Family Cruise Vacations Grow in Popularity

With the rise in family vacation popularity, the cruise industry is riding the wave with an exciting array of family-friendly activities that cover the waterfront -- so there's no better time than now to pack up the kids and explore the world aboard a cruise.

Cruise lines now feature a cornucopia of family fun, including sports, art activities, planetarium shows, disco parties, pizza fests, ice skating, youth Olympics, rock climbing, scavenger hunts, wildlife exploration, and much more.

Family travel is on an upsurge, according to the Travel Industry Association, with one in four household trips -- or more than 170.1 million -- including children under 18. Most trips with children (91 percent) are for leisure, nearly half of which are taken to visit friends or relatives.

The experts at href="http://www.travelersadvantage.com"> Travelers Advantage offer these tips and trips for the ultimate family cruise:

Family Cruise Tips:

Be sure the Kids' Programs are operating on the dates of your trip.

Check the size and location of the cabin, and the guardrails on the bunks.

Some ships have cabins that can sleep five; some have adjoining

cabins, some give special rates for a second cabin for teens.

Check required documentation for your children (ID, etc.) Be especially careful if your child is crossing borders and only one birth parent is on the trip.

Don't forget to budget for gratuities.

Buy a "soda package" if your kids drink soft drinks - these drinks are typically not free.

You never know when illness might hit your household and change plans: check cancellation fees and fees for changing dates. Trip cancellation insurance may be worth the price.

Family Cruise Trips

- Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival will host 100,000 kids this year on its "Fun Ships." These vessels offer parties, special performances by entertainers, ship tours for kids and teen shore excursions; face painting, scavenger hunts, talent shows, photography workshops, art classes; waterslides. Camp Carnival - complete with friendly youth staff that delivers top- notch care and supervision - has morning to night activities for four ages: toddlers (2 to 5), juniors (6-8), intermediate, (9-11), and teens (12-17). Also offered are a playroom stocked with toys and games and electronic game rooms. Sail the Carnival Conquest from Galveston, Texas, from $499 for seven nights*. Free upgrades are available on select cruises.

- Disney Cruise Line

As you'd expect, families will find special facilities and activities with Disney Cruise Line, all beautifully executed. There's an entire deck for kids, with a large staff, age-specific programs, and hands-on activities. Parents receive pagers when dropping kids off at the Oceaneer Club (ages 3-8) or Oceaneer Lab (ages 9-12). Babies get laid back at the Flounder's Reef Nursery (at an extra charge.) For teens, there's Common Grounds, a New-York style coffeehouse with music, large screen TV, and coffee bar; programs in photography, film-making; teen outings; and more. Live shows are a special highlight on Disney cruises, and so is Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. The latest program in the character-filled lineup is the Pirates of the Caribbean outings. A 3-night Bahamas cruise aboard the Disney Wonder departing from Port Canaveral, Fla., is available from $429.

- Holland America Line

Club HAL for ages 5-17 has supervised programs for youngsters, tweens, and teens; full-time youth coordinators; bingo, karaoke, t-shirt painting, tournaments, swimming pool activities; special dinner menu; special infant and children's fares; kids-only excursions in Alaska. Jump into a 7-night Alaskan Explorer trek from $749 aboard Zaandam, departing from Seattle.

- Celebrity Cruises

Offers a three-tier program for kids 3-17, and features special youth counselors trained in child psychology, child development, education and recreation. Programs for children 3-6 (Ship Mates), 7-10 (Celebrity Cadets), 11-13(Ensigns), and 14-17 (Celebrity Teens): treasure huts, magic shows, junior Olympics, karaoke, talent shows, and lots more. On sailings when the Family Cruising Program is operational, Celebrity offers group baby sitting for kids 3 and up from 10p.m. to 1a.m. for a nominal charge. Sail on a 7-night Bermuda cruise from $650 aboard Zenith, departing from Cape Liberty (Bayonne), N.J.

- Royal Caribbean International

Fun and educational complimentary programs: "Adventure Ocean" is a program for ages 3 to 12 and teens from age 13 to 17 with special meals and play areas; supervised activities for day and night; Educational entertainment programs, lots of play equipment, special menus, "Creative Creations", and more. A 7-night Riviera and Italy cruise is available from $799 aboard Voyager of the Seas, departing from Barcelona.

- Norwegian Cruise Line

Jr. Sailor (Ages 3-5) has storytelling, indoor games, ouTD valign="top"oor sports, arts and crafts, parades and parties; First Mates (ages 6-8) has Olympic games, magic shows, arts and crafts, balloon sculptures, circus at sea; Navigators (9-12) has Olympic games, circus at sea, scavenger hunt, private bridge tours, Nintendo, magic shows, ship tours, arts and crafts, parties, dances, Koosh games; Teen Club (ages 13-17) has parties, movies, volleyball, basketball, ice cream social, T-shirt painting, The Newly Met Game, scavenger hunt, trivia contest, photo hunt, dancing, talent show, Dive-In shore excursions, shows, pool party, Liar's Club. Also: playrooms and a special kid's menu at every meal. Sail on a 7-night Bahamas and Florida trip aboard the Norwegian Spirit from $649, departing from New York. Free upgrades are available on select sailings, and if you book a balcony, you get a $50 shipboard credit