10 SPECIAL EXPERIENCES TO ENJOY WITH YOUR CHILDREN ON A CRUISE VACATION

FAMILY CRUISE BOOKINGS STEADY WITH AN UPTICK

DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 21, 2009 – Adventurous families are enjoying more cruise vacations due to extremely low prices and great value.

An estimated 1.6 million children joined their parents and relatives aboard cruise ships last year alone, according to recent data from the Cruise Lines Industry Association (CLIA).

Bob Levinstein, CEO of CruiseCompete, says the Web site’s member agents have seen a steady uptick in family and multi-generational cruise travel over the last year, tracking closely with the general industry trend.

A recent CLIA survey found families consistently cite “value” as a key reason to take a cruise together. In fact, 83 percent said cruise vacations are a very good or extremely good value.

Families also appear to be repeat customers, according to the CLIA report, with 46 percent reporting they have taken two to four cruises with children under the age of 18; 15 percent have taken five to seven cruises with kids, while nearly five percent have taken more than 10 cruises.

The team of CruiseCompete specialists has made a list of Cruise Must-Do’s for Families:

1. Visit world-renowned museums with your children – New England and Canadian cruises, in particular, provide plenty of fun and educational museum stops in port. Boston, a museum hotspot, features one of the nation’s premiere children’s museums and the enormous New England Aquarium. There’s also the Boston Team Party Ship, where kids can recreate dumping tea into the sea.

2. Enjoy Leisurely dinners with your children & room service with a movie – The early dinner seatings on cruise ships, especially those operated by Carnival, are full with families. Depending on the age of the children, it may get a little messy, but the ship’s staff loves the laughter. There are also specialty restaurants on many ships that welcome children. This is a great time to relax together and talk about the day’s events aboard the ship and life in general. Cabin service is available 24/7 on most lines, so you won’t have to worry about those growing teenagers and their constant hunger. Order a midnight snack and watch a movie together.

3. When was the last time you danced with your children? – There is plenty of live music aboard. For pure family fun, nothing beats family disco hour, especially aboard Royal Caribbean voyages. The pulsating beats, light shows and other special effects help everyone cut loose on the dance floor. And there is no doubt the kids will love to watch their parents’ smooth dance moves and enjoy a dance with mom or dad.

 4. Build a sand castle on a private island – Most cruise lines that visit the Caribbean make a stop at a “private island” for a truly unforgettable day at the beach. Families enjoy splashing in the waves on secluded, pristine beaches, water sports galore and great beach barbeques. Make an unforgettable sand castle kingdoms with your children.

 5. Mother-daughter spa experience – Nail-painting sessions are taken to another level on cruise ships, where they are invited to enjoy real spa treatments together. State-of-the-art salons and spas promote unusual treatments, relaxation and girl bonding opportunities.

 6. Watch a Caribbean Sunset Together, The Real Meaning of Water Colors – A cruise offers a uniquely unobstructed view of the sea and the horizon, providing for an ideal setting for a family to watch a sunset or sunrise together.

 7. Fireworks Everyday – For those families on Disney cruises that enjoy a little more pop in their sky gazing activities, an impressive fireworks show captivates cruisers of all ages each night. Launched from the deck of the ship, the fireworks explode nearby with reflections off the water and plenty of oohs and ahs from both kids and parents alike.

 8. One-on-one time together - Kids and their parents alike can show off their shooting skills on full-size basketball courts on ships like Royal Caribbean’s Explore of the Seas. The competition does not have to stop there, however. There’s also miniature golf, rock climbing walls, pools and waterslide games, ping pong, gaming areas and more to fuel family friendly competition.

 9. Art auctions at Sea! – Onboard art auctions are a great place to expose kids to art appreciation. A number of cruise lines, including Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, NCL, Oceania, Disney and Holland America, have offerings that have included works from Chagall, Picasso and Dali.

 10. Explore the world together – Kids of all ages love adventure and exploration. From the rainforests of the Caribbean, cultural differences in another country, delicacies from the sea that they have never experienced the cruise vacation captured from their perspective will rekindle plenty of fond family memories back home.

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About the Compete Ventures Brand – Compete Ventures is dedicated to making markets more efficient through competition. The company creates online marketplaces in specific niches employing an online competitive-quote model.

About the CruiseCompete Concept
CruiseCompete.com was named one of the "25 Best Value Travel Sites" on the Internet by Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine and one of the 36 Web sites that consumers "should know" when planning a vacation, according to The Washington Post. For more information, visit www.CruiseCompete.com.

Since 2003, over 1,000 cruise experts have provided close to 5 million quotes to over 1 million quote requests. For more information, visit http://www.CruiseCompete.com or http://www.CruiseCompeteGroups.com.

Affiliated Companies
ResortCompete.com saves consumers time and money by finding them best deals on all-inclusive resort vacations. Consumers secure quotes from multiple travel agencies, resort operators and vacation wholesalers without having to contact each one separately.

ResortCompete is a Compete Ventures Com
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