Would you go on an adults only cruise?

[Pies4u]

P&O operate 3 adult only ships, Arcadia, Oriana & Adonia. Whilst the other 2 are mid sized ships, Adonia is c 700 pax. We've been on Arcadia, very comfortable and elegant but not up to Regent cuisine, apart from the Asian speciality restaurant which is outstanding.

 

The lack of children was a wonderful exoerience.

 

As others have said, you can avoid irritating adults but children just get everywhere! I make no apologies for saying that I don't want to go on holiday with other people's children. If I did I'd enquire where they were going and book to be with them!

[flossie009]

Just in the hope that someone from Regent is reading this thread, I would add our wish to cruise over the Christmas / New Year ( holiday ) period but would never do it because we wouldn't risk having it ruined by Ill behaved children. It's a mutual loss.

 

 

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We have been on-board Regent ships (Mariner & Voyager) for holiday cruises 2015/2016 and 2016/2017

 

Both times we could count the number of children/teens on the fingers of one hand and all were very well behaved

 

We have obviously been fortunate as we have not suffered any of the issues described by others in over seven years of sailing with Regent. We have had occasional problems with selfish passengers in their 'second childhood' but these individuals could usually be avoided

[flossie009]

Unfortunately this was not the case on the Explorer (with 50 children) and swansong said that her holiday cruise was ruined because of children. Our holiday cruise was 3 years ago and agree with swansong - "never again".

 

Did I miss that post from swansong?

[Travelcat2]

Did I miss that post from swansong?

 

Post #43. Just came back to edit. Apparently you thought that I was attributing the reference to the Explorer to swansong which I wasn't. I mentioned the recent Explorer cruise AND (not shouting - just emphasizing) mentioned swansong's post in the same sentence. Sorry if that was confusing.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Travelcat2

[flossie009]

Post #43. Just came back to edit. Apparently you thought that I was attributing the reference to the Explorer which I wasn't. I mentioned the recent Explorer cruise AND (not shouting - just emphasizing) mentioned swansong's post in the same sentence. Sorry if that was confusing.

 

No I was not confused, but just wanted to point out that none of swansong's posts (including 43) said "...that her holiday cruise was ruined because of children", as you have misquoted

 

Also, I don't recall anyone reporting that the 50 children caused any problems on Explorer over Christmas

[Travelcat2]

No I was not confused, but just wanted to point out that none of swansong's posts (including 43) said "...that her holiday cruise was ruined because of children", as you have misquoted

 

Also, I don't recall anyone reporting that the 50 children caused any problems on Explorer over Christmas

 

Unfortunately, this is one time when you would need to take my word for it (or not). As most of us do, we communicate via email as well as on Cruise Critic. Sometimes what we share in an email is not the same as what we share on CC - especially on delicate topics such as this one.

 

I have it on good authority that things did not go as smoothly as the delightful young lady on the ship posted. People asked to be moved in CR when sitting in the vicinity of a table of loud and unruly children. (this apparently happened several times during the cruise). There were children acting like children which is fine if they are not bothering others. In many cases, they were not only bothering others but made having a meal almost impossible.

 

The stories on this thread say a lot -- a teacher that would love sail on a child-free cruise -- stories about sailing with children on board that took away the enjoyment of the vacation, etc. One story that stands out in my mind was about 5 or 6 years ago when Regent was running "kids sail free" in Alaska. Two boys were using the sticks made for shuffleboard as swords.... while "playing" one boy broke both of his arms. Obviously, this ruined the cruise for the boy and his parents. And this was likely taking place with no supervision.

 

Whether Regent decides to give this a try or not, I'm glad that so many have spoken out in favor of child-free cruises. For those of you that are not bothered by children, a couple of child-free cruises should not affect you.

 

P.S. Yes - I did misread swansong's post but did understand that they will not be booking any holiday cruises in the near future. BTW, my cruise from "h*ll" was in 2013/14 on the Voyager.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Travelcat2

[BeginTheBeguine]

Children are children. Let's face it. Regent is not equipped to have small children on board. I would love to see holiday cruises "children free". Let me state, we have been on cruises with small children, but have been lucky enough to have parents who looked after the children and made them behave.

[golfgirls]

We were on the Explorer on back to backs from December 18th to January 13th. I guess we had been lulled into a sense of expectation having been on the Mariner last Holiday with all of 3 children. This year was much different on the Explorer. Many more children and many of those with parents more childish than their children. It made enough of an impact that we cancelled the holiday cruise on the Explorer next year and booked something a bit later. I am sure the families on the Explorer had a great time, it just was not what we expected nor wanted.

 

I am all for adults only cruises, in fact, that is what I expect from Regent. And no flame throwing please!!!!

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

We were on the Explorer on back to backs from December 18th to January 13th. I guess we had been lulled into a sense of expectation having been on the Mariner last Holiday with all of 3 children. This year was much different on the Explorer. Many more children and many of those with parents more childish than their children. It made enough of an impact that we cancelled the holiday cruise on the Explorer next year and booked something a bit later. I am sure the families on the Explorer had a great time, it just was not what we expected nor wanted.

 

I am all for adults only cruises, in fact, that is what I expect from Regent. And no flame throwing please!!!!

 

 

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No flame throwing - this just confirms what I've heard and think that you next Explorer cruise will be significantly better than your last one:)

[flossie009]

Unfortunately, this is one time when you would need to take my word for it (or not). As most of us do, we communicate via email as well as on Cruise Critic. Sometimes what we share in an email is not the same as what we share on CC - especially on delicate topics such as this one.

 

I have it on good authority that things did not go as smoothly as the delightful young lady on the ship posted. People asked to be moved in CR when sitting in the vicinity of a table of loud and unruly children. (this apparently happened several times during the cruise). There were children acting like children which is fine if they are not bothering others. In many cases, they were not only bothering others but made having a meal almost impossible.

 

The stories on this thread say a lot -- a teacher that would love sail on a child-free cruise -- stories about sailing with children on board that took away the enjoyment of the vacation, etc. One story that stands out in my mind was about 5 or 6 years ago when Regent was running "kids sail free" in Alaska. Two boys were using the sticks made for shuffleboard as swords.... while "playing" one boy broke both of his arms. Obviously, this ruined the cruise for the boy and his parents. And this was likely taking place with no supervision.

 

Whether Regent decides to give this a try or not, I'm glad that so many have spoken out in favor of child-free cruises. For those of you that are not bothered by children, a couple of child-free cruises should not affect you.

 

P.S. Yes - I did misread swansong's post but did understand that they will not be booking any holiday cruises in the near future. BTW, my cruise from "h*ll" was in 2013/14 on the Voyager.

 

TC2,

I certainly believe you about the difficulties with some children on the Explorer Christmas cruise - I was just surprised that no one had posted details; golfgirls, post 58, usefully corrects this omission

 

I am interested in trying to separate the actual issues that have occurred with children on Regent cruises (e.g. UUNetBill post 31, golfgirls post 58 and your own unfortunate experiences) from the many posts on this thread that are about perceptions and fears

 

 

It is not that we are "not bothered by children", but simply that we have not encountered any child related problems on our numerous Regent cruises

 

We would have no problem if Regent introduced child-free cruises or indeed made their whole fleet child-free. In our opinion there are a number of more suitable cruiselines for families with kids under 16 to enjoy

[flossie009]

What happened to the interesting posts about the family from hell in an upper suite and other suites on the Explorer?

 

Were the posts deemed to be false............or just bad advertising for Regent?

[liptastic]

Flossie I also read those posts somewhere? It mentioned the family in the Regent suite and nannies in another suite?

There was also mention of them taking the disabled seats on the tender boat at the door and not moving for elderly disabled passengers when asked to. It was also mentioned about same said children moving about on the tender boat whilst it was moving!

I read it in a thread and then it suddenly disappeared??

Surely to goodness this is where Regent should have taken charge of this situation and also the other ones in dining rooms, it disappoints me that they let this happen without intervening by the sound of it. Obviously we were not there to see this ourselves but it's not good publicity for a luxury cruise line at all is it? Jean.

[UUNetBill]

Flossie I also read those posts somewhere? It mentioned the family in the Regent suite and nannies in another suite?

There was also mention of them taking the disabled seats on the tender boat at the door and not moving for elderly disabled passengers when asked to. It was also mentioned about same said children moving about on the tender boat whilst it was moving!

I read it in a thread and then it suddenly disappeared??

Surely to goodness this is where Regent should have taken charge of this situation and also the other ones in dining rooms, it disappoints me that they let this happen without intervening by the sound of it. Obviously we were not there to see this ourselves but it's not good publicity for a luxury cruise line at all is it? Jean.

 

Yep, I remember reading those posts, too. Jean, when you said that 'this is where Regent should have taken charge of this situation' - I couldn't agree more.

 

Maybe instead of Regent considering a handful of 'kid-free' cruises they should institute a fleet-wide 'behavior(u)r clause' where anyone sailing with people under a certain age have to sign a policy letter stating that they need to control their younger passengers or they'll be put ashore. And then enforce it. That way people with well-behaved kids (and there are many of them) would still be able to sail Regent and people with feral beasts would be removed at the first opportunity.

 

Of course, in today's litigious society, that would never fly - and eventually the $$ (££) would trump the policy (no pun intended) and we'd probably be right back where we started.

 

It's a tricky situation.

[liptastic]

Bill I know that if my husband and I had been on the tender boat mentioned I would have had no hesitation in approaching the family sitting in the disabled access seats, and my husband am sure would have to. Respect and consideration for other passengers seems to have gone out the window here quite literally?

It kind of has the feeling that staff felt overwhelmed with the series of events and that they were not supported at a senior level in dealing with this?

Anyway that just how I view the situation from home . Jean.

[Travelcat2]

Bill I know that if my husband and I had been on the tender boat mentioned I would have had no hesitation in approaching the family sitting in the disabled access seats, and my husband am sure would have to. Respect and consideration for other passengers seems to have gone out the window here quite literally?

It kind of has the feeling that staff felt overwhelmed with the series of events and that they were not supported at a senior level in dealing with this?

Anyway that just how I view the situation from home . Jean.

 

I also read somewhere that the reactions from parents that were approached by other guests was extremely rude. Approaching parents about their children can cause more problems than it solves. In the case of the tender, it was up to one of the Regent crew members to handle the situation (if it was putting the child, passengers or boat at risk).

 

At least I know now that the posts about unruly children have disappeared. I was looking for them yesterday and couldn't find them. I know that I read a post from someone on the Explorer holiday cruise that talked about the behavior of the children onboard (and it wasn't positive). In any case, the information I read via email confirmed that everything was not as rosy on the Explorer as it was painted (not blaming the young lady - her perspective would likely be different -- I do recall her posting that some people hate the children and some like them).

[wripro]

If only we could make the children disappear as quickly and easily as the negative posts about them.

[Travelcat2]

if only we could make the children disappear as quickly and easily as the negative posts about them.

 

Wouldn't that be nice!

Edited January 30, 2017 by Travelcat2

[RustyRollock]

This whole CC board is owned and financed by the cruise companies. Its a powerful advertising tool for them. That's why we don't pay a subscription. So "negative" ie truthful posts and opinions are closely monitored and censored where necessary. It's naive to think otherwise.

 

Now watch this post disappear too... :cool:

[UUNetBill]

This whole CC board is owned and financed by the cruise companies. Its a powerful advertising tool for them. That's why we don't pay a subscription. So "negative" ie truthful posts and opinions are closely monitored and censored where necessary. It's naive to think otherwise.

 

Now watch this post disappear too... :cool:

 

So when posts disappear, do they disappear from within quoted posts as well? I guess we'll see if and when RR's original post gets removed. :D

[flossie009]

This whole CC board is owned and financed by the cruise companies. Its a powerful advertising tool for them. That's why we don't pay a subscription. So "negative" ie truthful posts and opinions are closely monitored and censored where necessary. It's naive to think otherwise.

 

Now watch this post disappear too... :cool:

 

 

CC is owned by TripAdvisor and financed through advertising revenue

[Suite Travels]

This whole CC board is owned and financed by the cruise companies. Its a powerful advertising tool for them. That's why we don't pay a subscription. So "negative" ie truthful posts and opinions are closely monitored and censored where necessary. It's naive to think otherwise.

 

Now watch this post disappear too... :cool:

 

Hi Rusty, yes you need too be careful here on CC not all criticism is accepted and can become an issue with some posters and will object to your comments or disagree strongly. It's a no win situation.

[doyouseawhatisea]

Well, in regards to the Explorer holiday cruise, I really put the blame on Regent on that one. After a certain number (like, 20 maybe?!), they really should have brought on a designated staff to give them some activities throughout the day. Unfortunately, that wasn't available because (according to John Barron) they didn't get the final numbers in time to get someone on board and since they've more or less dropped Club Mariner with the exception of a few Med and Alaska cruises, I don't think they have an easy time getting trained staff since they now have to work on an NCL ship before coming to Regent for that department.

 

This meant that children were constantly around the pool, up on the sports deck, or in activities like trivia and bingo with their families because that's the only thing you can do on a luxury cruise line when you're 12 besides sitting on electronics all day.

 

And yeah, it was super annoying sometimes. (And I work with kids and I still found it super annoying.) I definitely saw a few people that had issues in restaurants with kids. Didn't post about them in my live blog because I never had an issue myself and also, I don't care. But like so many have said already, it's really not the kids, it's the parents.

 

Anyway back to the original question:

 

I think Regent might be jumping the gun a bit and trying to do a child-free holiday cruise without officially announcing it, afraid that if they do they'll lose the business of some families that would feel unwelcome. Holiday cruises are beginning to go to fewer child friendly places (especially with a few coming up) but they'll keep the business of the families by going to the Western & Eastern Caribbean as a closer and more convenient trip for American's than say Singapore or South America. Just my two cents.

Edited January 31, 2017 by doyouseawhatisea

[Travelcat2]

doyouseawhatisea - really appreciate your thoughtful comments. FYI, I am not thinking about holiday cruises (i.e. Christmas/Hannukah/New Year's) but rather summer cruises. IMO, families do want to be together during the holidays and we are only talking about a couple weeks. Avoiding holiday cruises isn't a big deal IMO - especially since it is not only children that make these cruises "different" (it seems as if some passengers are on holiday cruises because someone in the family paid for the cruise - it wasn't something that they necessarily wanted nor will they cruise on Regent again. This creates a different atmosphere).

 

"Summer" vacation is around 12 weeks long and I'm suggesting 2 child-free cruises. Probably one in Alaska and one in the Med. The rest of the year there are few, if any, children on board Regent.

 

Agree that Regent could not just spring this on people at the last minute but could easily assign a couple of cruises for 2018. This would have to advertised pretty heavily. I think they could get some cruisers from other luxury lines if they gave this idea a try.

[wripro]

Maybe a better solution than a few child free cruises is to have all child free cruises except for a few where they allow children. Then every selfish parent who puts his own needs first can book those cruises and they can all drive each other crazy.

[rallydave]

Maybe a better solution than a few child free cruises is to have all child free cruises except for a few where they allow children. Then every selfish parent who puts his own needs first can book those cruises and they can all drive each other crazy.

 

+100 Best idea yet wripro!!