Celebrity Newbie with questions

[shbroc]

I'm thinking about booking a cruise to the Caribbean aboard a Celebrity ship. This will be our first cruise on Celebrity for myself, hubby and 2 children. I just have a few questions?

1. What ship would you suggest?

2. What is the children's programs like? My youngest will be 11.

3. What is the average age group? We are in our late 30's early 40's.

4. How would you compare to RCI?

Thanks in advance for any replies to my questions.

[superjerryw]

To be honest, your kids would probably have a better time on RCCL, particularly on one of their Voyager class ships. RCCL is more of a family oriented cruise line while Celebrity is geared more towards adults. The atmossphere is much more casual on RCCL as well. As an example, on RCCL on formal nights many people will switch back to their casual clothes after dinner when they go to the show. On Celebrity they prefer thay all guests remain in their formal wear all evening. The Voyager class ships will also have more activities such as mini-golf, rock climbing, ice skating, roller skating, etc. You will find people of all ages on any ship but the crowd may be slightly older on Celebrity.

[JNLROSE]

[font=Comic Sans MS][size=5][color=red]Ditto what Jerry said--check out RCCL, you can't go wrong for the kids! :D [/color][/size][/font]

[Host Anne]

While RCI ships have more bells and whistles for kids, I think Celebrity does a great job with their kids programs. We've sailed with our daughter on several RCI and Celebrity ships. She has enjoyed them all. Celebrity may be a bit dressier on formal nights but the kids can still participate in the kids programs on those evenings. I don't want you to get the impression that Celebrity doesn't offer anything for kids because they do.

I'd suggest one of the M-class ships -- Millennium, Infinity, Summit, Constellation as their areas for children are a bit bigger than the smaller ships.

You'll find all age ranges on Celebrity ships. The longer the cruise, the older the average age of passengers, typically. It also depends when you sail. If you are sailing on holidays or over the summer, you'll find a higher percentage of families but you will find families on Celebrity ships at any times. I'm in my mid-40s and have sailed on six Celebrity cruises in the past five years and there have always been plenty of others our age on board.

In comparing Celebrity to RCI, we stopped sailing RCI for a number of years for a variety of reasons and started sailing Celebrity. In the past year, we've been on two RCI ships and service and food have improved in our opinion. But we think Celebrity is probably still a step ahead in the food and service category although they are closer than they were five years ago. We sail both and enjoy them all.

Have a great time whatever you decide.

[lvz2cruz]

I think you will be very pleased with Celebrity. Our kids--10, 14, and 16 have cruised 40 nights in the last two years and we're going again. They choose it over Disney, Hawaii, etc. They love the elegance of Celebrity. the kids' programs go from 9am till 11pm most days. there is nost much offered port days and that is good because sometimes we have trouble getting the youngest off. they will not have the physical facilities of rccl, but there is still plenty to keep them busy. the larger ships have more rooms and activities, but the smaller ones have great activity staffs to keep everyone happy. on our cruises, we have seen from 5 to probably 85 kids with varying adult ages. you will find a great deal of 30-40 year olds. the 12-14 day cruises will have more older adults, but they add fun to the cruise experience. I think any of the celebrity ships will be a great vacation.