My Super-Charged Life

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Taking a cruise can be a fun, exciting, and adventurous way to see the world with the whole family.  In my article, My Best Excuses for Remaining in a Rut, one of my excuses for staying at home was that at I have young children.  I mentioned that one way I have beat this excuse is by taking my family on a cruise.  A reader with children commented that she would like to hear more.  So, by popular demand, I will today provide details on my experience along with some resources that will be helpful to travel successfully with children.  Yes, it is possible to explore the world and lead an adventurous life even with little ones!

Is a cruise right for your family?

A cruise is an interesting possibility for taking a family to another country.  It seemed to us that it would be an easy way to travel with children.  After all, a cruise ship is just a floating hotel.  You get to sleep in a bed, play in the pool, participate in various activities, and eat while the ship is taking you to the destination of your choice.  In our case, we had been on a couple of cruises before we had children so we felt like it would work out, but we had questions about some things.

We extensively researched the whole angle of taking our child with us on a cruise prior to booking the trip.  In order to learn as much as we could, we read things on the Internet and made phone calls to the cruise lines and several travel agencies.  We found that most cruise ships offer very well organized and professionally staffed activity centers for children.  Ultimately, we considered many factors before making a decision.  We thought about things like:

• What hours were the activity centers open on the ship?
• Were there options for child care while we went on an excursion?
• What do they feed the kids?
• What kind of activities will our child be engaged in?
• How many children will be in the same room?

As a parent, you may have some of the same concerns.  The answers to all these questions fed into our decision on whether to proceed.  Eventually, the answers we got convinced us that a cruise was worth a try.

What cruise line should we choose and where should we go?

Another important consideration for us was where the cruise would depart from.  We had a budget in mind for our trip plus the thought of taking our child on a long journey just to get to the departure point for the cruise seemed daunting.  We wanted to be able to drive to the departure city which limited our choices because we live in Oklahoma.  However, this approach would eliminate the cost of purchasing airline tickets on top of paying for the cruise.  We ended up looking for cruises that left from Galveston, TX.

Once we decided on Galveston, then we started looking at cruise itineraries.  We decided that a 4 to 5 day cruise was probably enough for our trial run with a child.  In addition, we had been to Cozumel before on our honeymoon so we knew something about it.  We thought it would be easier and less stressful if we chose to go there again.  I think that keeping your first family adventure outside the country simple is very important.  It is supposed to be a vacation.  To me, it seems that some people try to do too much and end up more tired when they come home than when they left.  We wanted to avoid that.

In the end, we chose a 5-day, Western Caribbean cruise on Carnival.  It went to Cozumel and to one other port adjacent to Cozumel on the Mexican mainland.  The only other plans we made prior to leaving was to reserve a rental car that we could pick up when our ship arrived in Cozumel.

How did a cruise with children work out?

We were very happy with our whole trip.  It turned out that a cruise was an excellent way to travel abroad as a family.  We really couldn’t have been happier with the whole experience.  The entire family had a great time.

Early in the cruise, the coordinators of the children’s programs held an orientation for all the parents and kids.  They explained exactly how the child care areas worked and answered any questions.  Once this was done, the gathering turned into a big party.  It was a way to allow the kids to get comfortable with the coordinators while their parents were still around.

Ultimately, the kids are broken up into groups according to their age.  Generally, I think most cruise lines accept children as young as two into their youth programs.  Our child was about four years old when we went.  The programs are operated much the same as any typical day care or preschool environment.  There are plenty of activities, crafts, and toys.  In our experience, the staff members did a great job.  They were positive and professional.  They seemed genuinely enthusiastic about working with the children.  We dropped our child off on several occasions so we could have dinner on our own or just relax.  We found that the kids enjoy it so much that they usually beg to go.

Of course, there was plenty of time together as a family as well.  We enjoyed having breakfast each morning together up on the open-air deck.  We also swam in the pool and participated in other onboard activities.  Once we arrived in Cozumel, we picked up our rental car and headed to the beach.  We enjoyed snorkeling and playing in the sand.  On our second day, spent on the mainland, we visited Xcaret which is a Mexican eco theme park.  It was all a blast!

We enjoyed the family cruise experience so much that we plan to do it again.  It gave us a new sense of freedom.  We now know that it is possible to travel and explore the world even with young children.  Despite her age at the time, our daughter still remembers going and thinks fondly of the trip.  It was a win all the way around.

What resources are available to plan a trip for a family?

I hope this has helped you to decide to travel with your family.  It broadens everyone’s horizons when they see and experience a new culture.  It gives us a new appreciation for our country and for the diversity of the world.  Here are some resources that will help you in planning your trip:

1. Family Cruise Ship Articles at ATK Family Vacations - A big list of articles with great information.
2. Family Cruises at About.com - Good tips and things to consider when looking for a cruise.
3. Cruising with Kids at BlueSuitMom.com - Good article written from a mom’s perspective.
4. Hear What Kids Think About Cruising - TakingTheKids.com includes serveral articles and tips on traveling with the whole family. 
5. Setting Sail - Prepping Your Family for a Cruise - Good list of things to consider before your departure.
6. Family Travel Network - Award-Winning Family Travel Site Featured on
   The Today Show, CNN, America Online, Parents Magazine & in USA Today
7. Family Travel Resources at IndependentTraveler.com - Lots of good information on family trips.
8. What Every Parent Should Know About Traveling With Their Kids - Fantastic article that encourages families to travel.

Photos by Joits and rgtmum and airgap

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