The Top 10 family cruises

My colleague GILL WILLIAMS has compiled a Top 10 of the best family cruise deals available. Take a look:
Free kids clubs and the ability to pay up front for meals make cruising a winning holiday solution for families all at sea in the credit crunch.
And by shopping around you might even bag a free cruise for the children this year. That’s because shipping lines are anxious to pipe aboard a new generation of sailors, believing that once bitten with the cruise bug you’re forever smitten.
Most lines don’t charge for tots under two and several are offering free holidays or big discounts for children up to 18 provided they share a cabin with Mum and Dad.
Today’s enormous floating villages are well set up for families, providing supervised child care almost round the clock. Teams of qualified nannies look after younger children while kids’ clubs for threes and above have their own pools and even waterparks. And you can avoid shipboard mutiny by pointing teens in the way of hangouts fitted with PlayStations, Nintendo Wiis, and Formula 1 simulators.
Larger ships have bowling alleys, surf parks, ice-skating rinks and rock-climbing walls. After dark there are family movies under the stars and West End-style shows. Meals are very kid-friendly with informal dress, kid menus, flexible eating times and baby food.
However, not all family cruises are alike. Some such as Ventura work particularly well for families with babies, offering babysitting until the early hours. Others, such as MSC’s Fantasia, are better for older children, offering more teen entertainment than infant childcare.
Check out the full list.