Cruise ships are not traditionally thought of as family vacation vessels. However, there are a fair amount of cruises, like Carnival’s “fun ships” targeted at fulfilling just this purpose. There is a little bit of something for everyone in all age groups from adults to teens and kids. There are coordinated activities as well as focused facilities for all of the different age groups. You can rest assured that no one will be bored on a family cruise.

For parents there are the usual activities. Your rest, relaxation and rejuvenation is certainly the focus and you can spend all the time you’d like lounging by the pool or on the deck, as well as indulging in a massage or facial. Evening recreation opportunities are plentiful for once the kids are in bed, and it varies from ship to ship. There are also great opportunities for socialising and networking with other parents as well as wine tasting groups, exercise rooms and nightclubs for adults only on most family cruises.

For kids, there are all kinds of activities aboard. Being the focus of a family cruise, kids can enjoy luxurious swimming pools, special gym classes and activity centres focused on entertaining them and keeping them busy while the adults have free time to relax. The crew on board are fully trained and certified in childcare and are more than suitable to mind your children while teaching them to engage in crafts and various activities.

If you have older kids, there are also teen centres aboard some cruise ships. This is becoming a more and more popular trend. In fact Coca-Cola recently teamed up with the Carnival cruise line to bring exciting new teen centres to their fun ships. These teen centres have been created out of extensive market research and include dance floors, jukebox listening stations, a mock bar with non-alcoholic specialty drinks and space for the teens to just hang out. This revolutionary concept has helped to engage teenagers who are not interested in things like craft and swimming with the younger kids purely because they feel like being more independent.

One reason that cruises are a great idea for family vacations is that most of the costs are included in the base price of the trip. While you are on the ship, things like meals and activities are for the most part covered. This is great because you do not have to give your children money you can know up front how much your vacation is going to cost. For an all-inclusive holiday that has something to keep everyone in the family happy, a family cruise is the way to go.