Best Luxury Cruises with Onboard Activities for Children
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Cruises Editor
Cruise Ships
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Until recently, child-friendly, multi-generational luxury cruising wasn’t on the radar. Now, this growing sector means luxury ships must meet demand. What better solution than a holiday afloat with friends and family that offers age-appropriate entertainment for the smaller set in a secure environment? Everyone’s a winner. Adults have their playtime while children from tots to teens have theirs. A number of high-end ships offer dedicated play areas along with childcare-sensitive activities, and in some instances, even shore excursions. Then there’s the thrill of the destination. Family favourites are Alaska, the Caribbean and South Pacific.
Hapag-Lloyd’s Europa 2*
According to Berlitz, Europa 2 is a consistent contender for the world’s best luxury ship. While primarily focused on professionals and couples, this elegantly contemporary ship also caters comprehensively to families by providing qualified childcare specialists from the age of two years every day. There are three different age levels: 2-3, 4-11 and the Teen’s Club 11-15, which offers iPod chairs, musical workshops, cooking classes, sports and parent-free shore excursions. Europa 2 has eight interconnecting family apartments each with separate living areas and common veranda. In 2016, she will offer 14 selected family cruises with special excursions for parents and children. Appealing extras are a late-sleeper service for parents.
*Europa 2 is a bilingual English-German ship.
Celebrity Cruises
Renowned for its glossy ships, classy bars and adults-only solarium, they also deliver age-appropriate family-friendly fun. Their programs are tailored to kids’ different age groups and include treasure hunts, arts and crafts, relay races, video workshops, teens-only late night dancing and karaoke. Toddler Time provides a safe, fun space for small children to interact with others of similar age; Fun Factory (3-11) mixes fun and educational programs organised by age group, while older kids can hang out at the X Club teen lounge. Or they can play kids basketball, volleyball in the pool, or picnic with their family on Celebrity’s real grass and play grown-up croquet or boules (bocce).
Holland America Line
This line features the widely acclaimed Club HAL, which caters for kids aged 3-7 with Pirate Ship Parties, Puppets and Pajamarama movies and games galore. For 8-12s, there are Talent Shows, Olympic Relays and Top Secret Spy Assignments. For 13-17s, there are Xbox 360 Kinect gaming tournaments, hip-hop dance classes, basketball hoop shoot and karaoke. And in HAL ships’ Culinary Centers, Kids in the Kitchen (kids and tweens) can create pizza toppings, fajitas and healthy smoothies, whereas family events include a Parent’s Family Dance Party; staff vs guests volleyball match and mini putt-putt golf.
Cunard
Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth all offer childrens’ programs tailored to ages 2-17. Their children’s clubs – Play Zone: six months to seven years; Kids Zone: 8-12; and Teen Zone: 13-17 are all complimentary. A night nursery operates from 6-11pm for children aged six to 23 months. Children from 2-12 are required to wear a wristband. Play Zone is a permanently supervised bright space with an outdoor play area and carpeted area for building blocks, puzzles, boardgames and more. Kids Zone provides activities for older children such as sports competitions, gaming consoles and karaoke. Teen Zone offers table tennis tournaments, deck sports, discos, quizzes and more.
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