Phil Reimer
The cruising industry has learned from Las Vegas’ mistakes. A decade ago, Las Vegas attempted to change their image and become a family destination. While the Vegas experiment failed, the cruising industry has made it work exceedingly well. Family cruisers are the fastest growing demographic in the industry. Unlike the empty-nester cruising couple, families travel in packs – with extended family members and friends to the delight of cruise line executives.
While most cruise ships have children and teen programs on their ships, some cruise lines have made family travel their mission. Disney has taken the Imagineering elements of their theme parks and transported them to their cruise line. This concept has been so successful that Disney is now doubling their fleet by ordering two new ships.
Disney was the leader, but the others are setting their own lofty goals when it comes to cruising and families. Royal Caribbean and Carnival are dedicating a massive amount of space for children and teen areas on their ships. On several of their ships, up to 25% of the passengers on-board are children or teens. Those noted here all have ships that sail out of Port Canaveral, the home port for Orlando.
I have cruised twice with my family and it was a great experience for all.
When travelling as families here are a few helpful pointers to make your trip a success:
• If you want to keep everyone together, try and book a larger room. Adjoining cabins also work well for the cruising family. Keep in mind that there is only a limited number of family and adjoining cabins, so book early.
• If travelling with an extended family, select a family leader and put them in charge of finding the best deals and the itinerary. Update the rest of the family about the travel plans regularly by sending out group emails.
• Children’s clubs aboard the ship come in different age categories.
• Take the time to check out your ship’s shore excursions prior to leaving for your family holiday. Many of the excursions are family-friendly with every detail organized for you. If you are on a budget or with a large group you may want to book excursions through a few of the private tour companies. Remember that you are responsible for making it back to ship on time for your departure from port. If you’re late you’ll be getting a view of your ship sailing out of the harbour.
• Spending every moment together may be trying for even the closest of families. Remember that it is a holiday and you may need some down time. Scheduling in some separate activities for smaller groups is a good option. Afterwards, you can recount the events of your day over dinner with the rest of your family.
• The magic card that opens your room is also a charge card. Should you lend it to your kids on a regular basis check your bill every second day or so. The little extras can add up quickly and a larger than expected bill at the end of your cruise can end your trip on a sour note.
While the cruises lines mentioned above have excellent family programs, they are by no means the only cruise lines catering to families. Most have all kinds of children’s programs with their own dedicated area.
If you combine some thorough planning and good communication with all the members of your family, you’ll be going a long way to enjoying a family vacation at sea.