Taking the Kids: A Family-Style River Cruise

"So much better than traveling by car or train. Just being on the boat is entertainment for the kids," said Jolie Cowen, part of another multigenerational Australia group celebrating her in-laws 50th anniversary.

"So much better than staying in a hotel," agreed Ellie Manton. "We could be free with the other kids on the boat. In a big city, you can't do that at a hotel."

"Being on board was the best part of the trip," the kids explained. They could order food or snacks in the lounge whenever they were hungry, (especially popular were sausages and fries) if they couldn't wait for afternoon tea, their rooms had a selection of kids' programming and they got a special "pillow surprise" every night, including a copy of "Slovenly Peter," the first German children's book every published. If one child wanted schnitzel every night, or French toast every morning, no problem. They especially liked their kids-only dinners -- as did their parents and grandparents.

"It's good for the kids to have time together with the other kids they've met," said Jane Edwards, traveling with her husband, and four children and extended family.

The adults traveling without kids didn't mind their presence, either. "I personally liked the energy the kids brought," said Marilyn Norris, traveling with a friend from California, who added that it certainly helped that the junior cruisers were a well-behaved bunch.

Having endured many too-long shore excursions with children and teens, I loved the kid-friendly options. The families toured Nuremberg's famous Toy Museum, for example, while the adults without kids went on a more extensive walking tour. In Frankfurt, the families went to see the dinosaur fossils at Senckenberg Museum, one of the largest natural history museums in Germany. On our last afternoon, there was a sobering adult World War II tour in Germany, including the famous Courtroom 600 where the Nuremburg Trials were held: The kids were on board preparing a talent show. In summer, there are kids' bikes, as well as adult ones on board for those who want to go for a river-front ride. There's "gondola rowing" on the Venetian canals and the chance to see the Lipizzaner stallion's at Vienna's famous Spanish Riding School. On

Another plus, parents said -- besides the connecting rooms: these trips are all-inclusive, including tips, airport transfers, shore excursions and on-board beverages (for adults as well as the kids).

There were a few hiccups -- the parents of the youngest kids wished there was a system where the kids were signed in and out for the activities, for example. Those without kids would have preferred their talent show -- sweet as it was -- to not take over the entire lounge.

Still, everyone was sorry to say goodbye, especially the kids.

They were already talking to their parents about which cruise to take next time.

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow "taking the kids" on www.twitter.com, where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.)