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| Tips for Family Cruisers | Check what documentation for children is required (ID, etc.) Be careful if your child is crossing borders and only one birth parent is on the trip.
You never know when a case of chicken pox will change your plans: check cancellation fees, and fees for changing dates; trip cancellation insurance may be worth the price.
Among the benefits of the cruises for families is that so much is included: meals, kids' programs activities. But you should budget for: gratuities (ask about the common practice for your ship); sodas (buy a "soda package" if your kids drink sodas: these drinks are typically not free); shore excursions (be aware, though, that it's often possible to explore on your own rather than signing up for tours); infant care (Flounders Nursery isn't free on Disney ships, as well as perhaps you'll want to engage a baby-sitter).
Enjoy one of the advantages of family cruising - your kids can have a certain amount of independence in this enclosed floating resort. But anyway, parents are always parenting.
Ask whether it is important to you to have a pager. Make sure if the cruise line has this service. (If not, bring your own walkie-talkies and see how they work).
Set some limits of how much time your kids play video games in advance.
Consider the style of the kids' programs, and the ratio of staff to kids: do you want active programs, learning programs? Find out how much movie-watching and video games there will be.
If you take a general cruise, you should check for Kids Programs and be sure they're running on the dates of your trip. Bear in mind that the longer the trip (10 days and up), the older the passengers, and the less likely you are to find many children. A 7-day trip may be best: 3-4 day trips sometimes get a "party hard-y" crowd. Find out whether baby sitting can be provided by staff at an hourly rate. Numerous ships now offer pizza, hamburgers and hotdogs along with standard lunch buffets.
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