Finding the Right Family Cruise

More and more families are getting on the bandwagon by opting for a family cruise.  These family cruises act as portable “entertainment zones” for children of all ages.  Some pack more punch than Disneyland or other land-based venues.  But not all family cruises are alike, and the last thing that you want to happen is to get stuck out on sea for two weeks with either a weak children’s program or inappropriate aged activities.  So how do you about finding the right family cruise for your needs?  Find out the following information (per topic) from the different cruise line providers.

Activities and entertainment
Ask if there are different programs per age group.  Some cruise liners have up to five different age group activities while others only have one or two.  Let’s say that you have a toddler and a pre-teen.  The last thing that you would want to do is to place both kids in the same group.  And ask for a listing of the specific activity and entertainment options that are available for each age group.  If there is only coloring for the younger kids, they won’t want to return on the second day.

Besides group activities, ask if there is a special kid’s pool and other fun things such as an Internet café and DVD library and entertainment center.  Some cruises even come equipped with miniature golf courses, basketball courts and tennis courts.  And for older kids, ask if they offer such extras as rock climbing or social nights.  As any parent knows, the secret to a successful family vacation is keeping everyone entertained.

Child-care services
Some cruise lines offer babysitting services.  If so, find out how much they charge.  With the younger aged groups, ask about adult supervision such as how many kids per staff member and if the staff is trained in such things as first aid or CPR.  After all, you want to feel comfortable leaving your children with the cruise staff.

Food
Find out if the cruise offers special kid’s meals.  If there is no kid’s menu, do they offer kid-friendly food such as pizza and French fries?  You won’t want to book a vacation with a cruise liner that only offers formal dining options that cater strictly to the adult palate.

Many of the cruise liners offer cruise deals for family type cruise vacations.

Tipping on Cruises

I want to make certain that our readers don’t find themselves in a conundrum on the ethics of tipping on cruises. The simple fact is that all cruise lines have different policies but we have found that some cruise lines originating from specific nations may have their own “one size fits all” policy on tipping.

For example, some of the British cruise lines include tipping in the basic charges and tipping is not necessary.

On many Carnival ships, passengers are charged a surcharge per day which is automatically allocated to the staff. At Cruise Blog, we highly advise that you research the tipping policy of the cruise line and take the tipping expense into consideration when budgeting and pricing your cruise. We spoke to one couple from Minnesota who was irate that the cost of their cruise was inflated by 20% after they accounted for all of the tipping expense at the end of the cruise.

Finally, when investigating tipping policy, it’s a good idea to talk to the company and not the travel agent.