Intergenerational holidays are the new cruise buzz

Nearly a quarter of British grandparents and a third of American ones will take a holiday with grandchildren this year. It’s becoming an increasingly natural part of life for many families, to have the middle generation take a holiday alone, or not be able to take one at all due to work commitments, and instead to send the grandkids off with the grandparents to get to know each other better.

Nearly all cruise lines now offer special packages during the summer holidays for two or three generation families travelling together, with planned activities that allow the older members of the group to get a bit of a break from the liveliness of the younger ones. However, these packages are usually limited to children over seven – there isn’t much on offer for grandparents travelling with very much younger children. If you’re looking for this kind of break, try Carnival, Holland America Royal Caribbean, Princess and Norwegian cruise lines, all of which have special options for multi-generational family groups, and some of which have winter break offers as well as the standard summer and half term ones.