Kid-Friendly Travel

• “Carnival, Disney, NCL, Princess and Royal Caribbean provide pagers for parents. Other lines have you sign your child in and write down where you will be on the ship.”
• Some ships have minimum age required to sail. (12 wks, Disney; 4 mos, Carnival; 6 mos, Princess)
• Ask if they provide baby equipment: crib, stroller, bouncy seat, etc.
• Disney cabins have a room partition (great for naps and early bedtimes) and bathtubs (a rarity in cruise cabins)
• Check potty-trained restrictions. Children in diapers are not allowed in the playroom, even when accompanied by a parent, on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.
• Carnival and Princess don’t allow in-cabin babysitting, but have a children’s center instead that is open late enough for sleepers.
• Many cruise lines offer family friendly dining: Carnival has 24-hr pizza and ice cream; Disney, Princess and Norwegian offer a different type of family friendly dining each night.

Activites

• Private islands offering an extension of the onboard kids activities, as well as a more protected environment for exploring makes lines like Disney, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Norwegian and Holland America popular choices.
• Some lines group kids in only 2-3 year age spans (Carnival, Disney, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean). Others have broader groupings of about 4 years (Holland America, Princess, Crystal).
• “Royal Caribbean has partnered with Fisher Price to offer music and art oriented “play-groups” for parents to join with their 6-mo to 3-yr old children.”
• Princess offers educational children’s programs like dissecting a squid.
• “Family time activities: Disney has nightly stage show that’s family friendly. Royal Caribbean hosts game shows, shipbuilding regattas, and play-groups.”