Kids allowed at Elite breakfast and cocktail hour?

[SixOneTwo]

Devil's advocate here: I'm not allowed to hang out in the Fun Factory, no matter how well-behaved I am. Can I ask for an exception?

[frankt]

is that why I couldn't get a seat at the bar because some kid drinking pop needs a seat! if you need to bring your kid to the bar because you need a drink then you have a problem. take your kids to a venue for families.

[Texed]

Can't we all just get along?

 

Probably not. But, I still have hope. :)

[Antonintassie]

The "bar" is not really a term I would use to describe cruise ship venues it is generally a lounge with a drink service area with perhaps a few bar stools.

My son is 16 pays a full fair and stays in suites ,he is often better dressed and mannered than those of my age group(50).

In Australia ,UK ,Europe etc it is common for children to accompany their parents in licenced venues .

On our recent cruise on the Royal Princess as suite passengers we attended pre dinner drinks in Club 6 which is the Royal Princesses VIP lounge and received nothing but a warm welcome from the crew and fellow passengers.

It annoys me that some cruise passengers make wild claims about younger peoples behaviour when in my experience "bad manners and behaviour " spans all generations

 

 

 

quote=TommyD3;42647330]Don't know about the Elite Cocktail hour anymore since my "kids" are 30 +/-.

I was in the Michaels VIP lounge for 20 days on Connie recently.

There is no age limit there. There were several couples with under age kids in the lounge.

If the couple in the Penthouse has under age children with them they are welcome 24/7.

Also walking thru the Michaels Club I saw children (10 +/-) sitting AT THE BAR several times.

Obviously the kids were probably drinking soda pop.

I don't think Celebrity really cares anymore.....

[scifimonkey]

Devil's advocate here: I'm not allowed to hang out in the Fun Factory, no matter how well-behaved I am. Can I ask for an exception?

 

I'm sure they would let you stay if you wished. You could bring your post as a reference.

 

I do not think that a single poster has suggested that unruly kids should be allowed to stay and those that have been allowed to bring kids to the events have clearly stated that if their kids misbehaved they would remove them. So where is the problem here.

'Kids' in the context of this post might be in their late teens and being in such ' exalted' company will be great experience for them. (how to spot and converse with a crashing bore, how to speak pleasantly with a bigot without being tempted to stick one on them, how to appear to laugh at statements that are patently not funny)..... Loads of great stuff to set them up for later life.

 

Seriously though, the host or hostess has a job to do. Let them do it.

There is a whole range between babes in arms to 17 year olds (maybe even 20 year olds in US waters) and a range of elite activities from allowing children to have breakfast with their parents to visiting the helideck or attending pre dinner cocktails, surely you cannot apply a blanket condition across the range and most parents would not choose to expose their younger children to say, the cocktail party, that is presumably why they give the host/ hostess some latitude. It's called applying common sense.

 

Most parents would read the invitation and not take their " children" to the event so we are already taking about a fairly rare occurrence and they do always run the risk of being turned away either at the door or, if their children misbehave having been let into the event, asked to leave. The embarrassment factor alone will apply a further natural constraint. The chances therefore of you having your perfect adult environment disturbed are therefore pretty low and really not worth fretting about.

 

As for frankt's comment. Any kid over 12 pays full price for their cruise on X and are therefore just as entitled to that bar stool as he/she is. There is no rule about not being in the bar or lounge nor should there be. The limitation is only on what they consume and no one is suggesting that that rule is being broken.

 

I reiterate the point I made earlier, if you want an adults only environment, go on an adults only ship - they are provided specifically for you and you will probably find a lot more bad, rude , bigoted and rowdy behaviour on it and will be happy as pigs in sh-- being able to moan about it!

[ghstudio]

I'm more concerned about the inconsistency in applying the rules than whether kids are allowed or not. The poster commented that the CC host/hostess invited their child to attend.....yet, I presume others were told to follow the guidelines. That's not right...unless there were extenuating circumstances....and being cute and dressed nicely is not an extenuating circumstance in my book.

 

I wonder what the CC hostess (or hotel director) would have said if someone asked why that child was admitted, but they were told their child wasn't welcome.

[barbels]

thank you Scifimonkey.

You express my feelings exactly.

[caladezi]

 

I reiterate the point I made earlier, if you want an adults only environment, go on an adults only ship - they are provided specifically for you and you will probably find a lot more bad, rude , bigoted and rowdy behaviour on it and will be happy as pigs in sh-- being able to moan about it!

 

Since you have made this point again, would you please post a list of those ships? I do not know of ANY cruise ships that regularly sail out of United States ports that are adult only, no kids allowed. Most all cruise lines set up guidelines (rules) for adults to follow when it comes to kids, but as stated by many on this thread, not all adults are adult enough to realize that those guidelines apply to them.

 

Interestingly, the one cruise line that enforces their adult only areas is Disney. They have several clubs and lounges where after a certain, well advertised, time are designated adult only and any kids are asked to leave.

[Cruising89143]

Within the last couple of years RCI changed their rules to allow children into the Concierge lounge during cocktail hour. These are families booked into suites. This upset the apple cart. To date I have heard of no complaints about children being an issue and I did not see an issue on my RCI cruises. Since X and RCI seem to be sharing best practices more and more I expect that X has decided to follow the same procedure.

Edited May 4, 2014 by cruisingator2

[Jenna109]

Since you have made this point again, would you please post a list of those ships? I do not know of ANY cruise ships that regularly sail out of United States ports that are adult only, no kids allowed. Most all cruise lines set up guidelines (rules) for adults to follow when it comes to kids, but as stated by many on this thread, not all adults are adult enough to realize that those guidelines apply to them.

 

Interestingly, the one cruise line that enforces their adult only areas is Disney. They have several clubs and lounges where after a certain, well advertised, time are designated adult only and any kids are asked to leave.

 

We have just returned from a Disney cruise and yes, rules are definitely kept. No children in adult only bars, cafe and pool area. Similarly no adults in children's clubs unless open house - very specific times. Excellent - everyone knew the rules and we certainly didn't see exceptions. It is always the exception to the rule that causes problems. Someone is going to be upset - if a child is allowed in to an adult lounge whilst others have adhered to the adult only rule then someone is going to be annoyed.

It would be better if the rules were made clear - as Disney cruises - and then no exceptions. It would then be for cruisers to decide which line is appropriate for them.

[CRUZBUDS]

Disney really has to do it or no adult in there right mind would ever cruise with them, the do have a lot of kids aboard :)

[TommyD3]

Within the last couple of years RCI changed their rules to allow children into the Concierge lounge during cocktail hour. These are families booked into suites. This upset the apple cart. To date I have heard of no complaints about children being an issue and I did not see an issue on my RCI cruises. Since X and RCI seem to be sharing best practices more and more I expect that X has decided to follow the same procedure.

 

I have heard first hand reports of suite guests going to the Diamond lounge to escape the kids at the Concierge lounge. To me that indicates some of the guests DO have a problem with kids in the lounge.

[Cruising89143]

I have heard first hand reports of suite guests going to the Diamond lounge to escape the kids at the Concierge lounge. To me that indicates some of the guests DO have a problem with kids in the lounge.

 

Well doesn't matter. Those suite guests will trump a C&A guest any day. Money talks. I have actually witnessed some Pinnacle/D+ making a total *** of themselves in the CL.. One reason that we usually steer clear of those type lounges.;)

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

Wow. I am one of those folks that read lots of threads but rarely comment, but the very poor attitude exhibited by some towards those of us with children has been interesting and sad.

 

For those who quite honestly seem to almost wish children were left off cruises, I would suggest that they read this quote from Jo Rzymowska, the Celebrity UK Managing Director from an interview in January 2014 titled "Big Interview: New UK Celebrity Cruises boss sets her targets" on Travelweekly.

 

Celebrity targets

 

As Jo Rzymowska takes up her new role as UK managing director this week, she says the line is targeting three types of consumer.

 

“Firstly, affluent couples, but it isn’t about their age, it is about their mindsets. They have disposable income and they are willing to pay more,” she says.

 

“We are also going after the affluent family market and we haven’t really done that before. This is a sector we could focus in on; there are affluent families who spend a lot of money in the summer holidays on things such as Club Med and Mark Warner.”

 

Rzymowska also sees potential in the gay and lesbian market...

 

Children are here to stay and Elite functions will not be an exception in terms of excluding them. The types of families that are being targeted do spend significant sums for the annual family holiday would in all likelihood book suites and fully expect their children to accompany them everywhere without exception and I am certain that Celebrity will accommodate this.

[harz99]

Wow. I am one of those folks that read lots of threads but rarely comment, but the very poor attitude exhibited by some towards those of us with children has been interesting and sad.

 

For those who quite honestly seem to almost wish children were left off cruises, I would suggest that they read this quote from Jo Rzymowska, the Celebrity UK Managing Director from an interview in January 2014 titled "Big Interview: New UK Celebrity Cruises boss sets her targets" on Travelweekly.

 

Celebrity targets

 

As Jo Rzymowska takes up her new role as UK managing director this week, she says the line is targeting three types of consumer.

 

“Firstly, affluent couples, but it isn’t about their age, it is about their mindsets. They have disposable income and they are willing to pay more,” she says.

 

“We are also going after the affluent family market and we haven’t really done that before. This is a sector we could focus in on; there are affluent families who spend a lot of money in the summer holidays on things such as Club Med and Mark Warner.”

 

Rzymowska also sees potential in the gay and lesbian market...

 

Children are here to stay and Elite functions will not be an exception in terms of excluding them. The types of families that are being targeted do spend significant sums for the annual family holiday would in all likelihood book suites and fully expect their children to accompany them everywhere without exception and I am certain that Celebrity will accommodate this.

 

Thank you for the quote - very illuminating!

 

A couple of points though; if the affluent (family) sector is to come from new business they will likely be in suites which will soon have their own restaurant and Michaels Club available to them, and so are unlikely to use the Elite functions in the same way as the existing non suite Elite/Elite Plus level cruisers do.

 

Secondly, Celebrity will have to seriously up its game, in particular in terms of facilities/entertainment if it wishes to compete with the land based holidays mentioned above. The current ongoing cutbacks would not seem to gel with Jo Rzymowska's plans.

[Lovemychoos]

Children are here to stay and Elite functions will not be an exception in terms of excluding them. The types of families that are being targeted do spend significant sums for the annual family holiday would in all likelihood book suites and fully expect their children to accompany them everywhere without exception and I am certain that Celebrity will accommodate this.

 

 

Good grief - I can't believe I'm reading this! What about the people who are also paying large sums of money for their holiday, and don't want kids everywhere all the time? Before anyone jumps to any conclusions, I have no problem with kids on cruises, love to see them laughing and enjoying themselves, and the age range is always more mixed when there are families on board.

 

However, there really is a time and a place surely? Late night bars for one. I will never forget going to see a comedian (on P&O) which was clearly billed as 'adult' and whose act didn't start until 11.45pm. The front couple of rows had kids ranging from 6-10ish, with their parents, and he had to keep apologising as he couldn't do the act he intended as there were children in the audience, and he felt it wasn't suitable. The totally bombed - felt really sorry for him.

 

Don't assume people who don't want kids in their environment 24hrs a day don't like kids, or want them on cruises. IMHO we all pay a lot for our cruises, and the mentality of some that 'we've paid our money, we've got kids, and they will come everywhere with us whether you like it or not' really annoys me.

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

There is currently an active thread on the Royal Caribbean forum where grandparents travelled with their 8 year old granddaughter who has Diamond status in her own right and is set to become Diamond Plus this year. The Diamond Lounge cocktail hour is for adults but given the young lady's status, she was admitted in the evenings with her grandparents. If this child travels on a Celebrity cruise, would she travel as Elite on the current reciprocal arrangements?

[Lovemychoos]

Not sure on that one - as you have to be 18yrs or older to enrol in the Captains Club with Celebrity.

 

Think I read somewhere that although children are awarded points for their cruises, they don't 'kick in' until then?

 

I'm sure someone will know first hand.

 

Lou

[Jenna109]

Disney really has to do it or no adult in there right mind would ever cruise with them, the do have a lot of kids aboard :)

 

Actually what I thought before we went but NO lots of couples travelling without children.:eek: must admit we wouldn't go Disney without our grandson but others did and were having photos taken with the characters:rolleyes:

[spookwife]

Within the last couple of years RCI changed their rules to allow children into the Concierge lounge during cocktail hour. These are families booked into suites. This upset the apple cart. To date I have heard of no complaints about children being an issue and I did not see an issue on my RCI cruises. Since X and RCI seem to be sharing best practices more and more I expect that X has decided to follow the same procedure.

 

Well here is one then. Just after the policy changed we were in a suite and every evening this. Family came in with a pair of toddlers fed them crackers and cheese which promptly got ground into the carpeting and smudged over two tables so badly that the minute they left the concierge had to bring in housekeeping. How would you like your quiet pre dinner cocktail and conversation disturbed by a vacuum cleaner? Or have to listen to the pre teen whine every single night about something...the appetizer choices or the soda options or the fact that they were bored and wanted to leave(so they could run up and down the hallways and nearly knock me over.

 

Your idea of well behaved is not mine. Dressing your child in a cute outfit to snag a family portrait does not suddenly turn him into someone mature enough to behave appropriately

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Forums mobile app

[dkjretired]

Not sure on that one - as you have to be 18yrs or older to enrol in the Captains Club with Celebrity.

 

Think I read somewhere that although children are awarded points for their cruises, they don't 'kick in' until then?

 

I'm sure someone will know first hand.

 

Lou

 

You are right, you must be 18 to join Captains Club, it was not always that way since my kids joined when they were 6 and 8, had their own cards and numbers which I still have. They are now 28 and 30.

[dkjretired]

Well here is one then. Just after the policy changed we were in a suite and every evening this. Family came in with a pair of toddlers fed them crackers and cheese which promptly got ground into the carpeting and smudged over two tables so badly that the minute they left the concierge had to bring in housekeeping. How would you like your quiet pre dinner cocktail and conversation disturbed by a vacuum cleaner? Or have to listen to the pre teen whine every single night about something...the appetizer choices or the soda options or the fact that they were bored and wanted to leave(so they could run up and down the hallways and nearly knock me over.

 

Your idea of well behaved is not mine. Dressing your child in a cute outfit to snag a family portrait does not suddenly turn him into someone mature enough to behave appropriately

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Forums mobile app

 

And I have been in the CC event with a couple of pretty loud drunks, I prefer not to be in a room with them.

[ghstudio]

I would suggest that they read this quote from Jo Rzymowska, the Celebrity UK Managing Director from an interview in January 2014 titled "Big Interview: New UK Celebrity Cruises boss sets her targets" on Travelweekly.

 

Celebrity targets

 

As Jo Rzymowska takes up her new role as UK managing director this week, she says the line is targeting three types of consumer.

 

“Firstly, affluent couples, but it isn’t about their age, it is about their mindsets. They have disposable income and they are willing to pay more,” she says.

 

“We are also going after the affluent family market and we haven’t really done that before. This is a sector we could focus in on; there are affluent families who spend a lot of money in the summer holidays on things such as Club Med and Mark Warner.”

 

Rzymowska also sees potential in the gay and lesbian market...

 

 

That's a very interesting quote...but unless she adds rock climbing walls, zip lines and more "children fun" pool things to the celebrity ships (unlikely), they are not going to make a serious impact on the family market...and let's not forget Celebrity just cut their activity staff so they have fewer staff to run activities for the younger family members (eg teens). I think she's drinking a bit of the corporate "modern luxury" Kool Aid.

 

I also admit to being a bit puzzled that she sees potential in the gay and lesbian market....that's already a very significant part of Celebrity's passenger set...does she not know that??

 

Sorry for the digression from this thread which seems to have become a vote on whether or not you like children at what you consider "adult" events.

 

Oh yes...someone mentioned "the new policy"...what new policy on children??

Edited May 5, 2014 by ghstudio

[jagoffee]

Wow. I am one of those folks that read lots of threads but rarely comment, but the very poor attitude exhibited by some towards those of us with children has been interesting and sad.

 

For those who quite honestly seem to almost wish children were left off cruises, I would suggest that they read this quote from Jo Rzymowska, the Celebrity UK Managing Director from an interview in January 2014 titled "Big Interview: New UK Celebrity Cruises boss sets her targets" on Travelweekly.

 

Celebrity targets

 

As Jo Rzymowska takes up her new role as UK managing director this week, she says the line is targeting three types of consumer.

 

“Firstly, affluent couples, but it isn’t about their age, it is about their mindsets. They have disposable income and they are willing to pay more,” she says.

 

“We are also going after the affluent family market and we haven’t really done that before. This is a sector we could focus in on; there are affluent families who spend a lot of money in the summer holidays on things such as Club Med and Mark Warner.”

 

Rzymowska also sees potential in the gay and lesbian market...

 

Children are here to stay and Elite functions will not be an exception in terms of excluding them. The types of families that are being targeted do spend significant sums for the annual family holiday would in all likelihood book suites and fully expect their children to accompany them everywhere without exception and I am certain that Celebrity will accommodate this.

 

I love kids especially my grandkids, but I would not expect that all venues will allow young children. Disney is about as kid friendly as you can get and they have areas for Adults Only. Thus I do think that a cruise line can be family friendly and have areas and events that are Adults only.

I fear you may be going a little too far with Jo's point. You can expand family offerings while still having Adult only events and areas. They do have areas for children only.

 

Celebrity and cruising in general appears to be gay and lesbian friendly to me, but since I am not I would not be an appropriate judge.

[Jenna109]

I also love kids - taught them for 35 years, loved my own and especially my grandson. However, there should be areas on cruises where adults can go without children. Parents should not expect to be able to take them to areas where adults enjoy a quiet drink. On every cruise there are areas where children are welcome WE KNOW BECAUSE WE TAKE OUR GRANDSON. We would never consider taking him to Elite functions as it would certainly not be appropriate for him nor would it be fair on the cruisers enjoying a pre-dinner drink.

Parents should consider what is appropriate for their child not what is best for them or what they think they should be entitled to. I know lots will disagree with this but having children has responsibilities and sitting in a bar with adults enjoying what they consider an adults area is not one of them. Take them to areas where children are playing/dancing, etc - much more appropriate to their age.