When it comes to family travel, our philosophy is make them count.
Since our daughter and her family live in New Hampshire, and my husband and I live in Florida, we get to see each other two or three times a year, so we go out of our way to make every minute count.
We have found going on a three- or four-day cruise suits our three-generational group well.
A cruise offers activities and facilities for all ages, so nobody gets bored, and a short cruise is easy on the pocketbook, is over quickly (particularly desirable in case someone is not having a good time) and typically features very little sailing – thus there is less chance someone would get seasick.
Perhaps best of all, our daughter and I hang up our aprons for the duration as meals and snacks are included in the fare. Nobody has to take time to go grocery shopping, prepare the food, serve it and clean up afterward.
And on a cruise, nobody has to wonder where we will have dinner, make reservations and arrange for transportation to the restaurants.
Additionally, several cruise lines offer short cruises from Florida ports, so they are easy for Floridians to get to.
Our latest family cruise was on Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Dream, a four-day voyage to Nassau and Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, from Port Canaveral.
Because some members of our family were flying in from New Hampshire, we booked a two-bedroom accommodation at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge in Walt Disney World for the night before the cruise, thus eliminating the chance of literally “missing the boat” if flights were canceled or delayed.
The next morning, rested and relaxed, we boarded the Disney Dream, Disney Cruise Line’s third ship of four, launched in 2010, and we set out to enjoy what the ship has to offer for various age groups.
Our teenage grandsons, Aidan and Julian, headed for Vibe, the ship’s club for teens – a big outdoor/indoor facility with two pools, deck chairs, big screen televisions, video games and organized activities such as origami classes, contests and parties. Some events even feature free smoothies and milkshakes for the teens.
During frequent open houses for all ages at the ship’s Oceaneer Club, an area for children ages 3 to 12, we were able to see how kids enjoyed being transported to a galaxy far, far away at Star Wars: Millennium Falcon, where they get a crack at piloting through hyperspace and triggering light-speed jumps to different locations around the galaxy.
“Bobby, it’s time to go,” a father from Baltimore told his 5-year-old, who was busy on the controls of the Millennium Falcon. “If it were up to him,” the dad told us, “he would never leave here.”
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Among the Star Wars area’s other features are 1,000 blinking LED lights, a wall that replicates the wall in episode 5 of the Star Wars saga where Han Solo kisses Princess Leia for the first time, and animated props including an “android cleaning station” with an R2D2 that looks like he’s been through a lot and needs to be tidied up.
Children can also enjoy themed crafts, games and activities, including watching episodes from the Disney XD animated series “Star Wars Rebels” on a large screen, or virtually join the rebellion at gaming stations featuring the series’ adventures.
There’s also a shipboard version of the Jedi Training Academy experience available in Disney parks. This activity invites young Jedi hopefuls – known as “Padawans” – to learn lightsaber moves from a Jedi Master.
They can then use the “Force” in some feats that include “moving” crates and a barrel with “Force”-full gestures and even face off against the evil Darth Vader.
The Oceaneer Club also has a high-tech interactive space based on the Disney Infinity video game and sections like Andy’s Room themed to the “Toy Story” movies.
While the younger sailors are in the kids’ and teens’ clubs, adults have some spaces for themselves. Among them is an adults-only pool and lounge area with comfortable loungers and a retreat for 18-and-over guests. This retreat includes a water feature, Satellite Falls, a circular splash pool with benches and a gently falling rain curtain that provides coolness. Around this upper deck, adult guests can soak up the sun in loungers or relax in the shade under a canopy. The older generations in our group used these areas, as well as the fitness center in the Senses Spa and the spa’s Juice Bar that serves up made-to-order smoothies, juices, protein and energy shakes and other libations that can be enjoyed after a workout on seating with ocean views.
When we wanted to enjoy pool time together, the ship has several family pools and water play areas, one of them, the Mickey Pool, equipped with a slide. And, most popular of all with our teens and some of the older sailors, the AquaDuck is a 765-foot-long clear plastic water slide that has been dubbed “the first water coaster at sea” and winds around an upper deck of the ship, cuts through the funnel, and at one point, juts out 13 feet over the ocean.
Activities and facilities for families include organized games and contests, “draw a Disney character” sessions, meet-and-greets with Disney princesses and various other characters, and a Muppets-themed Midship Detective Agency game, “The Case of the Stolen Show.” The latter is an interactive ship-wide game during which participants uncover clues and solve a mystery using a “detective badge” that activates surprises in “Enchanted Art” (artwork that becomes animated when someone stands in front of it) all around the ship. Big highlights for all ages include a pirates’ night up on deck with fireworks display at sea, Broadway-style shows including one themed to “Beauty and The Beast” in the Walt Disney Theatre and first-run Disney movies in the cinema (“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and “Coco” were among those presented during our cruise).
Adults who are nightlife enthusiasts have the ship’s nightclubs and lounges: 687 Pub, Pink, the District Lounge and Skyline. And a feature that is tempting to young, old and everyone in between is Vanellope’s Sweets and Treats, a specialty sweet shop inspired on the movie “Wreck-It Ralph.” It aims to satisfy the taste buds of cruisers of all ages, with handmade gelato and ice cream, an assortment of candy, and novelty treats for purchase (free ice cream dispensers are available nearby at Eye Scream).
When it comes to dining, the Disney Dream, like all Disney ships, features three main restaurants, Royal Palace (themed to Disney princesses), Enchanted Garden (inspired in the gardens at Versailles) and Animator’s Palate (dinner show themed to Disney animation) and guests go from one to the other each evening with their servers. The food and the service were good at all three restaurants. On our sailing, since we were traveling with two teens, we did not patronize the adults-only alternative fine dining restaurants, Palo and Remy, but we did go often to Cabanas, the buffet-style restaurant, and the quick service Flo’s V8 Café especially for quick meals before setting out, and returning from, the ports.
The ports on our sailing included Nassau, Bahamas and Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamian archipelago. In Nassau, we had visited Ardastra Gardens with its marching flamingoes, the Pirates of Nassau attraction and the beaches of Paradise Island on previous visits, so we went for a stroll around the city taking in Rawson Square and the Georgian-style Government House with a statue of Christopher Columbus in front, and we shopped for woven handicrafts, wooden carvings and colorful fabrics in the Straw Market on Bay Street. We bought a day pass ($79 per person including $40 food and beverage credit) at the Hilton British Colonial, a resort walking distance from the cruise pier, to have access to its sandy beach and swimming pool. Other pastimes available at the hotel include ping pong, giant chess and giant checkers games.
In Castaway Cay, we opted for the Getaway Package ($43 for ages 10 and older, $24 for ages 5 to 9) including snorkel equipment and inner tube rental for the day and one-hour bike rental. It was great to explore the island and enjoy swimming and snorkeling. Castaway Cay attractions include a slide, teen beach, family beach, lunch pavilions with included barbecue, a children’s area, organized activities, shops, Bahamian crafts area and post office, and adults-only beach.
After exploring in the ports, we found the ship’s accommodations to be comfortable and attractive with nautical décor touches. We booked two veranda cabins, one for Humberto and me and one for the rest of the family and thus had two bathrooms at our disposal. Each cabin has a divided bathroom (one side has a tub/shower and basin, and the other side a toilet and basin) a feature that we like as two people can be using parts of each bathroom at the same time in privacy. One thing we would change would be to add a pocket door in the interior wall that divides both sides of each bathroom to provide easier access.
Family cruising tips
Start planning at least six months ahead of the cruise as some cabin categories and the connecting cabins that family groups often want can sell out. In multi-generational family groups, it is important to keep everyone in the loop when planning. And getting input from all is key, not just when deciding what ship to take, when to go, what accommodations to select and what dinner seating to choose, but also what shore activities to enjoy. Every member of the group should be able to select at least one activity he or she likes. Keeping in mind varying stamina levels of family members is important when planning excursions. When traveling together, it is OK to spend some time apart to participate in different activities to suit personal interests.
Cost: Fares on the Disney Dream start at $624 per person, double, for an inside cabin with no window, but a “magical porthole” that shows real time views of the sea and sightings of animated Disney characters. The Disney Dream offers three- and four-night cruises from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas year round; the line’s Disney Magic features four- and five-night cruises from Miami during the winter. Info: (www.disneycruise.com),
Additional cruise lines offer a variety of short voyages from Florida ports that are ideal for families, including:
-Carnival Cruise Lines (www.carnival.com), with fares starting at $179 for an interior cabin
-Norwegian (www.ncl.com) with fares starting at $329 with free open bar
-Royal Caribbean (www.royalcaribbean.com) with fares starting at $221.
Fares listed were found online at time of writing and are subject to change. Port charges, taxes and gratuities are extra.
Contact a travel agent specializing in cruises or each individual cruise line and ask about specials available for the time you plan to sail.