Cruises can be amazing holidays for children, and you may be familiar with cruise lines such as Disney and Royal Caribbean who offer some amazing facilities for children. But is luxury cruising suitable for children too? Well, that depends on which cruise line you choose.
Here are the best luxury cruises for children:
Crystal Cruises
Crystal Cruises tick all the boxes for families with children, with both ships offering children’s clubs for kids aged 3-17. Each ship has a dedicated playroom on board, with children free to come and go as they please. Children are supervised during activities with the Junior Activities Director, though children under the age of three must be supervised by a parent or guardian.
On sailings with the Junior Activities Programme, children can partake in a range of activities including:
Scavenger Hunts
Story Times and pyjama parties
Pizza parties
Teen karaoke
Mini Olympics
Pool games and paddle tennis
Baking
The main venue for children's activities is Fantasia - offering games, crafts, popular Sony PlayStation® and Xbox 360™ kiosks, large-screen TVs, board games and personal computers. There is also a video arcade at Waves for teens aged 13-17. The library also offers a selection of children's' books and videos for in-room viewing.
Kids of all ages can enjoy the special Junior Cruiser's menu, with the culinary staff able to prepare custom dishes. The Trident Grill also serves complimentary hot dogs, burgers and pizza.
On all sailings an in-room baby-sitting service for children aged one year and older can be offered. This is on a first-come, first-serve basis with fees starting at $10 per hour for one child, $15 per hour for two children and $20 per hour for three children. The maximum number which can be supervised by one baby-sitter is three.
Children aged 11 or younger also only pay 50% of the minimum fare when accompanied by two full-fare paying adults. Crystal Symphony offers ten connecting staterooms and 89 staterooms with a third berth available. Crystal Serenity offers 50 connecting staterooms and 154 staterooms with a third berth available.
These cruises can still accommodate for children:
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Children must be at least one year old when boarding the cruise. Regent offers the Club Mariner Youth Program for children aged 5-17, including fun and interactive activities while sailing to a breadth of destinations.
Activities for the program include:
Arts and crafts
Meet the Captain
Scavenger Hunts
Board games and bingo
Wacky Olympics
Mini-putt tournaments
Dance parties
Movie nights
Oceania Cruises
Children must be at least six months old at the day of sailing, with no care, entertainment or supervision of children offered.
However, guests travelling to Alaska can partake in the Alaska Explorer Youth Program. This is designed for children aged 5-12 and is supervised by experienced and enthusiastic youth counsellors. The program includes games, activities and Alaska-inspired special events.
These cruises are not recommended for children:
Azamara Club Cruises
Though Azamara accept guests of any age, they advise families sailing with children under the age of 18 that the onboard ambience and experience caters mainly to adults, and there are no activities for children or a baby-sitting service.
Seabourn
Seabourn refuses children aged six months or less at the time of sailing and certain transoceanic sailings also have limitations on children aged 12 months or less. Though families can travel on Seabourn, the cruise line dos not actively cater to young travellers and there are no facilities or programmes in place.
Silversea
Silver Explorer and Silver Discoverer cannot accommodate children under the age of one, Silver Galapagos cannot accommodation children under the age of six and Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, Silver Shadow, Silver Whisper and Silver Spirit cannot accommodate infants under the age of six months.
There are no specialised programmes for children on board Silversea and the cruise line does not promote activities, care or supervise children while on board. Silversea also has limitations on their shore excursions for children up to the age of eight.
Viking Ocean
Children under the age of 18 are not permitted to sail on board Viking Ocean ships. There are no programmes or activities catered to a younger audience, with more onboard facilities aimed at older couples, friends and family.
Booking a family cruise
When booking a cruise for your family, there's a lot to consider, such as stateroom arrangements, activities, food, flights and transfers.
In order to make sure that everything's covered, and that you get the best price possible for your cruise, we recommend that you call our Cruise Concierge team. Our experts will be happy to answer any questions that you have and assist with every step of your booking. Just give us a call on 0808 202 6105 for award-winning assistance and advice with your booking.
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