Bingo, buffets, shuffleboards – nearly every cruise have these. It’s different when you are traveling with a child, especially with toddlers. Kids aren’t as interested in the usual cruise line activities. This is the very reason why cruises nowadays capitalize on the booming trend of family travel. They go the extra mile to accommodate the kids, with video game tournaments, cooking classes and ice skating rinks.
1. Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean is one of the world’s largest cruise ship. This Behemoth even has red carpet for kids, providing them with wall-to-wall activities. They have ice skating rinks, boasting to be the one to have it first. Kids also can see familiar characters from Dreamworks like Shrek, Po from “Kung Fu Panda” and the animals from “Madagascar.”
2. Norwegian Breakaway
Because they have a partnership with Nickelodeon, SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer have special appearances in the kids’ zones through the voyage. They also offer Pajama Jam breakfast ($20 per person) where kids are encouraged to wear PJs and dance with their favorite friendly character hosts.
3. Disney Cruise Line
Two of Disney’s Newest Sister Ships, the Disney Fantasy and the Disney Dream are catered to the whole family. These ships feature various immersive themed areas specially made for kids up to 17 years. The Oceaneer Club has large-scale recreations of Disney Pixar favorites like Andy’s Room in “Toy Story” and the Monster’s Academy area in “Monsters, Inc.” For teenagers, the Vibe Club has movie screenings, karaoke and dance competitions.
4. Celebrity Cruises
They welcome families with young children on board with newly upgraded facilities that are high-tech. Kids have Xbox Stations in Fun Factory (for ages three to eleven) and XClub for (for twelve to seventeen). There are tournaments and gaming theme nights. Other activities include theme parties, movie screenings and scavenger hunts.
5. Queen Mary 2
They have The Play Zone that caters to youngsters aged six months to seven years old where trusted, fun and animated staff fill the day with competitions, songs, dancing and computer games. As for the older age group, eight to seventeen year olds, they have other activities such as deck sports, table tennis and video games. The ship also has intuitive baby baths, Night Nursery for infants and high chairs in the buffet.
6. MSC Divina
They offer free sailing lessons for kids aged eleven and below and discounted rates for twelve-to-seventeen year old teenagers. They also have four designated kids’ club with varying and lively daily schedules. Activities include The Smurfs toddler water park and a thrilling ride down the ship’s adult water slide. There’s also the Happy Dinners program which reunite parents with their children for dinner but menus for the latter are customized specially for tots.
7. Royal Princess
This Luxury Liner has fun family activities onboard like Jr. Chef Sea Program for young travelers ($25 per child). Desserts are made by small groups of junior chefs and they are so cute wearing aprons and toques. They have hands-on-cake decorating lessons. Remix is for teenagers aged thirteen to seventeen has an outdoor lounge that includs a wading pool and other sports like foosball and skeeball.
Bring the whole gang and spend a holiday that will surely be memorable. Let our experts at www.bestcruiselines.co help you find the Best Cruise lines for families.
