As I have worked at Mundy Cruising for 16 years many of you know me. What some of you may not realize is that I now have a 4 year old little boy, Ben. Since having him our cruising needs have changed considerably and now I find myself drawn to ships that are child friendly.

Last year we travelled on Crystal Serenity, as Crystal is the only deluxe cruise line to cater for small children, and we found the Kids Club greatly enhanced our holiday. The Club was open all day however the supervised activities were from 10 – 12, 14 – 16 and 19:00 – 22:00 (this was great for dinner!). To be honest there were only about 20 children on board so all the little darlings were made to feel very special and they did not impact on the cruise for the majority of passengers who were not travelling with children. Evening babysitting was available in our stateroom and I even noticed daytime babysitting in case you wanted to do a shore excursion or take a leisurely stroll ashore.

There are of course cruise lines that specialist in family cruises, such as P&O, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Many of these cruises depart from Southampton which is ideal as it takes the stress of airports away.

Royal Caribbean must lead the field with its innovative ships – you cannot fail to have read in the press about the surf simulator or the rock wall 200 ft above sea level. For the little ones the waterpark is a firm favorite for splashing around in. With features such as interactive fountains, cannons and waterjets swimming will never be the same again! Whether watching a spectacular ice show or having a go yourself, the on board ice rink is guaranteed to have the whole family dancing on ice. There is a whole season of 14 day departures from Southampton on Independence of the Seas from 5 June to 25 September 2010 visiting exciting destinations such as Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Lisbon.

P&O specifically created the Aurora, Oriana, Oceana & Ventura for the family market. The Reef Club is run by well qualified staff who have extensive training and experience in planning a wide range of play and leisure activities for 2 to 17 year olds, split into four age groups. Again a great selection of itineraries to choose from the Mediterranean, Baltic Capitals and Norwegian Fjords.

Celebrity Cruises also cater for children and as they are fly cruises perhaps they have attract a more international audience. They operate the Fun Factory which is open from 0900 – 2200. What I particularly like about Celebrity is they offer pagers for those with children with special needs and dietary requirements. This offers great peace of mind and mean the whole family can relax and enjoy the cruise. A wide range of itineraries are on offer from Alaska, Canada & New England & South America. A terrific way to travel with younger members of the family and some of these itineraries may not interest young minds.

Now moving on to a completely different idea – I was invited recently to look over a barge at Windsor and that got me thinking about three generation cruising. Most of the vessels carry just 12 passengers and can be privately chartered for one week sailings. Having your own chef makes dining completely flexible to your needs. Perhaps the children would enjoy a BBQ on deck while the adults take dinner in the dining room? The voyage itself is really good fun. Grandchildren can steer the barge along tree lined canals or biking together while the adults can relax alongside on the sundeck just a few feet away. Ashore horse riding, tennis and many other activities can be arranged. There are Barges based in France, Italy, Holland & Belgium, England & Ireland.

To sum up I feel there is a cruise out there for everyone and is the perfect way for the whole family to have a holiday together.