Float these cruise vacations past your crew
Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas offers everything from a surf simulator to the first-ever Nickelodeon Family Cruise.
If you haven't thought about a floating family vacation in a while, this might be the ideal time to plan a cruise for 2008.
Go ahead and ask your kids if they would like to cruise with the likes of Drake and Josh, Mr. Meaty and Jimmy Neutron and if it's OK that their Fairly Odd Parents tag along.
Once you regain your auditory functions (because they've screamed in utter glee), take a look at booking the Nickelodeon Family Cruise With Royal Caribbean, the first-ever Nickelodeon cruise sailing from Aug. 10-17. Departing from Miami, the cruise is a seven-day adventure on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, the largest ship in cruising (it hosts more than 4,000 passengers).
The Nickelodeon Family Cruise With Royal Caribbean offers all of the family-friendly amenities available on the behemoth ship as well as a full slate of Nickelodeon-based activities and entertainment.
Look for your young daredevils at the FlowRider surfing simulator or scaling the line's largest rock-climbing wall with 10 routes. Younger kids should be splashing in the H2O Zone water park with interactive fountains, ground geysers and a cascading waterfall.
Other kid-pleasing amenities aboard include an ice-skating rink, nine-hole mini-golf course, full-size basketball court, Johnny Rockets for burgers and Ben & Jerry's for cold treats.
While the kids are getting slimed playing Nickelodeon live game shows, meeting popular characters such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants, showing their stuff at a Nickelodeon Talent Show or a Rock Band Competition and attending appearances by some of the network's live-action stars, adults can work out in the state-of-the-art fitness center or work out the kinks in the day spa. There's also an adult-only solarium featuring cantilever whirlpools.
The special cruise visits four western Caribbean destinations: Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; and a stop at the cruise line's private beach destination.
Vacation packages for the Nickelodeon Family Cruise With Royal Caribbean are available to book now at www.nickfamilycruise.com.
Carnival Cruise Lines has upgraded two of the line's Fantasy-class vessels, Carnival Inspiration and Carnival Imagination, and soon Carnival Fantasy will be fully outfitted with Evolutions of Fun upgrades.
Some of the improvements include an expansive new water park, an exclusive adults-only area and a redesigned main pool.
WaterWorks, an impressive aqua park featuring a four-deck-high, 300-foot-long corkscrew water slide (the longest at sea), also features an 82-foot-long dual-lane racing slide and all the water spray devices that kids love.
Glorious ocean vistas, comfortable chaise lounges and chairs, whirlpools and bar service all star in the new adults-only outdoor retreat.
Other improvements include completely renovated staterooms with flat-screen TVs; a nine-hole miniature golf course; renovated spa; new facilities for kids and teens; an addition of more than 50 interconnecting staterooms; a New York-style deli; and a patisserie serving specialty coffees and sweets.
Carnival does an excellent job of dividing up the kid troops, realizing that a 9-year-old is very different from a 12-year-old. For example, there's Circle C, a program for ages 12 to 14, as well as Club O2, which offers teens ages 15 to 17 their own place to watch movies, play video games or join karaoke jam sessions.
Camp Carnival includes a wide range of activities designed for three different age groups: toddlers (ages 2 to 5); juniors (ages 6 to 8); and intermediates (ages 9 to 11).
Carnival Fantasy, which operates year-round four- and five-day western Caribbean cruises from New Orleans, should be all spiffed up by mid-October. The only ship operating year-round from the Big Easy, Fantasy also offers pre- and post-cruise land stays in New Orleans so you can explore the city's unique architecture, history and culture.
If you can't wait that long, check out the extreme makeovers at the other two SuperLiners: Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration operate year-round four- and five-day cruises from Miami and Tampa, respectively.
For additional information and reservations, call (800) 227-6482 or visit www.carnival.com.