Silversea TRYING to attract KIDS

[brimary]

Thanks Lincslady  for your helpful comments.We are in the same non flying category as yourself!

[Observer]

3 hours ago, brimary said:

Just received upcoming voyage confirmations and contrary to what you say it is total all inclusive including the taxi from home to ship and return and there are no premium restaurants like LaDame on SS.We approach this new venture with an open mind and will try and compare with our experiences on SS in a fair manner.

 

I stand corrected.  SAGA used to include only wine at lunch and dinner, but not pre or post-prandial cocktails, etc.  I now see that they are moving from this full board pricing to all inclusive pricing, where drinks are included.

[Mahogany]

 The offer on my Northern Europe cruise next summer says Children under 18 at least 50%off depending upon age. So, still the same policy, just worded differently, I guess. A 12-day sailing, shorter than I usually take, so the shorter the voyage, the greater possibility of kids, I'm assuming. Is it inappropriate for a passenger, after receiving no help from staff, to speak to the offenders, not the children, but the parents?

[MrsWaldo]

14 hours ago, Mahogany said:

. Is it inappropriate for a passenger, after receiving no help from staff, to speak to the offenders, not the children, but the parents?

IMHO No, but the parents may, can will arc up. 

 

I guess it boils down to would you ask the guy on your neighbouring balcony to defuse, turn down the television/music etc

 

Yep, sometimes kids don't know the line... but some parents think its written in chalk

[brimary]

16 hours ago, Mahogany said:

 The offer on my Northern Europe cruise next summer says Children under 18 at least 50%off depending upon age. So, still the same policy, just worded differently, I guess. A 12-day sailing, shorter than I usually take, so the shorter the voyage, the greater possibility of kids, I'm assuming. Is it inappropriate for a passenger, after receiving no help from staff, to speak to the offenders, not the children, but the parents?

Difficult for crew who you report to and to the guest when the culprit is tha Captain and his wife as on our Silver Wind cruise just finished.Only way is to not take on passengers under18 as there are no activities for children apart from breaking all the Pool regulations without parental supervision on Silversea.

[wripro]

I'd have no problem talking to the Captain if it were his children causing disturbances, He's supposed to set the tone for the ship, not ignore all rules of decent behavior. And if he can't run the ship and take care of his kids at the same time he should leave them home.

[drron29]

I'm with you wripro.The Captain would be in a no win situation as if there were any repercussions to the guest telling him it would turn into a massive PR disaster for SS.

And just to reinforce the problem is the parents we had young children near us when out to dinner on consecutive nights.First night a couple with a ~ 18 month old.The parents talked to him throughout and had brought along some of his obvious favourite food.The young fellow was a delight.The next night a couple with 2 sons ` 1 and 3.They had brought along heavy models for them to play with which they constantly banged on the tables.The first time the parents talked to them was when the young one banged the model on his head rather than the table.The screaming continued for some time.

[nowornever]

18 month? 1 & 3?  What are they thinking?  That is not a vacation, that's pandemonium - for all concerned!  Shouldn't the head waiter have taken a parent aside & ask that they take the offending child out because of the general disturbance?  Simply not acceptable behavior from anyone's children (or alleged adult in charge.)

[Observer]

7 minutes ago, nowornever said:

18 month? 1 & 3?  What are they thinking?  That is not a vacation, that's pandemonium - for all concerned!  Shouldn't the head waiter have taken a parent aside & ask that they take the offending child out because of the general disturbance?  Simply not acceptable behavior from anyone's children (or alleged adult in charge.)

 

I entirely agree.  But where were they to take the kids?  There is no buffet at dinner time.  And dinner does not begin until 7 pm, by which time the kids are very hungry and/or tired.

 

And Silversea apparently has even more attractive fares for sub-2's.

 

I know it's unrealistic to expect a ban on children soon.  But (to repeat: excuse me! 🙂) I wish that they would have

 

• A ban on children under 7 with
• Provision that officers could bring younger children if they were well behaved and if children sub-7 would dine in officers' mess not in paying guest dining rooms.

 

[QueSeraSera]

@drron29 well described, and I respect the differentiation you made between the 2 experiences.

6 minutes ago, nowornever said:

that's pandemonium

Agreed.

Our 6 children, all grown and (finally) self-sufficient, we begin cruising in a few days.  Ready for good food, good company, seeing the world beyond what business trips involved, and some serious relaxation.  I still believe SS to be the right choice for us, not liking everything I see about Viking.

4 minutes ago, Observer said:

But where were they to take the kids?

I have no answer, but Silversea, I really hope you are listening to the people posting here.

[nowornever]

I know that Alaska cruises attract families but I'm sincerely hoping that the one we are boarding next Thursday will be an exception since most schools are back in session.  Of course that wouldn't affect the 18 mo/1 & 3 year olds.  Pretty sure the person in charge of the restaurant will be hearing about it if truck-banging-on-table or head or anywhere occurs.  Room service (them, not us) is always an option.  And don't forget Scannapoli (pardon spelling) on the Muse & Spirit.  Pizza always a big hit with the little darlin's.  

[Observer]

2 minutes ago, QueSeraSera said:

I have no answer, but Silversea, I really hope you are listening to the people posting here.

 

I doubt it.  I have complained informally to HDs over the years about very young, crying, pounding toddlers.   They seem helpless to do anything.

 

Perhaps the advent of Viking and Virgin and ( for UK customers) Saga with its new ships with verandahs will prompt Silversea to address this issue.  There are now very attractive alternatives for child (and esp. infant/toddler) free experiences.

[Stumblefoot]

3 hours ago, QueSeraSera said:

...and (finally) self-sufficient...

 

That’s living the dream right there!

[wripro]

16 hours ago, Observer said:

 

I entirely agree.  But where were they to take the kids?  There is no buffet at dinner time.  And dinner does not begin until 7 pm, by which time the kids are very hungry and/or tired.

 

And Silversea apparently has even more attractive fares for sub-2's.

 

I know it's unrealistic to expect a ban on children soon.  But (to repeat: excuse me! 🙂) I wish that they would have

 

• A ban on children under 7 with
• Provision that officers could bring younger children if they were well behaved and if children sub-7 would dine in officers' mess not in paying guest dining rooms.

 

Where are they to take the kids? Stay in the suite with them and have dinner there where they can control their behavior. it was their choice to bring the kids so it's their responsibility to make sure their issue do not destroy the vacations of their fellow cruisers.

[bigmjh]

1 hour ago, wripro said:

"... it's their responsibility to make sure their issue do not destroy the vacations of their fellow cruisers."

👍 Thumbs up! Right on! Totally agree ... it's just a shame that some parents don't see it that way.

[brimary]

On 8/31/2019 at 5:50 PM, wripro said:

I'd have no problem talking to the Captain if it were his children causing disturbances, He's supposed to set the tone for the ship, not ignore all rules of decent behavior. And if he can't run the ship and take care of his kids at the same time he should leave them home.

Couldn’t agree more.The problem on our recent cruise was for the first time ever on Silversea cruises we disembarked the Wind without ever seeing or speaking to the Captain.He was known on board by crew and long standing SS cruisers as the invisible Captain! Thankfully this did not stop the enjoyment of the cruise .

[christraveller]

The Silversea setup is one that leaves children easily bored, and looking for places to engage in age and appropriate to their phase of development  to have fun, run, jump, and shout. Mix in the clearly older clientele at a pool, or in a restaurant, add cognitive or sensory issues, add cultural issues, then add one or two parents who are not clear on what the limits are or how to set them... presto! Conflict.  

 

It only takes very few children exposed to those conditions to make for trying times for the other passengers.  RCCL knows how to handle children well on larger ships where the younger ones have dedicated staff and space. Rolling out  the “Welcome All Kids” welcome mat on smaller ships with no child-focussed staff, disempowering existing staff from setting limits...presto! Conflict persists. 

 

There is a causal chain between a passenger considering a cruise and, much later, sitting embittered on a noisy pool deck. A formal root cause analysis can identify where process issues are MIN:  Missing, Incomplete, or Not Followed. 

[mitz18]

On 8/31/2019 at 8:09 PM, Observer said:

 

I entirely agree.  But where were they to take the kids?  

 

Maybe on a Disney cruise or some other cruise that has activities for youths.  Why don't they? Because the parents are selfish wanting to take the kids on their vacation vs a vacation for the family or kids.  

[SLSD]

4 minutes ago, mitz18 said:

 

Maybe on a Disney cruise or some other cruise that has activities for youths.  Why don't they? Because the parents are selfish wanting to take the kids on their vacation vs a vacation for the family or kids.  

One of my friends who is a regular Silversea cruiser, tells me that one of her cruises was substantially affected by the number of young children on board as they monopolized the pool deck and were loud, fast and noticeable.  She was convinced that SS gave a last minute discount for additional passengers.  I have to say that her description has kept me from seriously considering SS for our own plans.  We love children (and adore our three grandchildren) but would not consider taking them on a luxury cruise line that caters to the over 40/50 crowd.  

[Colgal]

50 minutes ago, SLSD said:

One of my friends who is a regular Silversea cruiser, tells me that one of her cruises was substantially affected by the number of young children on board as they monopolized the pool deck and were loud, fast and noticeable.  She was convinced that SS gave a last minute discount for additional passengers.  I have to say that her description has kept me from seriously considering SS for our own plans.  We love children (and adore our three grandchildren) but would not consider taking them on a luxury cruise line that caters to the over 40/50 crowd.  

It’s not just SS- we had 2 cruises with unruly children on Seabourn- one in the Med and one in the Caribbean. Unfortunately some parents fail to note or really don’t care  that these cruise lines are adult oriented. In both cases the parents seemed to enjoy themselves poolside while their children took over the pool deck.

 

On our recent cruise on SS there was only one 11 year old who tried to make the best of things but looked rather bored. It appeared to me on our previous cruises with SS that the demographic was older than that of Seabourn and less likely to have young families aboard. 

 

We are taking our 5th cruise in November and are keeping fingers crossed that it will have few or no children aboard.

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, Colgal said:

It’s not just SS- we had 2 cruises with unruly children on Seabourn- one in the Med and one in the Caribbean. Unfortunately some parents fail to note or really don’t care  that these cruise lines are adult oriented. In both cases the parents seemed to enjoy themselves poolside while their children took over the pool deck.

 

On our recent cruise on SS there was only one 11 year old who tried to make the best of things but looked rather bored. It appeared to me on our previous cruises with SS that the demographic was older than that of Seabourn and less likely to have young families aboard. 

 

We are taking our 5th cruise in November and are keeping fingers crossed that it will have few or no children aboard.

We have yet to encounter children on Seabourn other than sedate really dressed up teens who were quiet and stayed with their family groups.  Of course we have also avoided sailing in the summertime.  

[MrsWaldo]

I've encountered lots of kids on Seabourn

 

Including on our cruise to Antarctica......   and no they weren't dressed up teens...  one was in nappies

[Colgal]

2 hours ago, SLSD said:

We have yet to encounter children on Seabourn other than sedate really dressed up teens who were quiet and stayed with their family groups.  Of course we have also avoided sailing in the summertime.  

 

You have been fortunate to have experienced “child-free or teenagers only”cruises and it is likely that you traveled in the spring and fall seasons. We have cruised with Seabourn and SS from late May through August, with the exception of two  Seabourn cruises in Jan. and Feb., because it was the most convenient time for my husband, who had not yet retired. Our five cruises on Seabourn certainly had more children aboard -and  at  younger ages than our four on Silversea. 

 

We will certainly shift to the shoulder seasons now that his time is flexible- but it does seem unfair that we should have to do that in order to avoid families with children. Crystal and Disney offer an excellent product and would certainly be more suitable for children than Regent, SS and Seabourn.

[SLSD]

5 hours ago, Colgal said:

 

You have been fortunate to have experienced “child-free or teenagers only”cruises and it is likely that you traveled in the spring and fall seasons. We have cruised with Seabourn and SS from late May through August, with the exception of two  Seabourn cruises in Jan. and Feb., because it was the most convenient time for my husband, who had not yet retired. Our five cruises on Seabourn certainly had more children aboard -and  at  younger ages than our four on Silversea. 

 

We will certainly shift to the shoulder seasons now that his time is flexible- but it does seem unfair that we should have to do that in order to avoid families with children. Crystal and Disney offer an excellent product and would certainly be more suitable for children than Regent, SS and Seabourn.

I totally agree with you!

[Colgal]

10 hours ago, SLSD said:

I totally agree with you!

Great! I guess you will reconsider Silversea.

 

Bottom line is all the luxury lines will continue to be impacted by families if there are no policies set by corporate since the parents seem incapable of distinguishing “age appropriate” cruises for their children.