The time of their life for tots to teens
Over the last few years cruises have become a real family
affair. All the most affordable cruise lines have decked out their
fleet with cool kids' clubs, interconnecting rooms and activities
for the whole family to enjoy together. In fact when it comes to
pocket-pleasing family holidays, MSC Cruises win hands down because
all under 18s sail FREE! Bargain!
Competition amongst cruise lines has created very high standards
across the board for kids' clubs. Carnival, NCL, Royal Caribbean,
Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises all employ qualified and
enthusiastic staff to look after younger passengers while the
adults relax to their heart's content. Many clubs are split into
age-appropriate programmes from toddlers to teens, so no matter
their age they'll have hours of fun doing everything from face
painting to pizza parties, Nintendo Wii and discos for
teenagers.
In almost every case kids' clubs are included in your fare, but
do watch out for babysitting services. Most cruise lines offer this
service from say 10pm through to the early hours, but it is often
charged at around $5 an hour per child.
They've thought of everything!
As we said, competition is strong within the family cruise
market and this means that there's plenty of thoughtful features
popping up on the most popular cruise lines. For instance, if
you're sailing with extended family such as grandparents or aunts
and uncles, NCL have the widest and most innovative choice of
sleeping arrangements from rooms with bunks to interconnecting
suites and rooms connected to suites, so everyone has the space
they need to enjoy their holiday. Plus P&O Cruises lay on a
special children's tea each evening so the kids can eat all their
favourite food such as pizza, chips and ice cream together, leaving
you to enjoy grown-up meals later.
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