Have you ever wondered if a family cruise is for you? Do you want to know more about what cruise companies offer for families of all ages onboard? Are you interested to see what the inside of a cruise ship really looks like?
We sent two family travel bloggers for a day of fun filled adventures aboard the UK’s favourite Royal Caribbean’s ship, Independence of the Seas, on a little fact finding mission for you all.
Alice Langley from Project: Wanderlust was on board with her two daughters Lottie, 7 and Little O, 4.
Since having children my husband and I have been discussing the idea of booking a family cruise. Not being the biggest fan of packaged deals, or staying on one resort for the whole time I’m holiday, I’ve never really known if a cruise would be for me.
Once onboard it didn’t take long for the idea of cruising to begin its appeal. It was all so spacious. The rooms, the restaurants, the main shopping areas, the decks – everything was spread out, giving us all space to breath.
After a quick look round the childcare facilities (there is free childcare onboard for children aged 3+) we headed straight to where we would spend the majority of our day; poolside on the sports deck.
The ship’s pools, sports facilities and entertainment options pretty much mean we would never need leave the ship on our holiday (not that we would do that when the ships itineraries have places such as Italy, Russia and the Greek Islands on them) and after trying out the food I can see why most people put on an average of 1lb a day when cruising.
Would I now book a family cruise? Yes! Its a larger financial outlay that I would normally be happy with (we are more of a book everything separately and stick to a budget kind of travellers) however what you get for that money is almost priceless. The memories, the relaxation and the fact you wake-up somewhere new everyday without feeling like you have made the journey – that sounds like something I could get onboard with it.
Sara-Jayne from Keep Up With The Jones Family spent the day on board with her husband Gavin and their three boys.
Three boys on a ship in the middle of the deep blue? I couldn’t think of anything more terrifying in terms of parenting holiday fears – and so we embarked on a day aboard The Independence of the Seas to see whether cruising was indeed for everyone, or just an out of reach holiday of pure indulgence for the child free.Honestly, whenever I consider cruising, my main fear is that our middle son would somehow accidentally fall overboard. He’s a climber by nature and just can’t help himself being just four – and so throughout my time on the ship I was constantly on the lookout for places he could scale. Amazingly I found none that made my blood run cold, and so I started to relax, eat an ice cream and dream of the possibilities for us all cruising as a family.
Whilst munching on the heavenly burgers and thick milkshakes in Johnny Rockets as the boys danced to Saturday Night Fever with the waiting staff, I realised just how blissful it would be. No sitting crunched up and buckled in, no telling the boys not to let their legs hit the back of the seats in front of us and no praying that they’ll avoid irritating the other passengers on the plane by being children.As a mom that’s a major selling point for me. Our flight to Florida complete with onboard delays took over 13 hours. We spent a day of our holiday sat on our bottoms doing nothing except snacking and trying to distract the boys.
The biggest lure of a family cruise though is the opportunity to see so much of the world in just one holiday. The entertainment and hospitality onboard as we sail the seas is second to none, but closing our curtains in one port to open them to a whole new adventure in the morning is something that no other holiday can offer. It’s non stop family fun – no wrong turns, no “are we there yet?” cries, no wondering whether you’ve booked a good hotel in the best part of a holiday destination – even the shore excursions are tried and tested, hand selected for you to choose from. Amazingly, what surprised us most was the price. When compared to staycations during peak holiday times in the South of England where we live, the first 11 day cruise we looked at worked out cheaper than staying in our local bed and breakfast.Yes, family cruise planning has begun.
Home page photo credit: Miguel Alcala, Shutterstock
