From booking two rooms to downloading movies – cruisers share their best tips for cruising with kids

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Cruising is a great family holiday due to the array of activities for not just adults, but the kids.

But for those who are new to cruise and are planning to travel with their children, it can be daunting.

With that in mind, Cruise Passenger has put together some of the best advice on cruising with families, written by cruisers, for cruisers.

Kaysie-lee Bottrell explains her trick of getting two interior rooms to keep things less crowded.

“I just booked a 9 day South Pacific cruise for my husband and I with our four kids. We booked two separate interior rooms, it was significantly cheaper. He will stay in one with the boys and I’ll say in the other with the girls.

“It’s not an interconnecting room but we don’t mind at all, they are in the same hallway though. We also can then get one cheers package and we got more onboard credit by booking two rooms.”

Cruiser Gia Novella plants the idea of some questions you should ask yourself before booking your first cruise with kids.

“Really ask yourself who your children are and what they enjoy. Will the excursions really be something they would enjoy? Can you enjoy the water without help to watch them? Anyone in diapers cannot get in the pool. Will you use the kids club? Do they sit well at dinner or will you use the buffet? If so, how will you get your food at the buffet without leaving them alone at the table? Do you have a wagon, stroller to keep them together in the lines? 

“If you can confidently handle these things, then I say by all means enjoy yourself and start exposing your children to a lifetime of cruising.”

A Reddit user shared their unique advice for using vacations as a learning opportunity.

“Our kids are grown, so we don’t travel with them anymore. But, when we did, we used the opportunity to teach them about trust and responsibility. After all, everyone wants to be able to enjoy their vacation and not have to stay on top of each other.

“We had a whiteboard in the cabin. The rule was: whenever you change venue, you must first report to the cabin and leave a note with your new location and the time. And everyone had to be back in the cabin for 5:00 to get ready for dinner together as a family.

“So, if they left after breakfast to go to the Kids’ Club, they left a note saying “10:00 a.m., I’m in the Kids’ Club.” And if they went to the pool with their friends, they left a note “1:00, gone to pool.” The understanding was that this was a trust exercise, and they understood the benefits of not violating that trust.”

Plenty of other cruisers urge not to underrate or forget about the kids clubs.

A Reddit user wrote: “We have cruised with our kids starting when they were about 9 or 10. The best thing we did was put them in the kids club, they loved it. We also elected not to buy an internet package so they weren’t sitting and staring at phones and tablets all day.”

In fact, good advice is even to make sure that your kids head straight to their cruises place for teens on the first night, so they don’t miss out on making friends.

“Get the kids involved in the teen club immediately the first night. The kids are always eager to make friends, the coordinators do good get-to-know-you games but the kids form cliques fast so get your kids involved right away.”

Another user shares the importance of making sure you have all your basic medications sorted beforehand.

“Any children’s medications you can think of! Pain reliever/fever reducer, motion sickness meds, cold/allergy meds, etc. Once you need them these can be hard to find or overly expensive on the ship.”

Given that it can be tricky to access movies and streaming onboard without the most expensive wifi packages, downloading familiar movies or shows beforehand is a good idea.

“iPad or other tablet in kid proof case with tried and true favorites of their to watch downloaded. Once a kid gets overstimulated it can be hard to unwind them. Watching something familiar is likely to be comforting and calming.”

More humorously, another Reddit user succinctly summed up why multi-generational travel make a cruise go a lot smoother.

“Pack the grandparents.”

Another user had tips for smaller children, including the important note that diapers onboard are very expensive.

“Any diapers sold on board are going to come at a premium price, they also may not have your child’s size. My youngest always gets the largest suitcase with one side packed full of diapers and wipes.

“I pack a small bottle of liquid dish soap and a bottle brush for washing sippy cups and a small collapsible bottle drying rack. Also the small bottles of liquid infants Tylenol/Motrin with syringes as they are also expensive on board along with the forehead thermometer, nasal aspirator, saline nose drops basically anything we could need if she were to get sick while onboard. Favorite sealed snacks with the no spill snack cups are helpful too.”

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