Today I have a Guest Post from Kacey, an avid traveler and lifestyle blogger at The Drifter Collective. She has some fantastic tips for cruising with the family. Take it away, Kacey!

Take some time to read up on things you should be aware of before embarking on a cruise with your family. If you spend some of your precious free time thinking ahead about what you’ll be doing and what you’ll need, everyone will have a much better time having fun on board your chosen ship.

Do Your Research
You may think that because cruises provide everything for their guests that you can just sign up and go without any worries, but that’s not the case. When you’re signing your family up for a cruise, you need to consider things like if your room will be big enough, if there will be family activities for everyone and if the meal options will keep everyone full and happy.

There are also basic needs you’ll need to think about, like will there be room service and how often will the cleaning crew drop by to empty your trash and leave fresh towels out. Have you considered if laundry service will be provided? Some cruise lines don’t include this option, which would really affect how everyone packs their bags. Consider booking your cruise by choosing one that offers packages like beverage and laundry services, so you’ll have one less thing to worry about while you’re sailing the seas.

Plan To Get There Early
You probably already do this with most things, but make sure to get to your cruise at least a day early, if you can. It may mean booking a hotel room for everyone if you don’t have friends or family near where your ship is docked, but it’ll be worth it. Not only will it save you time and stress, but you’ll also avoid being one of the people who get left behind because their flight was delayed or traffic was worse than usual.


Create A Schedule
Not every vacation needs to have a schedule made beforehand, but when your family goes on a cruise, you should have at least a rough idea of what you’ll be doing every day. Base your activities around meal times, as most cruise lines only offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner at certain points the day. Let your family know ahead of time if you’ll be dining with the rest of the ship or ordering room service.

Have A Plan B
One of the most common reasons people avoid cruises is because they’re afraid of getting sick while out on the open ocean. Prepare for what you can by bringing motion sickness medication. You shouldn’t notice the rocking of the boat too much, but that also depends on which room you get.

For more serious illnesses, ships offer medical staff and an infirmary to help you out. You can be confident that you know what to do if your kid gets sick by looking up how to contact the medical staff ahead of time. As backup, bring along some disinfecting wipes to clean up with just in case.

Set Expectations Before You Leave
One of the biggest things cruises like to advertise is that your family is completely safe so your kids can have the freedom to wander around and enjoy kid-oriented activities on their own. Before you hit the road, get your family together to discuss the expectations you have of everyone. Set rules like when everyone should get back to the room at night and when you’ll have meals and activities together. This will help prevent any confusion that might result later from kids who embrace their newfound freedom.

Taking a cruise with your family could end up being one of the best things you ever do. It’s a vacation to look forward to and cherish every moment of, so don’t waste time once you get on board your ship by trying to figure out what you should do and how your cruise is going to go. Research ahead of time what you should know about what’s offered on your cruise so you can board with your family and leave all your worries back on shore.


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Have you ever been on a cruise? Are you planning one soon? Let us know in the comments!