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Family Cruises-Family vacations need not be frustrating anymore!

WHY Family Cruises

Moms, Dads, ask yourselves 1 question. Where are you all going to go to relax, unwind, eat when you want, drink when you want, not having to worry about your kids disappearing off the premisis, keeping your family busy, entertained, have your own dining room table set where the children are properly fed and look after. Where all dietary needs are properly catered for, where you can eat as much as you like off the menu for free, have the best views every day and a new location to explore daily as well. I could go on...  Taking Family cruises is your best option in this respect, further-more, the more cruises you take, the cheaper they get. Instead of the same resort, lodge, camping or caravanning holiday, this might be just what the doctor ordered. Its advantages far exceeds land based travel and resorts in many ways. Packing is the same, but that´s the only similiarity. For starters, when on board, here´s  a little something to keep your kids occupied.

Family cruising is safe. No busy roads to cross, no dirty and dangerous pools, all safety, health and hygiene practises on board is a legal priority. No where to get lost, 24 hour safety, security and fire patrols as well as all certified crew and staff working at every  hour of the day. If they see a child wondering around lost, they all know what to do. Its all here for you. The crew, even before setting foot on board have been training in fire, health, hygiene, and safety.

 

 

freddy

Out of all of the family cruises packages, the one that I have worked with and seen in operation for years is that of Carnival´s family cruises. They will provide what you are looking for, for all of your family. There childrens activities are probably the best in the business, with millions every year going in to providing your family with the best on board entertainment possible. Itineraries in the Caribbean tend to be the most popular destinations. I mean what child would not want to sit and play on a sandy beach, swim with the dolphins, stingrays, slide down the monster water slides or have available 24 hour food for free!!!!!!. What adult would not mind this option too..

Carnival's family cruises activity programme is called Camp Carnival. Note, Carnival obviously allows kids on board, however, they will have to bunk up with a responsible adult (over 25). Please confirm this on booking though, policies change.

Carnival offers a supreme kids entertainment programme available all year round, and its´ found on board all of there ships, obviously the newer the ship the better the facilities are, and that goes for the adults too. The professionally hired kids staff provide daily, fun filled and age appropriate activities, for children and teenagers between the ages of 2 and 15 years old. In addition, there is a supervised babysitting and play service. The kids play room on each Carnival ship comes completely stocked with toys, games, and puzzles for children of all ages. In addition, each ship has an electronic game room filled with all of the latest video games.

Camp Carnival is not a "daycare".

Carnivals program is designed so that families are able to enjoy "quality family time" together, and yet also have the choice of being with children of their own age, whenever desired. Carnival understands that every parent wants the best for their children. That’s why they’v hired youth counselors who are either college-educated in a related field, have professional childcare experience or both. Carnival performs a thorough background check on each and every one of the kids counselors, and every one on the "youth staff" is fully trained in CPR and basic first aid. ( as are all crew members)After 6 years working for Carnival my only recognition of being contacted through camp carnival for some sort of emergency was because the kid didn't stop crying, and then you will be paged.



Carnival Cruise Lines

 

 


Carnival's family cruises programs are geared to 4 age groups from 2 to 17. These are:

  • * Toddlers (kids aged 2-5) -- Splash pool, fun family games, late night munchies, cartoon time, little tykes toys, learn your colors, can you count, sponge painting, indoor beach parties, mousercise, pizza pig out, drawing contests, sing-alongs, bingo, face painting, arts and crafts, cookie decorating
  • * Juniors (kids aged 6-8) -- Talent show, face painting, cartoon time, indoor fair, sea animals, mousercise, Disney trivia, ice cream sundaes, cookie decorating, button making, puppet show, beach party, outdoor fun and games
  • * Intermediate (kids aged 9-12) -- T-shirt painting, photography, jewelry making, board games, dance class, video tournament, ping pong, talent show, volleyball, show time, scavenger hunts, meet the entertainers back stage, breakfast fun
  • * Teens (kids aged 13-15) -- Ping pong, pool party, teen dance, dance class, talent show, pizza party, indoor beach party, skin care and hair dressing demonstration, photography

(Camp Carnival info from Linda garrison)

Family cruises upon booking.

Firstly, and most importantly, on booking your familys cruise, make sure you advise repeatedly, who ever you book through, that you are indeed a family, and that you have "X" amount in the group. Provide accurate names, addresses, passports and state clearely that you are travelling together. If not, on paper you will look like individual cruisers on the bookings reference sheet. Better one person books all, otherwise, your cabins and tables will be seperated. Don´t take it for granted that they will automatically reserve you as a family group. Emphasize this, particularly at source.

Tell the travel agent, mark down the same reference number for your entire family, regardless of the size of the party. As soon as you get on board, check your entire dining seating information, you will have the opportunity to correct the dining seating during the afternoon if need be. The Maitre d will have his or hers dining enquiry hours for you to tell them your woes. NOTE: only one member of the family need attend this, so instead of wasting your entire families time here lining up, collect all of the seating card information for your family with cabin numbers and one person do the organising whilst the others explore or grab a bite.


Family Cruises - Dining Arrangements

At dinner only, dining tables will be arranged so that you will be seated together. If you are more than 8 or 10 people in the party, larger than most table-tops hold, there will be 2 separate tables next to each other for you. Here you should then be served by the same waiter.

If you're a family of 4, you might be sat at a table with another family of 4 or 5 . In this case, the Maitre d' will sit you with the same age group of fellow cruisers.

Dining is often one of the highlights of the cruise, even if your family don´t often dine together at home, it will be fun. The crew will take great care of you and make sure that you enjoy every minute of your meal times together. Often you will be invited to get up and dance after the main course, with the dining room waiters. Ships tend to have little boogie and entertainment during your dinner experience. Bring a camera.

Family Cruises - Dress codes

Dinner reservations
How often can you simply walk into a restaurant at home, without prior booking and get a table for your whole family? Here the tables are set for you every night regardless of the size of your family. Same time, same place, unless you opt for an open seating: some ships have free style dining, which I don´t recommend if travelling with a large family.

Once on board, all of the food is free, (you will have to pay extra for specialist cakes and chocolates), so you and your family can enjoy as much as you want from the buffets and the dining rooms, and all of the other food outlets (pizzeria, deli, Chinese etc). Order away, try a selection off the menu, if you don't like it, order something else. All of the waste food is recycled anyway, so there will be a happy farm animal or fish at the end of the cruise. 24 hour room service is also available on most vessels (free of charge).

  • Family Cruises - Destinations
  • The ships itineraries are always fun and educational, determined only by your budget and desire to travel. The Caribbean is the most popular for families..
  • Family Cruises - Settling In
  • There will be many other children on board the larger and more popular cruise ships, sometimes up to 800. I can guarantee you that your child will find his or her way around in a couple of days and will be wanting to go off and play with their new-found friends, making your life easier as well. Also there are many hosted activities for the kids to sign up for, where they can make full use of the ships' kids and teens facilities.
  • Family Cruises - Special Occasions
  • On board ship, gifts and cakes can be purchased at the reception or arranged online prior to embarking. The waiters will literally make a song and dance out of a birthday or wedding anniversary on the night you specify the cake to be served. Cabins can also be decorated. Also ships' photographers will be at hand to snap away. (though I suggest you bring your own camera as they can be a little pricey. It's worth the money if you don't want to be bothered taking foto's yourself. The quality the photographers deliver is generally decent, and you only pay for the photos you want to take home.)
  • On board Movies
  • The ships will have 24 hour movies,a cinema, satellite t.v. and free room service, not that I suggest you stay in your cabin all voyage, but just to know it's available if needed.
  • Internet is available on board with Internet credit cards available for purchase at reception, so your entire family can keep in contact shoreside. Also, on some newer vessels in-cabin wifi is available.
  • Control of family spending
  • You will ewach get a ships on board credit card. This willl need to be activated whne you set foot onboard and is swiped for all on-board purchases. gift shop, casino to liquor etc. If a minor member of the family decides to go AWOL and purchase a beer or a shot, the crew will know at source not to serve them as it will show up on the swipe card register and will be blocked instantly. You as the responsible adult will be notified shortly afterwards to reactivate the card thus finding out about any mis-adventures.
  • Casino
  • 18 is the on board casino gambling age. So if all your family are using your credit, i.e. your paying for all the on board spending, put an individual limiter per day on each card at reception so they cannot go overboard with your cash.
  • Medical
  • There is a ships' doctor on board with 2 to 3 nurses at hand, 24 hours on standby. They will have opening hours in the morning and early evening. If you are on prescription medication, take a form with you from your doctor advising what you are taking and your diagnosis.
  • Food Allergies
  • Cruise ships food and beverage staff are well aware of food allergies, which are fairly common-place now. When booking your cruise, simply make sure you specify what food allergy you have, so we get the heads-up before you arrive. In extreme cases, especially seafood- or nut-allergies, to name but a few, get your doctor to write down a list of can and can't eat products, photocopy it and fax it to the travel agent, also bring a copy on board. You will then get to spend time with the assistant or Maitre d to go through your weeks menu.


Family cruises A Final word from stu!

The bottom line ladies and gentlemen, is that you are taking an experience and a memory away with you that you won't regret. Let the crew members take care of you as you relax and enjoy your well-deserved time together.

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