Best Royal Caribbean ships for kids by age

May 26, 2023

If you are looking into booking a Royal Caribbean cruise that your kids will enjoy but do not know where to start, look no further! With 26 ships in their fleet (27 once Icon of the Seas launches in January 2024), Royal Caribbean has a ship that will fit your family's needs, whether you are traveling with an infant or teenager.

You will need to ensure that your child meets the age requirements of the activities that they are interested in. Otherwise, you might have some disappointed children!

Regardless of which ship you choose, you will find Royal Caribbean's award-winning Adventure Ocean youth programming, swimming pools, hot tubs, arcades, and rock climbing walls. Some of the bigger thrills (i.e., FlowRider surf simulator, ice and roller skating rinks, etc.) are not available fleet wide.

Here are the best Royal Caribbean ships for kids by age.

Read more: Royal Caribbean ships by size

Freedom of the Seas is a great options for families cruising with children under the age of three. Plus, they do have activities that will appeal to other ages in case you are sailing with a multigenerational party or have an age gap between kids.

Babies and toddlers cannot take advantage of the complimentary Adventure Ocean programming, as the minimum age is three-years-old. On select ships, however, Royal Caribbean offers the Royal Babies & Tots Nursery.

While it is not included, it offers parents with children between the ages of 6 and 36 months a childcare option, so they can enjoy some alone time. You can expect to pay $6 per hour between 9:00am and 6:00pm and $8 per hour from 6:00pm until midnight.

Likewise, babies and toddlers cannot swim in the main pools, as swim diapers are prohibited from any swimming pool or hot tub on Royal Caribbean ship to help prevent the spread of diseases. Select vessels have the Baby Splash Zone, though, allowing even the youngest of sailors a place to splash around on a hot day!

Both the Royal Babies & Tots Nursery and Baby Splash Zone can be found on Freedom of the Seas, a Freedom Class ship that was launched in 2006 and received a $116 million update in 2020. Unlike other Freedom Class ships, you will find the cruise line's new vibrant resort-style pool deck.

Below are the ships the nursery can be found on:

And here are the ships with a Baby Splash Zone:

Once your child reaches three-years-old, they can begin to visit Adventure Ocean, meaning that you have more ship options are will not be reliant on those with the Royal Babies & Tots Nursery. They will be first be part of the Aquanauts group and be able to do activities such as finger painting, bingo, and more with other children of the same age.

That being said, there is still a lot that children this age cannot do, such as try out surfing simulators, climb the rock wall, laser tag, etc. Onboard Royal Caribbean ships, children are eligible to play laser tag at age five and climb the rock wall at six. Additionally, there are no age limits to the ice skating rink-- an adult will just need to accompany younger skaters!

A ship like Oasis of the Seas has stuff for all ages, including a small Baby Splash Zone; however, the larger Splashaway Bay is perfect for younger children that are potty trained. If your children are a little bit older, they can start to enjoy some of the thrills that Royal Caribbean is known for.

While you can never go wrong with an Oasis Class ship, Odyssey of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's newest Quantum Ultra Class ship, offers some activities that might appeal to preteens, such as the SeaPlex.

Throughout the day, the venue hosts a variety of different events, including roller skating, basketball, and bumper cars.

Another great activity onboard Odyssey of the Seas is Zone Zero, a 12-minute immersive virtual reality experience that requires you to fully suit up to be able to participate. Note, though, that this activity is not included in the cost of your cruise fare and has a cover charge of around $20 per person.

When you are ready for some outdoor fun, you will find a rock wall, skydiving simulator, giant chess set, and even a dedicated sun deck and reserved area of the pool deck just for teens!

A signature Quantum Class offering, North Star, is found on Odyssey of the Seas, too. This glass capsule takes guests 300 feet above the ocean to soak up some views of the ocean's horizon and port of call.

Read more: All of the fun activities on Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas

As of May 2023, Wonder of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's the fifth Oasis Class ship, is currently the largest in the world. In January 2024, the brand-new Icon of the Seas will take the title!

Due to the size of both ships, they are able to offer something that will appeal to everyone in your travel party, whether they are two-years-old or seventeen-years-old.

Compared to other Oasis Class ships, Wonder of the Seas is the only one to feature a neighborhood dedicated to suite guests. Plus, she is home to the largest Windjammer Marketplace in the fleet, an enclosed adults-only Solarium, exclusive Social100 Patio for teens, and an underwater-themed climbing playground for younger guests.

Oasis Class ships all have surfing simulators, rock walls, carousels, zip lines, ice skating rinks, AquaTheatre shows, hot tubs, water slides, and a 10-story dry slide called the Ultimate Abyss. Note that the last two amenities cannot be found on Allure of the Seas. In other words, there is enough to keep your teenagers busy for the entire vacation!

When Icon debuts on January, she will have the world's largest water park at sea and feature numerous record-breaking slides. Adrenaline junkies will love Crown’s Edge, where guests get to step off the ledge of the ship and wait for a trap door to send them soaring over the sea!

Plus, when it comes to accommodations, Royal Caribbean designed multiple first-of-its-kind cabin categories meant for larger families; 80% of all staterooms will be able to host three or more passengers.

Read more: The 15 big changes on Icon of the Seas that Royal Caribbean has planned

While there is no denying that sailing on the world's largest cruise ships makes for a great family vacation, once teenagers are able to fully appreciate other cultures, you may want to take them on a port-intensive cruise that visits different countries. A cruise is a great way to explore Europe, as you do not have to worry about packing and unpacking each time you want to move to a new destination.

Thankfully, Royal Caribbean deploys an Oasis Class ship to the Mediterranean each summer. This makes it the best of both worlds! There are, however, smaller ships that venture to other ports throughout Europe that the mega ships cannot dock at.

For your next vacation with older teenagers, consider picking a cruise based off of the ports of call instead of the ship! The ships may lack some thrills, but they still have activities for older children, such as rock walls, pools, hot tubs, and, of course, Adventure Ocean teen programming. Plus, with how long the days ashore will be, they might not be interested in staying active onboard.

For twenty years running, Royal Caribbean has been voted the best cruise line overall for twenty years running by Travel Weekly Readers' Choice Awards, meaning that you are sure to have a great family vacation no matter what ship you decide to sail on!

When it comes to taking a family vacation, cruises tend to satisfy all members of a travel party, whether they are 60+ or an infant! All ships have Adventure Ocean, a complimentary supervised youth club for children three-years-old and older. If sailing with children who are younger, you will want to ensure that you are on a ship that is outfitted with facilities for those as young as six months!

The youth staff will make sure that you kids have a great time while keeping them safe. While they are here, they might do activities like arts and crafts or play some board games! Teens will not have to worry about being around "little" kids, either, as they have their own dedicated spaces.

In addition to the youth and teen programming, many Royal Caribbean ships are jam packed with amenities, including surf simulators, rock walls, ice skating rinks, water slides, theatrical performances, and more.

Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she had the privilege of traveling frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas her freshman year of high school. She wanted to pursue a career that highlighted her passion for travel and strengths as a writer.