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Many cruises also offer dining options that serve up mega, buffet-style dining in a very casual atmosphere. Here, kids can sample from a variety of items they tend to enjoy while adults can usually find hot or cold entrees that also please their pallet.
Stay Casual With Kids If you are a family that enjoys traveling on luxury cruises, then you are already aware that those cruise options are sometimes not as casual as young kids often want to be. An important point to consider if you are looking for your first cruise is how your kids react to wearing less casual clothes.
Most cruises are casual, but often even casual cruise can have one or two formal nights. Of course, you always have option to skip formal nights, but if your kids enjoy that type of thing, it may be fun for everyone to dress up once for a more 'formal' dinner.
However, if you kids are like mine, more basic dress, better. In fact, most cruises are intended to be casual so let kids have fun with their clothes. Here are a few tips to ensure that you have right attire. First, know dress code for cruise and cruise line that you will be taking. Usually a simple wardrobe will suffice. For example, on a warm climate cruise, casual collared shirts and khaki shorts will do fine. The kids can hang out in swim suits and tee shirts around pool but they will need something in addition to this for eating and gaming. Don't forget about evenings, however, as any warm climate cruise may still have cool evenings on ocean. In this case, one light jacket or sweater for each family member would suffice.
If you are taking a cruise in a colder climate you will obviously need a different type of wardrobe, but again, keep it simple and let kids have fun in choosing their clothes to bring along.
Find Water and Lemonade and Skip 'All You Can Drink' Soda Cup Not all cruise lines offer this, but if you happen to find yourself on a cruise that offers ultimate 'All You Can Drink' soda cup for kids, try to avoid this purchase as there is generally ample water, lemonade or other types of drinks available in between dining times. Not only will have you to keep this 'Ultimate Jug' in your small stateroom but you will have to find a way to keep in clean yourself. Convince kids that there will be more than enough to drink on ship without need for their own Tower of Soda.
If Kids are Diapered, Bring Bag If you will be traveling with small enough children that diapers are still a part of your packing checklist, then don't forget to pack sealable plastic bags. Not only will you want to seal diaper in bag for disposal in your stateroom, but other passengers will appreciate odorless disposal of not-so-sweet deposit.
Don't Forget to Bring Kids Medications Most, if not all, cruise ships of any size will have some medications available for purchase but they are extremely expensive. Let me repeat this, they are extremely expensive. OK, I think you get point. Bring your own personal pharmacy of your preferred medications for kids and yourself. The vast majority of people traveling on a cruise do not get sick, but as with any vacation, being sick is no fun, so pack essentials.
To Car Seat or Not To Car Seat If your children are young enough that they travel in a car seat, you will need to make a personal decision of whether to bring one or not. Most cruise lines do not offer car seats for rent so if you are adamant about having one, be prepared. You stateroom will probably not have an easy place to store seat. Mass transports associated with shore excursions may not have room for seat. Many foreign countries have transport vehicles that are much smaller than you may be used to and you may be carrying seat for long distances if you need to walk to a bus or cab station. Just make sure you take this all into consideration when you plan your choice.
Seasickness, No Fun! Whether traveling with children or not, this is one of single biggest concerns among first-time cruisers. How do I know if I will get seasick? There are several topics to discuss relevant to this topic, but bottom line is that unless you have some experience on a larger ship on open ocean, you don't know for sure how your body will react. So here are some pointers.
If you are very concerned about possibility of becoming seasick, check with your doctor as there are prescriptions available to help prevent normal feeling of seasickness. There are pills you can take or anti-motion sickness patches that you can wear. Many cruisers wear these patches so don't hesitate to do so yourself or have your kids wear one. Also, larger ship, generally less motion you will feel. If you want to do all you can to prevent possibility of seasickness, sail on largest ship you can find.
Cabins more in middle of ship and lower in ship will sometimes help reduce amount of bouncing and swaying you may feel. Of course this is no guarantee. Check with cruise line or your travel agent to help find best cabin location for your circumstance.
Dry Skin Alert Depending on your normal climate that you come from, several days as sea may actually dry out your skin. You may want to make sure you pack some moisturizer and drink a lot of water. This is true for kids and adults that you are traveling with.
Go For It! Hopefully following these tips and hints will help you and your family find 'Trip of a Lifetime' on your next cruise. If you are still unsure if you should cruise with kids, just remember, some cruise lines cater to families and are overbooked with reservations. All of those families aren't wrong. Give it a try, plan ahead and you will find that entire family can't wait to go again.
If you are researching any cruise in Asia or Pacific region, www.asia-cruise-info.com has all of information you need for kids and adults.
Enjoy Journey!
We're Here to Help! Paul Bechel www.asia-cruise-info.com
Paul Bechel is the owner of Asia Cruise Info - http://www.asia-cruise-info.com - the largest dedicated web site for cruising in the Asia and South Pacific regions. Paul has worked with the largest travel companies in the world for years and brings the highest level of customer service to his customers.