First Time Cruising With Kids: 12 Essential Tips For A Family Cruise

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We’ve cruised with our kids more than once — small boat cruises, medium cruises and large cruiseliners, including a Disney Wonder cruise that remains one of our all-time favourite family holidays. Each one taught us something different about what actually works when you’re cruising with children.

This guide covers what we wish we’d known before that first cruise — the practical stuff, the honest stuff, and the things most cruise guides won’t tell you.

Tips For First Time Cruising With Children

If you ever thought planning a cruise was a challenge, try planning a cruise with kids!

Cruising with children adds new challenges to your planning since there are a lot of extra things you will need to keep in mind.

That being said, if you follow the simple steps in this guide before and during the cruise, both you and your children will have a lot of fun with your cruising adventure.  

1. Pick The Right Cruise For Your Family

Not all cruise ships are equal, and the right choice depends heavily on the ages of your kids, your family’s travel style, and what you’re hoping to get out of the trip.

Larger cruise lines — Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Disney, P&O, Carnival — offer extensive kids clubs, teen zones, waterslides, entertainment and activities that keep every age group busy.

These are great for families who want a lot on offer and kids who like being active and social.

Smaller ships and river or harbour cruises offer a completely different experience — more intimate, more destination-focused, but with fewer onboard activities for kids. These work well for older children who are happy to engage with the scenery and the ports.

Disney Cruise Line sits in its own category — premium, family-first, with Broadway-quality entertainment and character experiences that younger kids in particular find genuinely magical. If you’re considering it, our Disney Wonder review covers exactly what to expect.

Insider Tip: Include your kids in the research process. Show them what different ships offer, the destinations you’ll visit, and let them help choose an activity or excursion. Kids who feel invested in the planning are far easier to travel with.

2. Know What’s Actually Included — And What Isn’t

Before you book, understand what’s included in your fare and what costs extra. Kids clubs, dining, entertainment and activities are often included but can vary significantly by cruise line.

Specifically for families:

• Shore excursions — these are almost always extra and can add significantly to your total cost
• Kids clubs and teen zones — most major cruise lines include these but check the age minimums. Many only accept unsupervised kids from age 4 or 5. If your child is younger, check what alternative options are available
• Dining — most large cruise lines include meals but specialty restaurants, alcohol and room service often cost extra
• Activities — onboard activities are usually included but specific experiences (cooking classes, spa treatments, premium entertainment) may not be

Travel Tip: You can easily put together your own travel activity pack to keep kids entertained between excursions and onboard activities and bring some travel toys for quiet play time!

3. Manage Your Expectations About Relaxation

This is the one thing most cruise guides won’t say directly: cruising with kids is not relaxing.

Not even a little bit, really — and that’s okay as long as you go in knowing it.

Between the shows, the swimming, the dining, the deck parties, the trivia sessions and the shore excursions, a family cruise is genuinely action-packed from morning to night.

On our Disney Wonder cruise, I read a book for one hour on the pool deck. That was my relaxation for the trip. Simon and I had one swim together in the adults’ pool while the girls were at kids’ club. That was our couple time.

It was an incredible trip. It just wasn’t a restful one.

The shorter your cruise, the more you’ll try to pack in — and the less restful it’ll feel. A 3-4 night cruise is essentially a concentrated burst of activity. A 7+ night cruise gives you more room to breathe and actually choose to skip things without feeling like you’re missing out.

Tip: Build in at least one afternoon with nothing planned. Give yourself permission to sit by the pool and do nothing. It’s harder than it sounds but sometimes letting go of the FOMO (fear of missing out) is exactly what you need.

4. Book Popular Activities And Dining In Advance

On larger cruise ships, especially, the most popular restaurants, entertainment and activities book out quickly — sometimes before you even board.

Shore excursions in particular should be booked early. The best family-friendly options at popular ports fill up fast and the alternatives are either much more expensive through the ship or require you to organise independently at the port.

This is genuinely the most important practical tip in this guide — and the one most people skip because they assume they’ll be fine.

Motion sickness is much easier to prevent than to treat once it’s started.

If you or your kids are even slightly prone to car sickness or motion sensitivity, take age-appropriate medication before you board — not when you start feeling unwell.

We learned this the hard way. Our youngest daughter was 14 months on our Halong Bay cruise and spent a significant portion of it seasick. It was nothing short of horrible for her and stressful for everyone. We were not prepared. We are always prepared now.

6. Choose The Right Stateroom

Stateroom choice matters more on a cruise than room choice in a hotel — you’ll spend more time in it and have less space to spread out.

For families, consider:

• Connecting rooms — a good option for families with older kids or teens who want some independence without being completely separate
• Size — most cruise lines offer family staterooms or connecting rooms. For a family of four, a standard interior cabin will feel very tight very quickly
• Split bathrooms — Disney Cruise Line famously has separate toilet and shower facilities, which makes a genuine difference when four people are getting ready at once. Check whether your chosen ship has this
• Location — mid-ship and lower decks have less motion (good for seasickness) and are usually closer to the main facilities

7. Plan Shore Excursions Around Your Kids’ Ages

Shore excursions are one of the best parts of cruising — getting off the ship and exploring somewhere completely new is genuinely exciting for kids of all ages. But not all excursions are suitable for all ages and some are actively not suitable for young children.

Read the age and fitness requirements carefully before booking. A snorkelling tour that requires swimming ability, a hiking excursion with significant elevation, or an adventure activity with height restrictions may exclude younger kids entirely.

If you have very young children, consider whether a shore excursion is actually the right call or whether a few hours at the port with the flexibility to stop when someone melts down might work better.

8. Make The Most Of The Kids Club

The kids club is one of the best features of larger cruise ships for families — properly run, age-appropriate, and genuinely fun for most kids. It also gives parents a few hours to decompress, which on a packed family cruise is genuinely valuable.

Some kids take to the kids club immediately. Others need a few visits to warm up. Don’t write it off if the first session doesn’t go brilliantly.

9. Manage The Food Situation

Cruise dining is one of the highlights — but with kids, it needs some planning.

On large cruise ships, meals are either in a main dining room on a set schedule or available through buffet and quick-service options throughout the day. Knowing what’s available and when helps enormously with kids who get hungry at inconvenient times.

10. Don’t Try To Do Everything

On a shorter cruise especially, the temptation is to pack every activity, every show, every excursion and every dining option into the available days. The activity schedule is extensive and FOMO is real.

Resist it.

Trying to do everything leads to tired, overwhelmed kids and stressed parents.

Pick your must-dos before you board — the shows you’re most excited about, the shore excursion you’ve been looking forward to, the restaurant you want to try — and treat everything else as a bonus.

The things you don’t do become the reasons to book the next cruise.

Insider Tip: Don’t pack your agenda full to the brim. Sometimes, a rest in the room is exactly what everyone needs.

11. Safety On Board

Cruise ships are generally very safe environments but with kids, a few things are worth covering before you board.

• Walk the ship with your kids on the first day and identify the key locations — kids club, dining rooms, pool, medical centre
• Establish boundaries clearly — rails are not for climbing, they don’t leave the deck without an adult for young children, they check in if they’re heading to a different part of the ship for older kids and teens
• Make sure younger children know the cabin number and deck in case they get separated
• Carry the ship’s emergency contact number and know where the medical centre is — most ships have one and it’s well equipped

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These first time cruising with children tips will help you plan an incredible family vacation out on the water, discovering new destinations and creating wonderful memories together. Cruising with kids should be a great experience for the whole family and these cruise tips will get you on your way to a fun new adventure!