Family Cruises

Family Cruises

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The serious fun begins as soon as you step on board one of the many family-friendly ships either sailing from the UK or operating fly-cruises. Cruising has always been a holiday with parent-appeal because so much more is included in the cruise price than the average land-based holiday.

The average size of ships built since the 1990s has increased dramatically and - on many of them - the space devoted to children's entertainment areas has grown accordingly.

Now there are ships which have everything that resort hotels offer for families - and more besides. There are children's pools, play areas, video and virtual reality centres, teen lounges and chill-out clubs.

Full programmes of supervised activities for children broken up into different age-groups are operated on board, along with special meal-times and menus. All of this usually comes included in the cruise price, too. There are even specific shore excursions operated for children, so that they are entertained on port as well as sea days.

This means that ships offer “parallel holidays” - parents can enjoy their own holiday as a couple, knowing their children are safely enjoying their own kind of cruise.

And, as every parent knows, the secret of a successful family holiday lies in keeping the children happy so they are just as pleased as their toddlers and teens to see the vast array of children's facilities on offer.

US line Royal Caribbean International’s amazing mega ships Voyager of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas – sailing from Barcelona and Southampton respectively this summer – provide everything a family could wish for, and more. Even bigger is Independence of the Seas, which will be sailing from Southampton in summer 2008 offering the largest range of on board facilities of any cruise ship to sail from the UK.

For children, there is no greater adventure than having a ship the size of two football pitches to explore, and no greater security for parents than knowing they are completely safe wherever they are on board.

To make children’s experiences even more special, Royal Caribbean has created the Adventure Ocean programme specifically designed for three to 17 year olds, with an exciting range of fun, supervised activities. There’s even the added excitement of Adventure Beach, an area specifically designed for families to enjoy together, with swimming pools and loads of water slides.

P&O Cruises has three family-friendly ships which will be joined by a fourth, Ventura, in 2008 with even more facilities for children. The current three (Aurora, Oriana and Oceana) already have fully-trained children's supervisors (the Youth Crew) organising day-long activities for four separate age-groups from 2 to 17-year-olds. While the younger ones play with colouring books, toys and games, the older ones enjoy sports coaching, computer Playstations and drama workshops.

There is also a separate meal served just for children in the early evening which gives mum and dad the chance to enjoy dinner on their own later on.

Cunard Line is still the only cruise company to carry trained British nannies for under-sevens. Queen Mary 2 also has a separate family deck complete with pools and play areas next door to the Zone - the club for 8-12-year-olds; an organised activities programme for 13-15-year-olds; and a special tea for children in its Kings Court dining area. On QE2, there are organised activities, from scavanger hunts to hot-tub parties, for different age-groups between 7 and 17.

Since Princess Cruises began summer sailings out of Southampton, many more parents have experienced its American-style luxury while their children have become Princess Pelicans (3-7yrs), Princess Pirateers (8-12) in the Princess Kids supervised activity programmes which include informative and entertaining lessons about the marine and natural world around them. For the older ones, there is Off Limits - a teen area where they can take part in Shipboard Olympics as well as karaoke and lipsync shows.

Tours are a major part of Ocean Village's appeal with an innovative Action Ashore programme ranging from river-rafting, mountain-biking and canyoning to trips of top European football grounds. On board, children can learn to play the drums, fly the trapeze or spend time at Base Camp - the kid's centre with its own pool and sports court or chill-out in the Hideout teen lounge.