Kids and Teens Receive VIP Treatment Aboard Celebrity
With ships like the Norwegian Epic and Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas now in service, it is becoming incredibly difficult to look at other cruise lines and their ships for the kids. It seems as though, however, some passengers would rather shy away from these mega-ships and rather sail on the smaller ones; but this also brings some cause of concern. With all the new innovations in the cruising community, some may wonder if the smaller lines have enough amenities for passenger’s kids to stay afloat. Celebrity Cruise Lines—since it is small relative to 
Carnival and others—faces this problem everyday; but, if people were to take a closer look, they’d realize they have almost all of the same amenities as their hefty competitors.
As there are different classes of ship, there are different programs on each one. The Millennium class was the first to introduce Celebrity’s kid program dubbed Fun Factory. At that time for ages 3-11, the fun factory offered a variety of activities and games to participate in while being supervised by the youth staff. The core problem with the Fun Factory, however, was anyone over the age of 11 years old was excluded and there was no designated area or program for teens. Finally on the Celebrity Constellation—the last Millennium Class ship—though, Celebrity changed the policy and renamed Fun Factory to Shipmates Fun Factory. Although the name change was not dramatically different, the program changes were. The age range in which children could participate expanded to 17 years old, meaning everyone could experience the fun of all the activities. Since then, Fun Factory has taken many forms and variations.
Nearly six years after the Constellation, Celebrity unveiled the Celebrity Solstice in 2008. What was once named Shipmates Fun Factory was split into two entirely different programs. Celebrity first unveiled Shipmates, which offered activities and monitoring for children 3-5. Subsequently announced was Fun Factory, which in its final iteration, hosted ship wide fun for 3-11 year olds. This left teenagers, once again, with nowhere to go; but luckily Celebrity took care of them too. Named XClub, it offered teens aged 12-17 with some of the best things to do onboard. On the Solstice was now a new coffee lounge designed and dedicated to the teenagers aboard, and also
a thrilling dance club is opened into the late-night. Celebrity considers XClub to be the VIP spot for kids since it hosts explorations, games, activities and dance parties; and passengers have been fully impressed with it.
Due to the positive response from passengers, Celebrity incorporated Shipmates, Fun Factory and XClub into every Solstice Class ship. But for one ship, they are yet again going to make a few changes. The Celebrity Silhouette—launching in 2011—which feature the all of these programs but on a grander scale. While XClub will still be situated on one deck, both Shipmates and Fun Factory will exponentially expand to two decks of the ship. Meaning that kids alike will have two levels of fun to explore and enjoy.
In a cruising world full of onboard waterparks and rappelling walls, it is very easy to overlook some of the smaller ships and lines. Though at first it may seem like small lines don’t have much to offer, in reality, they have many refined features that are even better than the bigger lines. With two-story kids facilities planned for the future, it would be wrong to count the smaller cruise ships out, because one day, they might grow to be bigger, and quite possibly, the biggest cruise line in the entire world.
Editor-In-Chief CruisingBrad (Brad Lenz)
As there are different classes of ship, there are different programs on each one. The Millennium class was the first to introduce Celebrity’s kid program dubbed Fun Factory. At that time for ages 3-11, the fun factory offered a variety of activities and games to participate in while being supervised by the youth staff. The core problem with the Fun Factory, however, was anyone over the age of 11 years old was excluded and there was no designated area or program for teens. Finally on the Celebrity Constellation—the last Millennium Class ship—though, Celebrity changed the policy and renamed Fun Factory to Shipmates Fun Factory. Although the name change was not dramatically different, the program changes were. The age range in which children could participate expanded to 17 years old, meaning everyone could experience the fun of all the activities. Since then, Fun Factory has taken many forms and variations.
Nearly six years after the Constellation, Celebrity unveiled the Celebrity Solstice in 2008. What was once named Shipmates Fun Factory was split into two entirely different programs. Celebrity first unveiled Shipmates, which offered activities and monitoring for children 3-5. Subsequently announced was Fun Factory, which in its final iteration, hosted ship wide fun for 3-11 year olds. This left teenagers, once again, with nowhere to go; but luckily Celebrity took care of them too. Named XClub, it offered teens aged 12-17 with some of the best things to do onboard. On the Solstice was now a new coffee lounge designed and dedicated to the teenagers aboard, and also
Due to the positive response from passengers, Celebrity incorporated Shipmates, Fun Factory and XClub into every Solstice Class ship. But for one ship, they are yet again going to make a few changes. The Celebrity Silhouette—launching in 2011—which feature the all of these programs but on a grander scale. While XClub will still be situated on one deck, both Shipmates and Fun Factory will exponentially expand to two decks of the ship. Meaning that kids alike will have two levels of fun to explore and enjoy.
In a cruising world full of onboard waterparks and rappelling walls, it is very easy to overlook some of the smaller ships and lines. Though at first it may seem like small lines don’t have much to offer, in reality, they have many refined features that are even better than the bigger lines. With two-story kids facilities planned for the future, it would be wrong to count the smaller cruise ships out, because one day, they might grow to be bigger, and quite possibly, the biggest cruise line in the entire world.
Editor-In-Chief CruisingBrad (Brad Lenz)
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