If you’re exploring family cruise packages, you may wonder exactly how many activities to plan and how much to rely on the cruise ship to entertain your children. There are many options to choose from, so you’ll have to identify what kind of family vacation works best for your children and look for the cruise package that best suits your family. Listed below are types of families and what to look for in a cruise.

Always on the Go
If you have older children or have a family that is always on the go, physically active and raring to explore, you’ll want to look for a cruise package that docks often. Look for a cruise with a daily port of call and a list of activities from which to choose. Some common activities at ports of call are: swimming with the dolphins, snorkeling, scuba diving, hiking in the rainforest, going water skiing, exploring unique eco systems, and tours of historic cities or ruins. Make sure the activities listed match the interests of your family, and make sure the cruise itself has plenty of activities for the children to investigate while you are at sea.

Younger Children and Babies
If your children are younger and will not tolerate trips to shore well, you’ll want to look for a cruise package with bigger cabins (where you’ll have lots of room for that toddler or baby to get around) and with babysitting services. If Grandma and Grandpa are coming along to help with the children, ask for adjoining rooms. Check to make sure there is no age limit on the cruise ship; some ships do not take babies or toddlers for safety reasons. Make sure the ship has cribs available for rent.

Expensive Tastes
If you’ve got children (or perhaps teenagers) with expensive tastes you’d like to rein in, look into all inclusive family cruise options where you won’t have to pay a dime extra for anything. Make sure the cruise package includes the kinds of activities your children will want to experience and lock that wallet away in the safe for the trip.

Mellow Children
If your kids are happy to just spend time by the pool or on the beach and be with mom and dad, you can cut some corners and go with a less expensive cruise ship. Make sure the cruise will still provide family-friendly activities and ports of call, but you can skip the most lavish and expensive cruises if your kids are content to play in the pool or hang out with you at the beach. Consider yourself lucky and save some cash to do another cruise just like this one in the future instead of wasting money on over-the-top activities and ports of call.