Cruisin’ with the Kids

Family cruise vacations are great ways for a family to bond and have fun together while still being able to do the things they want to do. Parents love cruises because virtually the only thing you have to do is enjoy the ride. With kids, it becomes a teeny bit challenging. The secret is to finding a kid-friendly cruise that has activities for the little ones but still have stuff lined up for the adults of the ship as well.

Fortunately, cruise ship companies have seen the potential of keeping children in mind when forming their cruise packages. From there, the kid-friendly cruise was born. Looking for a cruise to spend your family vacation in? Check out these cruise packages from several well-known cruise companies:

Disney Cruises

Surely this must have crossed your mind somewhat when you thought of going on a family vacation cruise. If anything is synonymous with kids and their dreams, Disney is it. They offer two cruise ships with different itineraries:

o Disney Magic – 7-night cruise along the eastern and western Caribbean ($799 per person)

o Disney Wonder – 3 to 4 day cruise in the Bahamas ($349 per person)

While on the cruise ship you and your kids can enjoy musicals, parties, fireworks displays, restaurants, and so much more. Bonus points for the fact that your children are being entertained by Pluto (yes, Mickey’s dog). Both cruise ships stop on the privately owned Castaway Cay, which offers passengers plenty of recreational beach activities.

Carnival Cruises

Carnival certainly live up to their name when it comes to the fun that people of ages can have while staying with them. Everyone from the parents, to the kids, to the teens (we all know how difficult teens are, right?) can enjoy the facilities and activities available for them. The kids can spend their days doing arts and crafts and playing educational games supervised by adult hosts. Your teens will surely enjoy the mocktail lounge and dance club that is especially for them. At the end of each day, the entire family can lounge by the pool and sip drinks, telling each other what fun they had that day.

A 7-day cruise with Carnival Cruises starts at $449.

Princess Cruises

If there’s any cruise line that has perfected the family cruise vacation, they say that Princess Cruises has perfected it. 7- or 9-day cruises surely offer a lot of time for families to bond and catch up, while still allowing them to spend their days with activities. Children and teens will enjoy crafts, disco nights, talent shows, movie showings, and more. They also have a fun way to have the young passengers mix and mingle through their “kids only” dinners featuring pizza and mocktails.

A Princess Cruise holiday start at $1,119 per person (double occupancy; third and fourth passengers are $599 each) for the Caribbean Princess (9-day cruise). Prices for the Ruby Princess (7-day cruise) start at $599 per person (double occupancy; $249 each for third and fourth passengers).