Cruising for Families

There's so much for your children to do in the Celebrity X-Club Youth Programs which feature Fun Factory for ages 3-11yrs and Teen Entertainment for ages 12-17yrs. From teen-oriented entertainment to special opportunities for toddlers and their parents to interact with each other, the Fun Factory and Teen Entertainment programs are designed to make sure your children enjoy their Celebrity experience as much as you do. You can even join your children for Family Events like Karaoke, Family Disco, Bingo and more.

Celebrity offer a five-tiered program offering a wide range of age-related activities such as treasure hunts, T-shirt designing, quizzes, contests and more. The clubs are Ship MatesSM (ages 3-5); Celebrity CadetsSM (ages 6-8); EnsignsSM (ages 9-11) and Admiral TeensSM (ages 12-17).

Toddler Time (under 3 years old) allow you to attend playtime with your little one and suitable toys and products are provided.

More and more families are realising the ease and enjoyment of family cruising with Costa with menus, activities and entertainment designed to suit every member of the family. Costa Kids Programme is split into 4 age-group specific clubs for 3-17 year olds.

Mini (3-6 years) and Maxi club's (7-11 years) spend their days immersed in activities like fancy dress parades, painting T-shirts, quizzes, treasure hunts and sports. Costa also gives parents some time off by organising two events where kids spend the evening with people their age at a fun themed dinner especially for them. While the kids are being entertained, parents can relax and enjoy sumptuous cuisine and a romantic evening together.

Teen Junior (ages 12-14 years) and Teen (ages 15-17 years) enjoy a vast range of sports activities onboard as well as Olympicteen and swimming pool games. They can enjoy quiz nights, dance classes, talent shows and themed discos.

Note: Teen Junior is only available during certain periods. Children under the age of 3 are allowed to enter and stay in the room at certain times but must be accompanied by an adult.

Crystal Cruises caters to junior cruisers more than any other cruise line in the ultra-luxury end of the cruise market. On select sailings, mainly during holiday and summer cruises when there may be as many as 100 kids aboard, both of the Crystal's ships provide a wide variety of great kids activities to choose from under the supervision of experienced Junior Activities Directors.

Kids activities are split into three age groups (3-7 year olds; 8-12 year olds and 13-17 year olds) and activities are determined by the age and the number of children onboard each sailing. A detailed schedule of events is created at the beginning of each cruise and during the cruise kids will receive a daily newsletter with details for the following day's schedule of activities such as scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, karaoke, and games. For children as young as 6 months, in-cabin babysitting can be arranged at an hourly rate.

Each ship has dedicated facilities onboard for children including Fantasia, the children's playroom which has tables and chairs for arts and crafts, Sony PlayStation® games, a large TV and board games. Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity also feature a teenager's video arcade. The Library offers children's books and children's videos or DVDs for enjoyment in staterooms. Kids may choose from a special Junior Cruiser's menu in the main dining room as well as kid's favourites at the poolside Trident Grill. Baby food, high chairs and booster seats are available.

Children are very welcome on Cunard and the facilities on board Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria are actually among the finest kids facilities at sea. The Zone/The Play Zone is their dedicated kids area offering activities and entertainment in three age groups - Infants/Toddlers aged 1-6 years, Children aged 7-12 years and Teens aged 13-17 years. The Zone offers complimentary activities and care from 9am to midnight and is supervised by qualified British nannies as well as youth and teen coordinators.

Infants/Toddlers aged 1-6 occupy half of The Zone in a fun area dedicated to them with toys, arts and crafts, a play gym, ball pit, and an outdoor area with climbing frame. There's also a separate nursery with 10 cribs for sleep time.

Children aged 7-12 enjoy activities offered by the Youth Staff such as sports, disco, karaoke, scavenger hunts, and arts and crafts and they can also play X-box video games, air hockey, table football and relax in a lounge area with two huge plasma screens for watching videos and movies.

Teens aged 13-17 will also use The Zone during certain hours as designated onboard, however their activities may include ship tours, movies and production shows in the theatres, and pizza parties.

For their main meal each day a special section of the King's Court buffet restaurant is reserved for the children's tea from 5 to 6pm offering kids favourites such as pizza, hamburgers and chips.

Please note that children must be a minimum of one-year-old to participate in the Nursery without parental supervision. Children under one-year-old are welcome, provided they are accompanied by a parent/guardian at all times. Private baby-sitting is not available, however, complimentary group child-sitting in the children's centre is available in the evenings.

Holland America Line provides a wide variety of exciting youth and teen-friendly activities and facilities for guests aged 3 to 17. All Club HAL® activities are supervised by qualified staff and are designed to be kid friendly and age appropriate.

Club HAL® - Kids (ages 3-7) participate in such activities as story telling, fabric painting, indoor games, arts and crafts, drawing contests, ice-cream sundae parties, puzzles, bingo, pirate treasure hunts or a farewell pizza party. Children in the Kids age group must be toilet trained.

Club HAL® - Tweens (ages 8-12) learn golf putting, have discos and theme parties, participate in the award-winning National Park Service Jr. Ranger Program on Alaska cruises, compete in on-deck sports events, compete in scavenger hunts or simply play table tennis with a friend.

The Loft and The Oasis - Teens (ages 13-17) will especially enjoy the teen disco, karaoke sessions, video games, teen sports tournaments, card games, trivia contests, bingo, movies and videos. When there are more than 100 children on board, a HAL Talent Show is offered. (The Oasis is not available on all Vista-class ships).

*On the ms Prinsendam, youth activities are offered for ages 5-17. All other ships offer youth activities for ages 3-17.

With 24 hour dining, kids' menus, family friendly accommodation, child prices and great excursions for children, Island Cruises really does offer fantastic family holidays. For kids, young and old Action Zone - Arcade has a variety of games such as Ferrari racing and football challenges.

Kids Clubs (3-6 years) and (7-11 years). An experienced children's host will organise activities such as face painting, scavenger hunts, magic shows and discos to keep the children entertained. One of the highlights of the week is the stage production carried out by the kids complete with professional sound and lights. On selected days during your cruise, your children can be collected from your cabin and taken to the Island Restaurant to enjoy breakfast with the Children's hosts.

Teen Club (12-17 year olds) - summer and major holidays only. A host will arrange a time at the beginning of the cruise to discuss with the teenagers what they want to do during the week. The week's activities will be based on what is requested at this meeting, but may include activities such as DJ lessons, Salsa dancing, beauty tips and film nights. As well as these activities there will be a chill out zone with music and disco's.

With MSC Cruises, there are plenty of activities on board for children and your kids will have plenty of fun and games with similarly aged children. A highly qualified staff member looks after the smaller children's needs and will organise different activities everyday. The onboard kids club splits children into three age groups. Mini Club (ages 3-9); Junior Club (ages 9-13) and Teenagers Club (ages 14-18) and is a space entirely devoted to them, with videogame rooms for older children and playrooms for tots, filled with a wide selection of toys.

NCL have one of the widest choices of connectable accommodations and family suites at sea plus kid-friendly amenities designed into all of their ships. Ships feature cinemas, wet and wild fun areas, kids-only pools, kid-size buffets, PlayStation® games, Nintendo Wii and a lot more. NCL's Kid's Crew and Teen's Crew programmes provide professionally supervised, age-appropriate activities.

The Kid's Crew is divided into 3 age groups - Junior Sailors (2-5 years); First Mates (6-9 years) and Navigators (10-12 years) with each group having its own special activities including pyjama parties, scavenger hunts, pizza making, arts and crafts, high energy games and other fun age-appropriate activities which include T shirt painting, treasure hunts and dancing in the children's disco.

Teens Crew (13-17 years) is a great way for teens to meet each other while engaging in some cruising fun. By day they can enjoy pool parties, volleyball, basketball, the Newlymet Game and trivia contests during. By night, there's also plenty to keep them happy with Broadway-style shows, line dancing, teen discos and fantastic themed parties.

Ocean Village holidays are designed to be super child friendly. Cruises welcome youngsters of all ages with enthusiastic, fully qualified youth staff on hand at the Base Camp centre. Kids can enjoy ballparks, Playstations, films, games and activities and the centre includes a special outdoor family play area with netted railings and a paddling pool.

The daily kids' programmes are grouped by age;

Babies & Toddlers (6 months - under 2 years) Babies and toddlers are welcome at Base Camp as long as a parent or guardian stays with them.

Younger Kids (2-8 years) (2-4 years and 5-8 years in peak periods). There's loads to do at Base Camp. On cruises with Ocean Village your kids will find it hard to be bored and they're sure to work up an appetite for the kids tea, served daily from 5.15-6pm. Typical activities include talent shows, face painting, musical madness, ballpool play, colouring competitions, play-doh fun, outside play, quizzes, arts and crafts, scavanger hunts, dancing, movies and story telling.

Teen Zone (9-17 years) (9-12s and 13-17s in peak periods). Among other things, Base Camp has a whole wall of free-to-use computer games and teens have their own zone tucked away where there are loads of things to keep them entertained like art and crafts, sports, game shows, pool games, workshops, quizzes, movies, Playstations and a club dinner. Base Camp is open until midnight for children aged 9 and over. During school holidays the hours are extended and extra activities are laid on.

On Mediterranean cruises during peak periods, 9-17 year olds can take an adventure ashore escorted by the Youth Team - without the adults.

Night Nursery If you fancy a meal as a couple in the Bistro without the kids, followed by a boogie in the nightclub, then you can leave them in the supervised night nursery in Base Camp. Open until 3am for children aged 6 months to 5 years (5-8's are also welcome if space permits).

P&O Cruises fleet offers a choice of four family friendly ships specifically geared to the British market. Aurora, Oceana, Oriana and Ventura were created with family enjoyment in mind and all feature 'The Reef' Cruises kids programme for 2 - 17 year olds. Split into four age groups, there are a whole host of exciting activities organised daily by qualified Reef Rangers to keep children of all ages entertained. There are children's pools on Aurora, Oriana and Ventura, and for teenagers, a disco serving non-alcoholic drinks. Each ship features a supervised night nursery, toys, ball pools, rockers, soft-play areas and snug areas for younger children and videos and gaming consoles for older children.

Splashers (2- 4 years), Surfers (5 - 8 years) and Scubas (9 - 12 years). Toddlers will love appearances from Noddy and Mr.Bump on selected cruises whilst activities for older children include treasure hunts, face painting, group singing, quizzes, parties and crafts plus there's Cirque Ventura a circus skills training school for anyone aged from 8yrs and up.

H²O (13 - 17 years). Teens enjoy more autonomy, hanging out with new friends, trying the latest gaming technology and going to late-night discos. On Ventura they'll even find a DJ's mixing station and a Rock School during the school holidays.

Junior cruisers aged 3 to 17 can enjoy exciting onboard activities onboard most Princess Cruises ships with dedicated youth centres supervised by trained staff. On most ships you'll find Youth & Teen Centres with everything from arts and crafts corners and games tables to movies and a splash pool area.

Fun Zone Activities are designed for junior cruisers aged 3 to 12 years in two age groups. The Princess Pelicans (3-7 years) and Shockwaves (8-12 years) programs offer activities such as arts and crafts, discos, movies, kids only dining, video games, edutainment programs, scavenger hunts, karaoke and talent shows, ice cream and pizza parties, shipboard Olympics, T-Shirt colouring and theme parties.

The Teen Centres (13-17 years) are packed with Playstation games, the latest movies and music, Karaoke, giant screen TVs, card games, board games, ping pong tables and juke boxes. In addition to all these features, on Grand and Golden Princess, teens have a separate Jacuzzi and sun deck area and on Grand Princess, children can enjoy a variety of theme-park-style rides in a 12-man virtual reality simulator. The centres also offer teenage passengers a wide range of activities such as teens-only disco, T-shirt painting, sports tournaments, Karaoke and talent shows and teen dinners.

With some of the largest, most innovative ships in the industry, Royal Caribbean offers fantastic options for families with their signature Adventure Ocean Youth Programme for children aged from 3-17. Split into 5 age groups, activities are arranged accordingly under the expert supervision of qualified staff.

Aquanauts (ages 3-5) Time onboard will not only be fun, it will be educational too. They'll get to learn about local customs, do terrific science experiments and take part in storytime, face painting and other games. Parents receive a pager so they can be reached anywhere on the ship.

Explorers (ages 6-8). All kinds of exciting activities await such as handson science experiments, scavenger hunts, theatre games and more. Children can join parties, make kites and even learn to make sweets.

Voyagers (ages 9-11). All about kids having a great time, learning new things and making new friends. They can take a backstage tour, play List-o-Rama and even learn a new sport like Gagaball.

Navigators (ages 12-14) & Guests (ages 15-17). The Teen programme is not structured and kids can come and join activities and games when they want to or just chill with friends in the teen-only Living Room lounge. Activities include ice-skating, karaoke, talent shows, bingo tournaments, rock-climbing and learning to surf on the Flowrider surf simulator (on selected ships) or they can even dance into the night at the teen-only nightclub.

Babysitting Services. A chargeable babysitting service is available in your stateroom from 8.00am until 2.00am for children at least one year old. Group sitting service are also available for older children (3 years and older) in the youth facilities from 10.00pm until 1.00am.

As well as kids clubs there are activities you can do together as a family throughout the day. Try ice skating or go to Adventure Beach, an area especially for families to enjoy together with a swimming pool and water slide. You can even head for the family disco.

With Thomson Cruises your children will have plenty of fun and meet new friends onboard their family friendly ships. Their action-packed Kidzone ensures youngsters aged 3 to 12 are well entertained throughout the day with creative activities and parties including everything from story telling, painting and role-playing to team challenges and mini discos.