One of the things I'm looking most forward to on my first cruise is all the fun things there are to do on board. Cynthia Boal Janssens shares her experiences on the Equinox with us in this article from All Things Cruise.

Just because it's winter doesn't mean that you have to stay away from cruising Northern Europe. In fact, as you'll learn in this article from All Things Cruise, winter is one of the best seasons to visit Scandinavia.

One of the things that worried me about taking a cruise when my kids were younger was losing them in the vast expanse of the ship. Now parents can rest a little easier while cruising for their family vacation -- kid tracking is coming to a cruise near you!

Kids of all ages have their own space on Royal Caribbean's new Oasis of the Seas - even those tiny tykes who won't even realize it.

For the first time, Royal Caribbean has fully-staffed nursery facilities - called Royal Babies and Tots - where parents can leave infants and toddlers as young as six-months old in the care of trained professionals. They'll even change those dirty diapers.

The colorful Royal Babies and Tots nursery area is part of the 28,000 square feet of space dedicated to guests under age 18 on the world's biggest cruise ship.

"Oasis of the Seas offers more of everything for every member of the family, including more for our younger guests," said Adam Goldstein, Royal Caribbean president & CEO. "The Youth Zone aboard Oasis of the Seas will continue to build on our award-winning Adventure Ocean youth and teen programs, and expand to include dedicated space and programming for our guests as young as six months old."

At full capacity, the Adventure Ocean facilities and staff can accommodate up to 2,000 youths.

And when parents are away from the kids they can remain connected. The muster wrist bands that all young children wear on Oasis of the Seas are equipped with GPS technology so parents will be able to track little Johnny anywhere on the ship in real time. They'll either need a Royal Connect smart phone, or they can go to guest services to check on a child's whereabouts.

What exactly is Royal Connect? It's a Royal Caribbean innovation that utilizes iPhones and allows passengers to stay in contact through calls and texting, track others with the device and view a mobile version of the Cruise Compass with daily activities. Each unit rents for $17.50 for the duration of the cruise.

"Our motto is, 'If we take care of the kids, we're going to have some happy parents,'" says Charley McDonald, director of guest activities for Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean's Adventure Ocean youth program is age-specific and separated into five categories:

- Royal Babies and Tots, ages 6-to-36 months

- Aquanauts, ages 3-to-5

- Explorers, ages 6-to-8

- Voyagers, ages 9-to-11

- Teens, ages 12-to-17

All categories, except for the nursery, are equipped with at least six Wii stations with loads of games to choose from.

Here's a taste of what's offered in each category:

- Royal Babies and Tots: In 2008, the Royal Caribbean fleet accommodated about 35,000 passengers under three - the minimum age for Adventure Ocean participants. The new nursery facilities addressed a need. Once onboard, parents must go to Kids Avenue on Deck 14 to register children before using the program. On Day 1, each family will be offered a set number of booking hours for the entire cruise. Remaining hours will be booked on a first-come, first serve basis. Each day will be themed, using activities & toys to teach children new skills. Every evening between 7:30-9 p.m. is "Twilight Time," with activities and bedtime stories geared towards getting kids ready for bed. Cost is $8.00 an hour, open 5:30 p.m.-midnight every evening, and day hours depending on the port.

- Argonauts, Explorers & Voyagers: Kids Avenue accesses all Adventure Ocean areas, including new features exclusive to Oasis of the Seas. Those include a totally PG-rated video arcade; the 100-seat Adventure Ocean Theater with production and talent shows; Imagination Studio for budding artist and sponsored by Crayola, a fully equipped science lab; and Play, an indoor playground - where parents are invited to participate. Kids 9-11 can sign themselves out with parental permission. There is no additional cost for kids to participate in the Adventure Ocean program - except a per-hour charge after-hours until 2 a.m.

- Teens: Just like home, teenagers want privacy. Royal Caribbean has been very accommodating, with two teens-only areas that include The Back Deck and the ultimate hangout - The Living Room. And in this living room, there's no mom and dad to tell teens to pick up behind themselves. The teens-only spaces are away from the other Adventure Ocean areas, a design change recommended by the Royal Caribbean Teen Advisory Board created last year. As a result, the teen areas are near the ship's sports deck, including the two FlowRider surf simulators, the Oasis Dunes miniature golf course and the basketball and volleyball court. Teens also have a chance to learn to spin and mix music in Scratch DJ 101 classes - part of the lines Scratch DJ Academy - or dance the night away at Fuel, a teen disco.

Of course, there are many more kid-friendly venues and activities on Oasis of the Seas not connected to the Adventure Ocean program, such as the AquaTheater shows, a carousel, a Johnny Rockets hamburger joint and much more.

All cruise passengers under age 18 not accompanied by a parent or guardian have a 1 a.m. curfew.

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Alan Whitt is an award-winning journalist with a passion for cruising. Over the last 13 years he has spent what equates to more than a year at sea. Alan has written news and feature stories on the cruise industry for The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville, many of Gannett’s 80-plus newspapers and other publications as a freelance journalist. You can reach Alan at mytravelbf@ymail.com. Read More from Alan