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Just about every cruise line in the marketplace today is re-thinking their offerings to appeal more to the family cruising segment of the population. This is because of the fact that in the past cruising was considered an exclusively “adult” activity; today more and more families are boarding cruise ships all over the world.
The cruise lines have seen a great increase in multi-generational groups on their sailings, and they want to draw even more of these folks since they are a very profitable customer group. In line with increasing their appeal to families, these same cruise lines are adding special children’s amenities including exclusive kids’ clubs and facilities. They are also adding group or private babysitting services in the evenings, as well as special shore tours designed to appeal to families with young children.
For all of the above reasons, families are in a great position today for selecting the best deals for their cruising money, and they have many options to choose from, all at highly competitive prices.
First of all, negotiate with the cruise lines and make them compete for your business. Especially if you have a large multi-generational family group, there is no reason to take the price you are given without haggling just a bit. In fact, if this prospect troubles you, just let your travel agent do it for you. That’s their job and if you’ve got an experienced agent, he/she will have done this sort of thing dozens of times.
Depending on the size of your group, most cruise lines will give you special onboard amenities. These are referred to as “group perks” or “points.” These points can be redeemed for a variety of onboard activities and treats; including a private cocktail party hosted by the ship exclusively for your group, free photos from the onboard photo concession, bottles of free wine provided in each stateroom, no surcharge dinners at the onboard specialty restaurants, a free shore excursion on the cruise line’s private island, the list goes on and on. The larger your group, the more of these points you should be able to earn.
Cruise lines also provide what are called free “tour conductor berths” to “group leaders.” What this means is that for every so many booked double occupancy (or greater) cabins, the group will earn one free berth so that one person can sail for free. Each free cabin equals two berths. The category of the earned free cabin will depend on the category of the booked cabins. Higher level staterooms booked earn better free cabins. Depending upon the size of your group, you have the very real possibility of earning several free “places” for certain members of your group. You can either use these free berths to give free passage to certain family members, such as a couple of the older sets of grandparents. You can also combine all of the free places to upgrade one person to truly luxury onboard accommodations, such as to the penthouse or other luxury suite accommodation. Finally, you can just liquidate all the free berths and use the credits to reduce the cost of everyone else’s bookings. The choice is yours and you can make it with the help of your experienced travel agent.
Be aware that every cruise line is different, and some cruise lines will offer better deals on these amenities than others. Work with your travel agent to select the one best suited for your group’s needs.
And that brings us to an even more important point than group amenities and free cabins. You want to find the ship that will offer most of what your family needs to have a great holiday. For example, if you have a lot of children in your group of varying ages, you will want a ship that offers extensive children’s activities. You also want to cruise at a time of year when those children’s, including teens, activities are in full swing. After all, it’s not going to be much of a holiday for you if there is no opportunity available to be free of the children for an evening. It’s not very much fun for the adults if the children are constantly underfoot because they are bored. Teens will get into mischief onboard if they are left too long to their own devices while mum and dad enjoy a quiet evening in one of the bars or lounges.
So seek a cruise line where the kids of all ages can have a full range of activities available to them as well. This way you can enjoy some adult time, as well as plenty of family time. Check out the teen’s facilities and make sure there are dedicated areas where teens can “hang out” and be with others their own age in a supervised setting, while doing the “fun” things teens like to do, such as playing computer games and having their own private dance and karaoke parties.
Be aware that most of the cruise lines do not accept children into their ships under a certain age and not unless they are potty trained. For this reason, if you have a lot of little ones that would not qualify for the normal children’s programmes you will need to make sure that the particular ship you are considering has babysitting services available as well.
Additionally, you want to make sure the ship you are considering has lots of family-friendly facilities and amenities onboard. Sure, you want some alone time as adults, but a family cruise should also include lots of family time thrown in. This means the activity offerings have to appeal to family members of all ages, such as onboard swimming pools, sports activities, organised games and the like.
Finally, consider the special needs of any older family members who may be coming along. Does grandad have trouble walking long distances these days? Will he need to use a wheelchair onboard the ship? If so, make sure the ship is fully accessible to him, including his cabin accommodation. If any members of the family have physical challenges, make sure the ship can accommodate them. For example, can wheelchair-bound family members board the tenders (small ships used to get from the cruise ship to the port of the day)? Some cruise lines have special lifts that allow passengers in wheelchairs to ride the tenders too. If your ship can’t accommodate this, be aware that the wheelchair-bound members of your party will not be able to get off the ship at any port requiring tendering, and on some itineraries that could mean a lot of ports.
Family cruising is a great way to cement relationships with those you most love. There is no better environment suited for family bonding than a modern cruise ship. But to ensure your family cruise experience is the best that it can be requires that you invest the time to research the particular cruise that is best suited for your family holiday. Use a travel agent to help in this process and know that any time invested in the planning stages will ensure unforgettable memories of a great time had by all members in your group, regardless of their age or abilities.
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