Planning a family cruise for 2027 just got cheaper. AIDA Cruises is running a booking-window promotion from 5 to 18 November 2026 in which children aged 15 and under travel free of charge when sharing their parents' cabin in the third, fourth or fifth bed. The deal applies to new bookings on selected sailings departing between March and October 2027, booked in the Comfort All In, Premium All In or Premium fare categories.
There's a flight sweetener too: on selected cruises departing from or arriving at participating airports, kids in that age group also get a discount on their flight price — useful for anyone flying in to meet the ship rather than driving to a home port.
AIDA has clearly built the promotion around the school calendar, with the qualifying sailings spread across various school-holiday dates. The routes on offer are family-friendly classics: the western Mediterranean, European city breaks by sea, Scandinavia and the Norwegian fjords.
The flagship of the offer is the AIDAcosma in the western Mediterranean. Its "Mediterranean Treasures with Corsica" itineraries depart from Barcelona or Mallorca and string together several port calls with time at sea, including a stop on Corsica — a good fit for families who want beach time, city wandering and a bit of variety without repacking suitcases.
If you'd rather skip the flights, there are departures from German ports. The AIDAperla sails "Metropolitan Cities from Hamburg", hopping between European cities; the AIDAnova leaves Kiel on the "Scandinavian Highlights" route; and the AIDAprima runs "Norway's Fjord World Heritage from Hamburg 1", which puts Norway's fjord scenery front and centre. Those itineraries work especially well for families based in northern Europe or within driving distance of Hamburg or Kiel.
Why it matters: family cruising can get expensive fast once you multiply fares by the number of children, so a free-kids offer on school-holiday dates is a genuine saving rather than a gimmick. The catch is the usual one — it's a limited booking window (5–18 November 2026) on selected sailings and fare types, so it pays to have your dates and cabin sorted before the window opens. If your kids are 15 or under and you can travel between March and October 2027, it's worth comparing these fares against other lines before deciding; the flight discount could tip the balance if you'd otherwise pay full airfare for the whole family.
