One thing I really love about a cruise is when you can share the experience with friends and family, and it's one of the best kind of vacations when you're accounting for different ages.
When I've taken a land vacation with my extended family, it seems inevitably some people end up "doing their own thing" because what others are doing isn't to their liking. And that usually means more separation from everyone because of distances involved.
I find a cruise vacation lends itself more towards being together, and even when you're not, you're never too far away. Royal Caribbean is in that sweet spot for large families because they have lots for kids, parents, grandparents and weird uncles to enjoy. It doesn't lean too heavy into one particular demographic.
I don't necessarily want a vacation where my entire family feels like we're "joined at the hip", but it's still important to feel like we spent time together.
Regardless of which type of vacation you pick, it's not easy balancing the needs of every family member and everyone coming home satisfied at the end of the trip.
Planning a multigenerational cruise
I think it's important early on to get buy in from everyone involved.
When you're picking the cruise ship, dates, itinerary, and travel arrangements, you want to make sure everyone is on the same page.
One of the top challenges of planning a family trip is not defaulting into the "travel czar" for everyone. You don't want the family thinking one person has taken over the trip planning and it's become "their trip".
While some degree of decision making will ultimately need to be made by one person, the more you can include others in the decision making process, the better it ends up going.
Cruises are great because families have options for staterooms, depending on their budget.
Read more: Ways I Save Money on Cruises With Family
An easy idea to make this work is to start the planning process the next time your family is together. Christmas, Thanksgiving, someone's birthday, or any time you can have the principles in the same room makes for simpler choices and less passive aggressive texts later.
Everyone's family dynamic is different, but the more inclusion you start off with, the better you are later.
Work with a travel agent
You know what starts more arguments among family members? Money.
Everyone has grandiose visions of that perfect family trip, but handling money is not pretty. You don't want to be the "bad guy" reminding everyone to pay, and you definitely do not want to be a middle man for taking payments.
My advice is loop a travel agent in as soon as you want to book so they can deal with collecting payments and making other arrangements.
Not only can a good travel agent ensure everyone is paid up and there's no confusion about who owes who money, but they could be a great asset as well.
If you book enough cabins, you might qualify for a group discount. Even if you don't, travel agents have access to special rates that could save everyone money.
Read more: 10 secrets Royal Caribbean travel agents wish you knew
Plus, travel agents are there to take care of any problems anyone encounters with the cruise line.
One you think a multigenerational trip is possible, I'd contact a travel agent to get the ball rolling.
Read more: 7 Best Royal Caribbean cruise ships for Kids
Plan on time together at least once a day
One secret to a great multi-gen cruise is not planning out every minute of every day.
Some of your family will be up at dawn, and others will emerge around lunch. Don't worry about trying to be together all the time.
Instead, plan on having one time per day you are together, and I think dinner is the perfect opportunity.
Not only will everyone be awake for dinner, but it's the perfect time to see everyone and talk about what everyone did. Plus, the Main Dining Room is conducive to handling large groups.
Beyond that one time together a day rule, make it clear there's no hard feelings for what happens the rest of the day. It's their vacation as much as yours, and sometimes you want to do your own thing.
To help avoid drama later on related to "I didn't know you were doing that", a group text is a good idea (along with paying for an internet package for at least one person per family).
Read more: Royal Caribbean wifi guide
Book shore excursions early
Once you have a cruise booked, I think the next thing to tackle are shore excursions.
It's not easy finding tours that work for everyone, but you'll want to start on it before some of them start to sell out.
Beach days are the simplest and most popular choice for a multigenerational trip, so that's always an easy starting point (especially in the Caribbean).
Read more: 11 of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean
No matter which tour you pick, it's also good to split the costs evenly. If someone wants to pay for the entire family, that's fantastic, but if not, plan on everyone paying for their share so that there's no arguments later who paid for what.
Going back to the first tip, you'll also want to get buy in for which shore excursions you pick. It's not a big deal if some family members do their own thing, but I find a tour I do with everyone feels a lot more special.
Focus on what will make memories
After you get home and the trip is over, the most important takeaway will be the memories you make.
What that means is having first experiences that create family bonding moments with memories. The sort of things that happen that everyone talks about for years later because it was funny, loving, or just a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
A lot of families elect to buy matching t-shirts for the trip. Not only is it something to wear together on the first day of the cruise, but you can wear it for months or years later. It's like a rock concert shirt that commemorates that you were there.
Beyond souvenirs, focus on things you can all do together. While there's no guarantee going to the CocoCay waterpark or singing karaoke will make a memory you'll think about for the rest of your life, it's more likely than just not doing anything at all.
I've rented a yacht in St. Thomas on one trip and while not cheap, it's been a tour we've talked about a lot over the years because we had an epic day.
When I cruise with my parents, I've noticed they much prefer big family dinners where we can all sit together and share stories.
Mixing in different opportunities to foster memories is a good priority for any multigenerational trip.
