7
Have a Plan for Each Port
Depending on the port, you’ ll typically have somewhere between four to 12 hours to explore. Have a good idea of where you want to go and what you want to do before you leave the ship. Again, this is an advisor’ s bread and butter— they can help you with excursions and give advice about each one.
10
Introduce Your Kids to the Kids / Teens Club on the First Night Kids may put up some resistance to partaking in the onboard kids club. The easiest way to convert them is if they have a friend there— kids clubs will often have an introductory activity on the first night of the cruise, where they can get to know the other kids in their age group.
8
Don’ t Activate Your Kid’ s Room Key for Purchases
On many ships, room keys can be used for purchases on board. If your child is prone to misplacing or forgetting things, it might save you a headache to just … not enable it for shipboard purchases from the start.
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Ensure Room Keys Don’ t Get Lost Adults are used to sticking keycards in their wallet or purse, but kids aren’ t. Invest in a lanyard or two ahead of time to make it easier for your kid to keep track of it.
9
Switch the Family’ s Cellphones to Airplane Mode
Chances are good that if your kid is old enough to roam the ship freely, they also are old enough to have their own cellphone … which means they’ re old enough to rack up international roaming charges. Make it a fun challenge for the family— if everyone can stick to Wi-Fi for the duration of the trip, offer a treat on the last day.
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Don’ t Panic About Forgetting Something
There are typically shops on board selling everything from chocolate to toiletries to medicine. Also, you’ re typically able to do laundry onboard, so don’ t worry about packing clean clothes for every single day!
56 · CONNECTIONS 2026