New Cruise Megaships Offer Entertainment, Variety

Appearing in more than 50 major newspapers, Eileen Ogintz's "Taking the Kids" column is a past winner of the national Clarion Award from Women in Communications.

The meeting of a three-year-old, a cat and a goldfish pond started "Taking the Kids." The three-year-old, Eileen Ogintz' son Matt, pushed the hapless kitty into the pond at a Wisconsin cottage her family had rented for the weekend. "I thought the kitty wanted to go swimming," Matt explained. The furious owner insisted they pack up and leave immediately. The embarrassed parents drove home three hours to Chicago in a downpour.

Eileen Ogintz was a national correspondent for the Chicago Tribune then, covering news stories around the country. The travel editor, hearing her tale of woe about the cat and the goldfish pond, encouraged her to write a story about the trials of traveling with children. That story led to others. "We realized there were a lot of people like me, parents who wanted help planning trips now that they had kids." The award-winning syndicated column Taking the Kids grew out of those stories. Ogintz left the Tribune, after 14 years as a reporter, national correspondent and feature writer, to spend more time with her three young children and to launch the column nationally. The Taking the Kids series of travel guides for children, published by HarperCollins West, has followed.

"More people than ever are taking their kids places, whether they're going to Grandma's or a museum, to Disney World or on a business trip," Ogintz said. "Their time and budgets are tight. I give them the help they need to make the most of their family time." "Planning with the kids' interests in mind can make the difference between a great trip and one that's a disaster," she added.

Taking the Kids now appears in more than 50 major newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Sun-Times, Dallas Morning News and Portland Oregonian. The column won a 1994 national Clarion Award from Women in Communications, Inc. and appears on AOL's Family Travel Network and elsewhere on the Web.

Ogintz has traveled with her husband and kids across the country and abroad -- from London to Disney World to Disneyland -- skiing in Colorado to fishing in Minnesota, soaking up history in Washington, D.C. to sightseeing in Las Vegas, New York and Yellowstone National Park.

The fifth book of the Taking the Kids series, A Kid's Guide to Vacation Fun in the Rocky Mountains, was just published, as well as a book for parents, Are We There Yet?? on taking the kids and surviving. She was the recipient of a 1995 and 1996 Parents' Choice honor for the series, which also highlights the Southwest, Southern California, Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

Ogintz, who holds a master's in journalism from the University of Missouri, is a 20-year veteran of the newspaper business, reporting for The Anniston Star, The Record in Hackensack, N.J., and Des Moines Register as well as the Chicago Tribune, where she created the paper's family-issues beat. Today, she is regular contributor to numerous national publications, and has appeared on such television programs as "48 Hours," "The Today Show," "Good Morning America" and "Oprah." She created a course on the changing American family at Northwestern University and consults on work/family issues.

From their home in Connecticut, Ogintz travels with her husband, an executive in financial services, and their three children, Matt, Reggie and Melanie, who serve -- not always graciously -- as Taking the Kids' special team of experts.

Write to Eileen Ogintz in care of Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053.
Or e-mail Eileen at eileen@takingthekids.com

See recent posts by Eileen Ogintz

The kids—and some grown-ups, too—are lined up on the ship’s deck, hands in the air, vying for the chance to have green slime poured all over them.

SPLAT! The water balloons pop on cue. The music is loud and energetic, with Nickelodeon dancers dressed in orange and green—down to their plastic orange-and-green Crocs—spurring on the crowd, some of whom came dripping wet from the waterslides, including the Epic Plunge, the biggest waterslide at sea. (Can you repeat a tongue twister in five seconds? How many whipped cream pies can you plaster to a grown-up’s posterior?)

Welcome aboard the brand-new Epic, the latest megaship to debut for Norwegian Cruise Lines. At 153,000 tons, the new ship can accommodate 4,100 passengers, including upwards of 1,000 children and 1,700 crew members. It is scheduled to sail to the Caribbean from Miami (snag $99 flights, including port transfers, from 16 gateway cities. Book by August 1 for cabin upgrades fleet wide, and get up to $150 onboard credits for Epic reservations.){{{SmarterBuddy|align=left}}}Epic is all about entertaining you (everything from the Blue Man Group to Second City to every variety of specialty restaurants) and that, of course, starts with the littlest cruisers, from the unique partnership that delivers Nickelodeon at Sea (ready for your photo with SpongeBob?) to the 7,000-square-foot Recess kids area—double the size on other NCL ships—that offers organized programming for kids as young as two. And soon NCL will begin Nickelodeon-themed shore excursions, says Richard Ambrose, who oversees youth programming for the fleet.

Let’s not forget the oh-so-hip teen club Entourage, purposefully located two decks away from the younger kids’ facilities, which offers its own burger grill right outside. Richard Ambrose notes that great effort was made to find just the right teen counselors for Entourage. Besides passing the extensive background checks, counselors have to have CPR training and education, as well as recreation experience and must pass muster as being hip and appropriately laidback enough to get finicky teens to come hang out in the expansive teen club rather than in the stairwells.

“The family market is huge and when you build the family market, you are building for the future,” explains Richard Kilman, who oversees entertainment for Norwegian Cruise Line. Kilman himself is the father of two and the expectant dad of twin daughters. “When these kids grow up,” he said, “we want them to come with their families.”

As cruise ships get larger— Royal Caribbean‘s 5,400-passenger Oasis, Carnival‘s 3,646-passenger Dream, Oasis’ sister ship Allure slated for December, and Disney’s Dream next January—we’re seeing more for families at every turn. Allure for example, will introduce DreamWorks Experience complete with a “How to Train Your Dragon” ice show, and Disney’s Dream promises Mickey and pals peeking through virtual portholes, while kids can strut their stuff in the Monster Academy. Carnival’s Dream, the largest ship in its fleet, boasts 19,000 square feet of dedicated space for kids and teens.

NCL has redesigned cabins aboard the Epic with families in mind. There are separate toilet and shower areas, family cabins located near kids’ activities, and the largest villa complex at sea, which includes two-bedroom, two-bathroom family suites with access to a private sundeck and pool, gym, restaurant, and more. NCL notes that these pricy suites typically book first—ideal, I thought, for a well-heeled multigenerational family that wants all the bells and whistles (the water slides, the kids programs, the entertainment, and restaurants), but wants to avoid the fracas and lines inevitable on such large ships.

I got a chance to see what families will be in for on a mini-cruise out of New York Harbor on July Fourth weekend. I started the morning with pancakes (with green syrup) while SpongeBob, Patrick Star, Dora the Explorer, and other favorite Nick characters entertained me and the roomful of kids and parents.

The good news: Kids and teens shouldn’t whine about boredom. Besides the organized morning-till-night youth programming (until past midnight for teens) there’s the AquaPark, including a shaded water play area for the youngest kids, batting cages, basketball, soccer, and more on the sports deck, as well as climbing walls, bowling, and ice-skating.

There’s also a new emphasis on activities the family can do together—T-shirt painting, pizza-making, and Nickelodeon-themed games. Even the biggest spa at sea is catering to the family crowd with Mother/Daughter Paradise Massages or Father/Son Chill Out Massage ($195), as well as an array of other teen and kid treatments. (Fabulously Fruity Facial maybe?)

The ship’s entertainment is designed so that parents can be comfortable taking kids to an early performance of the Blue Man Group, Second City, or “Howling at the Moon,” which features dueling pianos belting out rock ‘n’ roll. All were excellent, but I admit the ship’s new Cirque Dreams dinner theater left me wishing there were more acrobatics (terrific) and less “shtick” (terrible).

There are nine specialty restaurants onboard offering everything from Chinese noodle dishes to Italian to steaks. (Required cover charges are half-price for kids 12 and under.) Even your most finicky eaters won’t go hungry. Did I mention there are 11 other dining options, including a $5 pizza that can be delivered to you anywhere on the ship?

Be forewarned that while you may never have had so many on board dining or entertainment options, you won’t be able to just waltz up to the French Bistro, Shanghai’s, or the Nickelodeon breakfast and get a table, as Norwegian’s “Freestyle Cruising” ads might suggest—not with 4,000 cruisers on board. To avoid disappointment, and aggravation, book your shows and dinner reservations before your cruise, just as you can for shore excursions.

Then all you have to do is kick back and enjoy everything the big ship has to offer—once you figure out your way around.

Your Turn

Have you recently been on any of the new megaships and do you have any tips for those planning a cruise? Share your thoughts, experiences, and advice by submitting a comment below!

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