CRUISING FOR FAMILIES

Around 2 million children and teens a year take a cruise. Parents can now enjoy the best of all worlds, the family can enjoy quality time together and the kids enjoying a lot of freedom without parents having to be worried about where they are at all times.

Many cruise ships were created with family enjoyment and comfort in mind. Cruise Lines are dedicated to ensuring the very best for your family and making sure your family have a wonderful time and return home with amazing memories.

Cruise ships now offer a vast array of facilities for the whole family. So if you previously thought that a cruise holiday was for the wealthy or the elderly, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that the new generations of cruise ships have first-class family and children facilities to rival any land-based resort.

Most entertainment for children is designed to run simultaneously with adult programs. Many cruise lines have recognized the needs of parents and have added an extensive choice of children’s programmes to their daily activities. Staff are enthusiastic and well-qualified and have had extensive training and experience in planning a wide range of play and leisure activities ensuring that your children will always be in safe hands.

They really have thought of everything, so why not let us take the stress out of your family holiday?

Many Cruise Lines now offer dedicated children’s areas, with their own pools and a range of age-related activities which include talent shows, face painting, treasure hunts and on-deck fun and games. Many of the ships are now offering slumber parties and night nurseries, so that parents can enjoy the evening entertainment, knowing that their children are being well supervised in a safe environment. A cruise ship is ideal for teenagers with up-to-date modern facilities to keep them fully entertained. Most of the larger ships have teen-only discos, many large resort ships have dedicated “no adult zones” , deck parties, video arcades, games rooms, karaoke and activity clubs. Sports include basketball and rock-climbing. There is also the option to take their own land based excursions, specially designed around beach barbeques and sport activities.

Many cruise holidays now are offering a wide range of tours designed especially for families, meaning your time ashore will be as stress free as the rest of your holiday. With arranged transport, entrance fees and English speaking guides, all you need do is turn up and enjoy your time together. Typical family tours include:

• Beach transfers
• Water park trips
• Dolphin/ Whale watching
• Adventure trips
• Family city tours

Children can join their parents for breakfast, lunch and dinner but if you wish the opportunity to occasionally want to dine on your own, on your family cruise holiday, many cruise companies lay on special children’s menus and buffets daily featuring all the children’s favourite food they can enjoy: sausages, fish fingers and pizza to name just a few. In addition there are many healthy options, such as salads, soups, fruit, vegetables and pasta. You will find a choice of baby food also and high chairs and cribs but remember and ask your cruise expert to check first and ensure available.

Many cabins are well equipped for the needs of the whole family offering additional beds space. In the majority of twin cabins, beds fold down from the ceiling or out from the wall. In cabins, mini-suites and suites, the extra beds are sofa beds. They also offer plenty of drawer and wardrobe space. Numerous Staterooms on most cruise liners have connecting rooms, making them perfect for families. If you want a connecting room, simply request at time of booking. Cots can also be requested. Carnival prides itself on the spacious Staterooms which are ideal for families.

Which Ship?

There are so many different types of cruise ship to choose from, all offering a vast array of different facilities to keep the entire family fully entertained throughout the day and night. The one question you need to ask yourselves is whether you would prefer a modern ‘floating resort’ on a larger vessel, or maybe you prefer a smaller more intimate classic /traditional cruise ship. If you are looking for the best children’s facilities then the new mega-cruise ships offer the most up-to-date and advanced activities at sea.

The ships below have been selected for their high quality children’s programmes :

Carnival Cruise Line offers a wealth of fun with their three onboard clubs, Camp Carnival, Circle C and Club O2. Club O2 has been described as the ultimate teen party onboard a cruise ship. Carnival Conquest, Destiny, Dream, Freedom, Glory, Legend, Liberty, Pride, Spirit, Splendour, Triumph, Valor, Victory, Ecstasy, Elation, Fantasy, Fascination, Imagination, Inspiration, Paradise and Sensation and Splendour.

Celebrity are well known for their American-style slumber parties and all round fun activities onboard. You can expect to find a wide range of age-related entertainment including, T-shirt designing, treasure hunts and the famous Fun Factory. Celebrity Century, Constellation, Eclipse, Equinox, Infinity, Mercury, Millenium, Solstice and Summit.

Holland America Line is providing a very exciting and varied programme of children friendly activities for all children aged between 3 and 17. They offer supervised fun activities with a list of activities such as ice cream sundae parties, private treasure hunts, arts and crafts, drawing competitions, fabric painting, theme parties and a farewell pizza party. Why not learn compete in on-deck sports and scavenger hunts. Movies and videos, teen discos, karaoke, sports tournaments, trivia contests and fun filled theme parties.

Princess Cruise’s latest and most advanced ship the Grand Princess offers children the opportunity to enjoy the first virtual reality centre at sea, which includes a variety of theme-park style rides on the amazing 12-man hydraulic stimulator. On Princess Cays the company’s Private Island in the Bahamas, children can enjoy the fully supervised Pelicans Perch a play area constructed around the theme of a pirate ship. Crown Princess. Diamond, Emerald, Golden, Grand, Ruby, Sapphire, Star.

NCL offers all the family whatever the age lots of fun and facilities. There is a list of complimentary activities published each day which include face-painting taking part in onboard shows and on deck family competitions. NCL Dawn. Epic, Gem, Jade, Jewel, Pearl, Spirit, Star and the NCL Sun.

P&O offer a British atmosphere onboard the Ventura, Oceana, Oriana and Aurora.

MSC - Ask about the Children Cruise Free offer only paying the Port Tax and possibly a flight supplement. Children can cruise free up to the age of 18 as long as they share with two full paying adults. Ask your cruise expert today for full details. MSC Fantasia, Magnifica, Musica, Opera, Orchestra, Poesia and Splendida.

Royal Caribbean operates four fantastic kids clubs called ‘Adventure Ocean’. Each club is specifically designed with lots of fun activities and facilities. Adventure of the Seas, Allure, Explorer, Freedom, Independence of the Seas, Liberty, Mariner, Navigator, Oasis and Voyager.

Thomson Cruises are well known for their fun-filled family holidays, with an array of activities to keep the kids entertained all day long. All children’s entertainment if free of charge and includes the imaginative Kid zone, which offers Junior Cruisers a safe place to play and make new friends. All Thomson staff are fully qualified according to UK legislation, so you can rest assured your children are being well looked after. Child prices apply up to the age of 16 when sharing a cabin with 2 adults.

As well as off-shore activities for children, there is plenty to keep them amused as you sail from port to port. It is not uncommon for there to be over 1,000 kids on board the big ships of Royal Caribbean and Carnival, providing lots of opportunities to make friends and socialize! With so much on offer, they'll be kept busy from dawn till dusk!

Most cruise ships accept children from the age of 2 years upwards. Carnival also accepts children from 4 months upwards. When travelling with babies, make sure you bring plenty of nappies and formula with you if required, as your ship may not stock the brand you prefer. When going ashore, ask at the purser's office for recommendations of local hotels where you could spend the day, lounging by the pool and taking advantage of their facilities. Many of the larger cruise lines, such as Carnival, offer a babysitting service, so you and your partner can enjoy a romantic evening!

Cruise lines provide a safe and secure environment for you and your children. Doctors and nurses are on call 24 hours a day and everyone on board must participate in a compulsory safety drill before departure to comply with international safety regulations. When leaving children in the care of supervisors, parents must always complete a sign-in, sign-out form. Norwegian Cruise Lines employ a name-tag system. The safety of your children is always of paramount importance with staff specially trained to reinforce this.

Single Parents: a few cruise lines have introduced an economical way for single parents to take their children on a cruise holiday with parent and child sharing either a two berth cabin or parent and children sharing a three berth cabin. Reduced rates may be available for the children of single parents (in the same cabin) ask our cruise experts for full details.

Group Discounts/Family Reunions: Let your cruise expert make the arrangements and ask for a group discount if there are more than 15 of you.

Children’s Rate’s : Book Early for the best rates, most cruise lines offer special discounted rates for children sharing their parent’s cabin.