BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Cruises Cruising with Kids

I've booked a week long cruise on a family-friendly line this August. I've read a lot of stuff about cruising with kids, but wanted some feedback from some "live" people. If you've taken small children (well, not too small--mine will be 3 and 8 by August), please post some tips for me.

I'm looking for "helpful hints" on what to pack and how to handle shore/ship and ship/shore transitions with kids.

Thanks!

I took a Galapogos Islands Cruise last year with my kids, which they loved. Lots of wildlife to see in the Galapagos Islands - they really enjoyed the cruise.

In reality, the kids should take care of themselves - cruises often has lots of facilites and kids clubs to keep children occupied, so parents can equally enjoy the vacation.

Just make sure you take some pills incase the children get sea sick - that would be my tip!

I have heard of some autism cruises that were promoted but never another thing about how they went. That would be too scarey for me with two kids on the spectrum.

My son would enjoy whale watching.

Bonnie,

Information on autism group cruises was limited, but I did find a few things. A company called Alumni Cruises has created group bookings on a few sailings specifically for parents and their autistic children. By booking through them, they also make special arrangements so young cruisers can participate in the on board Children's Programs.

As a general rule, as long as a cruise line knows about guests with special needs, they can make the proper arrangements and accommodations.

Check them out: autismontheseas.com orBellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

Thanks for the link. I am aware of that one and was looking more for feedback from anyone who has gone on one, but that info does not seem to be out there.