Yes, you can take your children on a cruise. In fact, once you get them aboard, you will hardly see them at all, if you choose the right ship and cruise. Family cruises can give parents a welcome break; no one has to cook, or do the dishes, make the beds, drive, or find a place to park. Families can do different things on a cruise, and parents don’t have to be concerned about the whereabouts of their children. Where else can you go out for a night on the town without having to drive, and be home in a moment should the baby-sitter need you? Dad can sleep in. Mum can go swimming and join an aerobics class.
The children can join in the organized family activities that go on all day long. While they may not like organized clubs (too reminiscent of school), they will probably make new friends quickly in the surroundings of a cruise ship. Whether you share a cabin with them or whether they have their own separate but adjoining cabin, there will be plenty to keep them occupied.
Some cruise lines that are really serious about family cruise programmes dedicate complete teams of kids’, ‘tweens and teens’ counselors, who run special programmes that are off-limits to adults.
They also have facilities such as high chairs in the dining room, cots, and real playrooms. Most entertainment for children is designed to run simultaneously with adult programmes; few ships have dedicated children’s entertainers. For those cruising with very young children, baby-sitting services may also be available. For example, Cunard’s QE2 and QM2 have real children’s nurses and even trained English National Nursing Examination Board-qualified nannies. P&O Aurora, Oceana and Oriana have a ‘night nursery’ for two- to five-year-olds.
Parents, of course, have long realized that children cost more as they age. For example, children under two years travel free on most cruise lines (and airlines). If older, they cost money.
There’s no better vacation for families than a ship cruise, especially at holiday time. Active parents can have the best of all worlds, family togetherness, social contact, and privacy. Cruise ships provide a very safe, crime-free, encapsulated environment, and give junior passengers a lot of freedom without parents having to be concerned about where their children are at all times. Because the days aboard are long, youngsters will be able to spend time with their parents or grandparents, as well as with their peers.
They can also meet senior officers and learn about the navigation, radar, and communications equipment. They will be exposed to different environments, travel to and explore new places, participate in any number of exciting activities and experience many types of food.
Many cruise lines, recognizing the needs of families, have added a whole variety of children’s programmes to their daily activities. Some ships have separate swimming pools and play areas for children, as well as junior discos, video rooms, and teen ‘chill-out’ centres. Not to be outdone by Disney, Carnival Cruise Lines has ‘Fun Ship Freddy’ – a lifesized mascot with a head in the shape of the company’s distinctive funnels.
In some ships, stewards, stewardesses, and other staff may be available as private babysitters for an hourly charge (otherwise, group babysitting may be offered). Make arrangements at the reception desk. Aboard some ships, evening baby-sitting services may not start until late (check details before booking your cruise).
Cruise lines serious about children divide them into five distinct age groups, with various names to match, according to cruise line and programme: Toddlers (ages 2–4); Juniors (ages 5–7); Intermediate (ages 8–10); Tweens (ages 11–13); and Teens (ages 14–17). It often seems to be children under 12 who get the most from a cruise. |
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