Top ten tips for a child free cruise

A lot of people can spend a long time planning their perfect cruise only to have it ruined by gangs of feral children roaming the ship, (I’m exaggerating slightly here).
For teh record I have two young children of my own so I fall firmly into the family friendly cruising category. However I realise that a lot of people want/need/enjoy child free cruising. For that reason I’ve put together this little guide on the best ways to avoid having your well-earned holiday spoilt by someone elses children

Probably the simplest tip I can offer is to book onto an adult only ship. There are many ships out there that will only let people on-board if they are 18yrs of age or over. P&O for instance have three adult only ships; the Adonia, the Arcadia and the Oriana.

As silly as it sounds make sure you double check when you’re cruising. If you book a cruise that sails within school term time you’re much less likely to see children on-board. This tip is particularly useful if you want to cruise on a large ship with lots of facilities whilst avoiding lots of children.

Be choosy in the type of ship you book on. Whilst the majority of ships will let children book a cruise on-board them if they wish most families will pick a certain type of family friendly ship. If you book a cruise on a small ship with few child facilities to keep them entertained then the chance of children being on-board goes right down.  The same logic also applies to luxury and river cruises; these types of cruises don’t tend to attract a large number of families to them.

Also try and think outside of the box when it comes to planning your itinerary. Although this is a generalisation, (kids can be well travelled globe trotters too), most families will stick to warm Mediterranean itineraries for their holidays. If you avoid these then you’re much less likely to have children on your cruise.

 Along the same vein as tip no.4 try to book a longer cruise. The average family holiday will be between 7 and 14 days so if you book a cruise that’s longer than that then you’ll again drastically reduce your chances of running into any kids on your cruise.

 If you still find you’re on a cruise with lots of kids then there are steps you can do to reduce the amount of time you spend surrounded by kids.                                                                                       
Many large ‘family friendly’ cruise ships also include adult only areas these days.  Most of these are chargeable to your on-board account but if you want to sail on a big ship and you have to sail outside of school terms, (maybe you’re a teacher), then this can be a good option for you.

Another good tip is the type of dining you book on-board. Most families with small children will have to book the early dining option as this is the time their children will be getting hungry so if you request the late dining option you’ll probably get a much quiter dining experience.  You could also pay to dine in one of the speciality dining venues on-board your ship. These also tend to offer a smaller more intimate experience than you get in the main dining room.

Why not use the spa as much as you can? I don’t know many children that enjoy massages, saunas, hot mud baths or relaxation rooms. Making the most of these will lead to a child free, (and a very relaxed), cruise experience.

Breakfast can be a bit of a bun fight in the buffet restaurant at the best of time and when you add hundreds of kids into the mix it becomes even more chaotic. Why not avoid all that and just order breakfast in bed for yourself?

Again, I know this is a generalisation, but a lot of families tend to book the cruise lines shore excursions for the simple reason that they are a lot easier and hassle free. If you want to enjoy a walk around the port without dodging kids everywhere then you might want to look into heading ashore on your own.

So is that helpful? Can you think of any other tips I may have missed to help out other travellers? Feel free to add them below.

Happy cruising.