Cruise Critic: How to Choose Kid-Friendly Shore Excursions

July 20, 2010— -- So you want to plan a cruise vacation the whole family will enjoy. You've consulted the reviews on a cruise review site and picked a cruise ship for its kids' club and family-friendly dining and amenities. You've booked a cabin (or cabins) that will comfortably accommodate your brood. Next step: It's time to figure out shore excursions.

How do you weed out the good from the bad choices, keep everyone happy and avoid wasting money in the process? Here are some tips to keep in mind, followed by some of our favorite shore excursions for little kids, big kids and teens.

Know your kids. A lengthy catamaran ride and snorkeling tour may look great on paper, but if you know Johnny or Susie suffers from motion sickness (which may not be a problem at all on the large cruise ship), think twice. Ditto with long, "scenic" bus trips. Does your child get excited about active pursuits, animals, water sports or history? Pick your excursion accordingly.

Check out the lengths of shore excursions before you book. An 8-hour island tour is a great way to pack in a lot of sightseeing, but if your children have short attention spans and tend to get squirmy after a half-hour, opt for something shorter. And, even if your kids can handle some long days, you still may want to consider alternating full-day shore tours with half-day ones. Most kids 10 and younger will be unhappy with back-to-back days of touring and will have a much better time if they can get some time off to enjoy the ship's pool, play in the kids' club or just veg out watching a movie in between heavy sightseeing.

Shore excursions vary by destination, so keep your children's interests in mind when deciding where to go. The Caribbean, Hawaii and Alaska are obvious favorites, whereas long trips to exotic destinations or fall cruises to New England will likely have fewer kid-friendly options (and fewer kids onboard). This doesn't mean you can't have fun on those itineraries (see below), but do your homework before you book.

Consider the ages of your children when researching shore excursions. Alaska is growing in popularity for families, but for someone too young to appreciate the spectacular scenery, it's, well, no day at the beach. The same principle applies to Mediterranean cruises. You don't want to fly all that way to find out your kids would be happier doing water sports than touring ancient ruins and visiting museums.