We did a Galapagos cruise about 5 years ago with a 13-year old, and it was fantastic. We were on the Eclipse, which was bought by Celebrity and is now called the Xperience. Back then, they had certain tours that were denoted as "family friendly," and there were a decent number of kids on the trip, as young as 5 or 6. The cruise had special activities for the kids during the day/evening, as well as a kids menu. So if you are interested, you might try looking for a similar setup.
Whether it would be fun or not for the kids really depends on the kids. Our 13-year old absolutely loved it, as she is interested in wildlife and snorkeling, and generally likes adventure travel. If your kids are comfortable in the water and enjoy snorkeling, that makes a huge difference. Note that snorkeling in the Galapagos is different from snorkeling in, say, the Caribbean - water is deeper, colder, and often a bit choppier, depending on the time of year. Some of the younger kids who were not as comfortable in the water weren't able to snorkel off the pangas, though they were able to do so on shore. There's also a decent amount of hiking, and it is in general a very active vacation.
If your kids like nature, wildlife, and are pretty active (i.e. enjoy hiking, walking - there's a lot of walking), then I would say go for it, as it is an amazing experience. On the other hand, if your kids are not that interested in wildlife, don't like hiking, and get easily seasick, then I might pass or wait until they are a bit older.
Galapagos cruise with children
in South America
Posted
We did a Galapagos cruise about 5 years ago with a 13-year old, and it was fantastic. We were on the Eclipse, which was bought by Celebrity and is now called the Xperience. Back then, they had certain tours that were denoted as "family friendly," and there were a decent number of kids on the trip, as young as 5 or 6. The cruise had special activities for the kids during the day/evening, as well as a kids menu. So if you are interested, you might try looking for a similar setup.
Whether it would be fun or not for the kids really depends on the kids. Our 13-year old absolutely loved it, as she is interested in wildlife and snorkeling, and generally likes adventure travel. If your kids are comfortable in the water and enjoy snorkeling, that makes a huge difference. Note that snorkeling in the Galapagos is different from snorkeling in, say, the Caribbean - water is deeper, colder, and often a bit choppier, depending on the time of year. Some of the younger kids who were not as comfortable in the water weren't able to snorkel off the pangas, though they were able to do so on shore. There's also a decent amount of hiking, and it is in general a very active vacation.
If your kids like nature, wildlife, and are pretty active (i.e. enjoy hiking, walking - there's a lot of walking), then I would say go for it, as it is an amazing experience. On the other hand, if your kids are not that interested in wildlife, don't like hiking, and get easily seasick, then I might pass or wait until they are a bit older.