Why going on a cruise with my three kids was the best thing I ever did – and you should do it too
WHAT’S the best age to take your kids on their first cruise?
If they’re old enough to explore a ship solo without toppling overboard, it can be a lot less hassle than travelling by plane.
So with my children aged 14, 11 and nine, a no-fly voyage from Dover was just the ticket for last year’s summer holiday.
Catching the train to Dover, checking in and boarding the boat was hands down the least stressful and easiest bit of travelling I have ever done with kids.
We opted for a Baltic voyage on board Carnival’s Cruises’ swish Carnival Pride, with 12 days of blissful sailing through five countries and seven cities.
Despite the rather not-so-tropical 17C temperature on embarkment day, upon dumping our bags in the cabin my kids headed straight for the waterslides at the very top of the ship’s 12 decks.
As they squealed with delight whizzing down the vertical drop of the Green Thunder, we already knew we had a hit on our hands.
Aside from the pools with whirling slides, there are a huge number of activities to suit children of different ages on board – mini golf, a basketball/five-a-side court, table tennis, table football and giant Jenga.
And if that wasn’t enough to keep them all happy, there were the kids clubs for youngsters and teens with scavenger hunts, karaoke and even an end-of-cruise ball, sweetly-named Pride Prom.
Although sadly, at least for my husband and I, kids clubs have never appealed to my offspring and this time was no exception.
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With our adjacent cabins we were never more than a bang on the wall away from the little ones.
We deliberately chose ones without balconies, mainly so the kids wouldn’t be tempted to chuck each other overboard, but also for the lower price.
Despite the cheaper cost, our ocean view cabins were practically identical to some of the more premium ones.
With neutral-coloured linens, a safe and a decent-sized TV, the only difference was we were on the lower decks, which didn’t bother us one bit.
It didn’t take long for us all to get our bearings round the ship and once the kids knew where we would be (ideally on a pool-side sun-lounger) they were happy to wander about on their own.
They quickly made friends and were soon spending hours in the pool and hot tub or in the arcade.
The only challenge we ended up having was tearing them away from the hot tub during the port calls.
We visited Copenhagen in Denmark, Tallinn in Estonia, Berlin and Kiel in Germany, Helsinki in Finland and Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden — a lot of stops in just 12 days.
Passengers can pick from an extensive range of shore excursions, including walking tours of ancient medieval castles in Tallinn, open-air museum trips in Copenhagen and reindeer feeding sessions in Helsinki.
But things can get a little pricey, particularly with a family of five.
So if, like us, you want to keep costs down, you can opt to do your own thing, all it takes is a little research.
All of the destinations were straightforward to navigate and most offered hop on and off buses that picked us up right from the dock.
We took a boat ride around the waterways of Copenhagen, investigated medieval medicines in the world’s oldest working pharmacy in Tallinn, swam in the sea in Germany, and conducted science experiments at the amazing Universeum kids’ museum, before taking an amphibious bus tour around Gothenburg.
Non-stop food fest
The kids did a LOT of walking, but surprisingly without complaint.
They absolutely loved exploring — and the excitement of getting off the boat and being in a new country every other day is something we couldn’t have captured with any other holiday.
As for the evenings onboard — well they were as packed as the days.
There was at least one cabaret performance or show each evening in the main theatre and two comedy shows, one PG and the other for the adults.
It came as something of a revelation to us that our kids love live comedy.
They were glued to the front seats of the early evening performances every night — participating on stage on more than one occasion.
It was a definite highlight of the trip.
The quality of the comedians was truly impressive too and their ability not to drop any “f-bombs” or other expletives in front of the kids equally so!
And what about the food on board? Cruises are notorious for their indulgent buffets and while I was worried it would be a non-stop food fest for all of us, we just about managed to stay fairly under control.
If you don’t fancy the extensive buffet for each meal, there is the option to have a table service dinner or breakfast.
Although we found that the buffet suited the kids better, hopping up and down to re-fill their plates whenever they pleased.
There’s also a steakhouse, sushi restaurant and burger joint, as well as a piano bar and sports bar for knocking back the pints.
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No matter how great the on-board activities and entertainment were though, nothing felt as good as being able to disembark the ship and get home to our beds with two hours of docking.
That must be a record!
GO: BALTIC CRUISE
GETTING/STAYING THERE: A 12-day Europe cruise on board Carnival Pride costs from £1,466pp, based on two people sharing a Balcony Cabin and departing from Dover on June 18, 2023.
See carnival.com.