The Definitive Guide to Family Friendly Cruising

Over the years both the www.CRUISE.co.uk team and our cruise community have written a lot about cruising with children and families.

After all, it’s a big subject and there’s a lot to cover!

If you’re one of those super organised people who manages to get on-board your chosen ship after only forgetting one or two things (nappies, dummies, your child’s favourite doll etc etc etc) then we salute you!

For everyone else here’s our definitive guide to making your family cruise perfect – You should find everything you’ll ever need for planning and enjoying the ultimate in family holidays……

Comparing baby facilities across cruise lines – What’s the minimum age a baby can cruise? Can you get baby food on-board? Will the staff warm bottles for you? Can you buy nappies on-board? All of these questions and more are answered in out handy comparison table allowing you to compare baby facilities per cruise line at a glance.

 

Baby On Board – If you’re looking for a more detailed guide to the facilities available for babies on a cruise then this is the article you need!

 

 

Packing for children – As suggested by the members of our community this handy (and printable) checklist contains everything you could possibly need when packing for babies, toddlers and children.  

 

 

Which cruise lines are the most family friendly? Need to see at a glance which cruise lines run kids clubs or who does and doesn’t have a dedicated children’s menu in the main dining room? It sounds like you need our comparison guide to which cruise lines are the most family friendly.

 

Keeping Teenagers Happy – As any parent who has a teenager will tell you, keeping them happy and entertained can be a thankless task. That’s why we put together a comparison guide of what activities are provided for teenagers across all the cruise lines – That way you can pick who you cruise with confident in the knowledge everyone will (should) be happy

Disclaimer – We’re not miracle workers and accept no responsibility for terminally moody teenagers! 

 

Top Five Teen Friendly Cruise Lines – Find out who made the top five list and why!

 

 

 

Swimming pools – All children love swimming pools so having a good pool available on your ship is an integral part of having a great family cruise. Does your chosen ship even have a pool though? How many does it have? Is it fresh water or salt water? Now you can check before you cruise on our comparison guide to cruise line swimming pools.

 

 

Top Thirteen Pools on a Cruise Ship – Need a bit more info about your pool rather than just how many each ship has? We’ve listed the top thirteen very best pools at sea and explained why

 

 

 

 Fun At Sea – Sometimes a pool just isn’t enough; sometimes your children will demand a little bit more (when do they not though?) and sometimes your children will need a water slide! You can learn everything you’ll possibly need to know about water slides on cruise ships here.

 

Movies Under The Stars – You’ll never run out of things to do on a cruise but sometimes having that much to do can be too much for little ones! What if your kids just need to unwind for an hour or two with a movie? Are there any available in the middle of an ocean? Some ships have dedicated movie channels, others have DVD libraries; some have full blown cinemas and a few will even let you watch movies under the stars on a big screen by the pool! You can find out which cruise lines offer what on our movie comparison guide here

 

Kids Clubs:A Professionals View – All the cruise lines brag about their kids clubs facilities so we thought we’d put them to the test. We had a teacher review the facilities on Royal Caribbean to find out what someone who deals with children day in, day out thought of them

 

Fast Food Fix: How to Get Yours at Sea – Think cruising and you’ll probably think food. Think children however and you’ll probably think fussy eaters. The food available on a cruise ship is famous for being of a high quality but there’s only so many five course meals you can have before you start craving a burger or pizza – You can find out how to satisfy your fast food cravings on a cruise ship here

 

Q&A – Family Friendly Cruising – All of the guides we’ve listed here for you are useful and will hopefully contain all the information you need. If you can’t find it though feel free to pop over to the Question and Answer section of our website to ask a specific question (or browse what others have already asked.

 

Did our guide help? Is there anything else you’d like to see in it? Do you have any advice for people cruising with a family?

Feel free to leave your comments below.