Child-Friendly Cruise Ship?
The kiddie pool onboard the Constellation was never filled and never used.
By Wendy Perrin
As you all know, yesterday I got off a ten-night sailing aboard Celebrity Cruises' Constellation. One of the reasons I chose Celebrity is that it's the upscale division of the cruise line that is known for having the best child-care program at sea: Royal Caribbean. (Child care was a must, as my journalistic assignment required me to be off the ship every hour that it was in port.)
There are many things that Celebrity Cruises does not tell you before you buy a cruise or board the Constellation (more on these later). But here are the ones that parents of tykes should know:
(1) The kiddie pool is never used.
(2) Children who are not toilet trained are not allowed to use any of the ship's pools. No swim diapers allowed!
(3) The cruise line recommends that children under age 8 not use any of the pools or jacuzzis, due to the high concentration of chlorine in the salt water.
(4) No lifeguards are on duty.
Why so much chlorine? Apparently because the cruise line is paranoid about diseases being spread, thanks to all the cruise-ship norovirus scares of late.
Deck 10 of Celebrity Cruises' Constellation.
The antiseptic atmosphere onboard extends to the Fun Factory--the ship's child-care facility which, like almost all ship day-care programs, accepts kids 3 and older. I've been needing to take a cruise for work for years now (I write many of Conde Nast Traveler's cruise articles) and thus have been waiting anxiously for my younger son Doug to turn 3. Alas, I did not wait quite long enough:
To be left in the Fun Factory, a child must be not only 3 but also 100-percent potty-trained and accident-free. No Pull-Ups (which kids wear between diapers and underpants) are allowed! And the Fun Factory's policy is: Three strikes and you're out. Thus on our cruise Brooke, who is 3 1/2 and had only 2 peeing accidents, was allowed to stay. Unfortunately, Doug, who is only 3 and 1 month, had 3 accidents and got kicked out. (Note: Even if you think your 3-year-old is potty-trained, as Doug is, the Fun Factory is so exciting that no way will your kid take his/her afternoon nap. This means that a kid who is potty-trained on land may, by 7 p.m. at sea, be exhausted, brain-dead, and thus accident-prone.)
Doug was asked to leave the Fun Factory midday on Thursday, when the ship was in St. Kitt's and my husband Tim and I were on Nevis. (Tim, a photojournalist, was working too: He had to accompany me in port because he was shooting the photos for my next cruise booklet, which you'll see in Conde Nast Traveler's upcoming August issue. You can read my first cruise booklet here.)
THANK GOD Tim's mom Trudy had decided to cruise with us! She rescued Doug on Thursday. But she needed a break too . . . which is why on Friday morning Tim and I had to attempt our journalistic tasks on Jost Van Dyke while simultaneously wrangling a 3-year-old. Grandma was pressed into service again on Friday afternoon, since Doug couldn't go with us on the submersible motor scooter outing. (To understand why I could NOT cancel this excursion, read my next post.)
So that's what parents considering a cruise with a kid 3 or younger should know. They should also know that my 4-year-old, Charlie, was in seventh heaven at the Fun Factory, which does a fabulous job with everyone age 4 and up. I can't say enough wonderful things about counselors Flo, Jelena, and Kelly. Here's a scene from the kids' talent show:
Celebrity youth-program counselor Jelena leads the kids in a production number in the talent show, Feb. 18, 2007.
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You hit the nail on the head! Those were the reasons we were so frustrated with the Royal Carribean cruise we took out of Baltimore. So next time I will research much more before we book a cruise.
All those things happened to us - no swim diapers in pool, not old enough for play area and couldn't even use it during off hours as promised pre-cruise. It was probably the most disappointing travel experience we've ever had.
Looking forward to reading your full article, as I mentioned before. Honesty is really needed beforehand for these cruise companies to prevent angry passengers. (We weren't the only ones).
James, http://carseattraveler.com
Posted by: tncornett | February 20, 2007 at 05:09 PM
Even though my kids are 7 and 14, I well remember swim diapers, pull-ups and those other "almost there"/transitional items when you are SO CLOSE to some of the "good stuff if they were just old enough...."
It is hard to be a working parent with young, active kids. "Family-friendly" seems to mean different things depending upon the corporation that you're dealing with, but I would think that a filled kiddie pool would be pretty basic.
When I think of the places I've changed diapers....
Hang in there!
Posted by: Seafarer | February 20, 2007 at 07:33 PM
I just finished a Disney Cruise last week---but without kids. There was a pool for the not yet potty trained and it there was a nursery for those under three (at least that's what I remember). I enjoyed the cruise, but it seemed like a kids' paradise.
BTW, I tried your airport wifi tip at the Orlando airport . . . you are a genius! Thank you!!!
Posted by: sherylo | February 21, 2007 at 11:22 PM
Hello!
This time of year (traditionally a "school's in" time) means you won't find so many kids, or kiddie facilities in use, on the 8+ day cruises. On the 7-day cruises, facilities get used quite a bit more, so a kiddie pool probably would have been open.
So many people are opposed to Carnival, however, their kids program is fantastic and takes kids from the age of two onward. They also DO NOT have to be potty trained - you just supply the staff with diapers or pull-ups. Furthermore, their standard rooms, up through balcony size, tend to be larger than those offered from Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Once you reach the suite stage, all bets are off. RCCL and Celebrity have much better suites.
Of course Disney is the most super-kid friendly and has neat rooms with an extra half-bath. Again, adults tend to be wary of this, thinking that it's all about the kids. I have friends who are two 40-something childless folks who have cruised on Disney multiple times and LOVE it, but you do sacrifice the casino.
Better luck next time!
Posted by: travelergwen | February 26, 2007 at 04:34 PM
As a traveler, you are responsible for researching your trip. As a parent, you are responsible for researching your trip for your child.
The no diapers (including swimmies) is noted several places in RCCI and Celebrities promotional and other materials.
For those of us who travel with our children, we are placed at a distinct disadvantange when people work and use the kids programs as 'daycare' -- my kid WANTS to be in the kids program, she does not HAVE to be there for mom and dad to work. If mom and dad are both on a cruise or at a resort for work, they should take a sitter with them.
Posted by: Onessa | February 27, 2007 at 12:42 AM
I am really surprised that some one with your job, didn't do the research concerning this. No pull-ups in the pool, potty trained for the kids clubs, and no life guard are all very common rules in the cruise industry.
Posted by: Amlee | March 14, 2007 at 02:25 PM
Amlee,
I see that you posted a similar comment over at USA Today's The Cruise Log. I've posted my response there:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/cruiselog/2007/03/a_must_read_for.html
Wendy Perrin
Posted by: WendyPerrin | March 23, 2007 at 05:25 AM
Why did you pick Celebrity to travel with children. That is more upscale and they do not cater to families as does carnival. Why not go on a disney cruise
Posted by: DUKEOFEARL | July 24, 2007 at 12:12 PM
Good question. In my article -- which you can find at http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/detail?articleId=11245
-- I explain that my specific work assignment dictated that I cruise on Celebrity. Carnival or Disney would not have worked for my assignment. (If you read the article, you'll see why.) I explain that "Celebrity Cruises promotes itself as child-friendly, and as a working mom with a business-travel schedule, I don't see my two boys nearly enough. So why not bring them along, right?"
Let me add that Celebrity is very child-friendly for anyone age 4 and up. See my article "Cruising With Kids" at http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/detail?articleId=11244.
It begins, "To this day, the child-care program on Celebrity Cruises' Constellation remains my children's nirvana. With the ball pit, arts and crafts, science experiments, pizza parties, pirate hunts, bridge tour, backstage tour, and new best friends my sons made, I could barely drag them away." The problem? "Imagine the agony when Doug, just turned three and newly potty-trained, had one accident too many and fell prey to the Fun Factory's "three strikes, you're out" policy. He was exiled for the rest of the cruise, yet his four-year-old brother still got to go!" Talk about a painful family dynamic -- and one I had to cope with on a business trip.
Posted by: WendyPerrin | July 24, 2007 at 02:39 PM
Wendy, did you research anything on swimming restrictions or child programs on Princess cruises?
Posted by: Ingrid1971 | September 04, 2007 at 06:36 PM
The results of Wendy's research about all the cruise lines' child programs are compiled in a sidebar to her August cruise article, which you can read at http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/traveltips/detail?articleId=11244.
Posted by: BrookWilkinson | September 05, 2007 at 01:18 PM