5 Cruise Lines Where You Can Bring Along Your Kids for Free!
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For the family travelers out there, saving money where you can is always a bonus. There are a great number of cruise lines that are family-friendly, and want you to bring your kiddos! Hooray for not having to get a babysitter!
And there are even some that let you bring along your kids for free or at the very least, frequently run kids sail free promotions! I’ll share 5 of them with you.
And if you’re looking to save even more on your next cruise, consider redeeming miles from cards like the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card or Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® to offset the price of your trip!
Here are 5 cruise lines where your kids can come along without having to pay an extra cruise fare!
5 Cruise Lines Where Your Kids Can Come Along for Free
Lots of cruise lines have select cruises where kids can come along for free. But you’ll want to be sure to read the fine print because free doesn’t exactly mean free. 🙁 You’ll often be responsible for paying things like taxes, port fees, or gratuities for each of your “free” children.
There are often age restrictions and limits on the number of children you can bring that you’ll want to pay attention to. And usually, you’ll only get to bring along a free child with a certain number of paying guests. And they’ll need to be sharing a room with you, or almost always, 2 paying adults. But even with these caveats, cruises where kids sail free can still be a good deal.
1. Norwegian Cruise Lines
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Goodbye summer! Just kidding, this is Miami. #CruiseNorwegian 📷: @muletown_aerial
Norwegian Cruise Lines is known for having tons of kid-friendly activities for all ages! From huge pool areas, to the Guppies program for the little ones, to Entourage for the rambunctious teenagers, NCL is ready to entertain everyone. As with most offers, kids travel free on select cruises, so be sure to look into which cruises your kiddos are able to sail without paying any extra cruise fare.
You can look at the Norwegian cruises that allow extra guests for free here.
2. Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean, a personal favorite of mine, is friendly to all ages! But their “Kids Sail Free” promotions are typically only for 12-year-olds and under. So your teenagers, unfortunately, will need to pay. However, Royal Caribbean can be a great value for your dollar in terms of accommodations, entertainment, and amenities.
You can search Royal Caribbean’s current Kids Sail Free cruises and read the terms and conditions here.
3. MSC Cruises
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When all goes dark, #MSCDivina shines… Thanks @danielatomaselli49 for capturing this moment!
MSC Cruises, founded in Italy and based in Geneva, is extremely accommodating for all ages! They provide a ton of amenities and partner with cool brands like LEGO to create fun onboard activities. They also cater to a more international audience, so an MSC cruise could be a great way to introduce your children to new languages and cultures! Introducing your children to new cultures is one of the things Million Mile Secrets team member Jasmin loves about traveling with her kids.
Children who are 11 years old or younger and are traveling with 2 full-fare paying adults won’t pay a cruise fare (subject to availability and depending on dates). If you’ve got a teenager (12 to 17 years old), they won’t pay a cruise fare during low and mid-season as long as they are in the same room as 2 full-fare adults. And you’ll still need to pay port fees, taxes, etc. for your kids.
You can read the full terms of MSC’s Kids Sail Free program here.
4. Paul Gauguin Cruises
Paul Gauguin is a luxury cruise line with exotic itineraries in the South Pacific! And they always allow 3rd passengers in the same cabin 17 or younger to sail free!
But you’ll want to do a bit of research into the specific sailing because Paul Gauguin cruises don’t offer nearly the amount of kid-friendly amenities and activities as other cruise lines.
5. Crystal Cruises
Crystal Cruises, headquartered in Los Angeles, had an extremely wide variety of cruises to select from. Whether it be a long weekend cruise, or you are looking to see the entire world, there is an option for you and your family!
Crystal Cruises always allows children under 12 to sail for 50% off if they are sharing a cabin with 2 paying adults. And Crystal Cruises frequently has promotions where children under 18 can sail for free when sharing a room with 2 full-fare paying adults. You can see which cruises kids sail free on here.
Have you ever taken advantage of a kids sail free offer from a cruise line? If so, what did you think of the deal? Let me know in the comments!
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Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)
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