We love traveling as a family. It’s very important to us to take our kids with us and see the world. We do realize traveling with kids can be a chore and sometimes more difficult than traveling with just ourselves. However, it doesn’t have to be such a dreaded thing. I hear so many people say, “I really would love to travel with my family, but it’s too much of an ordeal.” It really doesn’t have to be an ordeal. Plan it and do it right and it will be fine.
Take cruising for instance. This is such a great family vacation. Think about it, every morning, you wake up in a new place. You don’t have to think about what you’re going to do or where you are going to end up that day. It’s already taken care of. Also, there are TONS of kids programs for kids (who are potty trained). Cruising is our favorite way to travel as a family. Here are a few of our tips and tricks for cruising with kids.
Boarding Process:
1. Bring snacks! The lines are sometimes long and this definitely helps with kids who get cranky (and adults) when they’re hungry.
2. Have all paperwork filled out ahead of time. Let’s face it, no one likes to fill out paperwork, especially with kids talking and trying to get your attention at the same time. If you have as much of the paperwork filled out ahead of time as you can, then this definitely helps with your sanity.
Once you’re on board:
3. Bring more snacks. When you first get on the ship, everyone is hungry and it seems like everyone heads to the buffet lines or pizza parlor’s. Bring lots of snacks just in case this is the case. Again, everyone will thank you when their stomach’s aren’t growling.
4. Carry your swimming suits and anything you might need before your luggage arrives to your room in your carry on. Sometimes it takes a bit for the luggage to make it to your room. If you have your bathing suits handy, you don’t have to wait on your luggage and can go straight to the pool.
5. Meet your steward and have your kids meet him/her as well. Let them know any needs you may have as a family. If you’re all in the same room, ask that the bunk beds be left down during the day so that the kids can nap each afternoon if needed.
6. Tour the ship. Get to know the places you’ll be at often and have a family meeting spot. Make sure everyone is aware of where this meeting spot is in case someone gets separated from you during your time on the ship. The boats are big and easily to get confused and lost in if you aren’t careful.
7. When your luggage makes it to your room, unpack. Put everything in the closet and drawers, then put your luggage under your bed. There isn’t tons of storage in the staterooms and if the luggage is out of the way, it makes for a cleaner, more organized stateroom.
8. Register the kids for the kids club and get acquainted with the staff and schedule. This is a “Must” on every cruise line we’ve been on. Our kids have loved it so much, they have asked to stay there for dinner instead of coming to dinner with us. Parents, take advantage of the free date night this gives you!
StateRoom Tips:
9. Have you kids make a sign for the outside of your StateRoom. It can be a picture of them, names, anything where they’ll know this is their room. All the doors look the same, and all the hallways look the same. This will help them identify your room. Tape the sign to the door.
10. Bring a night light – especially for the dark, inside cabins. The ocean view, balcony, and suite staterooms aren’t as dark. But the inside cabins can be extremely dark.
11. Consider spending a tad bit more for a balcony stateroom if you’re traveling with kids who have to have naps. You don’t want to be sitting on top of them while you’re trying to get them to sleep. Having a balcony allows you to be close but somewhere that they won’t be distracted and not sleep.
Most importantly, have fun! It’s a vacation, relax (yes, you can do that, even when the kids are with you). Also, check out my post, How to Take a Cruise With Kids for even more ideas!
Have you been on a cruise? Where? We are heading to Alaska in a couple of weeks on Norwegian Cruise Line again and can’t wait!
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