Rare brazilgirl Posted February 1, 2008 #1 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I am trying to find other families on the Summit-Barcelona -Venice leaving May 11th.We have 3 kids - a 10 yr old daughter and 2 sons 4 and 8.I was afraid that my children would be all alone the cruise , but have found a few other kids on celebrity connections.I am hoping to find more! Can anybody give me a nore detailed idea of what Celebrity´s kids´program is like?I have the outline in the folder and on the website but would like to hear from fellow cruisers. How about dress guidelines for the kids? We are looking at 3 formal , 3 informal and 6 casual.Is there enough space for 5 peoples 12 day long cruise wardrobe in the cabins?Has anyone taken the 12 night celebrity cruise from Barcelona to Venice with their kids?(Barcelona , Villefrance;Florence/Pisa;Rome;Santorini;Athens;Livorno/Capri:Dubrovnik;Venice.)Any suggestion fo kids in these specific ports.My kids are good travelers and love history and art. Would love to hear any experiences! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccalouise Posted February 2, 2008 #2 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I am trying to find other families on the Summit-Barcelona -Venice leaving May 11th.We have 3 kids - a 10 yr old daughter and 2 sons 4 and 8.I was afraid that my children would be all alone the cruise , but have found a few other kids on celebrity connections.I am hoping to find more!Can anybody give me a nore detailed idea of what Celebrity´s kids´program is like?I have the outline in the folder and on the website but would like to hear from fellow cruisers. How about dress guidelines for the kids? We are looking at 3 formal , 3 informal and 6 casual.Is there enough space for 5 peoples 12 day long cruise wardrobe in the cabins?Has anyone taken the 12 night celebrity cruise from Barcelona to Venice with their kids?(Barcelona , Villefrance;Florence/Pisa;Rome;Santorini;Athens;Livorno/Capri:Dubrovnik;Venice.)Any suggestion fo kids in these specific ports.My kids are good travelers and love history and art. Would love to hear any experiences! I did the same itinerary on the Millenium this past summer. You are going to love Summit- have a great time. There will be pre-school age kids (probably about 20). There will be a handful of older kids but if the 10 year old makes one friend- he/she will be fine. The youth program is great. They do all sorts- arts and crafts, science, face painting, there is ballpit and indoor sliding board, leapfrog games, karoke, dancing. They put on little shows. The kids will be thoroughly entertained. Dress is formal. Boys should wear collared shirts, tie and jacket on formal night. However, the 4 year old and 10 year old can dine with the youth staff and children at 6PM each night for a fee of $ 6.00. This might be an option if they don't want to dress up. I brought formal clothes for my 6 year old but he always wanted to eat with the kids. So I will probably dispense with formal clothes on future Celebrity cruises. The cruise is port intensive but there is alot of downtime onboard and the kids will really enjoy the youth program. The two year old won't be able to participate but there is incabing sitting at night if you need it. May is a great time to go to Europe. My favorite experiences were the Cinque Terre, Pompeii, Santorini and Dubrovnik. The Cinque Terre tour is 9 hours and probably not a great choice for th 2 year old. Might be too long of a day. I would do Florence- since your children love history. Pompeii was wonderful and the kids can run around and explore- I wouldn't do a tour. Read up on the subject. Buy the before and after book that they sell at the main entrance. Take plenty of bottled water if it is hot. There are plenty of taxis at the ship and in Pompeii. The tour guides are longwinded and kids get antsy- I know I had two with me. Plus, the first half hour of the tour- they make you watch a demostration in the cameo store and this eats up valuable time. Santorini- buy the cable car tickets onboard and you will zip up there without standing in line for tickets. Santorini is pedestrian friendly- no cars in the touristy areas. A great place for the kids to run and play. Enjoy some great Greek food and drinks. Dubrovnik- if you are lucky you will tender into the walled city like we did. I think usually Celebrity tenders elsewhere and buses you to the walled city. In either case, you will love Dubrovnik. It is a great place for the kids to climb and walk the wall. You'll have to watch the 2 year old- as there are some scarey spots. The wall is not good for strollers- many steps. The lower part of the walled city is flat and there are lots of stores. As for Rome- do the Rome on your own bus tour. They have hop-on-hop-off buses once you get there. The Vatican is a must. If time is limited- skip the Sistene Chapel. It is a long art museum and it takes a while before you reach the Sistene Chapel. St. Peter's is far more interesting and the lines are shorter. The Colluseum is wonderful. If you want to escape the crowds, go the Borghese Park and let the kids run wild! Barcelona- I did the hop-on-hop-off bus and it gave us a wonderful overview of the city. I wouldn't bother with the finicular skyride. It will eat up alot of time and I got more out of the bus ride. Sit upstairs on the bus. Villefranche is really quaint. You can actually just wander around there for the day. I took the train to Monte Carlo and that was nice also. I would recommend that. There is alot of uphill walking to get to Monaco. Not for the weak in the knees. Athens- it was ghastly hot in August. We didn't get off the ship in Athens. Venice- When you sail into Venice- the best spot is in Revelations on deck 11 (Sunrise Deck). You get a real birdseye view. With the little ones- they can sit right up against the glass if they want to. The open deck- it will be harder to contain the 2 year old. They have a three peice orchestra playing as you sail in- Wonderful experience. You will have an overnight in Venice. Use the ship shuttle to St. Mark's and just amble around. There is a part in the Arsenal area to the right of St. Mark's- a good walk (six blocks)-where you can escape the crowds and see how the locals live. Don't worry about the kids falling into the canals- they won't the walls are high. I was in Venice with a 2 year old and he steared clear of the water- was more interested in chasing pigeons. You will have a wonderful time. I wish I could do it all over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted February 2, 2008 Author #3 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Thank you so much for the wonderful tips on the ports and on the ship.I am so excited and so are the kids.I know it will be an unforgettable experience!Did you do any organized Celebrity tours? Did you ever hire a private driver? We are from Brazil...My 10 yr old and 8 yr old speak English well ,but my 4 yr old is just learning.Do you think the youth counselors will be patient?Did you ever leave your kids in the kids´ club while going ashore ?Any not to be missed games or shows on the ship?What about soft drink cards for the kids?What kinds of extra expenses can I expect on the ship?This is my first Celebrity cruise and second cruise of a lifetime,so lots of questions!Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccalouise Posted February 2, 2008 #4 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Thank you so much for the wonderful tips on the ports and on the ship.I am so excited and so are the kids.I know it will be an unforgettable experience!Did you do any organized Celebrity tours? Did you ever hire a private driver?We are from Brazil...My 10 yr old and 8 yr old speak English well ,but my 4 yr old is just learning.Do you think the youth counselors will be patient?Did you ever leave your kids in the kids´ club while going ashore ?Any not to be missed games or shows on the ship?What about soft drink cards for the kids?What kinds of extra expenses can I expect on the ship?This is my first Celebrity cruise and second cruise of a lifetime,so lots of questions!Thanks! Sorry I misread your previous post about the kids ages. Yes, I did leave my son on the ship alot! I did the Cinque Terre excursion and you should take the kids on that one- quite fascinating. It was through Celebrity and was $ 129 for adults- probably cheaper for children. I did the Pompeii excursion but I would do it at your own pace and just get a taxi at the port. The other places I just wandered around the towns and in Villefranche did the train to Monte Carlo- which I recommend for the kids. My son (age 6) stayed on the ship in Villefranche, Livorno (with my step-mother), and Athens (we both did). As for the ship. There isn't anything spectacular in terms of shows. If they have a magician (which they didn't in Europe)- take them to that. One night you must go to the Specialty dining. It is the Olympic on Millenium but is called something different on Summit. It was fantastic. As for soda cards- I didn't purchase one. My son likes juice and punch just as much- which is free in the buffet- where he ate most of the time. I did buy a few sprites thoughout the trip but not many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted February 3, 2008 Author #5 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Once again thanks for the great info.After your post I am considering a change of plans.I was going to go to Florence and Pisa but after reading about Cinque Terre I just might change my mind!Is it possible to see Pisa also without being to tiring?What was the highlight of Cinque?Bye! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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