Cruising with children? Here's the best kids' clubs on cruise ships in 2026

From MSC's teen drone academy to Disney's private island beach club for teens, six cruise lines ranked by what they offer kids

Family cruising works partly because ships solve the logistics problem that land-based vacations leave open: what do children do while parents want adult time, and what do adults do while children want kid time? The answer on most major cruise lines is a dedicated kids club, staffed by trained counselors, stocked with age-appropriate activities, and available for most of the sailing day. Parents can drop children off, enjoy a meal or a spa treatment in peace, and pick them up when they’re ready, all without leaving the ship.

The clubs are more sophisticated than most new cruisers expect. Many cruise lines segment their programs into four or five age brackets, from infant rooms with appropriate toys and supervision to teen lounges with gaming consoles, themed parties, and specialty programming that seriously competes for teenagers’ attention. Some programs go further still, with unique features like drone academies, Kennedy Space Center science partnerships, and private islands with teen-only beach areas. The quality of a ship’s kids' club can determine whether a family cruise goes smoothly or becomes a negotiation every few hours.

These six programs come from U.S. News and World Report’s selection of the best cruise line kids' clubs in 2026. The programs differ significantly in the age ranges they cover, the degree to which they charge for late-night care, and the specialty features they offer beyond standard supervised play. This comparison covers the key structural differences for families choosing between lines.

1. MSC Cruises puts a Drone Academy in its Teen Club

MSC Cruises operates five separate clubs that cover children and teens from birth through age 17. The Baby Club at the youngest end has two distinct offerings: MSC Baby Time allows parents to bring children under three years old into the baby club during set daytime hours for play together, while MSC Baby Care is an extra-charge drop-off babysitting service available eight hours a day for babies six months to three years old, with a maximum of 15 babies at one time.

The Mini Club for ages three to six is free and runs in partnership with LEGO, offering younger kids open-ended creative play alongside organized games, crafts, and activities. The whole family can join a disco featuring Doremi, the line’s giant plush star mascot. The Junior Club for ages seven to 11 is also free and includes group sports, video game consoles, and a MasterChef at Sea Juniors cooking activity for young culinary enthusiasts. The Young Club for tweens ages 12 to 14 focuses on social connection through board, table, and video games in a monitored space.

The Teen Club for 15- to 17-year-olds is where MSC’s programming reaches its highest-profile feature: the Drone Academy, available on select ships, lets teens pilot real drones through a nighttime obstacle course. The rest of the Teen Club program includes video game tournaments across Wii, Xbox, and PS4, dance contests, themed nights, karaoke, flash mobs, and a disco. The range and quality of the Teen Club’s specialty programming give MSC’s oldest youth demographic a genuine reason to engage with the ship’s kids program, not simply tolerate it. The Drone Academy, in particular, gives MSC’s Teen Club a signature experience that most competing teen........

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