Antarctica and Children

Friends of mine want to take their children (8, 10 and 12) to Antarctica and are looking at various alternatives.

For those who have sailed (or are currently sailing) through Antarctica, are there any children on board?

Thanks!

We have taken three cruises to the Antarctic and we have never had children on board or young adults.

Kind regards,

Tony

I have just returned from Antarctica on Seabourn and there were no children on board. All the lectures and activities were geared towards an adult passenger group, the children would most likely have to be very self sufficient to keep themselves amused for 21 days on Seabourn. Also very well behaved to avoid the ire of fellow passengers! This itinerary is not your typical family holiday adventure.

We had quite a few young adults (16-23) on our early Jan 2014 Antarctic Cruise. This was a function of southern hemisphere school holidays.

There were also 3 children aged 2, and about 8.

They were part of a large family group. The 2yo was certainly too young but the 8yo seem to have a great trip. Whether that was a function of the cruise or being a large family group I'm not sure.

On our Holiday Antarctica cruise Dec14/Jan15, there were a few children and teenagers. The children were very well-behaved and received a lot of attention from the staff; one of the girls "adopted" the giant stuffed penguin while on board. I am not sure of the age but would guess 7-8.

I was on the same Antarctic cruise as Mrs. Waldo and thought that the young adults added a lot in terms of their energy, enthusiasm and bringing a different perspective.

Always hire a teenager while they still know everything. :D:D

 

Always hire a teenager while they still know everything. :D:D

He's no longer a teen but he still knows everything, so if you want him

;)

We were on the November 29th, 2014 Antarctica cruise. I did not see any children, however I would not hesitate to say bring them!!! They would have a wonderful time, lucky kids!!! We have sailed 70+ days on seabourn in the last 3 years and children have never contributed to a negative experience!!

We were on the November 29th, 2014 Antarctica cruise. I did not see any children, however I would not hesitate to say bring them!!! They would have a wonderful time, lucky kids!!! We have sailed 70+ days on seabourn in the last 3 years and children have never contributed to a negative experience!!

We were on a Silversea Antarctic in December and there were a few sets of older children and teens. There were no problems. I only hope they appreciate the value and rarity of the experience they had.

While I can’t comment specifically about an Antarctica cruise, I have cruised extensively on Seabourn, Regent, and Silverseas. I personally don’t think that children would enjoy the adult environment provided by these luxury cruise lines. We just finished a 21 day Amazon cruise over Christmas and there were 2 children on board aged around 6 & 8. Their parents were extremely disappointed that there were no other children on board, especially given that their TA had told them that there would be lots of other kids. Other than playing video games on their hand held devices, there was really nothing for them to do. There was also one 16 year old girl who was obviously bored out of her skull. I have rarely encountered children on any of these cruise lines, but when I do I feel very sorry for them as there is nothing geared for their age bracket. Don’t get me wrong – I think cruising is a wonderful experience for children. In fact, I took my two grandsons aged 6 & 8 to Alaska this past summer – but it was on Disney!

In fact, I took my two grandsons aged 6 & 8 to Alaska this past summer – but it was on Disney!

Good for some, living in Vancouver. :) I'd love to do the same but it's half a world away. Our next trip with the grandkids is NZ later this year. NZ is more manageable for us in AUS.

While I would never recommend ordinary Seabourn cruises for children, Antarctica is very different, and - having done one quite a few years ago, going ashore in zodiacs, which I imagine is how SB works - older children, who would be safe in Zodiacs and would find Antarctica fascinating, should be encouraged IMO. By older I do mean probably 10+, and those with enquiring minds, which hopefully is nearly all of them. And if younger than about 6 they would not remember much when they were older.

We just did the holiday Antarctica/South Georgia cruise and I'd say there were about 10 kids on board between the ages of 7 and 18. All were very well behaved (i.e., not running wild) and from what we observed, seemed to really enjoy themselves.