Cruising is a great option for families. Onboard you can partake of nightclub entertainment, casino action and moonlit strolls on deck, while the kids are safely enjoying themselves in age-appropriate, adult supervised activities. Once docked, everyone can enjoy exotic ports of call. It’s a win-win situation. Best of all, most onboard children’s activities are free, with extra charges usually reserved for babysitting services.Here’s a sample of what you’ll find on some cruises. Information sourced from the Cruise Line International Association ( CLIA ) Read more about kids at Cruisemates.Com

American Hawaii Cruises recently expanded its award-winning children’s program to cover Spring Break, summer vacation, Thanksgiving and winter holiday seasons.

"The best way for a teenager or young child to experience Hawaii is to live it," says Pia Martin, director of entertainment for American Hawaii Cruises. "We want young passengers to appreciate both the beauty and the culture of the islands."

Children ages 5 to 8 can join the Keiki program where they’ll enjoy a breakfast club, beach excursions, pool games, a pizza party, hula dancing, Hawaiian language programs, seashell picture-making and a pajama party. Ages 9 to 12 join the Kukui program where they take part in beach trips, turtle watching, lei making, pool time, a pizza party and Hawaiian cultural activities. Both the keiki and kukui kids can participate in the cruise line’s Hawaii-inspired children’s play The Story of Auntie Lani’s Stolen Magic Colors, which teaches the young actors and the audience about the island’s exotic animals.

Older children (13 to 17) can participate in the Teen Program in which special activities include Hawaiian language and hula lessons, island arts ‘n crafts, turtle watching, late night dances, movies, beach excursions, volleyball, a retro party and a pizza party.

In addition, special shore excursions are tailored especially for teens. Kayaking on the river where the opening scenes of "Raider of the Lost Ark" were filmed; snorkeling in the rim of a sunken volcano; hiking through a dormant crater of an active volcano; horseback riding on Maui; or bicycling down the 10,000-ft. slope of Mt. Haleakala. Special kids’ rates are available for most excursions, and through Dec. 16, 2000 children sail free when sharing selected cabins with two full-fare paying adults. Parents simply have to pay the $90 per child port charges plus Hawaii state tax.

Carnival Cruise Lines recently enhanced its complimentary fleet-wide kids’ program "Camp Carnival." Added to the kid-friendly amenities is a new turn-down service with bedtime cookies, an updated children’s menu and more logoed items to all "Camp Carnival" participants.

"It’s the little things that add up to a great vacation," says Bob Dickinson, Carnival president, "and these enhancements represent our continued commitment to providing guests of all ages with a high quality cruise experience."

The new turn-down service provides kids with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on their pillows on the first and last night of their cruise. Accompanying the cookies is a special poem, one welcomes the child on board and the other thanks them for their "Camp Carnival" participation.

The children’s menu now includes kids’ favorites like hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, pepperoni pizza, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, banana splits and daily "Junior Specials." In addition, the ever-popular "Fountain Fun Card" still offers unlimited soft drink purchases for children under age 21. The cards, purchased on board, range in price from $8 on a three-day cruise to $18 on seven-day voyages.

Ping pong, scavenger hunts, poolside water games, toys, puzzles, computers (including Apple iMacs), outdoor play areas and three swimming pools are just some of the activities and facilities children can enjoy on a Carnival Cruise.

Babysitting for children under 2 is also available from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Cost is $5 per hour for one child; $3 per hour for each additional child in the same family.

Costa Cruises offers a "Costa Kids Club" with daily programs designed to keep children entertained. Costa’s Caribbean cruises (November through April) feature kids and teens programs. The "Costa Kids Club" accommodates ages 3 to 12, with activities that can include Nintendo competitions, tours of the bridge and galley, arts ‘n crafts, scavenger hunts, Italian language lessons, bingo, board games, "Coke-tail" and pizza parties, kids’ karaoke and more. Depending on the number of teens sailing, the line offers the "Costa Teens Club" with activities specially geared to ages 13 to 17.

Children and parents are reunited for lunch and dinner during the cruise, except during two "Parents Nights Out." These nights out allow parents together time until 11 p.m., during which their children enjoy supervised buffet or pizza parties and fun activities geared to their age group.

On European Cruises (May through October), Costa offers three age-appropriate children’s clubs. "The Baby Club" (ages 3 to 6) features fables and tales hour, crafts, games, snacks and ice cream parties. "The Junior Club" features jogging, aerobics, puppets theater, mini Olympics and team treasure hunts. "The Teens Club" includes sports and fitness programs, guitar lessons, video show productions, a rock and roll hour and more.

Group babysitting for toilet-trained children ages 3 and older is generally available on all cruises, but parents must request this service once on board. There is a charge for group babysitting.

Disney Cruise Lines Few names coincide with "kids", "family" and "fun" the way "Disney" does. They offers activities for your toddlers, teens and ages in between. There’s also plenty of mature fun for you, like relaxing in the Vista Spa & Salon, the ESPN Skybox or enjoying a romantic dinner in the adults-only restaurant, Palo.

Disney's "Oceaneer Adventure" program for ages 3-12 offers dozens of interactive, supervised programs onboard and on Castaway Cay, Disney’s private Bahamian island. The "Oceaneer Club" for ages 3-8 has a Captain Hook’s ship theme and includes flights to Never Land, scavenger hunts with a "Little Mermaid" theme or a "mission control" activity assisting Buzz Lightyear in his journey "To Infinity and Beyond!"


The "Oceaneer Lab" for ages 9-12 includes "Goofy’s Gum Shoe Investigators", a marine biology themed game show, treasure hunts, baking "solar pizzas" and more.

If you have kids under three, there are special parent-supervised structured activities for you to share with them, such as bubble fun and storytime. In-room babysitting is also available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Disney offers seven-night vacations that combine a three- or four-night cruise with four or three nights at Walt Disney World Resort. Cruise-only options are also available. In addition, new seven-night eastern Caribbean cruises will be available beginning August 12, 2000.

Holland America Line features the lovable mascot HAL the dolphin as caption of "Club HAL," a special club for kids, "tweens" and teens.

The "Club HAL Kids Pod" includes activities like putt putt golf, candy bar bingo, t-shirt painting and "camping." There’s even an ice cream with the stars, where the wee ones get to meet the onboard singers and dancers.

"Club HAL Tweens Pod" includes sports like volleyball, miniature golf and a "Tweens Olympics." Disco dancing and karaoke are offered for budding John Travoltas, and, since everyone likes candy, Candy Bar Bingo is not limited to the smaller tykes. The "Club HAL Teens Pod" includes many of the same activities enjoyed by the younger pods, plus Tie Dyeing t-shirts, more mature games like Pictionary, and even a Monte Carlo Night where young Doc Hollidays can test their luck using Monopoly money!

In addition to all the onboard activities, Holland America Line’s "Sail With the Stars" program welcomes Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen to thems Maasdam this summer from June 25 to July 2, 2000.

Norwegian Cruise Line features a complimentary Kids Crew Package that offers appropriate activities for each of four age groups.

The "Junior Sailors" age 3-5 can enjoy cartoons and movies, arts ‘n crafts, a kid’s masquerade, circus at sea, magic shows, ice cream treats and more. Ages 6-8 are considered "First Mates" and can enjoy a circus at sea, face painting, t-shirt painting, juggling, stretch classes and more.

The "Navigators", ages 9-12, can indulge in poolside root beer floats, scavenger hunts, cooking classes, basketball, camp-outs with flashlights and tents, and more! And, teens age 13-17 can test their knowledge of new-found friends in a "Newlymet Game," go on a photo hunt, enjoy a pool party, volleyball, basketball, movies and tons more.

Many activities, like dancing, karaoke contests, cooking classes and sports are offered for more than one age group. In addition, any kid celebrating a birthday while onboard gets a birthday party at sea!

If you’d like your kids to have a fun and useful souvenir of their voyage, you can purchase a "Kid’s Crew" backpack for $39.50. Include in the packpack is a luggage tag, captain’s hat, t-shirt, sunglasses and a souvenir cup good for free soda refills while onboard.

 comprehensive Love Boat Kids program makes child's play of family travel. On Crown, Royal, Sun, Dawn, Sea, Ocean and Grand Princess, you'll find complete Youth and Teen Centers with everything from arts and crafts to games, movies, splash pools, discos and video games.

Sun, Dawn, Sea, Ocean and Grand Princess even offer a toddler's play area and theatre, a dolls' house, a castle, computers and ice-cream kiosk. In addition to these features, Grand Princess offers kids their own deck space with a whale's tail slide splash pool and teens rate their own Jacuzzi and sunning area.

When 15 or more children, ages 2 to 17, are traveling on the Royal and Pacific Princess, they'll enjoy a varied schedule of supervised activities as well.

Other children's programs include "Save Our Seas" in which kids participate in activities that teach them about the oceans, special shore excursions designed for kids, a pizza party scheduled one night on each cruise, children's TV programming, kid's portraits with special backdrops, cookies in the stateroom and more.

Additionally, Princess provides group babysitting services while the ship is in port between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and at night between 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. in the children's centers at $4.00 per hour per child.

Royal Caribbean International combines learning and fun on cruises with "Edu-tainment" (educational entertainment) through its "Adventure Ocean Youth Program."

The free "Adventure Ocean" program blends make-believe, educational activities, itineraries, port of call, habitats, games, sports, art and more for a cruise experience the younger set will not soon forget.

"A cruise is a time of relaxation and play for all ages. Our edu-tainment programs, however, seamlessly blend into the daily schedule of the vacation experience so that young cruisers can’t help but have fun while they learn important lessons about the earth, destinations, culture, history, animal life and people around them," says Charly McDonald, Adventure Ocean Specialist, Royal Caribbean International.

The Adventure Ocean experience can include the following exciting and fun activities: Adventure Science, where specially trained staff provides interactive science experiments; Adventure Art, which acquaints kids with divers cultures through art; Adventure Family, in which parents and other family members participate in fun, team-oriented challenges, such as The Parent Trap Show or a Treasure Hunt; and Sail Into Story Time where stories are brought to life through hands-on activity and role-playing. In addition to these specialized "adventures," there’s plenty of traditional, fun activities on hand like dancing, story time, beach parties, Hermit Crab hunts, sandcastle building and seashell collecting, to name a few.

Adventure Ocean programs are divided by age group: Aquanauts (3-5); Explorers (6-8); Voyagers (9-12) and Navigators (13-17). Adventure Ocean staff members hold college degrees in either education, recreation or a related field, and/or have career experience working with children 3-17, and are on hand to supervise every program.

120,000 children ( give or take a few ) sail each year, so Royal Caribbean has added an "Adventure Ocean" dining plan. Available on all their ships, the program gives children the option of dining with their new found friends and the ship's youth staff from a complete child's menu in either the Windjammer Cafe, Solarium or Johnny Rockets restaurant. Available on select evenings from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m, the service is scheduled three times on a seven night cruise and once or twice on shorter voyages.

The above information is presumed to be timely, but may not be up-to-date and is subject to change without notice. Information source: Cruise Line International Association. Visit the CLIA at www.cruising.org for further information. Cruise Direct Online is a proud agency member of the Cruise Line International Association. All other material © 2000 Travel Direct Corporation