Celebrity for family?

[oavcech95]

Hi this December I´m going to Celebrity Infinity in South America. I was asking me if the Celebrity is not for kids. I hope that anyone answer me my question: What things a family of 2 kids can do in a Celebrity

[junglejane]

We were on the Infinity in August 2006 when our kids were 5 and 9. They had a great time in the Fun Factory. I'm sure you realize that there are no rock climbing walls or water slides. But Celebrity does have a well run kids program. We're going on the Celebrity Summit in June with our kids, who will be 7 and 11 this time.

 

--Junglejane

[marinearchit]

I think that the general idea is that Celebrity isn't for families, but I think it's actually great.

The Infinity has a specific area for kids and a seperate club for teenagers. I'm 15 and cruised on Century (Considerably older than Infinity) and though that, while an older passenger base overall, the Teen center and youth staff were just as great as those on Princess.

Also, since Celebrity may have somewhat less kids onboard than ships of other cruise lines, the staff can give more attention to each one.

 

So, have a great cruise and don't worry!:D

[rebeccalouise]

Love, love love Celebrity for kids. It is my favorite cruise line with kids and my son still asks to go to the "Fun Factory"- he likes it even better than Disney.

 

The staff is so loving and caring and there will be a staff member who speaks Spanish I am sure.

[cruisead]

South America in December? I doubt there will be many children on board at all. When we did the Infinity to SA there were no children on board, but one small infant. It's not a child friendly itinerry due to location and length of cruise. If you were doing your cruise during Christmas, and for a shorter time, there would be children, but a SA itinerary doesn't attracts children, especially on Celebrity. We're on Constellation right now, and there are two children on board, both pre-school. They do not have any kids program runnng because there's not enough kids.

[oavcech95]

We were on the Infinity in August 2006 when our kids were 5 and 9. They had a great time in the Fun Factory. I'm sure you realize that there are no rock climbing walls or water slides. But Celebrity does have a well run kids program. We're going on the Celebrity Summit in June with our kids, who will be 7 and 11 this time.

 

--Junglejane

 

 

Perfect, so when you come back please tell me because my kids are 8 and 13, almost like yours.

[oavcech95]

Ok, ao thanks for the info. And well to hear that it was better than the disney, that´s perfect. And cruisead, I really hope they come kids, like minimum 10, but thats true about the destination, but they are also the penguins, and it finishe in BA, a great city.

So I think they go more kids than only 2.

[rebeccalouise]

Celebrity did a Christmas cruise to South America this past year on Infinity. There were 400 children onboard. You might want to do one around Christmas. The December 21, 2008 looks like a good deal and probably your best bet with kids.

[oavcech95]

Wow 400 kids at the cruise wow, incredible. And yes I´m going the one of the 21. But I know that there is the Fun Factory, but what activities are for children of 9 and 12.

[rebeccalouise]

There is swimming, basketball, videogames, organized activities everyday- dance parties, scavenger hunts, talent shows, etc. etc. They will meet other kids and make friends. Don't worry your children will love Celebrity.

[Eclipsepearl]

We did a Med cruise in summer on the Galaxy and my kids loved the Fun Factory. Any cruise over school breaks will have children on board. In S. America, I can imagine there would be perhaps more local kids but it's not a problem.

 

They did a good job with the languages. My kids are bilingual and they tapped into that, especially using my son to help with only-French speaking children and many of the staff were bilingual themselves. Convenient as the staff could evesdrop on what mine were saying (they use French between them). It was good practice for their English and I noticed the staff made sure everyone mixed and little cliques didn't form.

 

My only complaint, and this is minor, was that there was no cartoon channel on the cabin TV. Bring a portable DVD player if you're really concerned or ask about that. Perhaps they've added that. I really only needed it in the morning. It's easier to get them dressed while they're zombie-eyed in front of Looney Tunes...

 

No, I lied. I do have another complaint. My son NEVER LEFT. I'd be at the door "Honey, remember you have a family who love you. You can leave the Fun Factory sometimes and spend a little time with us too. Please, we miss you..."

 

My youngest had been trained a few months already but had an accident the first day. They were cool about it, cleaned her up and welcomed her back right away. It never happened again. These toilets are different, they assured me.

 

I do suggest early seating. There were objections to my daughters eating with us from the next table. They were well behaved but not silent, as these people obviously expected. It wasn't our choice but try to get early seating.

 

Lastly, don't visit the Celebrity board, or at least be careful. A lot of them seem anti-children but that wasn't the case on board. No, they don't do family hard-sells but that was actually an advantage after all. Fewer kids, more attention, like everyone says.

 

Must seem ages away!

[rebeccalouise]

The people on the Celebrity board tend to be retirerees and have lots of free time to spend on the boards.

 

Many of them don't want kids on their cruises.

 

Celebrity has a great youth program and as a consequence you will not notice 400 kids onboard. They aren't running around, complaining or being misbehaved.

 

As for tablemates- there was an older couple sitting next to our table on Constellation. They practically glared at us every nite. We were a group with a five year old boy, nine year old girl and eighteen year old girl. Nothing happened. The kids sat quietly and politely but this couple was obviously put off by having to sit next to a table of children. They were looking for trouble- that never occurred. On all my other Celebrity cruises I never noticed any glares.

 

Overall, the passenger mix on Celebrity is very sophisticated and as long as your kids are well- behaved- you aren't going to encounter much rudeness. I have sailed Celebrity now 6 times and the best part is the staff- they LOVE kids.

[kitty9]

I'm on Celebrity right now, and there are four kids total on the ship---and no real program as there are not enough kids to run one. Since this is school time for most areas, that's why there are only a few. The average age on this cruise, in the British Isles, is well above 75---and I'm not exaggerating. I've never seen so many wheelchairs, canes, walkers and scooters in all my 53 cruises.

 

To the OP, if your cruise runs during a US school vacation time, you will find kids on board. But another thing to consider is, if the US economy continues it's downward spiral, you will see far fewer families on ships, especially to the more exotic locales, as families won't have the disposable income to cruise so far from home. But no matter, your kids will enjoy themselves.

 

BTW, for the first time on Celebrity, they have published a little thing for parents, in the daily newsletter, telling parents to control their kids. And the note goes on to say that the Captain has the authority to approach parents who are not taking care of problem kids. Boy, I was really surprised to see this kind of thing actually in print.

[oavcech95]

Thanks to everybody, for there help, and well , the cruise in winter vacation, in all the world so many kids are going, but well about language, My son have no problem he know spanish, english, french and his starting with the chineese, so he can speak to many people, but my daughter, she know spanish and english, not so good the english, but she is shy. So do you know if children that speak spanish like mexicans, go to the cruise?

[oavcech95]

So do you know if children that speak spanish like mexicans, go to the cruise?

__________________

[oavcech95]

they only go u.s. kids or also from other countries?

[rebeccalouise]

I suspect that the South American cruise attracts many south Americans, as well as Americans. It leaves from South America over Christmas and I seriously doubt all 400 kids flew in from the US- too long and expensive.

 

Yes, there will be a Spanish speaking counselor onboard. Relax and have fun.

 

For other parents deciding on cruises- Meditteranean cruises in summer attract many families. Fewer young people do Ireland, Norway and Northern Europe.

[brazilgirl]

December is summer vacation for kids in South America- it is the time that most South American families travel together.

The Spanish in most countries in SA is very different from Mexico-the pronunciation varies from country to country , as well as the use of different pronouns and vocabulry. But one Spanish speaker can understand another , just like Americans can understand Australians , the English and South Africans.

Celebrity isn´t the most popular cruiseline in SA-probably there will be more Americans.

Costa and MSC are very popular here.

Royal Carribean (Splendor of the Sea) is also popular as a choice for South American families.

The atmosphere of these ships is more "party-like" and noisy.Lots of kids in December.

I think Celebrity is a great choice if you are looking to get away from that "vibe".

I am leaving with my 3 kids on Celebrity in 2 weeks and plan on having a great time!

Good luck!Kim

[oavcech95]

Oh so thanks, at least there are persons that speak spanish, but I hope that they don´t go that kind of bully boys, dou you think so, arethere are rules for that?

[oavcech95]

arethere are rules for kids, specially bully kids.

[rebeccalouise]

Yes- kids are not allowed in the youth program if they are warned one time. After that they can not come back.

[oavcech95]

Oh I´m glad to hear that, but I hope that to my kids don´t happen. Oh have you heard excursions but for family? or all are for all ages?:)

[rebeccalouise]

You may want to go to the Reviews section and look at the Infinity Christmas cruise from last year. This is part of a review from one of the passengers about their South American Christmas cruise on Infinity...

 

Passengers

 

This was the first time that we travel on a ship where the majority of the passengers were not from the US. I would guess that 60% to 65% were from Latin America. Of those, the great majority were from Mexico (around 1000 passengers). My wife and I were both born and raised in Latin American countries, so I was disappointed, and sometimes embarrassed, by the rudeness and lack of class exhibited by many of the Latin American passengers. I saw people picking food with their hands on the Oceanview Café, cutting of lines, incessantly talking during shows, blatantly disregarding the rules (for dress code, age limits, behavior), throwing discarded bingo cards directly at the cruise staff (actually hitting her on the face several times), and trying to sneak into the Persian Garden on several occasions. Also, there was significant Spanish foul language from the younger crowd. My personal favorite was having our neighbor smoking cigars in his underwear on the balcony next to ours. What a sight! I truly believe that most of the passengers on this ship had never been on a cruise before, and did not know how to behave. This does not mean that we did not meet some very nice people during the cruise. We met some great families from Mexico, Venezuela and other Latin American countries. It was also a pleasure to share our daily experiences with our tablemates from Hawaii. Over the years of cruising, my wife and I have formulated this theory: the best cruises are the ones that have a general mix of passengers, with no particular group dominating. This cruise has reinforced that belief.

 

Children's Services

 

In our four prior Celebrity cruises, we never had more than 50 kids on board. While we think that the facilities, programs, and staff for young children are outstanding for groups of that size, they were struggling with such a large number of kids. Typically they have 5 counselors, but for this trip they added an extra 5. The lack of truly special programs for Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day was disappointing. Also, I knew that it was only a matter of time before Celebrity (and all other cruise lines) would figure a way of monetizing the children's program. By adding a few perks (such behind the scenes tours, costumes), re-branding existing programs and offering unlimited time at the Fun Factory (including premium $$ hours), Celebrity has created a program called VIP. In our cruise, they wanted $220usd per child for this program - which was absurdly overpriced. We did not sign up our daughter. The fact that only 9 children out of the 400+ children on board signed up for the program speaks loud and clear. Please note that kids are now allowed in the Thalassotherapy Pool, if the are with their parents. So, the peace and quiet of the area has been somewhat compromised.

[oavcech95]

You may want to go to the Reviews section and look at the Infinity Christmas cruise from last year. This is part of a review from one of the passengers about their South American Christmas cruise on Infinity...

 

Passengers

 

This was the first time that we travel on a ship where the majority of the passengers were not from the US. I would guess that 60% to 65% were from Latin America. Of those, the great majority were from Mexico (around 1000 passengers). My wife and I were both born and raised in Latin American countries, so I was disappointed, and sometimes embarrassed, by the rudeness and lack of class exhibited by many of the Latin American passengers. I saw people picking food with their hands on the Oceanview Café, cutting of lines, incessantly talking during shows, blatantly disregarding the rules (for dress code, age limits, behavior), throwing discarded bingo cards directly at the cruise staff (actually hitting her on the face several times), and trying to sneak into the Persian Garden on several occasions. Also, there was significant Spanish foul language from the younger crowd. My personal favorite was having our neighbor smoking cigars in his underwear on the balcony next to ours. What a sight! I truly believe that most of the passengers on this ship had never been on a cruise before, and did not know how to behave. This does not mean that we did not meet some very nice people during the cruise. We met some great families from Mexico, Venezuela and other Latin American countries. It was also a pleasure to share our daily experiences with our tablemates from Hawaii. Over the years of cruising, my wife and I have formulated this theory: the best cruises are the ones that have a general mix of passengers, with no particular group dominating. This cruise has reinforced that belief.

 

Children's Services

 

In our four prior Celebrity cruises, we never had more than 50 kids on board. While we think that the facilities, programs, and staff for young children are outstanding for groups of that size, they were struggling with such a large number of kids. Typically they have 5 counselors, but for this trip they added an extra 5. The lack of truly special programs for Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day was disappointing. Also, I knew that it was only a matter of time before Celebrity (and all other cruise lines) would figure a way of monetizing the children's program. By adding a few perks (such behind the scenes tours, costumes), re-branding existing programs and offering unlimited time at the Fun Factory (including premium $$ hours), Celebrity has created a program called VIP. In our cruise, they wanted $220usd per child for this program - which was absurdly overpriced. We did not sign up our daughter. The fact that only 9 children out of the 400+ children on board signed up for the program speaks loud and clear. Please note that kids are now allowed in the Thalassotherapy Pool, if the are with their parents. So, the peace and quiet of the area has been somewhat compromised.

 

Oh, now that I have read this comment, I also agree, that 90% of latinamericans are like that, and 220 dolars for that progam wow, I will never pay that, and what bad idea the pool thing, I think that that was a bad idea.

 

Still thanks, for this review.

[Jungle Jane]

We were on the Infinity in August 2006 when our kids were 5 and 9. They had a great time in the Fun Factory. I'm sure you realize that there are no rock climbing walls or water slides. But Celebrity does have a well run kids program. We're going on the Celebrity Summit in June with our kids, who will be 7 and 11 this time.

 

--Junglejane

 

Hi Junglejane! :D