Cruise Planners - Cruising With Children

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Cruising With Children

Cruising with children?... Cruising and families go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Here are some helpful tips on getting the most enjoyment from your cruise!

We have cruised with three teenagers, ages 16, 17 and 18 and will be taking our one year old with us on our next cruise. My siblings have traveled with their children, ages 2 ½ and 6. Each child’s experience was different. My teenagers loved the teen program, the freedom of being able to roam the ship without mom and dad and the shore excursions. The 2 ½ year old child loved playing in the swimming pools, trying new foods at dinner and running up and down the hallways trying to find Grandpa’s cabin. The 6 year old child loved the climbing wall, swimming pools, the ocean and the all you can eat ice cream.

Cruise Activity Options For Different Aged Children:

When you are traveling with children, there are so many details that go into just finding the perfect cruise for both you and your children. That is why I encourage you to call me and allow me to narrow the choices down. Some of the details to take into consideration are: Children friendly cruise lines, age restrictions, children / teen programs, discounts for children, cabins amenities, dining options, and for the adults - onboard activities, ports of calls, spa treatments, and health club facilities.

Preparing For A Cruise With Your Children:

Once you have chosen and booked your cruise, then the details in preparing for the vacation become your new focus. Getting to the ship whether it’s by car, bus, air, or train can be enough to send you over the edge of sanity. Researching and booking shore excursions can take more than one family night. Keeping an eye out for your travel documents becomes a daily event. Making sure you have passports are up-to-date and that you have enough suitcases to pack everything you need can be mind boggling. Relax and read on.

Each child, regardless of their age, will need a passport as of January 2008. Their names on their cruise documents must match their passports. Booking shore excursions can usually be done once you have paid your deposit. I recommend you keep shore excursions simple. If you are traveling with little ones who still nap, then plan to be back on the ship in the afternoon so they can enjoy the evening activities. Your cruise documents will arrive approximately two to three weeks prior to your departure.

Getting to the ship can sometimes be an adventure all by itself. Expect the unexpected is the only way to travel. Delays can be caused by many reasons including weather and mechanical difficulties. When you are packing carry-ons, make sure you have small, age appropriate, toys, books, a variety of activities to keep your children busy and yummy healthy snacks.

Packing can be a real challenge depending on the ages of your children. If you are traveling with an infant, be prepared to pack everything you might need because most cruise lines don’t have diapers, wipes, diaper cream, formula, bottles or infant over-the-counter medication onboard. Some cruise lines do have strollers to rent and cribs can be requested at the time of booking. High chairs are usually available in the main dining rooms, but can be hard to come by in the open seating eateries. Please note: babies must be potty trained in order to use the swimming pools on most ships. If you are traveling with a toddler, you might need to bring a portable bed rail so your little one doesn’t tumble out of their bed. Little ones tend to make a lot of dirty laundry and either you need to bring enough clothes and bibs to last the entire trip, send your laundry out to be cleaned or cruise on a ship that has self laundering facilities.

Once you are onboard the ship, find your cabin, feed your children, explore the ship and sign-up your children for the children’s program. Each child will receive a wrist band that they will wear for the duration of the cruise. This band has important information on it, like the muster station information (the place where you board your life boat in a really emergency). In case of an emergency, the youth staff will bring your child/children to the muster station. You are responsible for bringing their life jackets from the cabin. Usually, thirty minutes before the ship sails there is a life boat drill where everyone goes to their cabin, puts their life jackets on and then they are directed to their muster station. Make sure that there is the correct size life jacket for each of your children. If there isn’t, notify your cabin steward as soon as possible.

Special Notes:

Friends of mine found that they had so much fun playing with their children, that they forgot to spend time together as a couple, so their recommendation is to balance family time and adult time and a cruise is the perfect place to do that.

If you are flying with children under the age of two, you need to decide whether or not you are going to book a seat for your child. Most air carriers require children that have their own seats to travel in a car seat.

If your children / teens are soda drinkers, check into the soda card. The soda card provides unlimited fountain sodas. Some cruise lines even have a juice card.

Annie Knight

Cruising With Children