Are you planning your first family cruise? Cruising with kids and relatives is very different from traveling solo or as a couple. There are important things to consider that might not be obvious or relevant when you’re cruising without family. Here, I’m sharing the advice I wish I had before my first family cruise—tips I learned the hard way and wish someone had told me upfront.
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Link Your Cabins Before the Cruise
If you’re cruising with family or a group and staying in separate cabins, it’s important to have the cruise line link those cabins together before you board the ship. This step may seem small, but it affects a few key parts of your trip.
First, it helps make sure you’re all seated together at dinner. On many cruises with traditional dining, your dining assignments are based on your cabin bookings. If your cabins aren’t linked, your group may be split across different tables.
Once onboard, it’s a hassle to change. If you’re a big group, it may even be hard to find a table big enough to accommodate everyone in your party.
Second, some cruise lines allow one person to book shore excursions, shows, or onboard activities for the whole group—but only if the cabins are linked. This saves time and ensures everyone gets the same booking, rather than having to go in and reserve everything individually.
To get your cabins linked, you can call the cruise line directly or ask your travel agent to take care of it. It’s a simple step, but it needs to be done before embarkation day. Once you’re on the ship, fixing it can be a hassle and may require waiting in long lines at guest services.
Reserve Theater Shows as Soon as You Board
Many cruise ships now require reservations for their main theater productions, especially for big name shows. These seats are usually free, but they are not guaranteed unless you reserve them in advance.
On embarkation day, one of the first things you should do is log into the cruise line’s app or head to the box office and reserve your spots for the shows you want to see—for the entire cruise, not just the first night.
Reservations fill up quickly, and popular time slots (like evening shows after first dinner seating) tend to get booked early.
If you don’t reserve, you will be turned away at the door (they scan your cruise card!) So don’t wait—get it done the moment you board the ship so you’re not scrambling later in the trip.
Book Shore Excursions Early
Shore excursions fill up fast—especially the popular ones—so don’t wait until you’re on the ship to book them. Since you are cruising with family or a large group, it’s even more important to secure your spots in advance to get your top choices.
Plus, you will save money if you book shore excursions early. Many cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise will discount shore excursions to encourage passengers to book boarding the ship.
Booking early also gives you more time to research options and compare prices. Websites like Viator can offer lower prices than what the cruise line provides. Just make sure any independent tour you book gets you back to the ship on time—cruise ships won’t wait for late passengers who aren’t on a ship sponsored excursion.
It’s worth looking into private tours, especially if you have a big group. In many cases, a private tour can actually be more affordable per person and more comfortable since you won’t be sharing the experience with strangers.
Pick the Right Shore Excursion
One common mistake families make is trying to choose a single shore excursion that works for everyone. Different ages and energy levels mean different needs—what’s fun for teens might be boring for grandparents, and what’s comfortable for seniors might be too slow for kids.
Sometimes the best option is to split up. Let part of the group choose a more relaxed tour, while others go for something more adventurous.
On a family cruise to Edinburgh, we booked an “easy” shore excursion to accommodate my mother-in-law. It worked for her, but my kids were completely bored.
The slow pace, museum stop, and long bathroom breaks just didn’t keep them engaged. In hindsight, it would have made more sense to divide the group and let everyone enjoy an activity that suited them.
Bring Cruise Lanyards for Everyone in the Family
One of the most useful things you can pack for a cruise—especially with kids—is a set of cruise lanyards. On most cruise lines, each person is given a cruise card or key card, which acts as your room key and onboard credit card.
You’ll use it constantly: to unlock your cabin door, check in for shows, make purchases on the ship, and to get on and off the ship at port stops. Wearing it on a lanyard around your neck makes life so much easier.
No more digging through your bag every time you need it. Plus, when kids wear their own lanyards, they’re less likely to lose their card—or rely on you to carry it for them. It saves you from being the designated “card holder” all trip long.
Make sure to pack a lanyard for each family member—it will make your life onboard the cruise ship easier.
That said, not all cruise lines use physical cards anymore. For example, Princess Cruises uses a wearable Medallion, which you don’t have to scan or insert—it automatically unlocks your cabin door and works with sensors around the ship. In that case, bringing your own lanyard is not necessary.
Avoid Booking Back to Back Excursions
It’s tempting to fill your itinerary with a shore excursion in every port, but back to back tours can leave everyone feeling worn out—especially kids and older family members.
Touring every day can turn your vacation into a nonstop schedule of early mornings, long walks, and limited downtime.
Instead, build in some lighter days. Explore the port on your own, relax at a nearby beach, or just stay on the ship and enjoy the quiet while most passengers are ashore.
If you’re interested in an excursion but others in your family aren’t, that’s okay too. Grandparents might enjoy staying onboard when it’s less crowded, and kids can spend a few hours in the kids’ club while adults do their own thing. Giving everyone time to rest helps make the trip more enjoyable for the whole family.
Choose Traditional Dining
When choosing your dinner option for the cruise, go with traditional dining instead of “anytime” or flexible dining—especially if you’re part of a large family or group.
Traditional dining assigns your group a specific table at the same time every night. This ensures you’ll have a table big enough for everyone, without having to wait.
If you pick anytime dining, your group may have to wait for a table—sometimes for a long time—especially during peak dinner hours around 7 p.m.
This can be a frustrating way to end the day, especially if you have tired kids. Traditional dining helps you avoid the hassle and gives your family a set routine.
Some cruise lines, like Norwegian Cruise Line, don’t offer traditional dining at all. In that case, it’s worth speaking to the restaurant supervisor on embarkation day to see if they can assign your group a table at the same time each night.
Other cruise lines, like Princess Cruises, offer a hybrid system. While they do have an anytime dining option, you can make reservations in advance for each night of your cruise. It’s a good way to get the flexibility of different dining times with the structure of a reserved table.
Another big plus with traditional dining is having the same waiter each night. They’ll learn your preferences, which makes dinner service faster and more personal.
On a recent Celebrity cruise, by the third night, our waiter already had drinks on the table—Shirley Temples for the kids and wine and sparkling water for the adults.
If you want an easier and more enjoyable dinner experience, especially with kids or grandparents in the group, traditional dining is the way to go.
Choose Early Seating If You Have Kids
If you’re cruising with kids, early dinner seating is the better choice. Late seating, which begins around 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. is too late after a long day of activities. Tired, hungry kids won’t have the patience for a late meal, and grandparents will also appreciate dining early.
It’s important to make sure you request early seating when you book your cruise. If you have late seating on your reservation, call the cruise line or your travel agent to get that changed to early seating before you board the cruise ship.
Once you’re on the cruise ship, it’s sometimes hard to switch from late seating to an early one—especially if you’re part of a large group and want to sit together at the same table. That’s why it’s important to request your preferred seating time when you book your cruise. Early seating tends to fill up quickly, since it’s the more popular option.
Do some research to find out the dining time. It can vary by cruise line and by cruise shp. On Princess Cruises, there are typically three set dining times: early seating at 4:45 p.m., first seating at 5:00 p.m., and second seating at 7:15 p.m.
On MSC Cruises, early seating can range anywhere from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., depending on the ship and dining room, while late seating usually begins around 9:00 p.m.
Choosing early seating helps you stick to a more manageable evening schedule, avoid long waits, and make dinner a more relaxed experience for the entire family.
Book Adjacent Balcony Cabins
When cruising as a family, try to book cabins that are close to each other—ideally on the same floor and on the same side of the ship.
If connecting (adjoining) cabins are available, book them. These have interior doors between rooms, making it easy to move between cabins without going into the hallway.
If connecting cabins aren’t available (and they often book up fast), the next best thing is to reserve adjacent balcony cabins. Many cruise lines allow the partition between balconies to be open (ask your cabin steward to open it).
This gives you the feel of a connected cabin, while letting kids or family members move between rooms easily—without needing to go through the hallway. It also gives you a shared outdoor balcony space to relax and socialize and keeps everyone close together.
Cabin Walls are Magnetic
I had no idea cruise cabin walls were magnetic until a few cruises in—and I really wish I’d known sooner. Once I discovered this, I started packing a few strong magnetic hooks, and it made a big difference in keeping our tiny cabin organized, especially when sharing the space with kids.
These hooks are perfect for hanging wet swimsuits, towels, hats, cruise lanyards—you name it. Most cruise cabins don’t have nearly enough built-in hooks, so bringing your own makes a huge difference.
Another thing you can do if you’re cruising with young children is that the magnetic walls can double as a play area. If you have young kids, bring along magnetic playsets. It’s an easy, mess-free way to keep them entertained in the room. I really wish I had known this trick back when my kids were younger! I like these travel magnetic tin playset.
Bring Your Own Device
Don’t leave your phone or tablet at home—even if you don’t plan to use it much onboard. These days, cruise lines are going paperless in an effort to be more eco-friendly. That means menus, daily schedules, and activity booking are increasingly accessed online, often through QR codes or cruise apps.
For example, at many onboard restaurants, you may not be given a printed menu. Instead, you’ll be asked to scan a QR code to view the menu digitally.
If only one or two people in your group have a device, everyone else will have to crowd around one screen, which can be frustrating—especially with kids or a large family.
The same goes for the cruise’s daily planner. On some ships, the schedule of events is no longer printed and delivered to your cabin. Instead, you’ll need to access it through a QR code or the cruise line’s app.
Many cruise lines also require the app to book activities, shows, or shore excursions. Without a device, you’ll have to wait in line at guest services or the shore excursion desk—something you can easily avoid by having your own phone or tablet on hand.
Another reason to bring your own device: most cruise lines now allow free texting within their app, even without buying a Wi-Fi plan. It’s a convenient way to keep in touch with family members on the ship, coordinate meetups, or share plans throughout the day.
Just keep in mind that kids under 13—or under 16, depending on the cruise line—typically aren’t allowed to use the messaging feature.
Book Your Cruise Transfer in Advance
If you’re traveling with a big group, don’t wait until the last minute to figure out how you’re getting to and from the cruise port. Taxis and ride share services like Uber or Lyft might seem convenient, but they’re not always reliable for larger parties—especially during busy embarkation or disembarkation times when demand is high.
Instead, book your transportation in advance. Start by calling your hotel to see if they offer shuttle services or large van transfers to the port. Many hotels near cruise ports cater to cruisers and may offer this service for free or a small fee.
If that’s not an option, look into booking a transfer through third party services like Viator. Pre-booking your transfer means you won’t have to scramble to find enough vehicles for everyone, and it reduces stress at the beginning and end of your trip.
Check out my Cruise Travel planners.
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