For Tweens: Circle “C” 12- to 14-year olds have a place of their own to dance, watch movies and musi

Pumpkin Festival a Great Bet for Families Visiting SF Area Oct 10, 2013 Visitors to the San Francisco Bay Area will have a chance to take part in a great (and free!) local tradition, the annual rent car Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival. Returning for its 43rd year on October 19-20, the festival will feature live music, 250 booths with original art and handcrafted goods, and (of course) lots of pumpkins more
Kids are everywhere—on cruise ships anyway—whether you are in the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska or far flung destinations like the Galapagos Islands and even the Arctic.  Welcome to our Taking the Kids Cruise Guide for 2013, researched and updated by our intrepid intern Becca Tash.
Cruise Lines International Association reports that some 1.5 million kids now are cruising every year—more than 1,000 on some sailings. And cruise lines have never done more for them, from featuring hip teen and tween hang-outs with the latest music and video games, rent car to centers for the littlest cruisers (that are better equipped than many preschools) and even nurseries at sea.
Parents love cruising because they get a lot of bang for their vacation buck—activities, meals and lodging rent car all for one price, including supervised morning-till-night programming rent car for kids, at considerably less than many resorts charge. Grandparents are fans because cruises can prove an easy way to get the whole gang on vacation, especially in Alaska and Europe. Kids—especially tweens and teens— give ships a thumbs-up because they love the freedom they can have onboard and the chance to make new friends. Kids and parents alike love the major lines' private Caribbean islands, too.
Kids with special needs and severe allergies routinely are accommodated in organized programming. Another plus: there have never been more ports, from New York to California, eliminating the need for many families to fly. And you can cruise for just a few days or more than a week, checking out beaches or historic sites. Visit the Cruise Lines International Association website for a list of ports. Find online cruise guides complete with deals and specials.
I've cruised with my family around the world, from the Caribbean to Europe to Greece to Alaska. I've written The Kid's Guide: Cruising Alaska . I've found along the way that key is to choose the right cruise for your family and age kids. Here are some great options to consider:
AdventureSmith partners with small capacity, specialty-oriented ships around the world including domestic North American regions as Alaska, British Columbia and Oregon Washington's Columbia River and far flung locales as Alaska, Baja, Costa Rica, Belize, Ecuador and the Galapagos, Peru, the Arctic, Antarctica and Australia. They can steer you to special family sailings and deals. Company founder rent car Todd Smith helped rent car pioneer rent car the concept of wilderness cruising that combines the comforts of a small cruise ship with the adventure of sea kayaking, hiking rent car and exploring remote wilderness areas ashore seldom associated with more mainstream cruise itineraries. The company also has launched a carbon free cruising initiative and includes family programs as well as substantial savings. Look for deals like two for one Antarctica, early booking Alaska or kids 12 and under cruising half price.
What's New: Carnival Cruise Lines has a number of exciting developments in the coming months, including the first full year of Caribbean cruises from Miami aboard the new 130,000-ton, rent car 3,690-passenger, Carnival Breeze (officially the largest Carnival ship ever based in South Florida!) The Carnival Breeze introduces Carnival's first Thrill Theater, with interactive special effects that make viewers feel as if they are part of the movie, new culinary choices such as Bonsai Sushi, the line's first full-service sushi restaurant and a complimentary open-air outdoor dining venue called Fat Jimmy's C-Side BBQ.
Representing Carnival's most ambitious transformation project ever, Carnival Destiny will undergo a $155 million makeover, officially becoming Carnival Sunshine. The refit incorporates rent car all of the "Fun Ship 2.0" dining, bar and entertainment rent car features, as well as adding 182 new cabins and new choices including ShakeSpot, JavaBlue Café, Pizzeria del Capitano. Parents can enjoy a three-level Serenity adults-only retreat and the whole familt can go wild at the new massive water park featuring dual racing-themed water slides and a 334-foot-long enclosed corkscrew slide – the longest in the "Fun Ship" fleet.
Look forward to Carnival's Largest European Season Ever in 2013. For the first time, Carnival will deploy two ships in Europe offering an exciting choice of options, including the line's first Norwegian fjords itinerary rent car and its first extended program rent car from the UK.
Kids Programs: Carnival Cruise Lines offers rent car complimentary programming and facilities for kids in three age groups – Camp Carnival (2-11), Circle "C" (12-14) and Club O2 (15 and older). Camp Carnival is designed for younger cruisers and features indoor play areas – some as large as 5,500 square feet — stocked with games and toys — along with "activity rent car walls," indoor climbing mazes, computer labs and video walls. Gaming stations include on-board programming emphasizing reading, art, music, geography, and physical fitness. Kids can also eat with their counselors so parents can enjoy a night to themselves.
For Tweens: Circle "C" 12- to 14-year olds have a place of their own to dance, watch movies and music videos, play video games and get together with new friends rent car for organized activities from basketball to late-night pool parties.
For Teens : The teen clubs (Club O2) include a dance floor with a DJ, a "Coke-tail" lounge serving non-alcoholic specialty drinks, a library with teen-oriented books and magazines, a 16-monitor "video wall," music listening stations and more.
Around the Ship: Outdoor games and activities, along with children's wading pools, and main Lido deck pools offering the line's signature "Twister" water slides, some as long as 312 feet (Carnival Sunshine, currently sailing as the Carnival Destiny, will feature a 334-foot-long water slide following an extensive dry dock). Outdoor play areas with mini basketball hoops, jungle gyms and other playground equipment, as well as game rooms offering the latest video and arcade games, are available fleet wide. The line also offers nightly babysitting and Carnival Night Owls, which features fun-filled children's parties, offering a full schedule of late-night activities (fees apply for babysitting and the Night Owls program).
These ships are known for their sophisticated cuisine, upscale ambience, destination-focused itineraries and themed cruises focusing on art, food and wine. Still, families cruise Celebrity and the line offers popular kids' programming.
Celebrity's fifth Solstice Class ship , Celebrity Reflection. The ship introduces three new, unique and luxurious rent car suite categories. This includes the Reflection Suite, the brand's first two-bedroom suite that also has an all-glass rent car shower extending out over the edge of the ship, as well as five Signature Suites located in the private area of the ship's 14th deck, each with a 441-square-foot stateroom area and 118-square-foot veranda, rent car with floor-to-floor ceiling windows and veranda doors. Guests also enjoy AquaClass Suites, rent car with spa-inspired staterooms and exclusive and complimentary rent car access to the Mediterranean-themed restaurant, "Blu".
New this year, Celebrity Cruises has partnered with Billboard music to create a variety of music-themed entertainment for the whole family on all Celebrity Cruises rent car except for Xpeditio n. Look forward to a new "TV-style" interactive game show that tests guests' knowledge through music challenges, as well as a music trivia series, where teams participate are quizzed rent car on questions based on a various genres. Those participating have the chance to win Billboard gift cards to download music online as prizes! Oh yeah- and for all of you looking to party the night away, the "Totally '80s Theme Party", currently offered exclusively on Celebrity Reflection rent car , is a fully produced and choreographed party, featuring Billboard Hits of the decade and encouraging dancing all night long!
For Kids: Celebrity Cruises offers art programs, dance parties, culinary classes, scavenger hunts, the latest multi-generational gaming and more. Programs start at age three and run up to age 17. Thanks to a partnership with LeapFrog Schoolhouse there is special LeapFrog Edutainment, designed exclusively for Celebrity Cruises rent car that allow kids to virtually rent car "explore" the ports they're visiting. Celebrity s ships also tout a Leapfrog "Fun Factory" area, including a working studio rent car where kids can produce their own newscast. There are late-evening activities rent car at $6 an hour per child. And kids can eat with counselors at least once during a cruise.
rent car Around the Ship: Kid's pools and slides rent car are available fleetwide, except for Celebrity Xpedition . Basketball rent car courts are available all ships, except rent car for Celebrity Century and Celebrity Xpedition. In-room rent car sitting is $8 per hour for up to two children. On Shore Days: Some programming is available for an extra fee.
Europe's top cruise line will give your family a chance to get to know European families and offers a youth program fleet wide. There are reduced rates for kids under 17 sharing a cabin with parents and periodic rent car kids-sail-free deals.
What's New: Costa Cruises offers six new itineraries rent car for the 2013-14 winter season that span the Canary Islands and North Africa, United Arab Emirates, eastern and western Mediterranean, the Caribbean and South America.
Around the Ship: Kids pools, water slides, basketball and arcade, but not fleet wide Volleyball, basketball, football, tennis, table tennis, rotating table tennis, table football, water polo, water basketball, water volleyball, darts, hoops, bowling, shuffleboard, video games on giant screen. In-room sitting is not available but there is free late nigh