Suggest ships based on Solariums

[Thoenix]

Planning a cruise for some friends who have stated that they'd prefer to minimize time spent with other people's children (but are still okay with kids being on the ship) so obviously we're avoiding school holidays/Christian holidays/Yeshiva week, and we're very flexible on dates/destinations.  I haven't really made much use of the Solarium on my only cruise so far (I didn't see a lot of kids in general given the time of year I cruised and I don't care either way about the presence of kids), but I know these can be fantastic if you want to get away from children.  We definitely want to cruise Royal because of how absolutely and completely fantastic Royal was on my last cruise about food allergies--out of 14 travellers, 7 of my party have serious food allergies--so we're not motivated enough by 'fewer kids' to experiment with different cruiselines.

Are there any ships where kids don't have to walk through the Solarium itself to get to the cafe?  If not, which ships have the best Solarium layouts for just hanging out?  I've seen previous threads that heavily recommended the older ships for their Solariums, but I'm wondering if people still feel that way with all the newer ships that have come out the past few years or with newer policies (Solariums moving to 18+ rather than 16+).

Thanks for your tips!!!

[Mapleleafforever]

Why not just ante up for Celebrity where all of your concerns will be met and you'll be able to enjoy the entire ship and not just a small space that will be stuffy and full. 

 

 

[Hoopster95]

20 minutes ago, Thoenix said:

which ships have the best Solarium layouts for just hanging out? 

 

Absolutely #1 by a very very wide margin...

 

Quantum Class ships

[Thoenix]

4 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Why not just ante up for Celebrity where all of your concerns will be met and you'll be able to enjoy the entire ship and not just a small space that will be stuffy and full. 

 

 

My understanding is that the clientele on Celebrity prefers a more formal vibe in places like the main dining room.  My party has around eight autistic members (depending on exactly which people decide to come) who tend towards being relatively loud and prone to asking questions/talking about things that are often objected to in a formal setting.  For example, on our most recent vacation, we spent several hours on an in-depth discussion of a scientific paper on the s*xual behaviours of bats, followed by a detailed analysis of the lifestyles of the parents in Rugrats and which Rugrats baby we were most like.  These conversations are loud because volume control is a challenge for autistic adults.  We all live independently or with friends/family who offer us some support and mutual aid, but we're still special needs adults. 

We do not wish to disturb others' vacations and we do not intend to stay the entire vacation in the Solarium.  We're not looking for kid-free, just considering our strategies so that we can avoid being awash in children and also have times where we can avoid them altogether.  My experience on Enchantment in Jan/Feb was that while children were there, there weren't hordes of them and I believe that 'not during the peak of children's season' with an option to avoid kids for awhile here and there would be the ideal balance for my party.

[Thoenix]

14 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

Absolutely #1 by a very very wide margin...

 

Quantum Class ships

Just Quantum or is Quantum Plus included in this analysis?

[Hoopster95]

1 minute ago, Thoenix said:

Just Quantum or is Quantum Plus included in this analysis?

 

Simply google thousands of videos and photos on google

[reallyitsmema]

8 minutes ago, Thoenix said:

My understanding is that the clientele on Celebrity prefers a more formal vibe in places like the main dining room.  My party has around eight autistic members (depending on exactly which people decide to come) who tend towards being relatively loud and prone to asking questions/talking about things that are often objected to in a formal setting.  For example, on our most recent vacation, we spent several hours on an in-depth discussion of a scientific paper on the s*xual behaviours of bats, followed by a detailed analysis of the lifestyles of the parents in Rugrats and which Rugrats baby we were most like.  These conversations are loud because volume control is a challenge for autistic adults.  We all live independently or with friends/family who offer us some support and mutual aid, but we're still special needs adults. 

We do not wish to disturb others' vacations and we do not intend to stay the entire vacation in the Solarium.  We're not looking for kid-free, just considering our strategies so that we can avoid being awash in children and also have times where we can avoid them altogether.  My experience on Enchantment in Jan/Feb was that while children were there, there weren't hordes of them and I believe that 'not during the peak of children's season' with an option to avoid kids for awhile here and there would be the ideal balance for my party.

 

Have you ever looked into the group Autism on the Seas?  They might have some cruises scheduled that might fit your group.  They do cruises for kids with autism but also young adults.  

[smokeybandit]

Honestly if you (or those in your group) are that against any contact with kids, then RC really isn't for them.

And also honestly, I can't say I've ever been on a cruise, even in the height of spring break week, where I felt I was dodging kids.

[Thoenix]

4 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Have you ever looked into the group Autism on the Seas?  They might have some cruises scheduled that might fit your group.  They do cruises for kids with autism but also young adults.  

I have looked into them extensively, however they are aimed at children and young adults and our youngest group member is in their late 20s.  Autism on the Seas based cruises are heavily populated by children and parents of autistic children.  Our experiences being surrounded by parents of autistic children have been less than stellar, so we will be using the Autism on the Seas schedule to determine cruises that we will not be looking at.

[Thoenix]

1 minute ago, smokeybandit said:

Honestly if you (or those in your group) are that against any contact with kids, then RC really isn't for them.

And also honestly, I can't say I've ever been on a cruise, even in the height of spring break week, where I felt I was dodging kids.

So it's problematic to sail RC and say 'hey, for a few hours here and there, we'd like to be kid-free so we'd like to be on a ship that has a good Solarium to facilitate this'?

[twangster]

• Quantum Class have great solariums that are closed but not always temperature controlled in a significant way.  They can get quite warm in summer and sunny Caribbean regions.
• Wonder and Utopia have closed solariums that are temperature controlled.  Not always full on air conditioning but typically a break from the heat and humidity of outside.
• The rest of Oasis class have varying openness in the solariums so you are basically outside which could be great or bad depending on weather.  Some have more open ceiling panels compared to others but all are open in places.
• Voyager and Freedom class have my least favored solariums as they are very open to the sky plus you will have some transient kids 
• Radiance and Vision class have closed solariums, on some the glass ceiling may be opened at times but not too often.  Transient kids are possible.  Small size and fill up quickly.
• Icon doesn't have a solarium but does have an adult only area on the aft.  It's a nice space but completely open with little cover to be had. 

 

 

 

Edited August 11 by twangster

[smokeybandit]

1 minute ago, Thoenix said:

So it's problematic to sail RC and say 'hey, for a few hours here and there, we'd like to be kid-free so we'd like to be on a ship that has a good Solarium to facilitate this'?

It's a good thought, but there will be kids passing through the solarium on every ship.

What you may want to look at though is the Hideaway neighborhood on Icon of the Seas, which is adults only but doesn't allow for through transit by all ages.

[reallyitsmema]

4 minutes ago, Thoenix said:

I have looked into them extensively, however they are aimed at children and young adults and our youngest group member is in their late 20s.  Autism on the Seas based cruises are heavily populated by children and parents of autistic children.  Our experiences being surrounded by parents of autistic children have been less than stellar, so we will be using the Autism on the Seas schedule to determine cruises that we will not be looking at.

 

I didn't know the age ranges of your group, definitely does not seem to be a good fit for your group.

[Thoenix]

Just now, smokeybandit said:

It's a good thought, but there will be kids passing through the solarium on every ship.

What you may want to look at though is the Hideaway neighborhood on Icon of the Seas, which is adults only but doesn't allow for through transit by all ages.

If the answer is that there are kids passing through on every ship, that's fine.  I just wondered if by any chance any didn't have that because so many ships have so many different floorplans even from others in the same class and it would be very tedious to go through the exact solarium layout of every ship to determine that in all of them, kids pass through.

[Thoenix]

1 minute ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

I didn't know the age ranges of your group, definitely does not seem to be a good fit for your group.

It was a good thought, and you had no idea how old we all were.  Our eldest member is 42 and our youngest member is 27 with most people in mid to late 30s.

[ATG]

On Anthem the only children are going to the Solarium Bistro. The entrance to it is fairly close to the entrance to the Solarium, so most of the Solarium should be adults only. Note that the age is 18. On a Symphony cruise this spring there were lots of older teens (18+) in the Solarium. Nobody was checking to see if they were old enough. I guess if they had caused problems the staff would have checked.

[Thoenix]

Just now, ATG said:

On Anthem the only children are going to the Solarium Bistro. The entrance to it is fairly close to the entrance to the Solarium, so most of the Solarium should be adults only. Note that the age is 18. On a Symphony cruise this spring there were lots of older teens (18+) in the Solarium. Nobody was checking to see if they were old enough. I guess if they had caused problems the staff would have checked.

Definitely that sounds fine!  Honestly one of our biggest concerns is that sometimes parents object to our conversational topics where kids are even though for the most part it comes down to us talking about some pretty wild science.  We're not raunchy, just intrigued by a lot of scientific things that include biology, zoology and animal behaviour.  If the teenagers are chill, that's fine!

[Mapleleafforever]

30 minutes ago, Thoenix said:

My understanding is that the clientele on Celebrity prefers a more formal vibe in places like the main dining room.  My party has around eight autistic members (depending on exactly which people decide to come) who tend towards being relatively loud and prone to asking questions/talking about things that are often objected to in a formal setting.  For example, on our most recent vacation, we spent several hours on an in-depth discussion of a scientific paper on the s*xual behaviours of bats, followed by a detailed analysis of the lifestyles of the parents in Rugrats and which Rugrats baby we were most like.  These conversations are loud because volume control is a challenge for autistic adults.  We all live independently or with friends/family who offer us some support and mutual aid, but we're still special needs adults. 

We do not wish to disturb others' vacations and we do not intend to stay the entire vacation in the Solarium.  We're not looking for kid-free, just considering our strategies so that we can avoid being awash in children and also have times where we can avoid them altogether.  My experience on Enchantment in Jan/Feb was that while children were there, there weren't hordes of them and I believe that 'not during the peak of children's season' with an option to avoid kids for awhile here and there would be the ideal balance for my party.

My parents were on Celebrity Edge a few months ago and they went through a dinner one night being forced to listen to a very loud and eventually very vulgar political discussion that was happening a few tables over. At first they were annoyed but later realised that it was the best entertainment they would have all week (which is why they didn't walk out). This is how I feel about the discussions you describe....I would be riveted....no joke, as would my 5 and 7 year old daughters as they are into nature and while not being allowed to watch Rugrats they are familiar with them. But alas, the MDR on Royal is usually so loud and I am focused on my kids and family that I have yet to be able to overhear another table's conversation. 

 

I say have fun on whatever ship you choose but would offer the suggestion to pick one with an open air Solarium. Sure they're 18 plus but there's no rules on loud conversations so don't let anyone try to shush you. 

[Mapleleafforever]

9 minutes ago, Thoenix said:

Definitely that sounds fine!  Honestly one of our biggest concerns is that sometimes parents object to our conversational topics where kids are even though for the most part it comes down to us talking about some pretty wild science.  We're not raunchy, just intrigued by a lot of scientific things that include biology, zoology and animal behaviour.  If the teenagers are chill, that's fine!

The Solarium crowd will love it!! PLEASE come back and give a review after your cruise. 

[VernRDH]

I am going to agree on the Quantum class ships for solariums. I like they are enclosed and have both shade and sun. Nice pool for just lounging and talking, same with the hot tubs. It's at the front of the ship, so really no kids since there isn't anywhere to get to going through it.

Anthem is my number 1 choice, then Odyssey, then Ovation.

Your group will be fine, relax and enjoy whatever you choose!

[PhillyFan33579]

35 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

It's a good thought, but there will be kids passing through the solarium on every ship.

What you may want to look at though is the Hideaway neighborhood on Icon of the Seas, which is adults only but doesn't allow for through transit by all ages.

Have you been on Icon? The Hideaway area is about as far from the Solarium as you can get. For starters, it has a party atmosphere with a DJ frequently playing there every day. Additionally, it is surrounded by the water park, flowrider and miniature golf course. So when the DJ isn’t playing you get to hear kids (and adults too on the slides) screaming all around you. I think Icon is a great ship overall, but it definitely isn’t for someone looking for a relaxing vacation. I tend to spend a fair amount of time every cruise in the Solarium, so Icon class ships will never be too high on my list of favorite ships. 

[smokeybandit]

2 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Have you been on Icon? The Hideaway area is about as far from the Solarium as you can get. For starters, it has a party atmosphere with a DJ frequently playing there every day. Additionally, it is surrounded by the water park, flowrider and miniature golf course. So when the DJ isn’t playing you get to hear kids (and adults too on the slides) screaming all around you. I think Icon is a great ship overall, but it definitely isn’t for someone looking for a relaxing vacation. I tend to spend a fair amount of time every cruise in the Solarium, so Icon class ships will never be too high on my list of favorite ships. 

Hideaway was offered as an alternative to a Solarium if the goal is to avoid all sightings of kids.

[PhillyFan33579]

6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Hideaway was offered as an alternative to a Solarium if the goal is to avoid all sightings of kids.

All you see (and hear) are kids no matter what direction you look at when you are at Hideaway, unless you look towards the back of the ship and look at the water. You obviously have not been on Icon because anyone who has been there would not say it is a location to avoid seeing kids. That has been a big topic of conversation when talking with other passengers on Icon. Not trying to be argumentative, but there is no quiet place on Icon that comes close to replicating the Solarium on other RCI ships. 

[Ocean Boy]

33 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 I think Icon is a great ship overall, but it definitely isn’t for someone looking for a relaxing vacation. 

This doesn't look relaxing?

 

[Mum2Mercury]

I love the Solarium on any ship, and -- if you're judging just by those adults-only pools -- I'll throw out the name Grandeur of the Seas.  Positives about Grandeur's Solarium: 

 

- It's a smaller ship with a bit of an older crowd, and it was always easy to find a seat -- sun, shade, whatever you want.  

- The Park Cafe is located on the corner of the Solarium, so it's convenient to pick up a drink or snack.  Kids do come in to pick up food (offer pizza, and they will come), but I didn't see them hanging around. 

- It's a glassed-in Solarium, so no problem with sunburn.  

- If you prefer a table (instead of loungers), you'll find plenty of them along the edges.  

 

 

Edited August 11 by Mum2Mercury