Safety for Kids on a Cruise

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If you’ll cruise with your children or grandchildren during the winter holidays, congratulations! There’s nothing like a cruise for creating family memories.

But, we have a piece of advice: before you leave home, talk with your young ones about staying safe while cruising. Kids are accustomed to the safety practices they follow at home and school, but a cruise ship is a different and exhilarating environment where it can be easy to forget about common-sense rules.

Here are a few things you and the kids can talk about together:

Follow the rules set by the cruise line and crew. For example, a cruise ship has lots of railings along decks, staircases, and balconies that can be tempting to kids who love to climb. But the railings are there for safety and not for play. Climbing on railings, leaning over them, or swinging from one balcony railing to another are all absolutely forbidden. There’s also no running through the hallways, around the pool, or up and down staircases. Remind the kids that these rules are for everyone’s safety, and the consequences for breaking the rules are serious and can include removal from the ship.

Don’t go into cabins other than those occupied by your family. Just as kids shouldn’t enter an unknown person’s home or car on land, they shouldn’t enter anyone else’s cabin on a ship. The reverse is true, too – kids should not invite people they don’t know into their family’s cabins.

Check in with parents or grandparents regularly. Check-ins can be in person, via a note left on the cabin door, or by other means. Some families use walkie-talkies to stay connected, and on some ships, you can use the cruise line’s mobile app to touch base (provided everyone involved has a smartphone). However you connect, it’s reassuring to know where everyone is throughout the day.

Stay out of crew-only spaces. There are good reasons why some doors are marked “Crew Only,” and kids should never try to enter (or go in with anyone who invites them). These are spaces where the crew does its work, and intrusions are not tolerated.

Of course, the kids may be so enchanted by all the activities on the ship that breaking rules won’t even occur to them. Still, it’s best to set expectations for appropriate and safe behavior before you set sail. For more information about family cruising, talk with Anita, your professional travel advisor.

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