:quality(85):upscale()/2024/05/01/795/n/1922441/63d7e2ba6632845b28c858.16509001_.jpg)
No more hearing, “Are we there yet?” Cruises just might be the ultimate hack for family travel, with activities for every age and interest built into the itinerary. Industry expert Stewart Chiron, better known as The Cruise Guy, names Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Disney Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, and Celebrity Cruises among the cruise operators that are “terrific” for families, especially when heading to the Caribbean, Alaska, or the Mediterranean.
Tempest hones in on Disney and Royal Caribbean for their range of activities that will appeal to children between the ages of 3 to 17, including water slides, rock climbing walls, themed clubs, sporting activities, and “endless entertainment.”
Tempest suggests trips that stop by the cruise line’s private islands. For Disney, that would be Castaway Cay in the Bahamas, as visited on the five-night Western Caribbean Cruise from Fort Lauderdale with Marvel Day at Sea. For Royal Caribbean, that’s CocoCay on trips like the three-night Bahamas and Perfect Day Cruise, with that perfect day being on CocoCay, of course.
Curry has cruised with her four kids all around the world, including Antarctica, Greenland, Central America, Mexico, Norway, European river cruises, and the Mediterranean. But the family favorite is by far a Galapagos Islands small ship cruise. “My 7-year-old loved the sea lions and my older kids still talk about snorkeling with sharks and penguins,” she says.
For clients, she likes pointing them to local companies connected with Ecuador’s national park, like family-run Galapagos Legend operating for more than four decades, which offers three-night North & Central Islands and Central & East Islands trips, as well the 14-night Galapagos Circumnavigation.
