Family Cruising

For this note - think "Children." (I'll deal with grandparents, family reunions etc some other time). The first thing that comes to mind when you want to consider a cruise vacation with kids is Disney. Each ship has 15,000 sq.ft. dedicated just to children, and separate areas and counselors for 8 age groups from 12 week old infants through teenagers, with labs games and activities suited for ages 3 and up. There are also adults-only areas for dining and entertainment if desired (pagers provided), and whole-family areas.

Other cruise lines also do a nice job with children's areas. Carnival and NCL had Holiday week sailings with 700-900 kids under 17 booked on ships carrying 2400 passengers. Some cruise lines even provide a starter bundle of diapers, etc for infants upon boarding; babysitting averages $7/hour, and can go as late as 2AM! Party on, parents! Many ships have children-only areas with pagers and parent-peeking windows; likewise teens have their own supervised areas on most ships.

In general cruise lines encourage and accommodate family cruise vacations. You should consider it!