Solstice LIVE (3/18) Suite Review w/ Kid: Mexican Riviera w/ Mini Me

[GenerationX]

12 hours ago, zitsky said:

That’s so nice.  I went to school in Chicago.  I wish I could have gone to more shows.

 

Some people find the Celebrity shows on the loud side based on recent threads.  Is noise a problem for her?  I avoid noise but it masks my tinnitus, sometimes.

She does have some challenges with sound volume.  We have noise reduction headphones that I bring along for her to shows and concerts and we try to get seats on the aisle and further back in the audience in case we need to slip out without disturbing people too much.  
 

We’ll likely do that for the shows on this cruise.  On our last cruise they didn’t have a production show (it was while things were still coming back up to full steam post-COVID), just a magician act so I didn’t really get a chance to test how she’ll do with the sound level in the theater.

[sdnich]

I look forward to following along. We are at the San Diego airport (our weather is awful on the West Coast  )heading to Florida to jump on the edge. Looking forward to some warmer weather that’s for sure.!!! 

Edited March 15, 2023 by sdnich

[GenerationX]

10 hours ago, sciencegrrl said:

Thank you for generously taking us with you.

 

I am really looking forward to this.  I have been lurking on your trip reports for a couple of years.  Love, love, love your reports - lots of good info and fun pictures.

 

I haven't cruised since the 90s (some very fun, wild girls cruises when I lived in Long Beach).  Taking the husband, mom, and auntie next April.  If they like it, we'll go more often.

 

Gotta say this: every child is different and I'm sad you even have to address the "elephant in the room." You as the parent know your child best and you should NEVER have to justify a well-thought out action you take on behalf of your child. People that jump to conclusions or judgement really wrinkle my shorts.  They may base their judgement on what they have seen or heard but that does not necessarily apply to you.  

 

My oldest is autistic and on vacation wears long sleeve shirts, pants, and a hat (didn't like the breeze on body hairs) as well as noise cancelling headphones.  Once we got that sorted when he was about 4, we had no worries about meltdowns and a sedate cruise would have been perfect. (Even with the DAS, Disney was a no-no😥).

 

The middle one is a cancer survivor who is an old soul.  He would have loved a Celebrity or Holland cruise.  Before he got sick, he hiked with his grandma's hiking group and would regale the seniors - he could discuss Hope & Crosby movies, recite Jeff Foxworthy's redneck bits, or sing (badly) 50s and 60s tunes while doing 8-10 miles in the desert (at 8!!)

 

The youngest, well, he would be bored stiff on a Celebrity cruise.  He loves the action (until he collapses - at Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA we had to take a two hour time-out at Independence Hall and he had a docent all to himself.  It calmed him down and he learned some cool history - win, win!)

 

Sorry about the rant.

 

Also, just so you know, I read your reports out loud to my mother who has only cruised once in 2006 on HAL to Alaska and she LOVES them.  I have to show her the pics and she can't wait to go to the Caribbean next year.  Now she'll want to go to Mexico too!😄 

 

Thanks again for sharing your trip...

Thank you so much for sharing and for your supportive words! Your family sounds absolutely beautiful. I’m loving that your mom gets a kick out of virtually sailing along and is already in vacation mode 😀

I hope that you all catch the cruising bug next April and I get to sail with you sometime!

[Barwick Cruiser]

Seems like just yesterday I was reading about you and Jeremy on a cruise and here you are ready to head off again, this time with sweet GenZ. I’m sure you’ll both have a wonderful time making endless memories. She is certainly a very lucky girl! Thank you so much for taking precious time to keep the rest of us sailing, even if vicariously! 🚢  🥂

[GenerationX]

7 hours ago, chemmo said:

Looking forward to following too.

To us, cruising has always been about quality family time. Our son was seven when we first cruised. When he was small, with us both having busy careers, cruising was when we found unlimited time to simply be a family and do family things. Even when we cruised on RC our son would (to our delight) hang out with us a lot of the time. Celebrity soon became the family choice. Our last cruise was just over a year ago our son (now in his thirties) and GF came with us. The focus still on family time and making family memories.

 

Sadly, my husband passed away earlier this year…Our son’s recollections in the service of remembrance were about time spent together and particularly “many evenings spent on the balcony discussing space, time and the antics of Manchester United (our soccer team)”.

 

Charla, I write this with ‘gladness not sadness’…So many people are so busy during their children’s early years and always going to ‘do things’ tomorrow. You have the balance so right! Important as careers are finding time to be a wife and a mum are more important, you clearly know that…
 

Sincere best wishes for an absolutely fantastic cruise. I will be following along and will make our family toast of “Making every second count” as I see the first picture of you both on board!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so sorry for the loss of your husband.  You are so right about the value of family time and memories.

 

Cruising is so much about the life experiences and time with family for me as well.  
 

I sometimes look at what I spend on my travels (both solo and with Jeremy and Gen Z) and think about how many designer bags, what a nice luxury car or what a gorgeous kitchen remodel I could have instead.  
 

But as I’ve gotten older I’ve started to think  that at the end of the day, things are just things and wonderful memories of the places and people we love are really the most valuable things we can ever own.  

 

Gen Z is growing like a weed and I know it won’t be long now before she’s a teenager and may not want to spend as much of her time with me (and definitely won’t be begging to wear matching outfits anymore).  
 

Between my professional commitments and Gen Z’s school and extracurriculars it’s so hard for us to find quality time together on a daily basis. I feel like our mother daughter trips are a priceless investment in making the kind of memories that I hope Gen Z will have forever and be telling her grandkids about someday.

[raudacruise]

Yay! So happy to follow along! 🚢🍾🥂🌴

[Beachlover1989]

I'm so excited to follow along on your latest adventure!  This time with your Mini Me!!  Your LIVE on Apex convinced me our August cruise is going to be wonderful and I'm now even more excited!  Thank you Charla!

[Azulann]

Looking forward to your next great trip report. I love Mexico and have spent many winter months there in the past. Your daughter will love the ports, colors and friendly people who love children. It will be  warm , sunny with flowering plants all over the place.  Perfect this time of year for those from the Midwest!

[Laurab23]

Excited to follow along.

 

Laura

[Jim_Iain]

Charla -   definitely  going to hitchhike a ride a ride and follow along with your next adventure.   Can't wait to see how Gen-Z enjoys this cruise.   Very lucky young lady.   Make sure you hold on to all of her sea-passes so she can get the points when she turns 18.  

[maggie.1008]

You and lovely Gen Z are going to have a smashing time. Always love following along,cheers

[DUTRAVEL]

Have a great time on your Mommy-Daughter cruise. Looking forward to following your adventures!

[Mrs_Tiki]

So excited for another Charla review, with the extra bonus that we will get to meet her in person on the Beyond next month! 
 

I wholeheartedly agree with Charla’s (and others’) comments about knowing your child when planning a cruise experience. My parents took me on a transatlantic on the QE2 when I was 13 and made very clear their expectations regarding my behavior. Fast forward, our daughter enjoyed her first cruise at the age of 5 on Sea Princess, and we never looked back, choosing the right line for the right time in her life. Princess>Disney (one and done!)>Royal Caribbean>Celebrity>SeaDream.

 

Small digression here - early in her tween years, our dear daughter called us out for our involvement with CruiseCritic meet and greets. We had always told her that it was dangerous to meet people online and then arrange to meet up in person in real life. She noted that we were doing exactly that when we arranged sail away cocktails and shared shore excursions. (Good point, but always turned out great for us!)

[tcmagnum]

23 hours ago, GenerationX said:

 

Looking forward to taking everyone along on another cruise!

 

 

Looking forward to reading the trip report for you and Gen Z!!!
 

Have a great trip!!!

[cinderellen]

Oh, this is going to be fun! We did a Mexican riviera cruise on the Celebrity Mercury back in 2007. It was one of our favorite cruises. I loved that Georgia_Peaches loved Mazatlan. It was a wonderful port. Enjoy!

Edited March 16, 2023 by cinderellen

[dianedebuda]

8 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Gen Z is growing like a weed and I know it won’t be long now before she’s a teenager and may not want to spend as much of her time with me (and definitely won’t be begging to wear matching outfits anymore). 

So does she have a map dress yet?

[GenerationX]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Charla -   definitely  going to hitchhike a ride a ride and follow along with your next adventure.   Can't wait to see how Gen-Z enjoys this cruise.   Very lucky young lady.   Make sure you hold on to all of her sea-passes so she can get the points when she turns 18.  

Welcome aboard!

 

I will definitely hold onto her seapass cards.  
 

She was quite excited that for this cruise, when I pulled up our booking and xpress pass, she’s been assigned a captains club number and her xpress pass shows her as classic status.  

She says she now has a “personal goal” to become the youngest zenith in Celebrity Cruises history.  I told her if that’s what she’s striving for, she’d better find herself a job, immediately.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Can’t wait to read about your adventures on the beautiful Solstice!

[mchell810]

Looking forward to reading about your trip and all of Gen Z's adventures  😀

I will be traveling myself for a few weeks so I am very glad I can mark this now. I won't get the "live" version but will still catch up after I am return.

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Jims idea about the seapass cards is excellent as we have keys and passes too along with pictures of her in a deck chair on each cruise showing her getting older as the years passed.  Enjoy!

[DaKahuna]

12 hours ago, GenerationX said:

She was quite excited that for this cruise, when I pulled up our booking and xpress pass, she’s been assigned a captains club number and her xpress pass shows her as classic status.  

 

 

I thought she would have the same CC status as you but her points level would only be for cruises she has actually taken? Or does that only happen when she boards the ship?  

 

[Gaynors]

14 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Welcome aboard!

 

I will definitely hold onto her seapass cards.  
 

She was quite excited that for this cruise, when I pulled up our booking and xpress pass, she’s been assigned a captains club number and her xpress pass shows her as classic status.  

She says she now has a “personal goal” to become the youngest zenith in Celebrity Cruises history.  I told her if that’s what she’s striving for, she’d better find herself a job, immediately.

That's interesting.  I thought you didn't get a captain's club # until you were 18.   At 18 they called and got a captain's club #  then got credit for all the cruises they had taken.  At least that's how it worked a year ago.  DD is 19 now.

 

[GenerationX]

3 hours ago, Gaynors said:

That's interesting.  I thought you didn't get a captain's club # until you were 18.   At 18 they called and got a captain's club #  then got credit for all the cruises they had taken.  At least that's how it worked a year ago.  DD is 19 now.

 

That’s what the captains club desk told me on her first cruise last year as well. I was kind of surprised to see her number and status but thought maybe I was misremembering what I was told.

 

I wonder if there’s been a recent policy change.

[Gaynors]

8 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

That’s what the captains club desk told me on her first cruise last year as well. I was kind of surprised to see her number and status but thought maybe I was misremembering what I was told.

 

I wonder if there’s been a recent policy change.

Maybe??

 

At least that would be inline with what Royal Caribbean already does... and since they are both owned by the same company ... but then again... that would make sense 😂.    

 

See if her status shows up on her room key.   In the past kids didn't show any status on their card.  However, first sailing after 18 (and getting captain's club number) the status showed up.  My kids were supper excited when their cards actually showed Elite like their mom and dad's.

[GenerationX]

5 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

I thought she would have the same CC status as you but her points level would only be for cruises she has actually taken? Or does that only happen when she boards the ship?  

 

I’m not 100% sure.  On our last couple of cruises Jeremy‘s express pass had his lower cc status and when we got in the room there was schedules and info in my name for elite and his name for select. But we started cruising together before we were married and I’ve never gotten around to calling and officially designating him as my spouse.  
 

If I remember correctly though, on our last cruise together, Gen Z was invited to all of the elite captains club events with me even though she had never cruised celebrity before. I’m not sure if her being a minor changed anything about how they handle it though.