look a decade younger, lol), we are afraid that if the rest of the pax are much older, they may not be interested in talking with us. We have friends of all ages, and are easy to get along with, enjoy being social, and are only concerned with age from the perspective of being excluded. Also, our kids are 7 & 9, and we hope there will be other kids their ages on whichever cruise we choose. Can anyone give me details on these items?

If you come to the pool @11am than you will have a problem, entertainment and night life is better on other lines, crowds are older.

[middlehaitch]

I am always amused by people that say there is no night life. I usually go to the disco or sky lounge after late seating dinner and am happy to dance until dawn. That rarely happens because so many people come along, pop their heads in, see it isn't busy, so leave. If half those people would come in and join the small group that is in there we could all party until dawn, Celebrity close these venues when there is just afew people enjoying them. So, come in and let the fun begin.

Cheers, h.

[CoopColbie]

Oooh ... I have another question about the pools. What are their depths? I have two small boys who love waterplay. If the pools are shallow enough, I'll be able to leave the floaties at home. (I'm asking about the Solstice, if that makes a difference in pool depths).

[Clydesmom7865]

Oooh ... I have another question about the pools. What are their depths? I have two small boys who love waterplay. If the pools are shallow enough, I'll be able to leave the floaties at home. (I'm asking about the Solstice, if that makes a difference in pool depths).

 

Shallow. NO diving. I think 3-4 feet maximum. However there is no graduated stairs all the way to the bottom. One wood deck and a ladder.

 

If by floaties you mean the arm bands those are allowed but pool floats and large toys are not. The pools are just not that big. From a safety standpoint you should get your boys swim lessons ASAP. Those arm bands provide a false sense of security and actually do nothing to enhance water safety at all. In fact they encourage children to be more daring than they should. If there is time look into a survival swimming course for them before you sail. Until they know how to swim the Coast Guard and American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a CG approved safety vest and a parent within arms reach at all times in the water.

 

Think it won't happen on a cruise? It just did ONE week ago: Swimming Accident

 

Your vacation should be fun and a few simple swimming lessons at the Y will ensure that your boys are safe near or in the pool.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Clydesmom7865

[Fouremco]

Oooh ... I have another question about the pools. What are their depths? I have two small boys who love waterplay. If the pools are shallow enough, I'll be able to leave the floaties at home. (I'm asking about the Solstice, if that makes a difference in pool depths).

Floaties take absolutely no room to pack, so do bring them. With no lifeguards and sometimes crowded pool conditions, why take a chance?

[Fouremco]

Get to the pool early to secure your chairs. As long as you don't leave your chairs empty for too long (more than a couple hours) the pool butlers won't remove your stuff.

If you are going to be gone that long, take your things with you and be considerate to other passengers. Don't be a chair hog!

[LBeeE]

Are pool noodles allowed?

 

MacAllan, got it :cool: DH favors Glenfiddich:)

[Clydesmom7865]

Are pool noodles allowed?

 

MacAllan, got it :cool: DH favors Glenfiddich:)

 

No. No floats, noodles or toys allowed. Pools are WAY too small if everyone brought one it would be a major problem.

[Clydesmom7865]

As long as you don't leave your chairs empty for too long (more than a couple hours) the pool butlers won't remove your stuff.

 

The pool butlers on Celebrity WILL remove your things after 30 minutes at least on the Solstice class ships. I saw them diligently patrolling the chairs and stuff left unattended to simply hold the chair was first given a card explaining the time limit of 30 minutes. Then the stuff got removed if the person did not return within the half hour.

 

Floaties take absolutely no room to pack, so do bring them. With no lifeguards and sometimes crowded pool conditions, why take a chance?

 

Packing space isn't the issue, SAFETY is. Those floaties do nothing to prevent a drowning and in a crowded pool give parents a false sense of security that their child is safe. Add to that the issue there is no life guard and it could be a recipe for disaster. Swimming lessons are in order for ANYONE who intends to spend time in a pool on a regular basis.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Clydesmom7865

[swigso]

62, but we'll talk to you! We still talk to our 31 year old twins... Not so sure we look younger than we are. Also I prefer MacAllan over Jamieson's. :cool:

 

I'm 57 and fellow party people even if they are nippers at 37

(Hope you can keep up) are more than welcome to party with us.

Jameson is nice but Glenmorangie is my favourite and I am

Also partial to a nice Courvoisieur XO.:D

[Fouremco]

Packing space isn't the issue, SAFETY is. Those floaties do nothing to prevent a drowning and in a crowded pool give parents a false sense of security that their child is safe. Add to that the issue there is no life guard and it could be a recipe for disaster. Swimming lessons are in order for ANYONE who intends to spend time in a pool on a regular basis.

I'm glad to see that you agree that safety is the issue. My two children and three of four grandchildren have all learned to swim at a very early age, having gained confidence in the water with floaties. The fourth grandchild doesn't turn one until later this month, but will no doubt follow in the footsteps of the others starting this summer. Floaties formed an integral part of their swimming training.

 

Floaties aren't lifejackets and my children and grandchildren are never left in the pool, lake or the sea without being closely watched. But I've watched them from a few feet away when they got knocked over by a wave at the beach and bobbed back up quite happily with the help of the floaties. In many cases, floaties can prevent a drowning, although I would never rely on them for that purpose.

 

Here's a photo one of the grandkids swimming in our pool shortly before his fourth birthday, clearly at home in the water. Behind him and mostly blocked from view is his younger sister... wearing her floaties.

 

[CoopColbie]

Thanks for the info on the pools. My boys both do swimming lessons and could save themselves if they fell in the pool. However, if the pools are deep and they can't touch, I'd prefer they had their arm-bands on ... as someone mentioned, there can be a lot of people in the pools and I don't want something to happen in all the excitement. But if the pool is only 3 ft deep, they should be right - at 4ft deep, then they'll need help.