Best Family-Friendly Cruises: Top Cruise Lines for Traveling with Kids
Planning the perfect family-friendly vacation can feel like a full-time job.
Finding destinations, activities, excursions, food, and fun to please everyone can be a daunting task, but there is an easy and convenient way to do it:
Take a family friendly cruise!
With activities for kids of all ages, endless culinary options, built in entertainment and al e carte excursions, as well as a wide range of itineraries and ports, cruises are the ideal option for a family getaway.
While cruises are the easy choice for a family-friendly vacation, choosing which one is best for you and your family can be overwhelming. But that is what we are here for!
The GWA Team cruise experts are here to help guide you every step of the way and take all the stress out of planning your dream cruise.
Here, we are giving an overview of our favorite family-friendly cruise lines to help you decide which may best for you and your family.
Disney Cruises
When it comes to family friendly cruises, Disney is usually the first cruise line to come to mind. With endless activities geared towards the whole family, character experiences for the kids, endless dining options for the adults, and a world class reputation, Disney Cruises are a top choice for family friendly cruises!
Did you know that there are three classes of Disney Cruises? Each offering a unique Disney Magic experience, with a range of amenities to fit every family’s budget!
GWA Travel Collective has a team of Cruise Specialists to help you choose which Disney cruise is best for you, but here is an overview to help narrow down your dream family vacation on the water:
disney cruise Magic Class
Looking for a Disney Cruise with all the classic Disney theming, in a more intimate setting? The original Disney Magic, featuring Rapunzel's Royal Table and Tangled: The Musical, and Disney Wonder, home to Tiana's Place, a bayou-inspired dining room, are great options!
Being the smallest ships in the Disney Cruise fleet, these family friendly ships only carry up to 2700 passengers. Fewer people, and smaller ships make them easier to navigate and disembark at destinations.
These ships, from the original Disney Cruise ship fleet, feature all the original Disney magic, but also boast unique family fun features like the Aqua Dunk on the Magic.
disney cruise Dream Class
Amongst this class of Disney Cruise, you will find the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy, both offering all the Disney themed magic of the Disney Magic Class, but on a larger scale.
With ships accommodating 4000 passengers, The Disney Cruise Cream Class ships offer unique experiences like the Beauty and the Beast show on the Dream, and Marvel Super Hero Academy on the Fantasy.
Disney cruise Wish Class
Calling all Disney Adults!
This Disney Cruise Class is for you, with elevated dining experiences, adult lounges, and next level experiences, the ships in this class are great for the whole family, but are also the perfect experience for Disney loving adults.
Being the newest ships in the Disney Cruise fleet, the Disney Wish, Disney Destiny, and Disney Treasure are the largest, most tech-forward, and heavily themed.
With the Disney Wish featuring Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure and Worlds of Marvel on the dining rotation, the Disney Treasure featuring The Tale of Moana in the Walt Disney Theater, and the brand new Disney Destiny featuring both heroes and villains - there is a truly a Disney cruise experience for everyone in this class.
The Disney Adventure
The Disney Adventure is not only in a class of its own, but also an experience like no other.
Making it’s maiden voyage in 2025, the Disney Adventure sets sail from Singapore and offers 3 or 4 days cruises like no other.
Featuring seven themed areas across the ship, each offering immersive experiences bringing the tales from Disney, Marvel and Pixar to life on a grand scale.
The Disney Adventure Cruise is truly a trip of a lifetime for Disney fans of all ages.
Carnival Cruise Line
Perhaps one of the most well-known cruise lines, Carnival is often the first line to come to mind when thinking of cruises, and it is a top option when planning family fun for many reasons.
With a family friendly cruise line for every type of family, whether you are looking for high-energy family fun, thrilling activities (like an onboard ROLLER COASTER!), little kid-friendly activities or multi-generational entertainment, there is a Carnival cruise for you.
Carnival Excel-class ships
Looking for fun in the sun with a side of thrilling adventure? Hop aboard the Mardi Gras, The Carnival Celebration, or The Jubilee for all the kid and teen friendly activities you could dream of, including a whole roller coaster and water park on board!
Featuring Carnival’s world class dining options, ropes courses, and endless live entertainment, these action-packed ships are perfect for kids of all ages.
carnival Vista-class ships
Are you a high energy family or traveling with high energy kiddos? Then this Carnival Cruise line is for you!
In this class, you will find The Vista, The Horizon, and The Panorama all offering high-energy activities including SkyRide and many other waterslides, basketball courts, arcades and mini golf.
If you are traveling with smaller kids, there are kid clubs on board to offer all the fun and entertainment for the littles while parents enjoy some R&R or many of the incredible adult amenities on offered.
Carnival Sunshine
Traveling as a multi-generational family or with older “kids”? The Carnival Sunshine is for you!
These smaller ships offer a diverse range of activities for everyone from toddlers to seniors in a more intimate setting.
Offering a range of dining and entertainment options, as well as opportunities for adventure and relaxation, this is the ideal choice of cruise for those traveling with a range of ages, abilities and interests.
Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean has a long-standing reputation of being a family friendly cruise line with numerous ships in their fleets offering activities for kids of all ages.
Royal Caribbean offers a wide range of packages, amenities, routes, itineraries, excursions and more, which makes this cruise line friendly for all families looking for an epic vacation at sea.
Reach out to our knowledgeable and professional cruise experts to help you decide if a Royal Caribbean cruise is best for you and your family!
Setting sail with teens and tweens?
Check out one of Royal Caribbean’s newer ships like Utopia of the Seas, which is packed with teen friendly amenities and activities. Your teens and tweens will love the pools and watersides and will be sure to remember watching movies on the deck of a cruise ship under the stars for a lifetime.
Norwegian Cruise Line
When we say Norwegian Cruise Lines are, “fun for the whole family”, we mean it.
With ships in the Breakaway Plus class offering endless amenities, entertainment, and activities including Ropes Course, Sports Complex, Aqua Park, and so so much more, the whole family will have the experience of a lifetime.
When it comes to Norwegian Cruise Lines, family-friendly also means rest, relaxation and recharge for the adults! You can enjoy dining or spa experiences (or just a nap) while the kids are safe and entertained via the numerous youth programs onboard.
With so many epic family-friendly Norwegian Cruise Line options, it can be hard to choose which one to embark on, but our cruise specialists are here to make that choice easy!
Heading to Sea with Tweens or Teens?
What could be more epic than go-kart tracks, laser tag, and rock climbing walls on the high seas? Norwegian offers that, and so much more on their family friendly ships.
You can rest assured knowing your kiddos are safely having a blast while you sit back, relax, and enjoy all the adult-friendly amenities on board.
Let's Start Planning!
Whether you are traveling as a young family, family with teens and tweens, or multi-generational family, looking for adventure travel or the ultimate rest and relaxation experience, there is a perfect family friendly cruise for you!
Or team is ready to help you book your perfect getaway at sea, so reach out to us today to make all the magic happen!
