Cruise Traveling With Kids

M ake it a Vacation to           planning and budgeting are easy.   Remember (Fondly!)             And parents and kids can pursue                                   their own interests, so everyone   Is a cruise vacation right for        can have a good time. Is there     your family? Chances are, the         any better recipe for great        answer is yes - especially if         family cruise vacation?            your youngsters are the kind of                                          kids who like to have fun!            Most cruise lines offer cabins                                           that can sleep four, and most      Would your kids like to slither       offer discounted fares for kids    down a water slide, sing karaoke,     sharing their parents' stateroom   or play pirate with a dozen new       (cribs and guardrails for bunk     friends? Would they like to           beds are readily available). Some  dissect a squid or maybe dance        ships have staterooms that sleep   all night in a teen club? Well,       five or six, but if your kids are  then, welcome aboard. These are       older, you might want to book      just a few of the activities that     adjoining cabins, which offer      modern cruise ships offer             more space and privacy. Outside    families looking for a new way to     cabins are more appealing than     spend their vacation.                 inside cabins, especially if they                                        have a veranda, where parents can  Shipboard life: Play hard, eat        relax during kids' naptime, but    well, rest easy                       they are more expensive.                                                                                    A cruise ship is basically a          When it comes to food, cruising    giant floating, all-inclusive         is hard to beat. Almost every      resort. Rooms, meals, activities,     ship has a special menu of         and entertainment are all             kid-friendly dishes, but kids can  included in the cruise fare, and      also dine from the main menu just  the itinerary is already set, so      like Mom and Dad. On some lines,   kids can eat at tables staffed by     fun includes amazing pools (some   youth counselors, leaving parents     come with a gigantic movie         some quiet dinners to themselves.     screen), as well as basketball,                                          volleyball, and tennis. Some       Kids' programs: Fun for all           ships even offer miniature golf                                          course and bowling. Babysitting    Gone are the days when the ship's     is available when the children's   Children's Room was a glorified       centers are closed, and some       babysitting operation. Today's        ships issue pagers to parents so   kids' programs are usually run        they can keep in touch with their  from specially outfitted              kids when they are apart.          'clubhouses' staffed by specially                                        trained counselors. Think camp,       Two new trends are changing kids'  not daycare.                          cruising a lot. The first is                                             'edutainment,' a concept           Programming is usually available      enthusiastically embraced by       for kids 3 to 17 (some cruise         Princess Cruises, which has        lines accommodate younger             partnered with the California      children, provided they are           Science Center and the National    potty-trained). The kids are          Park Service for some kid-sized    divided by age-groups, and the        educational fun. For example,      list of things they can do is         kids can build a model of a        mind-boggling. Movies, games,         roller coaster, dissect a squid,   arts and crafts, and contests are     or learn about glaciers and        offered by nearly all cruise          grizzlies in the Junior Ranger     lines, and some also offer            Program. The second trend is       special programming like language     exclusive programming for teens,   classes, etiquette instruction,       who can now hang out with new      cake decorating, and shore            friends in large, comfortable      excursions just for kids. Outdoor     spaces equipped with video games,  computers, and air hockey tables.     would prefer, and aim for summer   Some new ships even offer teens       or school vacations, when there    their own refreshment areas and       will be plenty of other children   whirlpool.                            to play with.                                                                                               What to know before you go            * Talk to your kids about proper                                         shipboard etiquette, and go over   Shipboard facilities and              basic safety precautions.          programming for children vary         Establish a buddy system for       widely, so it's important to          older children who want some       choose the right cruise and to        independence aboard ship, and be   let the kids know what to expect.     sure that all children know they   Keep the following tips in mind.      can get help from a uniformed                                            crew member at any time.           * Know that older ships and                                              luxury cruise lines usually have      Family cruise vacations are easy,  less children's programming,          delicious, exciting, and fun.      while newer ships and mid-price       Best of all, you'll never hear     cruise lines usually have the         that dreaded vacation complaint,   coolest kid facilities.               Mommy, I'm bored!, because on a                                          cruise ship, there's something     * Look over the various               fun to do every minute.            destinations that your family          About the Author Anita Dunham-Potter is a Pittsburgh-based travel journalist specializing in cruise travel. Anita is a weekly travel columnist for http://MSNBC.com and Tripso, and she is a contributor to Fodor's "Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises 2007". Published At: www.Isnare.com