Solarium open to children

[GeorgeF]

Big mistake to open solarium to kids. This will no go over well with older passengers 

[Dave Cc]

Thank you for taking away the one place I can have peace. If I wanted to be around kids, I would bring mine. If you open up the Solarium, you have to open up the Diamond lounge and the Suite lounge area!!!!!!!! 

[Krista]

This was already the policy on Constellation during our Mediterranean cruise in June. I'm not a fan of the policy and tried to avoid the solarium during that time. 

[Cruise Moma]

Celebrity is becoming Royal Caribbean. They no longer have a premium vibe, although they still charge premium prices. 

[Cody]

They did this on the Apex sailing I was on in November (in the Caribbean) and it was pretty annoying. A large group of us were in the solarium pool relaxing and a family brought their kids in and they started doing laps in the pool and splashing all of us. I think it was open to kids 430p-630p. 

[Connectr]

So sad and unfortunately will now make even more unlikely that I will book another Celebrity cruise. If I wanted kids around I would cruise Carnival or RCL. I guess my business will now go to Virgin or Viking.

[Woody14]

This is not a new policy there have been hours where it is open to kids since my first cruise on Celebrity in the 1990's

[Seaawgs]

Carnebrity or Celebrival ....take your pick 

[LukeJ]

I agree, they haven't done themselves any favours by allowing children in. It annoys me sometimes, that decision makers come up with these ideas, but have no real ideas of the world. Any think tank person that has experienced how the world works and common sense would see that the solarium is the perfect escape away for adults just to have some alone time for themselves. 

Edited February 22 by LukeJ

[Seaawgs]

There are several societal trends that result in grandparents raising their grandchildren which may be a factor. Celebrity's weak youth program makes parents/grandparents the entertainers of any children they bring abroad. If it's cold or raining,  what do you do with the little monsters? Unfortunately,  the Solarium amplifies all noise and will cause me to adjust my daily use of the beverage package. 

[FJB]

Just posted this in the other thread -

Kids on Celebrity are very few and usually well mannered. It would not bother me if they were allowed in the solarium a couple hours a day.  On our Celebrity cruise last week, there were probably less than 10 kids total on the cruise.  I think the kids hours for the solarium pool was 4-6 or 5-7 - can’t remember exactly. Usually by this time the solarium is clearing out of the old people so not an issue.  JMO 
 

And I will add that for those who can’t stand a few kids in an almost empty pool and solarium at 5pm are probably people I don’t want on my cruise to begin with.  Probably the same cruisers who are rude to the bartenders and waitstaff and are always cutting in front of me at the buffet to use their hands instead of the tongs to grab the donuts and French fries….

[3Sisters]

@GeorgeF I want to say I feel this way, but I just don't. Most cruise lines are trying to take an all inclusive approach. Why do they do this? They do this because they have a larger clientele. The more attractive the cruise line can be to all, the more revenue they can build. It's a pretty simple principle. There are other adult-only cruise lines or linen that have few to none amenities for children. As @Seaawgs explained, older adults want to be able to treat their family to a cruise and have everyone feel entertained and welcome onboard. If you have an affinity to Celebrity Cruises, but the line doesn't have enough options for your family, you are going to find another line to cruise line that has more options for all. It does make senes. 

@FJB I completely agree with this. It's not a super long timeframe and guests can easily avoid it. You are spot on here. I feel the same. I would feel differently if kids were allowed at the solarium from 12-2pm. That's peak pool time. By the time is 5pm, the sun is going down and I'm getting ready/dressed for dinner and a before drink. The pools are often shady or cool at that time anyways. 

[Rainy]

Not a fan of this change. I can never sit by the regular pool because it's too crowded, so I appreciate the Solarium .

I hope they can enforce this unlike the do not hog the lounge chair rule 

 

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@Seaawgs That's a great point about the amplification of sounds. Children are definitely a loud group, almost like adults during happy hour. The Solarium seems to be the only adults-only pool area onboard. I think those spaces are important and there are other great options for children. As someone who cruises with my children regularly, I see the benefit to opening up the Solarium to children if there is poor weather. On my recent cruise I spent alot of time at the indoor/retractable roof pool because it was rainy and cold. Some days it was the only pool time my kids got that day due to the weather. I appreciate the ships that have the adults-only pool outside. Then I have the opportunity to take the children to an indoor and outdoor pool without impeding on the adults-only space. 

@Rainy Chair hogging is a whole other issue! Even though I have a large family, I only need one or two loungers to accommodate my group. We spend most of our time in the pool anyways! I'm not a fan of those who take so many pool loungers but never really even sit on them. I find that pointless and unthoughtful of others. Even if I don't find a lounger, I will throw my stuff in a corner and hop in the pool. You can't let a chair ruin your fun! 

[Rainy]

Thank you for that !  

[LukeJ]

@Kendall James-Vargas yes it's true, you really don't need a chair for every single member of your family. When we go on vacation, we tend to only have 2 chairs because we will be sharing it between us, as we would be busy in the pool anyhow.

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@LukeJ I'm so glad you agree! I think you and I may be the only ones that feel this way. I appreciate just one lounge chair if I can get my hands on one, but something I certainly won't do is move people's things. The last cruise we took, we traveled with friends. Our friends took their children to the water slides for about an hour but came back and spent hours more by the indoor pool where we had left our things. My children were too cold by the slides so we stayed put at the indoor pool, but there was a couple that came to their loungers and moved all of their things off of their chairs onto the floor! Obviously I said those were my friends' things, but the couple proceeded stating that they hadn't seen anyone at the chair for 30 minutes and they wanted a place to sit and watch their child swim. I can't imagine anyone doing that! It's pretty bold to be able to touch people's things and place them on the floor, while taking their seats. They sat their until my friends approached and then they got up and left. Would you be able to do something like that? I don't think I could.

[Rainy]

Thats sounds awful! I don't know what the answer to the chairs is. I know the cruise lines are trying but it seems like an impossible task. We have become an uncivilized nation.  What I did once was moved the magazine left to save the chair over and sat down. When the person returned, I said thank you I was just sitting until you returned and got up. Now when someone says they are saving a chair I just ask if I can sit until they return, and then I sit. So far it's been working.

[LukeJ]

You're right it is an impossible task, and there are so many rude people around. Chivalry is a rare thing in today's world, with no common ground in between. This topic in particular, I've seen both sides of the worst situation. As previously stated, people adopt as many chairs as they possibly can and disappear for majority of the day. And also I've been present where people have just picked up others belongings and thrown them aside with complete disrespect. I've seen one man throw all their stuff in the pool. It's shocking how horrible we can be to each other at times. 

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@Rainy I think that's courteous enough! I agree that some people just have no manners, if manners are even a thing anymore. It would be nice if there was a better situation for the pool loungers, but it's hard to even think of one. The system at the gym is the best. You get 30 minutes per machine if others are waiting for it. This system is fair. Maybe cruise lines could implement a 2 hour limit per chair. It would give everyone an opportunity to have a chance to lounge in the sun. The problem here would be monitoring the system. Not all guests will follow the rules unless there are ramifications. Every chair could have a green or red light to show they are available or timed out like a public parking spot. This would require each chair to have a place to scan your cruise card. The idea may be a bit too costly. 

[LukeJ]

It is a difficult situation to maintain. You would have thought that we as decent human beings could sort it out amongst ourselves, but that's not always the case. Timed chairs do sound like a good idea, however the timing of the day is where most people would want to bask in the sun not in let's say four hours time because of the list in front of them. So it's anyone's guess I'm afraid.

[Cruising Caribbean]

@GeorgeF I get that the older guests may get annoyed at this but it's only for a couple of hours. Older guests are still welcome there, but let's be honest, who really goes swimming during those hours anyhow? It's like 5-7pm; that's in the middle of getting ready for/eating dinner. Celebrity Cruises caters to the older crowd anyways so maybe the line is just trying to become more well-rounded and attract a bigger crowd. All in all, the cruise line needs to keep up with its competitors.