A cruise is such a great family vacation option to make lasting memories with your kids. On a cruise you can take your kids on a multiple destination trip, only unpack once and have so many activities geared toward them they’ll never get bored and you’ll never be more relaxed! Okay, it’s not quite that simple, but cruises are a great family vacation and they are packed with memories. Keeping a cruise travel journal with your kids provides that one missing piece, reflection and connection that will make the memories last well after you get off the ship. Here are 18 fun and unique cruise journal ideas for kids to try on your next trip:
1.Draw a picture of their favorite part of the day.
This is a great prompt to use at the end of the day. So many fun things happened, it’s great to slow down and ask them to reflect, what was the best? It might surprise you.
2. Take your travel journals to dinner.
This is a great way to reconnect as a family after a packed day of activities. Using their travel journals as guides, ask them questions about their day. What was their favorite activity? What was something new they saw? Not only does this give you special insight into your child’s experience, it also provides entertainment for them so you can enjoy your dinner.
3. Pack a fun travel journal kit.
Stickers, watercolors, washi tape, crayons… There are endless options of supplies you can bring for your kid’s cruise travel journal. My favorite thing to do is to pack a kit that has a variety, but not bring the whole craft drawer! The good thing about a cruise is that you only unpack once so you can bring more without the hassle of transporting it. But having limited supplies often creates more creativity. Here are my favorite things to bring: pencils and pens, glue stick, two sets of colors: crayons, colored pencils, watercolors, etc., a polaroid camera and then some fun extras that are on the cruise theme: stickers, washi tape, stamps, etc. With limited materials the journals end up having some cohesion when they’re all done, making them unique to your cruise. Check out my journal supplies and materials page to get ideas of what you want to include in your kit.
4. Draw a picture of their favorite activity of the day.
With so much packed into a day on a cruise, this is a great way for kids to reflect and capture their unique thoughts and feelings in a drawing and you’ll get to hear about their unique perspective. Win/win.
5. Write down: Something funny I saw today was…
I love this prompt because it gets kids to slow down from all the crazy activities and stimulus and gets them to think about an experience or story they can write or draw in their journal. And hopefully tell you while they’re doing it. This will give you precious insight into their experience and have you all laughing together.
6. Bring a Polaroid camera and take a picture a day.
I always suggest the Instax Mini 11 Polaroid Camera for kids, especially small ones. It’s light, easy to pack and use, and so much fun. And in the end, they have a photo that they can paste into their journal to accompany their writings and drawings. This instantly makes their cruise travel journal more special and unique to them. And as a parent, you get to have an eye level view of what they’re noticing and capturing. It’s guaranteed to surprise you and make you laugh. This one is especially fun to do during a special activity. Maybe while you’re playing mini golf together, or when you’re at port, capturing each special destination.
7. Write down: Today I feel…
This is a great prompt to do in the morning. It can act as a check in before a jam packed day. Do they feel excited? Happy? Tired? This could be valuable information about what you all should do that day and be a fun record of each day on the cruise.
8. Write down: A new friend I made today was named…
A cruise is a great opportunity for your kids to meet new people, possibly from around the world. Ask your kids to record their new friend’s name in their journal and write or draw a story about what they did together. This is so fun to look back on years later.
9. Collect mementos and paste them into the journal.
Give your kid’s cruise journal some texture. Have them save all of the mementos of the cruise and paste them in their journal along with their writing and drawing. These are so fun to look at and act as reminders of all the fun activities they did on the ship.
10. Write down: A new experience I had today was…
There are always tons of new experiences to be had on a cruise. It’s great to record these in all their variety.
11. Make a list of new animals they saw.
This is great as a list or drawings, depending on your child’s age. Ask them to record the colors of the fish they saw or the baby monkey they got to see up close. They’ll never have that experience for the first time again, record it!
12. Write down: My favorite destination of the trip was…
This is a great prompt for the end of the trip. With so many new destinations, everyone in the family is bound to have a different answer. With their travel journals, your kids can write or draw about their own thoughts and experiences, saving them forever. Plus you get to hear about them, and I bet it will surprise you!
13. Use an underwater camera and paste photos in their travel journal.
This is such a fun and unique activity to do with kids on a cruise and add to their travel journal when you get home. Some of the most special photos I have are from underwater cameras. You can take it to the pool or ocean. Depending on your kids age, have them go underwater and take photos of what they see or you go under and take pictures of them swimming and smiling. When you get home, have these developed and paste them in their travel journal. They will capture the feeling of the cruise and are so fun to look back on for years.
14. Record the weather each day and draw a picture.
This is a great prompt to use to start the day. Go up to the deck first thing in the morning with your travel journals and colors, take in the warm air and (most likely) sunshine. Then have the kids draw a picture of what they see. Challenge them to notice something new. Maybe a bird or some funny looking clouds. It’s a great way to start the day and take some time to really take in and be grateful for the beautiful weather on a cruise.
15. Draw a picture of each special souvenir you bought.
Buying souvenirs is such a fun part of the trip, but often you can forget where you bought each thing. After you get back on the ship, have your kids draw a picture of what they bought and write down where they bought it and why they like it. This way they have the souvenir in life, and on the page.
16. Write down: One thing I’m really going to miss about the cruise life is…
This is a great prompt to do at the end of the cruise. It helps prepare your kids for the end of the vacation and remind them of all the fun you’ve had. Plus you might even find out that it’s something you can recreate on land. French fries everyday? Maybe not everyday but that could be done on the weekends. Or spending time in the pool? Maybe it’s time to go to the local pool more often. Have them record it in their journal and learn a bit about them and the cruise experience.
17. Try a waterproof journal and pen.
For kids that are a bit older and don’t want a guided journal, and want to do some daily writing on their own, think about getting them a waterproof journal and pen. Typically used to capture ideas in the shower, this notebook can safely be taken anywhere on the ship and has a special ‘cruise only’ quality to it that’s very special.
18. Write down: Tomorrow a new thing I want to try is…
This could be an activity, a food, anything. It can also help you decide what you want to do the next day. And encourage your kids to try new things.
I hope these ideas sparked your interest and gave you some creative ideas for using a kids travel journal on your next cruise. They can bring so much connection and creativity to an action pack vacation like a cruise. I hope they bring your family fun and creativity on your next cruise. Bon voyage!