Family Vacationing

By Brian Schmidt

We are planning a vacation with our young children. But where do we start? What should we look for in a family vacation venue?

What comes to mind when you think family vacation? What about a cruise vacation?

Now many of you would say that a cruise vacation is no place for small children. However, you would be dead wrong!

True, there are some cruise lines that cater to adult guests only. But many of the cruise lines actually cater to family vacations including small children. Most of the large resort-hotel-style cruise ships have tremendous children's programs and activities. In many, adults aren't even welcome in the activity centres - they're just for kids!

Think about it... You have a somewhat controlled environment, children's programming, special children's areas, qualified supervision... your children may not even miss you. And you get some alone-time just to kick-back and relax.

Sounding better? But wait... there's more!

Depending on your itinerary, children can be exposed to new and interesting cultures, see wild-life that they would not otherwise see - generally just be educated without them even knowing it.

At some resorts the dining menu is not palatable to many children. In some cases dining is suspect at best. Cruise ships have menus and eating venues to please the most finicky eaters. From hot dog and burgers to pizza to steak and lobster, cruise ship dining is designed to please. And aside from the specialty dining rooms it's all included in your ticket price.

Most of the cruise lines have a soft-drink program that allows purchasers of the program to have unlimited drinks or at least a very equitable number of drinks for the cost.

And as the kids say lets not forget the dessert! Many ships have ice cream stations that get a tremendous amount of use. In the dining rooms there is a wide variety of desserts aimed to satisfy the sweetest tooth or the healthiest diet.

Is it any wonder that the Disney corporation has a cruise line with a couple of ships to cater to children of all ages? Disney realized that families are taking more and more cruise vacations every year.