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TAMPA - Mention the word cruise and many people think first of gambling, then maybe romance, or late-night feeding frenzies. All kids on deck
By Karen Haymon Long/Tampa Tribune
Honeymooners take cruises. So do gamblers, retired folks and party animals. But families?
Yes, say pioneers of a growing trend in cruises: family vacations.
Baby boomers like vacations. Baby boomers have kids. Baby boomers like to take their kids on vacation with them, says Bruce Nierenberg, founder and chief executive officer of American Family Cruises.
A baby boomer and father of four, Nierenberg says his company's cruises offer boomers and their kids a combination of relaxation, organized children's activities, gambling, entertainment, sightseeing and family time.
Half the space on his line's American Adventure and American Pioneer is devoted to children. The American Pioneer begins sailing from Tampa in December.
``We're turning our ships over to people with kids,'' says Nierenberg, who pioneered the family cruise concept for Premier Cruise Lines in 1983, then launched American Family Cruises late last year.
Because of the high divorce rate, Nierenberg says, many baby boomers are having a second round of children and taking them, along with their older children, on vacations.
His ships offer all sorts of fun activities for children ages 2 to 17.
The older kids make their own nightly newscasts that are broadcast over the ships' television sets. And they have the run of ``Club Yes!,'' a teen-only hangout, featuring a video arcade, music, MTV and computers. Onshore in the Caribbean, they can parasail and go windsurfing.
Sea Haunt, the hangout for kids 8 to 12, is patterned after an underwater reef, painted with murals of colorful crustaceans and fancy fish. These kids swim, compete in in-line skating contests, play water polo, learn the latest dances and can even take golf and tennis lessons.
Five- to 7-year-olds, gathering in the Rock-O-Saurus Club, play sports and brain-teasing games, perform in a children's theater and learn magic and juggling.
Inside Fuzzy Wuzzy's Den, toddlers to 4-year-olds are cared for by ``coaches'' and take part in treasure hunts, face painting, storytelling and masquerades.
Meanwhile, parents attend shows, gamble, swim, eat, drink, dance, or spend time with their children. Many activities - family karaoke, kids' shows and day and night classic movies, just to name a few - are geared to the whole family.
In late December, the ship American Pioneer, which has four-, five- and six-berth staterooms and suites, sets sail from Tampa on seven-day ``Voyage of the Buccaneers'' cruises to Playa del Carmen and Cozumel in Mexico, Jamaica and Grand Cayman.
Cost for children varies by the season - from free to $395. Costs also vary by type of cabin. For example, in December 1994, cost for two adults in a large outside cabin is $1,195 each for the seven-day cruise from Tampa.
Each additional adult or child 2 to 17 in the same cabin pays $395; children under 2 sail free.
For a suite, the cost will be $2,095 for each of the two adults, $395 per additional adult or child 2 to 17 in the same suite.
"THE BIG RED BOAT"
Premier Cruise Lines bills its red-hulled ships as ``The Big Red Boat'' and offers kids programs for five age groups, starting with age 2.Onshore, kids can swim with dolphins and snorkel. Aboard ship, they are treated to slumber parties, magicians, movies and lots more.
Premier's Star/Ship Majestic begins sailing from Tampa on April 4, offering three- to four-night cruises to Mexico or Key West and three to four days at Orlando's theme parks - before or after a cruise.
Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Speedy Gonzales and other Looney Tunes characters will even go along for the ride.
Toddlers through 4-year-olds are treated to stories, sing-alongs, arts, crafts, treasure hunts and games. They can meet their favorite cartoon characters at autograph parties and see exotic marine life.
Kids 5 to 7 attend ice cream parties and magic shows, swim in a kiddie pool and take part in treasure hunts. They get to tour the ship's bridge, meet the captain and act in plays.
While aboard ship, 8- to 10-year-olds swim in a junior pool, compete in nautical game shows and poster-making contests. Onshore, they take part in scavenger hunts and other activities.
Sports are the draw for 11- to 13-year-olds, who compete in indoor and beach Olympics, beach football and game shows.
Fourteen- to 17-year-olds have their own night club for dancing, music and karaoke, and take part in pool games, beach Olympics, snorkeling, volleyball and parties.
And for the whole family, ``The Big Red Boat'' just launched ``Voyages of Discovery,'' aboard ship and onshore multimedia programs on the sky, the sea, ships and the history of the Bahamas.
``Quality time on vacation is important to busy families,'' says Gary Sain, Premier's senior vice president for sales and marketing. ``Our programming appeals to family members of all ages. We really believe in keeping everybody busy.''
Prices vary by season, but 2- to 17-year-olds sail from $255 to $375 for three or four nights from Tampa to Key West or Mexico.
Prices for adults start at $295 and go up to $1,195 for a suite. Children under 2 sail free, but must pay port charges of $31 for Key West and $34 for Mexico. Orlando theme park packages are extra.
CAMP CARNIVAL
Carnival Cruise Lines, whose MS Tropicale begins sailing from Tampa on Oct. 16, also has launched into the kiddie cruise business.Tropicale, like the lines' other ships, offers the Camp Carnival program for four age groups that features all-day and evening activities.
Besides slumber and disco parties, kids take part in bingo, talent shows, pizza ``pigouts,'' movie time, star search, and limbo and hula hoop contests.
Tropicale will sail from Tampa on seven-day cruises to Grand Cayman, Cozumel and New Orleans.
Prices vary by cabin and season. In October, adults sailing from Tampa will pay from $1,249 to $2,079 for cabins that accommodate more than two people; the third and fourth person per cabin, including children older than 4 months, pay $399. Children younger than 4 months sail free.
Scott Wilson, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Clearwater, sailed aboard Carnival's Fantasy last year.
``I liked just walking around the ship. And you could eat a lot of free food,'' he says.
He and his cousin went to a musical, played video games, went to a pizza party in the center for kids and played pingpong. He also watched on his cabin television a few scenes of ``The Poseidon Adventure,'' a film about a cruise ship capsized by a tidal wave.
Even that didn't scare him away from cruises.
``I'd rather go on a cruise than stay in a hotel,'' he says. ``There's more to do.''
This story was originally published in The Tampa Tribune February 6, 1994.