Take the kids to sea
Mercedes Maguire’s top tips for planning a family-friendly cruise
Parents, imagine for a moment a place where the children actually want to go to kids’ club, where they have a variety of food they’ll actually eat and a room walking distance away at all times. A family-friendly cruise makes those dreams a reality. But with hundreds of itineraries to choose from, getting on the right one is all in the planning.
Pick your ship
There’s a lot of competition to get the kids’ attention, so find a ship with activities yours will love, says Ashkan Ghasemi of Dreamlines, which packages holidays as Cruise 1st and CruiseAway.
“The new Pacific Encounter and Adventure from P&O allows you to prepurchase P&O Edge Passes for the kids, which includes flying fox, bridge roof walk, slackline surfing, walk the plank, Laser Tag, and more,” he says.
Michael Middleton of MyCruises says international MSC Cruises itineraries feature an F1 simulator, Norwegian Cruise Line has a go-cart track and Royal Caribbean has an iFly skydiving simulator and dodgem cars.
The right cabin
There are cabins that fit more than the standard family of four, but you have to get in early. Ghasemi says some MSC ships include five-passenger cabins and a family cluster cabin to fit up to 10 people, for example.
“On most cruise ships there’s a selection of interconnecting cabins, but we recommend you book early so you have the best selection,” he says.
The best price
Find the ships that offer family deals. MSC generally allows children under 12 to sail free in low season when sharing with parents, Ghasemi says. Norwegian Cruise Line allows third and fourth passengers in a cabin to sail free through their Free At Sea promotion and Royal Caribbean also has “sail free” deals for third and fourth passengers.
Are we there yet?
If your family hasn’t cruised before, choosing a short sampler is a great idea as an introduction. For example, Disney Cruise Line will be departing from Australia from October 2023 to February 2024 offering twoto six-day itineraries close to home.
Wet and mild
Pools and waterparks will offer the best entertainment on days with no port visits, so choose a ship with a variety of options. Royal Caribbean has the FlowRider wave simulator for older kids and H20 Zone for little ones and MSC Seaside combines a waterslide with an interactive gaming element.