The best cruise ships for kids

Children can make or break your family trip. If they are bored and hate their food choices, they will loudly and repeatedly express their dissatisfaction. Choosing the wrong cruise ship, parents will feel like they’re stranded on a deserted island… with crabs biting their feet.

The best cruises for kids take advantage of the ships with endless fun for the under 18 crowd, rich meals that appeal to both young palates and bottomless teen bellies, Accommodation and train service are something families will always remember, as well as the opportunity to meet and hang out with colleagues. No matter your family size or price range, you can find some great cruise vacations that will have kids exclaiming, “Best trip ever!” on weekends.

Find the top ship for your next trip with this list of the six best cruise ships for kids (and their parents).

Disney treasures

No one should be surprised that Disney is such a kid-friendly cruise line – but what is surprising is There are so many things for adults to do and enjoyalso. That’s especially true on the new one Disney treasureslaunched at the end of 2024.

Disney Treasure has four kids’ clubs divided by age, and the main Oceaneer Club for kids ages 3 to 10 has a fun grand entrance. Kids can enter the club via a slide – and once inside, can explore the club’s spaces themed “Star Wars”, fairy tales, Marvel and Disney Imagineers.

Along with the kids club on Disney Treasure, young students will find two theaters showing Disney’s first films, Broadway-caliber shows telling the stories of “Moana” and “Moana.” Beauty and the Beast” as well as dining experiences themed around the films “Coco” and Marvel World.

In addition to fun bars themed around Disney rides (Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise) and delicious adults-only restaurants, grown-ups will appreciate the details small on Disney Treasure makes family cruising easier — split bathrooms in most cabins, a drop-off point- daycare, entertainment areas for toddlers and restaurant staff, who will provide high chairs and food cuts for your child.

Disney Treasure offers week-long cruises to the Caribbean from Port CanaveralFlorida (near Orlando). These include a stop at Castaway Cay, by Disney private islandwith a family-friendly beach, supervised childcare, entertainment and stroller loans.

Related: How to save money on a Disney cruise

An almost identical sister ship, Disney Wishestake short cruises to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral, and the third ship in the trio, Disney’s fatewill launch in late 2025 to offer four- and five-night Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale.

Royal Caribbean’s marine emblem

Royal Caribbean Symbol of the sealaunching in January 2024, is the largest ship afloat and certainly one of the top cruise ships for kids. Young travelers will never be bored aboard the ship, which features a six-slide water park, surf simulator, rock-climbing wall, sports courts and Surfside – a half-deck of water-filled play space and Restaurants specifically for children and their families.

Kids (and parents) who enjoy a good show can gasp as skaters land jumps on a rocking train, and acrobatic divers somersault and splash in the AquaTheater, now high above the ship under the glass dome. Don’t miss the pizza and parades on the Royal Promenade, Icon’s or indoor shopping strip Royal Caribbeanwill take on “The Wizard of Oz” in the main theater.

The kid-friendly cruise ship has debuted innovative new family cabins and suites, some with separate children’s rooms to better serve guests of all ages. The Ultimate Family Townhouse is a large three-story living space with a screening room, karaoke machine, in-room slide and backyard leading to the Surfside family area.

Related: Best Royal Caribbean ships for kids

The symbol of the sea sails all week long Cruise the Eastern and Western Caribbean from Miami. A nearly identical sister ship, Star of the Seas, will launch this summer and should also be a hit with families.

Encore Norway

Encore Norway has a more mature feel than many of the family ships on our list, but the attractions onboard make it a big hit with teens. Its top floor attracts older kids with one of the largest go-kart tracks in the area Norwegian Cruise Line fleet. Indoors, a giant virtual reality playground features rides and games that blow the standard cruise ship game out of the water.

Note for parents: Cruiselong tickets are for go-kart track and virtual reality games don’t come cheap. Be ready to whip out your wallet to keep teenagers happy.

At night, teens can nourish their growing bodies with milkshakes, international street food, hibachi and barbecue, along with 24/7 burgers and comfort food at The Local. They will then agree to appear in public with their parents in an exciting performance like “Choir of Man”. It was an easy concession, since they knew they could always escape to the Entourage youth club to hang out with the cool kids late at night.

Related: The best cruise lines for families

Norwegian Encore’s best cruises for kids span multiple oceans. The ship spent the summer in Alaska and winters in the Caribbean or Mexican Riviera, with some Panama Canal and Pacific Coast sailings in between.

Masquerade festival

Passengers and crew members above Festival cruise line Ships are ready to meet new friends or share laughter, stories and drinks with their shipmates. Social children will fit right in and love this huge product line Masquerade festival. They can make friends at Family Harbor Lounge, Camp Ocean and Dr. Seuss Bookville; Older kids will enjoy the tween and teen clubs conveniently located near Guy Fieri’s burger stand and arcade.

If you’re looking for the best cruises for kids, Carnival Celebration and its nearly identical fleets, Mardi Gras festival And carnival festivalare the only cruise ships with an onboard roller coaster called the Bolt. A trip here is Instagram gold and the ultimate bragging rights for kids on vacation. Coasters dominate the ship’s Ultimate Playground area, where young cruisers can challenge their new friends to miniature golf, water slide races, basketball and line domination.

Kids who love a good food court can meet up with friends or family at a number of casual, free eateries, including Shaq’s Big Chicken and a trio of Street Eats locations serving dumplings, meat skewers and loaded fries. Late night pizza and ice cream will keep the whole family energized for the interactive show “Family Feud Live.”

Related: The ultimate guide to Carnival Cruise Line’s ships and itineraries

Carnival’s kid-friendly cruises include weeklong Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises from Miami. Its older sister Mardi Gras follows a similar Caribbean itinerary from Port Canaveral, Florida (near Orlando). Carnival Jubilee is based on Galveston, Texasand offers six- and seven-night Western Caribbean cruises and eight-night Bahamas cruises to the line’s two private beach destinations.

MSC World America

MSC Cruises will bring one of its largest ships to the US in April 2025. The floating mega-resort will have more family-friendly offerings than any other ship in the fleet, making MSC World America one of the best cruise ships for kids.

The ship stands out from its sister ships thanks to its large on-deck family play area called The Harbor. It’s aimed at families like no other MSC ship with attractions including a giant water park with four waterslides, a two-level zip line with “aerial rails” (like zip lines) ), a 10-story dry slide, the first water swing ride called the Cliffhanger, and a playground modeled after a lighthouse at MSC Cruises’ private island in the Bahamas.

The port isn’t the only family-friendly area on the ship. The Doremiland Children’s Program Area will have seven rooms for children of all ages to participate in team-led activities and programs. MSC Sportplex will be an indoor, multi-use space for family-friendly activities such as go-karting and roller skating.

Around the ship, children and families can enjoy the many onboard dining venues serving Italian, Greek, Mexican and Asian dishes. But younger visitors will likely be most excited about Sweet Temptations, a dessert spot that serves scrumptious milkshakes, ice cream bars, crepes, donuts and homemade candy.

Related: Cruise lines where children cruise for free

When launched in April, MSC World America will sail week-long Eastern Caribbean and Western Caribbean cruises from Miami. All journeys will stop at Ocean Cay MSC Marine ReserveMSC Cruises’ relaxing private island in the Bahamas.

AmaLea by AmaWaterways

The typical river cruise attracts a lot of retirees — except when Disney Adventures in partnership with AmaWaterways. Two travel companies have created a fun-filled river cruise vacation for adults and children.

AmaLea makes our list of the best cruise ships for kids because it is one of the ships AmaWaterways built specifically for family cruises. Some double balcony cabins sleep three, and suites sleep four to accommodate children, with connecting cabin options for families needing more space. Unlike many river ships, AmaLea has a swimming pool and a surprise game for children – giant outdoor chess.

While AmaWaterways’ other family-friendly ships ply the Seine and Rhine, AmaLea plies the Danube through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Adventures by Disney makes the most of your time with shore excursions planned to entertain children and adults, with options for supervised children’s activities while parents Mom joins the more adult tours. Your family can meet farm animals in Hungary, play hide and seek in a palace maze in Austria, and roam treetop playgrounds in Germany.

Related: Best river cruises in Europe

There’s a children’s menu on board and the occasional pajama party takes the kids out for pizza and a movie while the adults stay for dinner. Adventure Guides help people make family travel as easy as possible.

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