Honeymoon Cruise News

Family Honeymoon Cruise Vacations On The Rise

The variety of what's offered onboard these days is staggering: geography classes, escorted shore tours, parties, youth counselors, teen discos, kids-only pools...  Here's a summary of what you'll find at seven major cruise lines.

• Carnival Cruise Line: will host 100,000 kids this year on its "Fun Ships".  Karaoke parties, special performances by entertainers, ship tours for kids; teen makeovers, photography workshops, art classes, waterslide at the children's pools on all vessels, and the main pool has a 114-long slide. All this is in addition to Camp Carnival, with morning to night activities for four ages: Toddlers (2 to 4-- on all ships except Tropical), Intermediate (5-8), Juniors, (0-12), and Teens (13-17).  Also: playroom stocked with toys and games, and electronic game room. On the SuperLiner Holiday: a $1million entertainment complex with virtual reality machines, teen disco, and video arcade.

• Holland America:  Club Hal for ages 5-17-- supervised programs for youngsters, tweens, and teens;full-time youth coordinators; bingo, karaoke, t-shirt painting, tournaments, swimming pool activities; special dinner menu; special infant and children's fares; kids-only excursions in Alaska. 

• Celebrity Cruise Line:  three-tier, imaginatively-created children's program for kids 3-17; special youth counselors trained in child psychology, child development, education and recreation. Programs for children 3-6 (Ship Mates), 7-10 (Celebrity Cadets), 11-13(Ensigns), and 14-17 (Celebrity Teens): treasure Hunts, Magic Shows, Junior Olympics, T-Shirt Painting, Karaoke, Pizza Parties, Talent shows, Video Games and more. On sailings when the Family Cruising Program is operational, Celebrity offers group baby sitting in the playroom, for children ages 3 and older, from 10:00 pm to 1:00 am for a nominal charge of $3.00 an hr per child.

• Princess Cruise Line:  Love Boat Kids programs for ages two to 12 ("Princess Pelicans) and ages 13-16  ("Princess Teen Club").  Princess Pelicans have arts and crafts, pool games, scavenger hunts, deck parties, bridge and galley tours, afternoon ice cream, videos and cartoons; Princess Teen Club has events and games such as "bop 'till you drop disco," murder mystery games, theme parties, shipboard Olympics, karaoke and lip sync shows, pizza parties and movie fests.  Some ships have Youth and Teen Centers with art corners, game tables, splash pools, ping pong tables, juke boxes and the latest video games; some ships have a toddler's play area and theatre, doll-house, castle; Grand Princess has deck space for kids with whale's tail slide splash pool.  At ports-of-call, Princess' "Adventures Ashore" offer tours for all ages. In the Bahamas, Pelican's Perch is a supervised play area with pirate ship playground.

• Royal Carribbean Cruise Line: fun and educational complimentary programs: "Adventure Ocean" is a program for ages 3 to 12 and teens from age 13 to 17 with special meals and play areas, supervised activities for day and night, Educational Entertainment programs, lots of play equipment, special menus, "Creative Creations", and more.

• Disney Cruises: as you'd expect, there's plenty of special facilities and activities for families. For example: almost an entire deck for kids, with large staff of counselors, age-specific programs, and hands-on activities. Parents receive pagers when dropping kids off at the Oceaneer Club (ages 3-8) or Oceaneer Lab (ages 9-12).  For teens, there's Common Grounds, a New-York style coffeehouse for teens, with music, large screen tv, and coffee bar; programs in photography, film-making and more; and on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island, teen challenge events in the water and on land. 

• Norwegian Cruise Lines:  programs supervised by Youth Coordinators; Jr. Sailor (Ages 3-5) has storytelling, indoor games, outdoor sports, cartoons and movies, arts and crafts, parades, parties; First Mates (Ages 6-8 has Olympic Games, guest athletes, magic shows, arts and crafts, balloon sculptures, face painting, indoor games, circus at sea, ice cream treats, juggling, movies, ship trips; Navigators (Ages 9-12) has Olympic Games, circus at sea, scavenger hunt, private bridge tours, Nintendo, magic shows, joke telling, guest athletes, ship tours, arts and crafts, parties, dances, Koosh games, sports activities, movies, contests; Teen Club (Ages 13-17) has parties, movies, tanning time, volleyball, basketball, ice cream social, T-shirt painting, The Newly Met Game, scavenger hunt, Dating Game, trivia contest, photo hunt, Olympics, dancing, talent show, Dive-In shore excursions, shows, pool party, Liar's Club. Also: playrooms, and a special kid's menu at every meal.

Tips for Family Cruise Vacations

• be sure that Kids' Programs are operating on the dates of your trip. (Sometimes these programs are seasonal.)
• try a short trip, the first time out.
• check the size and location of the stateroom, and the guardrails on the bunk-beds.
• some ships have cabins that can sleep five; some ships have adjoining cabins; some give special rates for a second cabin for teens./li>
• check the medical services available.
• some ships bar women in the third trimester of pregnancy!
• check what documentation for children is required (ID, etc.). Be especially careful if your child is crossing borders, and only one birth parent is on the trip.
• if you're driving to the pier, make sure you know where to park your vehicle
• Don't forget to budget for gratuities. Ask about the common practice for your ship.
• you never know when a case of chicken pox will change your plans.
• check cancellation fees, and fees for changing dates; trip cancellation insurance may be worth the price.

For more information, a free no-obligation quote, or to book your FamilyMoon or Honeymoon cruise, call us at 1-800-308-2518