kid friendly?

[Jeff&Mel]

So to bring the child or not??

 

We are booking our first celebrity cruise. We have a 12 year old and have NEVER left him.

 

So the question... Leave him with Grandma or bring him with??

 

I have been looking at the ship-Celebrity Infinity and it does not look half as fun as Royal Caribbean. Fun for us- just not fun for a kid.

 

Looking for feedback for people that have traveled with/without children...

 

Are there many kids on the ship? Is there enough to keep them busy?

 

Is it mostly an older adult crowd....??

 

TIA

[WestLakeGirl]

The number of children depends on the length of the cruise and the time of year. Winter cruises 14 days long have few children. Seven day cruises in summer have many. There are activities planned for them so you may not see many children even though there are lots on board

[Keith1010]

What itinerary, length of cruise and time of year are you looking at.

 

Keith

[Jeff&Mel]

What itinerary, length of cruise and time of year are you looking at.

 

Keith

 

12 nights- british isles- August

[miched]

Going 12 years with never leaving your son I think it is time to take a break and just take a vacation with the two of you. Every year we traveled with our kids as a family but we also took one for time away by ourselves leaving the kids with relatives.

 

Enjoy the time alone on Celebrity and while on the ship determine if you want to take him on the next one.

 

🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[dkjretired]

12 nights- british isles- August

 

Long cruises generally have less kids no matter what cruise line. Celebrity is very kid friendly, I have traveled with my children on many cruises and they loved every one of them. Celebrity does not have the bells and whistles of other lines but they have excellent programs. With all that being said, most European cruises are very port intensive, I would take that into consideration

[Keith1010]

You will have some children on that voyage. It won't be like the Caribbean but there will be a sufficient number of children. My experience is that it does not require a lot of children to keep others happy.

 

We always took our children with us. You just have to decide what your preference is.

 

Keith

[Jeff&Mel]

Going 12 years with never leaving your son I think it is time to take a break and just take a vacation with the two of you. Every year we traveled with our kids as a family but we also took one for time away by ourselves leaving the kids with relatives.

 

Enjoy the time alone on Celebrity and while on the ship determine if you want to take him on the next one.

 

 

Man I needed to hear that:)! We are taking a family cruise in October on Royal Caribbean.

 

I am suffering from some serious mommy guilt :(

[OCruisers]

Very Kid Friendly! It's my grandchildren's favorite cruise line! :)

They've been cruising on Celebrity since elementary school and still love Celebrity now as older teens. Their longer cruises have always been over Christmas/New Year's to the Caribbean.

Not so sure at all how much your son would actually enjoy a British Isles cruise. Might be one you and your DH would enjoy more without him. ;)

LuLu

[JEDIKNIGHT]

FWIW…

 

We just did 7 days in May, Bermuda. Not a ‘holiday’. We had 6 year old DD with us and I’d say their kid’s staff is very good, but not Disney of course.

 

Our DD enjoyed kid stuff for 4 hours a day but some kids might love it all day.

 

They certainly had kids service for most of the day. On port days and dinner time, they charge $6 per hour.

 

I’d say it’s not “great” for kids, but it certain was good enough.

 

FWIW…..

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Celebrity does a great job with kids in general. Problem I am having with my now 13 year old is that he doesn't want to go to the teen program. He doesn't like hanging out with the older teens that I guess are rude to him. I have been my son's entertainment on the past three cruises and he said he really doesn't want to go anymore. Unless your son will feel really depressed not going on the 12 night British Isles cruise- then I'd leave him at home.

 

You don't state where you are from- if the US, then I suspect in August it will be very expensive for him to go and then you'll have three to a room.

 

It sounds like you'd rather not take him and I think that is wise. Not because the cruise would be boring to him but because he might not be that interested at 12 in doing Europe in the first place.

[ginak1112]

Have you done a Med cruise yet? I feel that he would enjoy it much more than the British Isles and there will be a ton of kids in August. The ports are more entertaining for his age: Rome (Coliseum), ruins in Ephesus, Pompeii, Athens, etc.

[Jeff&Mel]

Have you done a Med cruise yet? I feel that he would enjoy it much more than the British Isles and there will be a ton of kids in August. The ports are more entertaining for his age: Rome (Coliseum), ruins in Ephesus, Pompeii, Athens, etc.

 

Yes- we have already cone a eastern Med and a Western Med and a Holy Land cruise.

 

We are doing another Med cruise in October which we are taking him on- It is Royal Caribbean which he loves!

[Christine Frances]

Wherever you cruise in August I think you will have lots of kids on board. You know your child best and how much activity/entertainment he requires. It would be a fantastic experience for him, and educational as well, Our daughter started traveling with us as soon as she was "potty trained", even took her out of school for some trips. I wish we were cruising then as it is a much easier way to travel with kids. She is 30 now and still is an avid traveller. From all reports, Celebrity has an excellent children's program.

 

 

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Edited May 26, 2014 by Christine Frances

[Jeff&Mel]

Wherever you cruise in August I think you will have lots of kids on board. You know your child best and how much activity/entertainment he requires. It would be a fantastic experience for him, and educational as well, Our daughter started traveling with us as soon as she was "potty trained", even took her out of school for some trips. I wish we were cruising then as it is a much easier way to travel with kids. She is 30 now and still is an avid traveller. From all reports, Celebrity has an excellent children's program.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

We started traveling when our child turned 2. He has seen 40 countries with us. He is very active and sociable. He always wants to explore and have other kids with him. He hates being alone- and he makes friends instantaneously! The only reason that I am hesitant on this cruise is because last summer on a Royal Caribbean cruise to the Baltic capitals there were not many kids at all- but being Royal Caribbean there was a lot of things for kids to do. I looked at this ship and there seems to be a lot less for kids to do.

[Rivington90]

As already stated Celebrity do look after children very well. We did the Fiords with the children on Celebrity and whilst not a lot of children they made friends and consider Celebrity their favourite cruise line over among others RCCL.:)

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I want to add that I did the British Isles on Princess (similar itinerary) and I LOVED it. So have a wonderful time. Highlights were Guernsey, The Giant's Causeway(out of Belfast), Paris, Edinburgh and Inverness was beautiful.

 

One suggestion- To get the most out of your trip- I would see if you can board on Day 2 in LeHavre instead of Harwick. That way you could fly to Paris, spend quality time there (3nights) and then board the ship. Otherwise, you aren't in port very long to enjoy Paris. If you've already been to Paris then do somewhere closer to LeHavre.

Edited May 26, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[GOLDENBONNY]

So to bring the child or not??

 

We are booking our first celebrity cruise. We have a 12 year old and have NEVER left him.

 

So the question... Leave him with Grandma or bring him with??

 

I have been looking at the ship-Celebrity Infinity and it does not look half as fun as Royal Caribbean. Fun for us- just not fun for a kid.

 

Looking for feedback for people that have traveled with/without children...

 

Are there many kids on the ship? Is there enough to keep them busy?

 

Is it mostly an older adult crowd....??

 

TIA

 

My DD cruise since she is 1 year old ,first 2 cruises she had on HAL ) For me any cruise line with kids club is kids friendly . Amount of kids on board not important to me (less is better)LOL.I don’t see any reason to leave a kid home. Swimming pool-restaurant-shows more than enough to keep my kid busy and happy + days on beach what’s more can she wish?

[bearette]

I agree you can do either. I travel frequently with my toddlers twins but we also do some trips without them. I think it depends on you though. If you have really haven't left him you won't enjoy yourself on a 12 day with little contact available. Maybe try a seven day or less for the kid free cruise. If you spend the entire time stressing over your son then there is no point in taking a vacation without him.

 

 

 

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[benjoon]

Going 12 years with never leaving your son I think it is time to take a break and just take a vacation with the two of you. Every year we traveled with our kids as a family but we also took one for time away by ourselves leaving the kids with relatives.

 

Enjoy the time alone on Celebrity and while on the ship determine if you want to take him on the next one.

 

 

What an awful thought leaving my nearly 15 year old daughter behind I wouldn't enjoy the cruise no matter how much I love my DH's company.

[Redtravel]

Celebrity has a great kids program. There are lots of kids on the ships. I was amazed at how many school age kids were on my recent cruise. Schools were still in session. I saw some kids doing book work by the pool.