Think river cruises and expedition ships are off limits for kids?

Christine Chitnis reports on the growing trend of welcoming tweens and teens on these eye-opening adventures.

Most travelers would meet this moment with hushed reverence, but my then-12-year-olds wisecrack was right on the money.

A family kayaking and paddle boarding on a lake

Lindblad Expeditions has kid-friendly trips to places such as Port Althorp, Alaska.Credit:DAVID VARGAS/COURTESY OF LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS-NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Along the way we encountered musk oxen, walruses, and whales.

Traveling with a tween, Ive learned, is its own lesson in moderation.)

AGURTZANE CONCELLON/COURTESY OF HX (HURTIGRUTEN EXPEDITIONS)

The polar regions arent the only place to cultivate youthful curiosity.

A family cabin on board a ship with bunk beds

One of a dozen family cabins on the A-Rosa Sena, a European river ship.Courtesy of A-ROSA

You have to know your child, Simpson says.

These cruises might not be a fit for kids who need peers around.

A family and instructor view a screen in a science center on a ship

The science center aboard the HX ship Fridtjof Nansen.AGURTZANE CONCELLON/COURTESY OF HX (HURTIGRUTEN EXPEDITIONS)

A river ship docked on a pier

A-ROSA’s Sena ship.Courtesy of A-ROSA