Warning - do not sail Celebrity with young children

[Cuervosar]

Absolutely. Other childcare providers are only a shout away. There are several rooms with different age groups of children and different ratios, plus a supervisor in the office. The children are perfectly safe.

 

It's close to the same setup in the Fun Factory. And I don't have a phone/pager, nor is there a security camera monitoring me :P

 

Why do I get the feeling you are about to get lectured on how to properly do your job?

 

Feel bad for the poster, should be on vacay and now has anger. Justified or not.

 

No win situation.

[Texed]

When we cruise with family it is RCCL or Carnival as there is so much more to keep them entertained outside of the kids club.

 

That is what we thought also. So, trying to be good parents, we decided to do a cruise on one of RCCL's big ships with all the water sports, and all the kid's activities. Our sons participated in all the activities.

 

After the cruise, we figured we would never get them back on Celebrity. We asked them how they enjoyed their Royal Caribbean trip. They said they really enjoyed it, but liked Celebrity BETTER.

 

Who would know? :p

[xmarksx]

Hmmm... I might vote for Seabourn as the WORST?QUOTE]

 

Thank you, or Silversea since they do allow children but do not provide any type of accommodation for them, whatsoever. Including pay-for babysitting. "You want to bring your kids, great. Just don't expect us to entertain them."

 

Some might want to equivocate a bit on their statements.

[Iamcruzin]

I never understand why anyone would get the impression that Celebrity is kid friendly. There is nothing on the deck plans or in the brochures that would suggest this. I find the line is geared for empty nesters and DINKs. I wouldn't even consider brining my son's who are 21 and 24 on Celebrity. Royal Caribbean is more family oriented. There is something to do for everybody.

Edited October 27, 2016 by Iamcruzin

[riclop]

X is not a line for kids.

[awhcruiser]

Or adults.....from your past posts.

X is not a line for kids.

[gek]

Because of my voluntary activities I have under gone training in Safeguarding children and Young People.

 

The ratio of adults to children may be OK, but in todays world what is not OK is for children to only be in the care of one adult, even if there are cameras. It is easy to groom a child in a way that cameras cannot see like arranging to meet after the club.

 

But that's the way schools work and most of them don't have CCTV in the classrooms. Do you think that every class should have two teachers at all times?

[teecee60]

 

this is good information for those of us who do not wish to cruise with children.

 

:) :) :)

 

 

i recommend the op cruise exclusively on disney, they will be happier there. It will be a win/win solution for both them and me.

 

:) :) :)

 

And many thanks to the OP for helping to make Celebrity a better cruise line in the future!

Edited October 27, 2016 by teecee60

[dkjretired]

I"m smart enough to not try it. Won't comment about you.

 

Thanks for proving my point..

[fshagan]

This quote is so wrong about being mad at the cruise line for not taking care of there children. Here in the UK firms have a duty of care and that would include a suitable amount of adults to children in childcare. This cruise line should make it clear that they do not have a policy to look after children safely.

 

I am surprised that the USA is so slack in child care what happens if a child has an accident who is left to look after the other children. What happens if a child gets out who is responsible, surely its the cruise line they have the duty of care. The parent leave they children there in good faith if you are offering childcare it must be done correctly.

 

I have no children but still feel that if they cannot look after children correctly what hope for adult guests.

 

Different cultures have different standards. The ratios I cited for California are for "child care" and match the UK. However, in the UK, average primary school class size is slightly larger than in the US; should I assume that the UK is "slack" and doesn't love their children just as much as Americans do? I could just as well determine that cultural differences allow the larger class size while still providing an environment parents are happy with.

 

It's fun to compare standards, but the real test is whether or not a smaller ratio translates into a safer environment for the children. We don't have stats for number of child injuries on X vs. P&O, so we have to guess based on these external things like adult to child ratios. Fair enough, but it's not license to demean another culture.

 

The US has a cultural standard against children in bars, while in the UK that's probably not such a big deal. There are probably Americans who are horrified that the adults would take their child into a bar rather than leave them in a clean, non-predatory environment like the kid's club because the counselor was rude.

[The_Big_M]

A few quick points. The children are not free to leave on their own unless the parents have signed paperwork to that affect AND the child is over a certain age (11 I think). When picking up a child a person authorized to pick them up must sign them out. The staff to child ratio is much better than in any school or after school care in most of the U.S.

 

My daughter has been part of the kids program since she was 3 (11 now) and thinks that it is fantastic. She in fact prefers it to Disney and so do some of her friends.

 

Agreed.

 

It's also just plain wrong to call it "unsafe," just because it doesn't meet your expectations. We have not heard of issues in the past, as others have mentioned it is well within ranges of other child supervised areas, so it meets what most would consider and meets mandated requirements of being safe.

[Hlitner]

Interesting thread (we have a grandchild on the way). While we agree that different folks can see the same issue through different lenses we are still trying to grasp the OP's concern that 1 adult counselor for 11 (or even 15) children (5-8) is not sufficient. Being married to a women that spent 32 years in the classroom with 25-35 children...I am somewhat surprised. Sure, it would be great to have 20 adults caring for 10 children...but not sure the children would be happy. The ratio is not a problem as long as the adult is properly trained and motivated. And for the record, we started taking our DD on cruises at the age of 5 and would have been fine with a 15:1 ratio.

 

Hank

[pengu1n]

Off topic, but when I was in first grade 40 years ago, we had 50 kids in class with one teacher (a nun). If the other first grade teacher was absent, we sat 2 to a desk, 100 kids in a room with that 1 teacher. Now I work in a preschool for kids with disabilities and we run about 1 adult to 5 kids.

[Pavovsky]

It never ceases to amaze me at how vitriolic people can be towards other posters, in this case towards the OP. It's pretty obvious that she was not in the Martini bar during its opening hours and she has a right to be concerned about how her children are looked after.

I travel solo and prefer fewer kids on board but if I took any of relative's children with me I would be prefer that they were safe and treated well. To tell children not to play when the adults were signing in does not sound like someone who loves kids!

 

 

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Very well said. The OP has raised issues which may be relevant to other posters who might have seen the advertising but want to do more research.

[MandyGirl]

I read in this thread repeatedly that Celebrity does not market towards families, yet have this website:

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/htmlpage/family-fun-cruise#&panel1-5&panel2-5

[denatravels]

I read in this thread repeatedly that Celebrity does not market towards families, yet have this website:

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/htmlpage/family-fun-cruise#&panel1-5&panel2-5

 

 

Just because a company puts out marketing and says "we're great at this" does not mean they are.

 

 

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[AnOnymously]

Just because a company puts out marketing and says "we're great at this" does not mean they are.

 

 

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It does not mean they are great but the point being made was that people were saying that Celebrity did NOT MARKET at families and clearly they do market at families. Again people have been saying things on here which does not bear out in fact.

[AnOnymously]

But that's the way schools work and most of them don't have CCTV in the classrooms. Do you think that every class should have two teachers at all times?

 

The op who started this thread specically named age groups 3-5 and that would not fall into standard practices for schools so talking about school ratios is not relevant. Nursery classes would be more the mark.

 

I think this thread should make all parents ask more questions about children being looked after on holiday. Because whilst we can bat around ratios, schools, cultural differences in different countries in the end we do not know how well qualified the person was looking after them, what first aid training they have and I think these questions I would want to ask if I were taking young children on board or to a Butlins holiday club, BEFORE doing it. But alas we often trust too much and believe that because a company is a big cruise line or holiday company, they have done all the checks they need to do to keep children safe and that may or may not be the case.

 

It is a very serious business did anyone read that article I pointed to earlier

Cruise ship horror as Cunard worker admits carrying out sex attacks on 13 boys while working as children’s supervisor

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2132699/Cruise-ship-horror-Cunard-worker-admits-carrying-sex-attacks-13-boys-working-children-s-supervisor.html#ixzz4OHMwflun

[texasgirl29]

We had our first cruise on Eclipse last summer. My teen enjoyed the activities geared to her age group and met many friends. We have also sailed on Princess and Disney since she was 5 so she's sampled kid activities on those as well. But the OPs remarks raised some concerns with me. At my church, every adult volunteer must go through a training course and never under any circumstance is there only one adult in care of children. And the adults must be unrelated. This protects the children, the adults AND the church from any improprieties or allegations. Also, if a child has a sudden health issue (choking, seizure etc) there may not be time to call another adult in from security or another classroom.

 

 

 

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[Heartfelttraveler]

M class ships have 12 Family Veranda cabins and S class ships have 4 Family Veranda cabins that require at least two children to book. (After final payment the children requirement can loosen.). I agree that I enjoy Celebrity because it is mainly an adult line and more upscale and sophisticated environment in the mainstream category. However they do brag about their children and teen programs. Maybe the reason that most of you do not feel the impact of onboard children is because they are involved in the provided programs.

 

 

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[Byron_1978]

It does not mean they are great but the point being made was that people were saying that Celebrity did NOT MARKET at families and clearly they do market at families. Again people have been saying things on here which does not bear out in fact.

People tend to hear/read what they want to believe.

 

The fact that Celebrity allows children to be on board should be reason enough to believe they are every bit as welcome as the people who don't want them there.

Whether they market to families with children or not does not even matter.

 

To the people that don't want children on their cruise: either accept the fact that they are every bit as welcome as you are, or take your business to a cruise line that doesn't allow them. Or take an adult-only cruise.

I think the biggest worry of these people are the kids that run amok whenever they can and have parents that do nothing to correct them.

This is exactly why we found Celebrity to be our line of choice. We found none of that on our 1 cruise with them. On every other cruise however...

 

We were on Celebrity Eclipse last year with our son. He loved it to bits. The crew we encountered loved him to bits as well, just like most passengers we encountered.

We will take him on our next Celebrity cruise as well. He will be 3 at that point. We might take him to the kids club at some point so that we can have some adult time, but the main goal of the cruise for us is family time.

 

I do worry about a case such as described by AnOnymously. But the thing is that as a parent, you have no choice but to trust some other people. I trust Celebrity takes every precaution it can to prevent things like that from happening. That offcourse doesn't mean it can never happen, but it could also happen at school, daycare, ... Also remember that most offenders are actually related to the child...

[The_Big_M]

But alas we often trust too much and believe that because a company is a big cruise line or holiday company, they have done all the checks they need to do to keep children safe and that may or may not be the case.

 

Certainly true, but one of the biggest indicators is past experience.

 

With all the years of running children's programs, with children from around the world, and in different countries, how many issues have arisen in their kids club?

[A Sixth?]

How the hell did I survive the 50s and 60s? :p

Edited October 27, 2016 by A Sixth?

[JRos]

Celebrity does have a kids club, so despite your personal dislike of younger people, the poster has some valid concerns. I agree that in such a context, a new unfamiliar environment, a second staff member should be present.

 

Many of you seem to have some real, intense issues with people bringing their kids with them on vacation. Celebrity isn't an 'adults only' cruise line, so the poster had every right to bring his or her kids on the cruise.

[Iamcruzin]

I read in this thread repeatedly that Celebrity does not market towards families, yet have this website:

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/htmlpage/family-fun-cruise#&panel1-5&panel2-5

 

That is the most boring unenthusiastic ad for a kids program that I have ever seen. I have been in pediatrician's offices that were more exciting. Do you really think kids want to participate in croquet, trivia and dancing with with the strips? That may have been fine 40 years ago when kids were content with a coloring book or board games but in todays world of technology and social meadia it's not going to fly. Xbox is even outdated in todays world of technology.