Originally published: 2 January 2025
Updated: 17 August 2026
Taking your children on their first cruise? From deciding what to pack to navigating kids’ clubs, dining and days ashore, a little preparation can make your first family cruise much easier.
One of the great things about cruising with kids is the freedom it gives everyone to enjoy the holiday differently. Children can discover new activities and make friends, teenagers can enjoy a little more independence, and parents can find time to relax, all while travelling together.
If this is your first cruise as a family, these practical tips will help you know what to expect and make the most of your time onboard.
Still deciding where to go or which cruise line is right for you? Explore our family cruises to compare family-friendly cruise lines, destinations and our latest holidays
1. Choose a Cabin That Works for Your Family
Your cabin is going to be your family’s base for the holiday, so think beyond simply finding somewhere that sleeps the right number of people. Consider how much space you will need, where everyone will sleep and how you normally use your hotel room on holiday. If younger children go to bed early, for example, having a little extra space can make evenings more comfortable for everyone.
Larger families should also look at family cabins and connecting rooms. Two interconnecting cabins can sometimes give you extra living space and another bathroom while still allowing everyone to stay together.
Storage is another consideration. Cruise cabins are designed to make clever use of space, but travelling with several suitcases, toys, shoes and children’s essentials can quickly fill a room. The less unnecessary luggage you bring, the easier it will be to keep everything organised.
Paramount Top Tip: Think about how your family will use the cabin, not just how many people it sleeps. Connecting cabins can give larger families more space and an extra bathroom, while cabin location can make a real difference if younger children need quiet time or daytime naps.
2. Check the Kids’ Club Before You Sail
For many children, the kids’ club becomes one of the highlights of a cruise. However, children’s facilities can differ between cruise lines and even between ships within the same fleet, so do a little research before travelling.
Check which age group your child will fall into and look at the activities available for them. If you are travelling with babies or toddlers, it is especially important to check what facilities are available for their age.
For older children and teenagers, look beyond the traditional kids’ club too. Some ships have dedicated teen spaces, sports facilities, gaming areas and organised activities where they can meet other young people onboard. Knowing what is available in advance also helps build excitement before your holiday.
Travelling with a toddler? Read our guide to cruising solo with a toddler, packed with first-hand tips on choosing a cabin, kids’ facilities, naps, meals and handling life onboard with a little one.
From Andreia’s Experience: When Andreia cruised solo with her two-year-old, she found that even when a toddler was not ready to stay in the kids’ club independently, using the play areas together still gave them a change of scene and some valuable downtime.
3. Visit the Kids’ Club Early
Even if your children insist before the cruise that they are definitely not interested in joining the kids’ club, it is still worth visiting when you first get onboard. Seeing the space is very different from looking at it online.
Introduce your children to the facilities, find out how everything works and let them see what activities are planned. Once they notice other children having fun, they may quickly change their minds. Getting familiar with the kids’ areas early also means you know where to go when an activity catches their attention later in the cruise.
4. Pack an Embarkation Day Bag
Your first few hours onboard are exciting, and you will probably want to start exploring the ship straight away. Pack a small hand-luggage bag containing anything your family might want during those first few hours. Think swimwear, sun cream, medication, chargers, children’s essentials and perhaps a change of clothes.
If the children are desperate to get into the pool as soon as they see it, you will be very pleased you don’t need to search through a large suitcase first. It is also worth keeping anything important or valuable with you rather than packing it away in your main luggage.
Paramount Top Tip: If you are travelling with a toddler, a lightweight travel buggy with a proper snooze shade can be a game changer. Little ones can sleep comfortably while you continue enjoying dinner, a drink or evening entertainment.
5. Don’t Overpack
Anyone who has travelled with children knows how tempting it is to pack for every possible situation. Try to resist.
Cabin space is valuable, and you are unlikely to need as many outfits as you imagine. Look at your itinerary, think about what you genuinely need and check what facilities and amenities are provided onboard before filling your suitcase.
A few versatile outfits are often more useful than an entirely different wardrobe for every day of the cruise. Do remember to check whether your cruise has any particular dress codes or themed evenings if you want to take part.
6. Plan Dining Around Your Family
Food can be one of the easiest parts of a family cruise, particularly when everyone wants something different. Before travelling, think about how your children normally eat on holiday. Do they prefer an early dinner? Would flexible dining suit your family better? Are there evenings when a buffet would be easier than a longer sit-down meal?
It is also worth looking at the restaurants available on your ship before you travel. If there are particular restaurants you want to try, check whether reservations are recommended. Families travelling with allergies or dietary requirements should make the cruise line aware of these in advance and check the relevant guidance for their sailing.
And don’t feel every meal needs to become an event. Sometimes an easy meal followed by an early night is exactly what the family needs after a busy day exploring.
Paramount Top Tip: If your cruise line offers Freedom or flexible dining, consider choosing it when travelling as a family. Being able to eat when everyone is actually hungry gives you much more flexibility around naps, kids’ clubs, activities and busy days ashore.
7. Don’t Try to Do Everything
Modern cruise ships can offer an enormous amount to do, and the temptation on your first cruise is to try to experience all of it. You don’t need to.
Trying to race from breakfast to a pool activity, kids’ club session, quiz, lunch, sports activity, show and dinner can turn a holiday into a timetable. Instead, let everyone choose the things they are most excited about and leave some space for doing absolutely nothing.
Some of the best family moments can be the unplanned ones, whether that’s an extra hour in the pool, an ice cream on deck or simply watching the sea go by together.
8. Check What’s Happening Onboard Each Day
One of the first things to get into the habit of doing is checking the ship’s daily programme.
Cruise ships can have activities taking place from morning until late at night, and it is very easy to miss something the children would have loved.
Spend a few minutes each evening looking at what is happening the next day. Let everyone pick one or two things they particularly want to do and build the day around those.
Depending on your ship, you may be able to view activities through the cruise line’s app as well as through an onboard programme.
This is also a good opportunity for the whole family to decide when you will spend time together and when everyone might want to do their own thing.
9. Book Your Must-Do Experiences
If there is something your family absolutely does not want to miss, don’t leave it to chance. Before travelling, check whether any of your preferred restaurants, entertainment, activities or shore excursions can or should be reserved in advance.
Once onboard, it is worth looking at availability early rather than waiting until the final few days. That doesn’t mean you need every minute of the holiday planned. Book the things that really matter to you and leave plenty of room around them for spontaneous fun.
10. Be Realistic About Shore Days With Children
A new destination every day sounds exciting, but children may not share your enthusiasm for squeezing six landmarks into one afternoon. When planning your days ashore, consider your children’s ages, energy levels and interests.
A shorter excursion followed by time at the beach might be a bigger success than an entire day of sightseeing. Similarly, younger children may need time for snacks, rests and toilet breaks that aren’t always obvious when you first plan the day.
Look at distances between attractions and consider how much walking will be involved. If you are taking a pushchair, think about how practical it will be for the places you want to visit.
Most importantly, don’t feel you have to explore every port from morning to evening. Returning to a quieter ship for an afternoon by the pool can sometimes be one of the best days of the holiday.
Paramount Top Tip: You do not have to get off the ship in every port. On port days, the ship can be much quieter, giving families more space around the pools, splash areas and other facilities. Sometimes a relaxed day onboard is exactly what everyone needs.
11. Help Children Get Their Bearings
Cruise ships can feel enormous when you first step onboard. Spend some time exploring together at the beginning of the holiday. Find your cabin, the main restaurants, children’s areas, pool deck and other places you expect to visit regularly.
With older children and teenagers, agree where you will meet and what they should do if plans change. You could choose an easy-to-remember landmark as your regular family meeting point. After a day or two, what initially seemed like an enormous floating city will usually start to feel surprisingly familiar.
12. Have a Plan for Keeping in Touch
A cruise can give older children and teenagers more independence than they might normally have on holiday, particularly when they make friends onboard. Decide your family rules early. Agree when and where you will meet, how often children should check in and whether they are allowed to move around the ship without an adult.
Look at the communication options available on your particular ship before you travel. Some families may choose to use the cruise line’s app or onboard internet, while a simple arrangement to meet at a particular place and time can work just as well. Whatever you choose, having an agreed plan avoids everyone spending half the holiday trying to find each other.
13. Prepare for Feeling the Motion of the Ship
Many first-time cruisers wonder whether they will feel seasick. You may barely notice the movement, but if someone in your family is concerned about motion sickness, it is sensible to prepare before travelling.
Speak to a pharmacist or appropriate healthcare professional before your holiday if you need advice about suitable remedies, particularly for children. Fresh air, looking towards the horizon and taking things a little easier can also help if someone starts feeling uncomfortable. Most importantly, don’t let worrying about seasickness dominate the build-up to your first cruise.
14. Make Time for the Adults Too
A family holiday doesn’t have to mean spending every minute together. If your children are enjoying the activities available for their age group, take advantage of that time.
You might enjoy a relaxed lunch, book a spa treatment, sit somewhere quiet with a coffee or simply enjoy an hour by the pool without being asked for another snack.
It works both ways. Giving children some independence and opportunities to make their own friends can become one of their favourite parts of the cruise too. You can then meet up afterwards and compare what everyone has been doing.
15. Let Everyone Have Their Own Holiday
Perhaps the most useful tip for cruising with kids is to accept that everyone doesn’t need to do everything together. One child might want to spend every possible moment in the pool. Another might prefer the kids’ club. A teenager may make friends and disappear to organised activities, while grandparents might be happiest enjoying a quiet afternoon overlooking the sea.
That’s one of the advantages of a cruise. Everyone can find something they enjoy, then come back together for dinner, an evening show or a day exploring somewhere new. Rather than trying to create the perfect family itinerary, give everyone enough freedom to create their own favourite moments.
Is a Family Cruise Right for You?
A first family cruise can feel like a completely different type of holiday, but that is part of the excitement. You can wake up somewhere new, enjoy days packed with activities or choose to do very little at all, and give different generations the freedom to enjoy the holiday their own way.
The biggest secret is choosing a ship that suits your family and then not trying to plan every second once you get there. Do a little preparation, know what matters most to your family and leave plenty of space for unexpected adventures.
Ready to Find Your Family Cruise?
If you’re still deciding where to go, which cruise line to choose or which ship will suit your children best, explore our family cruises.
Compare family-friendly cruise lines, no-fly departures from the UK, popular family destinations and our latest cruise holidays, or speak to our team for help finding the right option for your family.
