Helpful insight for first-time cruising parents from the UK

If you’re a UK-based parent planning your first family cruise with young children, you’re likely looking for ease, fun for the kids, and relaxation for you. The ideal cruising holiday means one port of call each day, no hotel-to-hotel baggage transfers, and plenty of childcare or kids-club facilities so you can enjoy a bit of adult time too. At My First Nursery we know how important comfort and support are when you travel with younger children, so here’s our guide comparing three major cruise lines that excel at family-friendly cruising:

Royal Caribbean

MSC Cruises

Disney Cruise Line

Below you’ll find how they compare in terms of childcare/kids clubs, excursions with kids, food/kids menus, value-for-money and fly-cruise options from the UK.

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1. Royal Caribbean – flagship: Icon of the Seas

Childcare / Kids Clubs:

Royal Caribbean’s kids club brand is called “Adventure Ocean”. For younger children there is a nursery/service called “Royal Babies & Tots” (for infants/toddlers, 6 months-36 months) with an hourly charge.

On Icon of the Seas they highlight real “kid-friendly restaurants” and a dedicated family “Surfside” neighbourhood, making it clear they’ve designed with young families in mind.

For excursions: the Adventure Ocean system means children from about 3+ years can join supervised programmes. Reddit users note:

• “For the younger girls’ sake I suggest NOT going on Icon class ships. The diaper wearing splash zone is way too small on Icon class. … RC has a nursery on most ships (you have to pay like $6-$8 per hour for).”Reddit

  Important tip: nursery places are paid and limited, so book early in the day you embark. The kids club for 3-12 years is included, but the youngest (under 3) needs paid care.

Excursions & Kids:

According to RC’s FAQ and blogs, children may stay onboard while parents go ashore, though you’ll need to notify kids-club staff ahead of time. (Standard policy for most lines.)

Because the ship is large with many zones for children, parents have freedom to select excursions that may not be child-friendly and leave the children with supervised care on board.

However, if you want to go on a shore excursion that isn’t suitable for children (say very active or lengthy), you’ll want to confirm in advance that the ship’s youth staff will supervise the children during that time.

Food & Kids / Baby-Friendly:

Icon of the Seas features “Surfside Eatery” – a buffet dedicated to families with kids classics and twist for parents.

The main dining rooms/buffet include dedicated children’s sections (smiley-face pancakes, pasta, burgers) and most stations allow you to get baby-friendly basics. For example under MSC they explicitly list baby food from 6-12 months (see below) and RC’s family menus likewise.

For the nursery and toddlers RC allows you to leave things like formula, bottles, nappies; the blog mentions “drop off a bag of supplies, which includes formula, diapers, outfits…”

From a value perspective: RC often run offers for UK bookings: for example “Kids Sail From £99pp” on selected voyages.

Value & UK-Fly Options:

Being a very large ship, costs may be higher for premium features and flights (if you fly from UK). However the “kids-sail-from” deals help.

Because the ship is based from e.g. Florida (Icon of the Seas sails from Miami) you would likely need a flight from the UK unless there are repositioning cruises or Mediterranean itineraries.

Value-for-money for families: very high in terms of activities, childcare, dining. But you’ll need to budget for flights and possibly paid nursery hours.

Best for?
Families who want a mega-ship resort experience, lots of built-in family amenities, dedicated toddler/baby care, and want flexibility (you and partner might want “adult time” while child is in nursery). The scale of the ship makes logistics easy (no hotel switching) and plenty onboard.

MSC Cruises – flagship: MSC World America

Childcare / Kids Clubs:

MSC Cruises’ newest flagship, MSC World America, is designed with families at its heart. Its dedicated kids-area “Doremiland” spans more than 10,000 sq ft (≈ over 900 m²) across seven rooms, catering to ages 0-17.

For the youngest ones (babies/toddlers) they partner with the baby-brand Chicco to provide “Baby Club Chicco” amenities (bottle warmers, strollers, etc).

Kids’ clubs for ages 3+, 7-11, 12-14 and 15-17 are all included as part of the ship’s family programming.The ship features the “Family Aventura” district – a dedicated family zone with activities for kids and teenagers, via Doremiland plus outdoor/fun zones.

Excursions & Kids:

While MSC hasn’t always published exactly the policy of “kids stay onboard while parents go ashore”, the fact they emphasise full age-range clubs (including babies) and family-zones suggests strong support for parents leaving children supervised onboard while they take adult-oriented excursions.

From parent/community feedback:

• “My family (wife and 3 children 16,5 and 3) … we are having a great time!”Reddit
  This suggests that the kids clubs onboard are functioning well even for very young children, which supports the “parents get time too” scenario.

  Because the ship is geared heavily for families, you can reasonably expect that if you choose an excursion unsuitable for young kids, you still have the option of the kids staying onboard with supervision in the kids-club area. As always, check the specific voyage’s policy before booking.

Food & Kids / Baby-Friendly:

MSC Cruises’ general children-and-baby dining policies include baby food options: for example recent MSC press releases state “On board every MSC Cruises ship … Baby Club Chicco (six months - 2 years)” and note “kids menus … baby club” etc.

On MSC World America specifically, the large family zone and baby club support implies they’ll be well- equipped for baby meals, pantry for putting up bottles, etc – though you’ll want to check the specific sailing for how baby meals are handled (some ships require you to bring your own jars etc).

The general value proposition: large family zone, lots of kids activities, meaning the kids won’t be bored and you as parents can relax.

Value & UK-Fly Options:

Although MSC World America is a large “mega-ship” (capacity ~6,700+ passengers) and will be based initially (April 2025) from Miami with Caribbean itineraries.

For UK families this means you may have to consider trans-Atlantic or long flights unless MSC also deploys the ship (or sister ships) from Europe/UK later. However MSC Cruises has strong European operations and UK-friendly sailing programmes.

The value: given the scale of kids-facilities, the “all-in-one” nature (one ship, no moving hotels, everything onboard), this can be very good value for families compared to organising multiple hotels/flights.

While exact “kids sail free” or “kids from £X” deals depend on specific promotions, historically MSC has offered strong family deals in the UK market.

If your priority is “ease” (no hotel-to-hotel, one-stop luggage transfer) and strong kids facilities, MSC World America offers big-ship logistic simplicity for families.

Best for?

UK-based families who want a balanced, strong value family cruise with excellent kids/toddler infrastructure, and where the logistics are simplified via “one ship, all inclusive” setup.

If you are comfortable with flights to the departure port (or choose a route from Europe if available) and want to focus on keeping luggage, transfers and hotel-hopping out of the equation.

Particularly good if you have children across a wide age range (babies/toddlers up to teens) and want them all to be entertained while you get some parent-time.

3. Disney Cruise Line – flagship: Disney Wish

Childcare / Kids Clubs:

Disney’s youth offering is exceptional for families. For infants/toddlers: “It’s a Small World Nursery” (ages 6 months to 3 years) – paid per hour.

The “Disney’s Oceaneer Club” (ages 3–12) is the main club and is included free in the fare. It features themed rooms, immersive experiences and is highly lauded by parents for the quality of care and activities.

Cruisers praise the ratio of staff-to-children and the check-in/out procedures for security. Key note: children must be fully toilet trained to enter the *Oceaneer Club* (3-12) – otherwise they must go to the paid nursery.

Excursions & Kids:

As with all major lines, DCL offers the option for children to remain in the kids’ clubs or paid nursery while parents go ashore for adult-oriented excursions. Parents often note the benefit of the kids club being open even when the ship is in port, allowing full-day freedom for parents to explore without worrying about their children’s entertainment or safety.

However, given the high cost of DCL, most families aim to use the dedicated Disney shore excursions that are designed to be family-friendly, maximising the *total* family experience and value for money.

Food & Kids / Baby-Friendly:

All DCL restaurants and main dining rooms offer extensive kids menus. They are highly accommodating of dietary needs and will provide puréed baby food upon request in the main dining rooms at no extra cost.

The nursery typically expects parents to bring their own formula/bottles, but they handle feeding and nappy changes. The rotational dining system ensures consistency, so servers quickly learn the preferences of children and families, which adds a huge element of comfort.

Value & UK-Fly Options:

DCL is often the most expensive option, but this is balanced by the premium quality, all-inclusive kids programming, and high level of service.

Disney is increasingly offering UK-based departures (e.g., from Southampton/Dover), making it possible to avoid trans-Atlantic flights and therefore improving the ‘ease’ factor for UK families.

If you book a non-fly-cruise from the UK, the value proposition increases substantially as you avoid the significant cost and hassle of long-haul air travel with young children—meaning you pay a premium for the onboard experience, but save on travel logistics.

Best for?

Families prioritizing a **seamless, high-quality, fully themed experience** and are willing to pay a premium for **unmatched kid-focused entertainment**, especially if booking a cruise that sails directly from the UK.

Best choice if your children are in the **3-12 age bracket** (as the main kids club is included) and your budget allows for the highest quality family holiday experience.