4 ways to keep the kids entertained when cruising

How do I keep the kids entertained while cruising?

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We asked our followers on Facebook what’s one question they have about cruising and that question made me smile! Simply because I feel like I’ve perfected this.

It’s one thing to think about keeping kids entertained when flying or waiting at the airport or riding but when you are cruising you have other times when you are ‘waiting’:

Waiting to board ship, waiting during the muster drill, waiting during meals, waiting for shows to start, waiting for the kids club to open, waiting for excursions or tenders, and of course waiting for mom to finish getting ready for dinner!

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First things first, if you haven’t already signed up to the Blog to get the downloadable packing list I say go for it right now! Just head over to https://cruisingwiththefamily.com and hit the subscribe button at the top or fill in the form on the pop-up! Ok?

I’ll wait for you.

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#1 Download our Packing List

You’re back! Great job. Guess what? That was the 1st step to keeping the kids entertained.

This is my top item because we’ve culled this list from all of our journeys since our kids were infants. So this is all inclusive for the ages you’d need up to ours currently (4 and 7). We also continue to expand so if you see we are missing something let us know! Just add it in the comments to this blog.

We offer an area on the list specifically for kids to help keep them entertained. The entertainment really happens the moment you begin the travel whether that means by car or air. Make sure that each child has their own small carry on and if they are too young just make sure you have one pocket within your diaper bag for easy access. Our favorite all time travel bag is this one and it just broke!

Pack small toys that are easy to put into your purse for when you are onboard. It’s helpful if they can pack it themselves and if they are younger make sure you choose some that don’t get much use.

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#2 Pre-Shopping

If you are like me you shop in advance for the items you need such as toiletries, so why not items to keep the kids entertained?

I always start my pre-shopping with a trip to the Dollar Tree. If you don’t have one near you they are also online. This is my first stop because even working on a tight budget for let’s say a 7 day cruise I can spend about $6 total per/child and get them at least one new item or toy per day!

We all know kids LOVE getting new items. Some of my favorites that we get from there are:

– coloring books (I bring a baggie of our own crayons)
– sticker books
– education books such as numbers, alphabets, reading comprehension
– seek and find books
– stampers

My favorite items can be purchased on Amazon. Check out our Setting Sale page. The sticker puzzles are my kids’ favorite. It takes them quite a while to do the larger ones and the smaller ones have kept my little little busy while waiting for meals and she loves them! They have ones for boys and girls! And guess what? Great time right now to grab some on Amazon and put them in baskets for Easter coming up if you do that!

Some parents take the time to wrap the new items to make it even more exciting. Let me be perfectly honest with you. I don’t have the time for that when I’m preparing for us all to travel so I usually put them in their carry on’s after they’ve chosen what they want!

All of these items that you buy I’d bring a new one out each night to help entertain.

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#3 Visit the Library

This happens to be the best idea ever. We visit the library often for books, puzzles and moves. Our library offers Launch Pad Tablets and they are ingenious.

The tablets (check out the video below) are fully loaded and require NO WIFI. Plus they come preloaded with books, puzzles and games. They are for ages Kindergarten through 5th Grade.

So, I don’t need WiFi for my kids and don’t need to spend tons of time downloading programs, movies or games on our old phones or tablets.

Now, we do bring with us those old phones of ours. Our kids love listening to music and we have a few games such as color by number, cooking games and when they were little books like The Monster at the End of Book.

So, check out your local library! You never know what they have and it’s FREE! The rentals are week long. Sometimes I login to renew while we are traveling so that I don’t incur late fees.

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#4 Go ‘Old School’

Going ‘Old School’ for me means back to the basics of NO electronics. Our parents didn’t have those options and we all survived.

I have come to learn that if someone complains because my kid is causing a scene or fit, it’s their problem. Clearly, I will remove them if it warrants and discipline as necessary. We also know we can plan ahead and try to avoid anything negative happening.

My parents have given our kids travel Tic Tac Toe and Hangman and they love it! It’s super easy to carry and it doesn’t get old! You can also just pack pen and paper and play both!

Bring binoculars for when you dine in the buffet area. It is tons of fun to sit near the window and look through them to find flying fish! And we’ve found tons of them and even pointed them out to others who had no idea!

Since I have a 7 year old girl she is into “hand shakes” as she calls them. So for instance, Miss Mary Mack or for those who are closer in age to me we used to call it Miss Suzie.

Lastly, pack some snacks. It’s not quite ‘old school’ and you may be thinking why would I do that when I’m cruising? I mean isn’t’ there food available all the time? While there are quite a bunch of food options it’s not always available and it’s not all SNACKY food either. So look at the packing list we gave you a ton of examples.