SKAGWAY, ALASKA - Cruise lines aren’t kidding when they say they want to attract a younger audience. And they are appealing to young families by turning unused space aboard ships into everything from daycares to discos. And the kids, in all age groups, love it.

While cruise lines aren’t about to adopt an “out with the old” attitude – after all, the elderly still account for the bulk of a cruise line’s business – they are making their ships more family friendly.

And more and more cruise lines tell me that the ones arriving with young children in tow are more likely these days to be the grandparents. One 9-year-old we met aboard a Royal Caribbean Alaskan cruise was making his sixth voyage with his grandparents.

We can thank Walt Disney for this change of heart when it comes to making cruising look younger. When Disney got into the cruise business they made ships Goofy and Mickey Mouse and soon grabbed the lion’s share of the family cruise business. Others quickly followed and the overall response has been terrific, especially after the 9/11 tragedy when families bonded together during vacations.

So now on a cruise, you’ll see as many people climbing stairs with canes as you’ll see climbing walk walls, which have been incorporated into the smoke stacks on most ships.

As one parent told me – “ships are safe and we can let our kids be on their own while we (the Mom and Dad) have time to ourselves.”

The kids are never too far from their families, thanks to technology. Most ships equip kids with walkie-talkies so they are never out of touch with their parents. The kids, by the way, quickly discover the play value of the electronic devices and can be seen playing games like hide and seek with new-found playmates. Most ships also supply families with identification bracelets for their children, just in case of an emergency.

The cruise youth movement has resulted in most ships reporting a quarter of their passenger loads now being made up of youngsters 17 and under. It has also lead to an increase in bookings, resulting in cruising being one of the few segments of the travel industry to grow after 9/11.

Most modern ships now come with the above mentioned rock climbing walls but basketball courts, kids’ only pools, water slides and mini-putt facilities are now becoming more common place on decks. Below, the daycare facilities and play areas rival anything on land and the state-of-the-art video arcades would make Bill Gates blush.

One sector that posed a special challenge for cruise lines was the teen set. Older kids were forced to gather in staircases at one time to socialize with their fellow teens. Not anymore! Many cruise lines have introduced alcohol-free discos and the response has been overwhelming. Now, once reluctant teens are only too happy to join their families on a cruise.

Most of the fun areas are staffed by qualified personnel – usually about 10 – who have been trained in the fine art of keeping children entertained. But the counselors tell me they don’t like their play areas to be called a babysitting service. They look upon them as an extension of the kids’ classrooms – just a lot more fun.

So, along with watching movies, the kids also conduct science experiments. “The kids love to make volcanoes and slime,” one instructor told us.

Mainstream cruise lines like Carnival, Disney and Royal Caribbean require their instructors to have a university degree and several years experience working with children before they can be hired. So, don’t worry, your children are in good hands.

And the kids aren’t all lumped together. Programs meeting the different needs of children of different ages have been developed. The groupings are usually: 3 to 5; 6 to 8; 9 to 11 and 12 to 14. The 14 and older kids fall into the teen category. One instructor told us that as a cruise progresses, they notice the kids prefer to hang out with their shipmates rather than their parents – which is okay with the parents, who like the idea of hanging out pool side, sipping a rum cocktail or having a couples’ spa treatment.

The one time kids like to join up with their parents is for the shore excursions. One cruise expert says that this is the area where the value of a family cruising really comes to light.

“In our fast-passed world, this is about the only time when families can do things together,” one cruise expert told me “The kids bring the child out in their parents and no matter the age, seeing the world with Mom and Dad and later sitting down to dinner and sharing experiences, well, those memories will last a lifetime.”

Another cruise official told me that “if we can get the kids hooked on cruising, they’ll bring their children back when they have families.”

The most popular cruises with kids are the ones offered by Walt Disney in the Caribbean and those sailing to Alaska. The children and their parents, it appears, like natural beauty as much as the man-made variety.

On Royal Caribbean cruises, kids are offered the option of dining with their younger shipmates, where they dress up like pirates and later march through the main dining areas and cause playful havoc with the older set. It’s all great fun and the elderly passengers seem to get the most fun out of the kids’ antics.

Not all older passengers like sharing space with kids on cruises, however – some complain about children running through passage ways and being rude. According to one cruise director, though, the complaints are becoming less and less as the years pass.

"For the most part, the children are very well behaved,” said a cruise director with Royal Caribbean. “They (kids) are the cruise passengers of the future and it is very important that we make them feel welcome aboard our ships right now."

An unscientific poll taken by TraveLife during a recent Alaskan cruise among younger passengers revealed not one of them was bored and each was looking forward to their next voyage.

The highlight of cruises today is the talent show organized by the children, where they get a chance to perform for their older shipmates. We watched in amazement as one boy burped the alphabet, most performed dance routines and others contributed magic tricks.

Each of the participants is awarded a prize at the end of the show and the rest of the ship’s passengers are rewarded with a most entertaining afternoon.

So, when you’re planning your next cruise, make sure to include your children and grandchildren – because cruising really is for the young and the young at heart.