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Transatlantic Cruising With Kids: What We Learned on a 12-Day Voyage

Writing from our balcony deck while the kids are happily secured away in the kid’s club on our 12-day transatlantic cruise has me thinking… why haven’t we done this sooner?  This may be our new favorite vacation!  

We are seasoned travelers who have traveled over a million miles together as a family of seven.  I’ll be upfront that cruises are not my favorite way to see the world.  These moving cities have a lot of environmental grey areas for me with their massive buffets and questionable sewage practices (where does it all go and when?!), but I must say we really enjoy them for a relaxing vacation.

Lots of families steer clear of massive cruise ships for a variety of reasons.. Cabin fever, the crowds (which can be intense at times), the overly touristy feelings in port.  I’ve felt all of these feelings and more, but we’ve found a new niche that we have fallen in love with: the transatlantic cruise.

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Our Cruise Experience as a Family of Seven

We took our first cruise with our entire family when our youngest was only 10 months old.  She slept on a homemade bed in our closet.  It wasn’t a leisurely vacation, but no vacation is easy with five young children 10 and younger.  What we loved was the mix of vacations all in one!  

We could pay for some babysitting for little Grace in the baby club (this was a Royal Caribbean cruise) and get some adult time.  We were able to split time with the kids and get some one-on-one time with the older kids at shows or on-board activities.  We had some great family time at the beach in a port in Mexico.  It was like several vacations in one!

Not unlike an all-inclusive resort with young kids, cruise ships can offer families various experiences.  My tip is this: don’t scrimp on the cheapest cruise, or you will likely hate them forever.  

Chris and I did a cheap, bargain cruise for just the two of us and didn’t love it.  We were at the bottom of the boat in a room where we could barely do anything besides lying on the bed and watching TV.  It was crowded, and the crowd wasn’t our vibe. Lots of partying, drinking, and we even witnessed a couple getting down and dirty in the ocean right in front of everyone else on the beach!

On our second cruise (and first with kids), we splurged.  We hooked up with a great travel agent that specializes in cruises (we only use a travel agent for cruises at this point), and she introduced us to a “kids sail free” deal on a suite with concierge service.  Having five young kids, we felt this was a screaming deal we couldn’t pass on!  

We did an Aqua Suite on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Mexico and absolutely loved it.  The Magic Genie Service knocked our socks off.  We had specialty access to avoid most crowds, we had free room services with an amazing deck to eat on with our young kids, we came back from port to fresh cupcakes, fruit platters, and drinks waiting for those hungry mouths right in our room, and more.  

Our Magic Genie even picked up our older kids once when we were running late and brought them to our room (I’m pretty sure this is against standard practice, but you get to know your Magic Genie really well, and they make magic happen).

This new cruise experience was unlike any other.  A huge city hotel at our disposal, with quality shows and entertainment, and zero packing and re-packing?  Yes, please.

Since then, we’ve done four more cruises, some with that wonderful Magic Genie and others without, and we’ve found our new sweet spot.  We’ve learned the kids care very little for the port cities, and we think it’s a terrible way to see a new place, too.  

However, getting off the boat for a few hours to explore or booking a GetYourGuide tour in the port city can offer a really fun experience.  The kids love the boat itself with built-in friends and entertainment in the kids club, and mom and dad get some serious relaxation time during those kids club sessions.

What Is a Transatlantic Cruise?

Cruise ships’ massive size prevents them from going anywhere without a large enough port and prevents them from doing maintenance in some parts of the world (like Europe).  Cruise ships are generally built and spend their winter seasons in the Caribbean but move around the world for summer seasons.  They have two repositioning sailings per year, and this is when you get to travel from one continent to another!

Called repositioning or transatlantic cruises, these cruise voyages book out well in advance.  We booked ours more than a year in advance, and I’ve looked at one 8 months in advance only to find it sold out of connecting rooms.  They are a bit of a specialty cruise that you need to tap into.

These sailings can sell out well in advance, and you’ll need to pay attention to the itinerary.  We still work as we travel (not independently wealthy over here), and we have to plan carefully for all those days of not being able to work!  As small business owners, this can be tricky.  However, we timed ours over the Thanksgiving holiday when work shuts down for two days anyway, and we lucked out to find a transatlantic cruise at the same time.

These sailings are not flexible, and you are at the mercy of the cruise ship.  However, if you are currently world schooling, you can find your tribe!  I just saw on a Facebook Worldschooling page that next month over 140 worldschoolers are taking a cruise from Florida to Europe all together!

Reasons We Loved a Transatlantic Cruise With Kids

There is a lot to love about these repositioning itineraries:

• Cost.  Generally, the ship knows it will move the boat anyway, and the itinerary is not the most glamorous or typical.  This 12-day cruise was nearly 50% less than a week-long cruise we took on the same boat for only a week in Greece.

• At Sea Days.  As stated above, our kids don’t want to get off the ship!  If they are jiving with the kids club, dragging them off the ship becomes just that.  We embraced the nine at-sea days and all loved it.

• More activities.  The entertainment on the boat doesn’t stop because you are at sea.  If anything, they offered even more!  The kids club went above and beyond to keep the kids entertained all those days in a row.  I expected they might take a day off, but they just kept going. The kids loved it and became close friends with the other kids.

• Fewer people!  Some adults told us they had picked that time of year to avoid kids (whoops, sorry for bringing five on board), so you’ll probably see fewer kids than adults.  This worked out in our favor.  We had some troubles once or twice at lunch getting a table, but we learned to get there a bit earlier and had no other issues.  The ship was probably around 40% capacity and was really nice, crowd-wise.

Tips for Taking a Transatlantic Cruise With Kids

Planning can save the days when it comes to a long cruise like this.  Some things to consider include:

• Laundry.  It’s nearly unavoidable in 12 days.  We paid for it once and did an “all you can fit in a bag for $60”.  There wasn’t a lot in the bag!  We focused on underwear, socks, and some really dirty pants for our boys.  We washed our exercise clothes in the shower more than once and otherwise made it.  However, you need to budget for some laundry costs, and you won’t have an option of taking it off ship to do it elsewhere either.

• Boredom.  I was more worried about this than I needed to be.  We really didn’t get bored!  There always seemed to be something going on.  However, I had some backup plans for some board games, movies, books, etc. 

• Pre-downloading media.  As the wifi is sketchy at best (and expensive!), I highly recommend downloading your media ahead of time.  The room did have a TV with some free movies, but by about day five the kids had already watched all of it.  I downloaded a slew of Christmas movies that we worked our way through.

• Buffet.  The buffet truly is astounding.  Each day the food changes, with surprises some days like shrimp cocktail or chocolate fondue.  It’s easy to overindulge!  We had an especially hard time with the endless garlic knots available at all hours.  I nicknamed them “devil knots” because they were so good!

• Gaining weight.  On top of the amazing buffet, there are plenty of restaurants to enjoy, and it can easily add some extra pounds.  Maybe this is OK on a cruise (unless you do several a year…We met one couple that did twelve in 2024!!), but it’s good to go in with a game plan.  For the adults, going light at lunch, or skipping it altogether, can really help.  Get on the walking path or hit the gym to keep things under control.

• Intentional time with the kids.  If you aren’t careful, your kids might spend all their available time in the kids club, and you’ll not see them much at all!  Maybe that’s OK, but for me, I wanted some time with them too.  We planned some afternoons to go swimming together or to play games.  We had some movie nights, slept in as much as we could, and enjoyed long breakfasts together.

Things You Don’t Need To Stress About on a Cruise With Kids

So much is taken care of for you on a cruise!  My mom brain is constantly thinking about the things I normally do, but then I realize I really can relax and not worry about them.

• Entertainment.  Between the kids club and the on-board events, you really need very little.  Outside of downloaded media, we brought some books for downtime and a chess set (but the ship had one, of course!).

• Food.  Don’t worry about food at all!  Cruises specialize in food.  You’ll have unlimited meals and snacks, from healthy to indulgent.  Don’t pack any food!  For our three port days, I even grabbed snacks and water from the cruise ship and took them in my bag.  We didn’t need to eat out at all.

• Letting the kids roam.  If you have 10 years plus kiddos, you can let them have some independence and check themselves in and out from the kids club.  You are in a giant container!  This doesn’t mean to be lax about the others on the boat, but on our ship, it was nearly all retirees!  With our three oldest being together, we let them check in and out, play games together, grab pizza, etc.

Packing List for a Transatlantic Cruise With Kids

I tackle cruise packing much differently than a regular vacation.  Several onboard activities and formal nights mean I pack things I normally wouldn’t for one of our travel trips.  While cabins are not overly large on a cruise ship, rooms are generally built to handle your luggage well.  You can store bags under beds, in closets, etc.

I made a separate post for my Cruise Packing List With Kids, which includes an easy printable, but I’ll include some extra tips:

• Packing cubes can be a lifesaver with kids.  One large cube can fit all their items and can be used for the dirty laundry after.  We love these ones that also compress!  If you have multiple kids, like us, grab a color for each kid.
• If prone to motion sickness, patches can be a great option!  I saw several adults wearing them.  On the sea days, we did have some times in which everyone was stumbling around the boat a bit, and I could feel the motion in my tummy.  I never broke out the Dramamine, but I had it just in case.  
• Formal wear!  While not required, cruising is the only reason I keep formal outfits in my closet.  I love getting dressed up fancy on special occasions, and cruising offers such a fun setting for this.  Get everyone dolled up, snap some photos at sunset over the sea, and head to dinner.  Once dinner is done, kids will likely want to head to the kids club, and you’ll have some quiet time to get a drink, take in a show, or people-watch around the boat.  We always played cards!
• Double check you’ve got all the essentials!  You cannot buy much of anything on a cruise.  Inventory is very limited if they have it at all.  If you forget anything essential, you’ll need to spend your port time trying to find it.  I forgot my tennis shoes for the gym, and we had to spend a couple of hours and about $80 finding some cheap ones in Madeira.  Think through things like period supplies, any medications you might need (our son has a recurring cold sore type issue that pops up a few times a year, and sure enough, it came on one of the last days!), cold medication just in case, etc.  It pays to think through many scenarios for a cruise.

Other Things To Consider Bringing On a Transatlantic Cruise With Your Family

Cruising offers its own type of experience and subculture.  We met some new friends on the cruise that were completing their ninth cruise of the year!  They were disappointed to only have seven booked next year.  The retired crowd especially can be serial cruisers going nearly every month or more.  However, it’s not limited to only the older generations.  Full-time travel families also love cruising, especially transatlantic-type cruising as a way of transportation.  Our kids made friends with another teenager belonging to a young family that was on her 30th cruise in just 13 years!

We found some fun traditions on our transatlantic cruise I wasn’t aware existed before!  Consider joining in on the fun if you explore the world this way:

• Hidden objects around the ship.  Little ducks are typical for this, but it could be something else.  We found various rubber ducks, little resin ducks, and large toy ducks tucked into the crevices and “hidden” spots on the boat, such as in the library between books or on shelves.  One of the ducks even came with a label to tag photos on social media!
• Egg drop competition and other fun challenges on board.  Consider bringing some common “junk drawer” items like scissors and tape for some surprise competitions.  My mom participated in an egg drop competition where participants needed to create a vessel from items on board to protect hard-boiled eggs from cracking after a two-story fall.  She was desperate for some tape!

• Card games.  Our ship had a game room with game tables in which we spent many hours!  There were some basic games provided, but they were often missing a piece or were being used.  If you have some favorite card games or small games you can pack, I’d recommend bringing them along for sea days.  Some of our favorites:
  • Cover Your Assets
  • Five Crowns
  • Nertz
  • Travel, magnetic chessboard

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Transatlantic cruising with kids has been an unforgettable adventure for our family of seven. From the endless activities on board to the chance to disconnect and unwind while the kids are entertained, this type of cruise offers a rare blend of relaxation and quality family time. While it’s not without its quirks (hello, laundry!), the unique rhythm of at-sea days and the unbeatable value make it an experience we’d happily repeat. Whether you’re a seasoned cruiser or considering your first voyage, a transatlantic cruise might just be the perfect fit for your family too. Don’t forget to pack those devil knots—er, I mean, stretchy pants!

Have you ever taken a transatlantic cruise with kids? Share your tips or questions in the comments below!

Happy Travels,

Leslie

Additional Reading

Why the Schengen Region and Understanding It Is Important for Your 2025 Europe Travel Plans

Travel Tip: How To Claim a Flight Compensation In US – New Rule by 2024

Taking a Greek Cruise as a Family