Cruising with the Kids
 No traffic, no cooking, no crowds - just fun. That's what awaits families when they board a cruise ship with suitable facilities and activities for kids. Adults are allowed to indulge themselves and children are there to have the time of their lives. As a result, cruising has become one of the 'big time' favourite holiday pastimes for families.
In fact, according to ecruising4kidz.com.au, families make up 32 per cent of cruise holiday bookings and that figure will rise.
Cruises are of varying lengths, many cater for all ages, some are close to home and others on the other side of the world, so there's plenty of choice. Designed to make everyone happy, cruises are nearly always great value for families. On most cruises you can eat as much as you like 24 hours a day, there are lots of on-board activities included and kids' clubs are part of the package.
The holiday starts virtually the moment you step on board. Once the unpacking is done, the holiday is officially in GO mode. If you're travelling with kids, one of the first things worth doing is establishing exactly where your cabin is in relation to the rest of the ship.
The purser's office or main reception is a good starting point for initially getting to know the layout - there's always someone to tell you where you are. It only takes a day or two but it's an upsetting experience for all if the children get lost.
On P&O's Pacific Sky, which cruises the South Pacific year round, parents of children in Turtle Cove, the club for under 5's, are given a free pager so that they can be contacted if the kids muck up, get sick or become distressed for any reason. There are talent shows, dress-up parties, teenage activities and a disco, a kids' pool and a giant spa.
Turtle Cove is open from 9am-12pm, 2-5pm and 6pm-midnight and the Shark Shack (6-12 years) follows the same hours. A real plus is the cabin-checking service, which is available until 1am, allowing parents to relax and enjoy the on-board entertainment or that romantic dinner they've been looking forward to for so long.
Further north, Disney Cruises is entertaining families with its voyages around the Caribbean and the Bahamas. It entered the industry in 1998 and today is one of the most highly recognised cruise lines in the world. All cruises lead to Disney's private island paradise - Castaway Cay, a tropical oasis with beaches specifically for families.
On board, at either the Oceaneer Club or Oceaneer Lab, kids enjoy specially created programs for specific ages. The facilities are absolutely superb, with Disney's attention to detail obvious everywhere. To assist with 'worry free' travelling, children are provided with wristbands identifying the child's name, parents' pager number and any allergies they may have.
Star Cruises also cater for families. A few years ago they pioneered 'free style cruising' which, unlike traditional cruises, offers a choice of restaurants, choice of seating and of eating times, particularly on their megastar ships, the SuperStar Leo and the SuperStar Virgo. The beauty of that with children is that they can be given something to eat then settled down in the video arcade or the kids' pool area while the parents head off for a serious 'nosh up'.
Facilities for kids include a cinema with the latest releases, a huge showroom with Las Vegas-type shows for all the family, a video arcade with the most sophisticated video 'virtual reality' games, their own supervised swimming pool and a games room which flows off to the Wet 'n' Wild water recreation area on the stern side.
Star Cruises are Asia based and for a bit of exciting exotic culture, the ships travel around Vietnam, China, Thailand and Malaysia and now increasingly in the South Pacific and Australia. The Star Cruises group has a fleet of 20 ships, all geared for families, and is the world's third largest cruise line.
This article is courtesy of Pamela Wright of Holiday with Kids
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