I always thought cruises were fun for adults. Taking my kids on one made me change my mind.
After becoming parents, we embarked on three more cruises to Alaska, Bermuda, and the Bahamas over the next decade. Each time, escaping without the kids, we found the respite we needed to return to parenting and the monotony of everyday life.
We took a cruising hiatus
But then COVID hit, and the idea of cruising fell to the back burner. As someone who is immunosuppressed, our getaways morphed into mountain adventures with the security of social distancing.
But a piece of me yearned for the gentle rocking of the sea, for the socialization of meeting others who love traveling via the ocean, for the attentive staff that simply want you to have the best getaway of your life.
Cruising called to me from afar.
This past January, when my husband secured our boys' spring break week off from work, I turned to Google to discover what last-minute bookings were still available. I compared all-inclusive resorts to cruises that stopped at various ports, and by far, cruising was more affordable for our family of four.
Pictures of Coco Cay, the Royal Caribbean island just north of Nassau, were displayed across my screen. Matching our dates perfectly, a cruise to the Bahamas was leaving from Bayonne, New Jersey — within an hour and a half's drive from our home.
It felt meant to be — so we booked, and our love of cruising reignited.
Cruising is more than a parent-only getaway
With our boys — ages 10 and 13 — on board with us for the first time, I realized cruising is not only ideal for a parent-only getaway. It also happens to be the perfect vacation for families with tweens/teens because it offers more for less.
The endless activities kept my boys busy for the entirety of our trip. Visiting a tropical beach like Coco Cay was blissful, and my boys experienced the white sand and clear water that our Jersey shore getaways lack.
On board, when they weren't swimming or lounging in the hot tub, they were playing soccer or basketball in a state-of-the-art sports arena or partaking in one of the unique adventures our ship had to offer — like iFLY, FlowRider (surf simulator), and Bumper Cars.
Live music and entertainment energize the evenings, and activities like rock climbing and cooking, and exercise classes are around every corner. My sushi-loving teen and I took a sushi-making class, and it did not disappoint. The ongoing schedule of activities is organized in the cruise line app, so you'll never miss a thing.
Aboard the ship, it was as if my boys had traveled back to the 1990s. Our world has become unsafe for children to wander without adult supervision, but on cruises, teens can explore independently in a safe, family-friendly environment — possibly the best aspect of cruising with older kids! The ship's boundaries become a haven for teens in search of independence, and even tweens can roam safely in smaller areas like the pool deck.
Cruising also solves the travel dilemmas that families typically face. While you're dining in elegance, the ship is sailing toward a new port. How else can you expose your children to multiple destinations and cultures in one trip without packing and repacking, wasting time in the car or on a plane, and without spending the exorbitant cost for airline tickets? You can't. Forget the backseat arguments and boredom that comes with road travel because the fun doesn't stop while you're sailing.
They made friends on the boat
From poolside friendships to designated teen hangout spaces, kids are also bound to meet others around the same age — and unlike meeting a friend at a resort on land, these new buddies are there for the entirety of your vacation. On the first day, my 10-year-old made a new friend and now they stay in touch via iMessenger.
My husband and I used to cruise for a break from parenting. But now that my kids are older, I'm convinced cruising is the perfect family getaway, and we don't intend to sail without our boys again.
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