Is a cruising holiday suitable for my family?

“Cruising isn’t really for me and my family!” “Being stuck on a ship for all that time – what do you find to do?” “Cruises require dressing up in the evenings and aren’t really for kids, they may get bored.” “A cruising holiday can be very expensive when travelling with the whole family.”

There is a huge misconception of what family cruising is like amongst those who have never tried it. I know, because I was one of those people who wouldn’t have dreamt of taking my family on a cruise holiday. Now that I am part of a specialist Cruise Accelerator Programme and have several cruises and ship visits under my belt, I am a firm advocate of this great way of holidaying. There is such an incredible variety of ships, experiences and destinations on offer – with truly something for everyone!

A lot more holiday makers, particularly families, are moving to all-inclusive resorts for easier budgeting. Cruise holidays enable holiday makers to plan their spending on their all-inclusive floating hotel. This is a great way to ‘explore the world’ from the comfort of your cruise ship, you only need to unpack once and get to experience many different destinations. Apart from fly cruises in the Caribbean, the Med or further afield, there is a trend to ‘staycation’ cruise holidays which sail out of UK ports.

Most family friendly cruise lines offer dedicated modular, interconnected cabins for families or larger groups that can comfortably sleep up to 10 people.

So what other facilities can cruise ships offer?

Apart from numerous excellent restaurants and bars, pool and spa facilities as well as Broadway style entertainment, a cruise ship offers exciting facilities for children and adults alike. Larger cruise ships come with exhilarating climbing walls, ice rinks, sports courts, bowling alleys, waterparks and slides, rollercoasters, sky diving, trampolining, flow riders and bumper cars to name a few. Additionally, children can attend excellent kids’ clubs - some with cookery schools, Lego factory, with creche, toddler and kids’ clubs, teenage hangouts with their own disco and so much more. Cruise companies, such as Celebrity Cruises, are offering educational kids club fun activities. Others, like Royal Caribbean, Carnival or Norwegian, entice your children with electrifying activities and specialist exploration cruise lines, e.g. Hurtigruten, are providing young adults with fabulous shore excursions with a difference. And best of all – most of these activities are included in your package price. Which ‘regular’ hotel can offer you such a large array of family facilities?

I hope you can see my point that a cruise holiday can be a fantastic, perhaps even cheaper, alternative to the regular ‘all inclusive’ hotel option – especially for families. So do get in touch with me for more information and a tailored, dream family cruise holiday. I promise you – you will never look back!

Call me on t: 01992 877 390 or email uli.williams@travelcounsellors.com With us … it’s personal