You finally booked your dream cruise on Kosherica.
The entire family is going on the trip, you are excited and aglow with anticipation. Your younger children will be easy to infect with your enthusiasm. Even for them, the trip can become more meaningful with a little help from you. Older kids may be at the rebellious stage of their life and think of a family cruise as ‘uncool’. They’ll need to be part of the planning so they feel like they have a voice there. It makes all the difference for teens.
There are easy solutions to make the experience super fun and exciting.
Kids are by nature curious. The desire to explore is one of the greatest qualities of a growing human being. In this blog, we’ll touch on ways that stimulate this very trait.
- Research – Before you pick the cruise, involve the entire family in the initial research. Look at Kosherica’s most desirable destinations. Ask questions about what is of the greatest interest to everyone. Your teens may be asked to use their Google skills, look up certain locations and report back to the family. If all is interested, research the locations together for fun things to see and do there. Coming to a mutual agreement, the decision on the cruise can be used as a tool to learn the magical art of negotiation. This process itself can be a wonderfully bonding and educational experience. You look at the different destinations and once you decide on a cruise begin the process of igniting more excitement.
- Now that the cruise is picked, the many different locations are great fun to play with. You can plan your shore excursions by looking forward to the magic awaiting you all. Have your kids learn a single new fact everyday pre-cruise about the different cities or locations they’ll be visiting. This will make the anticipation palpable.
- Sign up for all of the shore excursions of choice well ahead of time When they know that they will ride a Gondola in Venice, see a city deep in water, whales and bear in the wild, visit the Hermitage in Russia, go Dogsledding in Skagway and see immense glaciers in Alaska – their imagination will be fired up as well as their excitement and anticipation.
- Explore all the activities aboard the ship and talk about them with your kids. Norwegian Cruise Lines, for example, has supervised activities for kids ages 3-12 (sign them up for Splash academy) such as arts and crafts, scavenger hunts, treasure hunts, video games, circus skills, sports and more.
- For babies and toddlers up to age 3, there is the Guppies club where kids accompanied by a parent experience music, movement and interaction.
- Your teens can sign up to participate in supervised activities in Entourage, where they can experience a wide variety of activities It will make certain that during days without shore visits your teens will be entertained, learn and express themselves. All these activities are free.
- Check out the shows on the cruise and sign up ahead of time. The kids will find something to look forward to, perfectly performed Broadway shows, circus acts, magic act and much more.
- There are super cool attractions on board, both for the kids and the adults. Often the entire family can play together. The Bumper cars on the Alaska cruise And the Water Slides on the Mediterranean Kosherica cruise are just a small example of the excitement which can fill each day. Research ahead on your chosen cruise, share the attractions with the kids. Of course, pack clothes accordingly. If anything was forgotten, the ship’s stores have whatever you need.
- This will be a special thing: If you normally curb their video game or TV time, tell them ahead of the cruise that they’ll be allowed to watch their favorite movie on every Sea Day. Or let the kids do their thing by bringing along fun and cool games. The best scenario is when the family plays together, and you laugh and bond while having great fun.