Pickleball at Sea
To keep up with America’s newest sports craze, several cruise lines have added pickleball to their sports lineup. Courts are generally available on their existing multi-use sports court or in fully dedicated areas with netting or cages. Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Carnival, Princess, Norwegian, Cunard, Oceania, Regent, Crystal, and even an AMA river cruise boat showcase courts on some of their ships with more to be added. You will find free court time for the whole family, tournaments, and other pickleball-related activities on board. Equipment will be provided or bring along your own! Some lines also offer complimentary beginner lessons from onboard instructors who will teach you the rules and how to hit certain shots. Holland America even has a How to Play Pickleball tutorial video to watch on your cabin TV and is selling branded pickleball starter kits in their onboard shops.
Children Sail Free with Holland America
Children sail for free on select cruises between April 2023 through April 2024 on Holland America Line! This promotion is available for children up to the age of 18 sailing as the third and fourth guests in the same stateroom and pay only taxes, fees, and port expenses. Choose from an exciting cruise to Alaska, Canada/New England, Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, Pacific Coast, or through the Panama Canal. Note that all of Holland America’s Pinnacle Class ships—Rotterdam, Nieuw Statendam, and Koningsdam—feature family staterooms with more living space to spread out and relax. Accommodating up to five guests, these family staterooms offer special amenities, including two bathrooms and extra closet space! On board, children, tweens, and teens age five to 17 can enjoy Club HAL, a supervised youth activities program with arts and crafts, sports, video game competitions, scavenger hunts, challenging team games, themed parties, and more. Plus receive a free stateroom upgrade, fare discounts, and reduced deposits—plus tours, beverages, specialty dining, and Wi-Fi when booking their Have It All premium package!
Emerald’s Family River Cruises
This summer, Emerald Cruises will launch its first family river cruises on the Rhine and Danube Rivers. These two week-long itineraries have been designed with children ages 10 to 18 in mind, and the cruises will include activities onboard and ashore that your entire family can enjoy together. The Rhine sailing will depart on July 17 from Basel to Amsterdam and will use the company’s newest ship, Emerald Luna. The Danube version on the Dawn departs on July 15 and sails from Budapest to Munich. On board, your family can enjoy a heated pool with retractable roof (on the Luna), wheelhouse tours where you can learn about river navigation from the captain, family-friendly movies, cooking demonstrations, and more.
Family Rhine River Cruise: This sailing calls on ports in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Special family-friendly excursions include a canoe trip on the Rhine, geocaching in Heidelberg, and an educational visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
Family Danube River Cruise: Sail west through Slovakia, Austria, and Germany. In Budapest, families can visit the AM 3D gallery, a quirky museum where guests are encouraged to interact and pose with the art, while in Bratislava budding chefs can take part in a cooking class on a local Slovakian farm, go geocaching in Passau and take an archery lesson at Schallaburg Castle in Austria.
Special pricing on these two departures allows families traveling together to book two adjacent cabins and save 50 percent on the second cabin!
Uniworld Adds Egypt for Families
Families have a new way to explore the ancient historic treasures of Cairo and the Nile River this winter. Uniworld will add Egypt to its Generations Collection program which features exclusive activities for your children ages 4 to 17 years old and includes dedicated Family Hosts. Sailing dates are December 16, 23, and 30, 2023 for 11 nights. Witness the Pyramids of Giza, the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Karnak, the Temple of Luxor, the Egyptian Museum, and many other historical sites. Your family will also have the opportunity to meet and interact with local children and have the option to donate gifts such as school supplies, books, and games. Four nights in Cairo and a 7-night cruise along the Nile River make up this amazing experience including the services of an experienced Egyptologist. Sail the upscale and all-suites River Tosca with spacious cabins of 315 or 650 sq. ft. The ship accommodates just 82 guests and has shaded cabanas, a small pool, a gym, a restaurant, a lounge, and a library. Book early for the best cabin availability!
Moana Explorers in Tahiti
Paul Gauguin Cruises will host its Moana Explorer Program for younger guests and their families on 21 dedicated summer and holiday sailings in 2023 and 2024. Tailored to children ages seven to 15, the unique program is offered in collaboration with Te mana o te moana, a South Pacific marine education and conservation foundation, and is designed to engage children with hands-on, interactive activities both on board and ashore showcasing the natural wonders and unique cultures of the South Pacific. The program is geared to children and teens. From visiting a sea turtle care center to playing real-life beach “Survivor” games, hiking volcanic mountains, and snorkeling in pristine lagoons, the program goes far beyond the formulaic structure of children’s programs on other lines. Depending on the itinerary, your children can explore underwater life, conduct water experiments, create natural jewelry, go on a treasure hunt, learn about Tahitian culture, discover island legends and geology, design a Polynesian tattoo, and more. The program is available throughout the summer months.
RCCL’s Newest Ship
Royal Caribbean’s newest ship, Icon of the Seas, will begin sailing in January 2024 and is open for booking! With 20 decks and 2,805 cabins accommodating over 7,600 passengers; it will become the largest cruise ship in the world! The ship is currently scheduled to sail out of Miami from January 2024 through April 2025 altering Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. Its asymmetrical layout has oodles of waterslides, pools, and other water attractions including new waterplay areas just for young families. The ship will also feature an indoor AquaDome for water shows, an adult-only pool retreat area, the line’s first swim-up pool bar, a skywalk/ropes course, a Flowrider surf pool, a new rock-climbing expedition, mini-golf, sports court and more. RCCL’s “neighborhoods” are back including a new one of just suite cabins with added amenities and dining. Choose from 28 different cabin categories including new options designed for families of up to six! Let us help you sort out the best sailing options for your family.
Club Med 2 Returns
We are so excited that Club Med is bringing back Club Med 2, their tall sailing ship! The five-masted yacht underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation that features all-new teak decks, outward-facing cabins, and new furniture in the restaurants and lounges. The ship will offer 186 cabins, two seawater pools, live entertainment, an ocean-view spa, a yoga deck, and several dining options. Watersports will add to the fun with windsurfing and paddleboarding, and new experiences like Wing Surfing (which uses a handheld sail) and the Hobie Eclipse Mirage (a stand-up paddleboard with a steering handlebar)! Specific family-friendly sailings for ages 8 and up can be booked for the summer and holiday seasons with a children’s program included. A really cool way to explore either Europe or the Caribbean! The Caribbean sailings will also showcase a new all-inclusive Caribbean Beach Club day trip featuring beach activities, water sports, live music, and a beachside lunch topped with free-flowing champagne and refreshments.
Disney Cruise Line News
Disney Cruise Line has revealed the name of its sixth ship, Disney Treasure. The ship will have a distinct Aladdin theme, launch in 2024, and will be the line’s second Triton Class ship. Disney Cruise Line will also be heading Down Under to Australia and New Zealand for the first time ever. Cruises will depart from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Auckland on the Disney Wonder beginning in late October 2023 through February 2024. Repositioning voyages will call at Fiji and Samoa. The cruise line also gave updates on their new private island destination in Eleuthera, Bahamas, called Lighthouse Point. It will have a distinct Bahamian design theme and open in 2024. Disney has pledged to develop less than 20 percent of the property, to generate 90 percent of the site’s energy from solar panels, to use sustainable building practices, and to donate more than 190 acres of privately owned land to the local government. Environmental management programs have already been formed and will be carried out throughout the construction and operation phases in the area.
Connect at Sea
Royal Caribbean Group recently implemented SpaceX’s Starlink, making it the first in the cruise industry to adopt its high-speed, low-latency connectivity fleetwide. The broadband internet service will be installed on all current Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises ships, along with any new ships that come out moving forward. Installation across the company’s fleet is scheduled for completion by the end of the first quarter of 2023. The new service will improve and enable more high-bandwidth activities like video streaming as well as activities like video calls. Starlink is an interconnected internet network of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit that SpaceX envisions will deliver high-speed internet anywhere on the planet. The company has launched about 2,700 satellites to date!
Special Galapagos Cruise
Quasar Expeditions has introduced a new Galapagos itinerary specifically designed for children with autism and their families to experience the natural wonders of these amazing Ecuadorian islands. The seven-night sailing departs on June 24, 2023, and will be limited to 32 guests. It will be led by a special needs expert who designed elements of the trip with quiet zones aboard the expedition yacht, comfort supplies (like weighted blankets, beanbag animals, and fidget spinners), and evening parental discussion groups. The trip is sailing on the 192 ft. Evolution yacht which has spacious social areas, an oversized jacuzzi, and a dive deck. There will be opportunities to snorkel, kayak, hike, and go on panga boat rides. All along the way, your family will see many of the Galapagos’ endemic species, like marine iguanas, fur seals, penguins, and giant tortoises. The ship will sail round-trip from San Cristobal Island with stops including Santiago Island, Prince Phillip’s Steps, Floreana Island, and Santa Cruz Island to visit the Wild Land Tortoises Reserve and Charles Darwin Research Station’s Breeding Center.
