Are you planning a family cruise and having difficulty deciding how to choose the best cruise line where everyone, including the youngest cruiser, will have a great time? Below are the top picks designed for families with kids of all ages that offers fun activities such as water parks, ropes courses, mini golf, interactive activities, and more. These kid friendly activities are included in the price. There may be other activities that are an additional cost. The food menus are also designed for kids in mind and could be tailored by age group. There are clubs and programs offered where there are on-site counselors leaving the parents the opportunity to explore and enjoy the ship on their own.
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Disney Cruise Line
The Disney cruise is the Disney experience on a boat! It has unforgettable offerings that keep kids having tons of fun. They'll never be bored on this cruise, which includes imaginative play in whimsical kids clubs, spectacular Disney-themed entertainment and unique activities featuring popular Disney characters. The Disney's Oceaneer Club & Lab are for ages 3-12 and has exciting games, engaging activities and encounters with Disney characters. These clubs are supervised by Disney counselors. Also, watery fun awaits kids of all ages such as pools, aqua play areas, and waterslides. Also offered is the tween and teen clubs exclusive hangout for young people ages 11-17 which includes music, video games and engaging activities alongside counselors. At the “it’s a small world” nursery, youngsters from 6 months to 3 years old can play games, make crafts, watch movies or even take a nap. There's even a private island where young cruisers are invited to swim, play games, and ride waterslides. Offered are port adventures which are onshore excursions that encourage children of all ages to discover new places, cultures, and have great experiences while having fun. You'll find the best rates at CruiseDirect starting from $618 for 3 nights, as little as $206 per night.
Royal Caribbean International
The Royal Caribbean cruise offers games, events, and activities for kids all over the ship throughout the day and into the evening hours, making family time a great time. Their award winning adventure ocean youth program is fun and educational. Their babies and tots program for ages 6-36 months offers nursery drop-off sessions filled with age-appropriate activities and toys. The Aquanauts program for kids ages 3-5 years is full of adventure including science, art, theater and story time. Their specially designed Explorers program for ages 6-8 years is packed with exciting activities for kids. Voyagers for ages 9-12 years will explore a range of activities that puts the "cool" back into learning. The Teen program offers a hang out space that allows older kids to hang out with other cruisers and play sports and games at the arcades. You'll find the best rates at CruiseDirect starting from $170 for 4 nights, as little as $43 per night.
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Carnival Cruise Line
The Carnival cruise offers a wide variety of fun activities for kids of all ages. At Camp Ocean kids (ages 2-11) will have a blast in supervised groups. They’ll enjoy tons of fun-filled, age-appropriate activities like arts and crafts, songs, games, toys, movies and video games. For this age group, there’s a new vacation experience called Space Cruisers which introduces kids at Camp Ocean to the wonder of space exploration. Circle C for ages 12-14 can enjoy games, outdoor movies, and more. For kids ages 6 months to 2 years of age, there are arts and crafts, dancing, educational games, story-time, playtime and more. Club O2 hangout for teens ages 15-17 involves movies, music, playing sports, and video games. Activities for kids of all ages includes an onboard waterpark, sky-ride (height requirement 4 inches and a weight limit of 250 pounds), Seuss at sea, pools, mini golf, arts and crafts, rope course and more. For an additional cost, there is also a sky zone and IMAX theatre, build a bear workshops and thrill theater. You'll find the best rates at CruiseDirect starting from $166 for 3 nights, as little as $55 per night.
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Norwegian Cruise Line
The Norwegian cruise line offers two youth programs for kids ages 3-17, Splash Academy and Entourage. Children will experience a wide range of exciting activities with kids and teens their own age. Splash Academy is for ages 3-12 and includes interactive activities for the whole family from game shows, sports challenges, scavenger hunts, and games of trivia. The Entourage is for teens ages 13-17 and is filled with video games, movies, art, music, sports all with people their own age. Programs are complimentary and supervised when in session. You'll find the best rates at CruiseDirect starting from $149 for 4 nights, as little as $37 per night.
Princess Cruises
The Princess cruise welcomes cruisers of all ages. Camp discovery is available for ages 6 months to 2 years. The treehouse for ages 3-7 is a bright, whimsical forest-themed center that involves hands-on activities and programs surrounded by captivating creatures. The lodge for ages 8-12 is filled with sports activities and places for kids to explore and hangout. At the beach house, teens ages 13-17 have a hangout spot with engaging video game tournaments, sporting activities, dance classes, movies and more. Kids will enjoy playing sports, games, physical activities, discovering new places, animals and science. They can also create arts and crafts and invent. You'll find the best rates at CruiseDirect starting from $64 for 3 nights, as little as $21 per night.
MSC Cruises
The MSC cruise is full of fun and discovery for kids of every age. Baby club for ages 0-3 offers music and rhythm activities, designed to awaken their curiosity. The mini club ages 3-6 offers games, events, and activities like arts & crafts. The junior club ages 7-11 boasts a wide variety of activities such as masterchef at sea juniors, dorebro sport competitions, fire & ice live video games and more. The young club ages 12-14 can dive into a world of discovery, sport tournaments, hi-tech games and lots of other fun activities. The teen's club ages 15-17 engages them in sports, competitions, social network games and Wii, Xbox and PS4 tournaments. You'll find the best rates at CruiseDirect starting from $99 for 3 nights, as little as $33 per night.
View the best deals on destination cruises here. As you plan your travels don't forget your cruise travel essentials and cruise stress free by making sure your travel is covered. Purchase travel insurance!
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