Cruises for Babies and Kids
Family cruises are definitely a wonderful family event. It promises low-stress, lots of fun activities in multiple destinations, and a balance of family togetherness. This is especially true when you are travelling with young babies, which will make the packing-schlepping-unpacking cycle quite a hassle.
There are many cruise lines that promise a family-friendly experience, and here we picked a few that have the best when it comes to baby-friendly facilities so that you can balance your parent-adult experience onboard.
Disney Cruise Lines
Disney Cruise Lines offers some of the best cruises for kids and babies. On its cruise ships, Flounder’s Reef Nursery accepts babies as young as 3 months and is perhaps the best equipped nursery afloat, featuring cribs, a good selection of age-appropriate toys, bottle warmers, and refrigerators for storing milk and snacks. Its smart layout features both an activity room and a quiet room. Both rooms are supervised. In the evenings, the nursery is open during dinner hours—something very few cruise lines offer. More big pluses: Disney’s staterooms are among the largest at sea, and they feature mini fridges and bathtubs (most cruise ships only have showers).
Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International has a terrific babysitting set-up, but the minimum age is 6 months. With a daily 17-hour stretch of in-cabin sitting time available, you have the most flexibility of all—opening up the possibility for you to catch a daytime class, an adults-only meal, or a slice of the nightlife. And because toddlers need a social life, too, we love the daily Aqua Tots and AquaBabies programs. These 45-minute parent-and-child play sessions are led by counselors who use age-appropriate music, movement, and storytelling and incorporate a fun array of Fisher-Price products, from walkers to Little People characters. Sessions are divided into two groups: AquaBabies, for kids 6 to 17 months, and Aqua Tots, for the 18-month to 3-year-old crowd.
Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line
Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line can be good choices if you have a very independent 2-year-old. Each offers a kids’ camp for 2- to 5-year-olds. Even so, ask yourself how willingly your toddler will go into a supervised program without you. It’s great, in theory, that toddlers can participate in a kids’ club, but we think grouping 2-year-olds, who are not yet preschoolers, with kindergarteners, is too wide. One key difference between the two lines: Carnival’s counselors change diapers. On NCL, the counselors beep you when your child needs a fresh one.
Also look for kid-friendly programs featured on specific cruise lines. The entertainment program on NCL’s newest ship Epic includes Nickelodeon at Sea, featuring meet-and-greets and character breakfasts with Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob, and other favorite characters.