To many mothers, planning a birthday party can be very daunting. You need to have a theme and location in mind. These days, with birthday parties becoming more and more elaborate and different, why not do something different? Why not have the celebrations on a cruise? Everyone is sure to love the change and yes, they will enjoy themselves too.

If you're an adult celebrating your birthday, one great birthday party idea if you are in Sydney is to book the Sydney Showboat. It's also known as the "party boat" and is a good choice for an evening of fun with a dinner cruise thrown in with a three-course menu and a live international show.

Alternatively, you could choose a disco cruise as a , if you're in London, UK. All you need to have is a group of six people and take a cruise down on the Thames, with lots of food and drink thrown in, not to forget the music. This sails down the Thames and has a DJ playing the latest music to put you into the party mood. And this includes enjoying a large buffet dinner which then goes on to non-stop partying, eating, drinking and dancing down the river.

Things can get slightly different if you're taking a cruise with your family and celebrating one of your little kids' birthday parties on board the cruise liner. For all of you, it's a wonderful idea to celebrate the little one's big day on a Birthday Party Cruise liner. But wait-first find out just how safe the ship is for little children.

For one, find out if they have day care facilities. If it does, it's going to take the strain off you of looking after your kids-you can concentrate on enjoying yourself you're your friends. Follow the steps given here and have a relaxing time cruising on your kid's birthday. Here you go:

"Find out all you can about the Birthday Party Cruise liner you're interested in. Ask if your friends who took the cruise you're interested in have children who enjoyed themselves on the cruise?

"Ask if there are child care rooms and up to what age kids are allowed in here. How much does it cost to use a child care room? Should you book one in advance?

"Is the child care staff trained and are the children supervised? How are they kept busy? How many kids does each staff member look after?

"Is there any set check-in and pick-up procedure for kids in the child care room? Are they safe? Should children using this facility be potty-trained? Should they be vaccinated before they embark on this cruise?

If all your queries are answered satisfactorily, look beyond this and get cracking on the birthday celebrations. Remember, you've got a cake to think of, the other eats, games and take home gifts. What are you doing? Get up and get going. There's not much you can get in the middle of the high seas-so go well prepared and have a good time.