Best "Family" Cruise?

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TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

I have been on more than 20 cruises with several cruise lines. In my opinion the best cruise line for you to go on since you have several kids is Royal Caribbean. It has the most on-board activities for kids and the other cruise lines cannot compare. Royal Caribbean is also a cruise line that caters to young cruiser and families. It has things like ice skating, roller blading, mini-golf course, a full sized basketball/tennis court, the rock climbing wall, and on the new Freedom Class ships the surfing simulator, the Flowrider. It has an area on its ships called Adventure Ocean which has programs for kids of all ages between 3 and 17. It has a special teen disco area that is open until 2:00 AM each evening. All of these activities are free, included in the price of your cruise.

The ships also have adults only areas, usually called a Solarium, where adults can relax away from the kids.

The RC ships that you should look for cruises on are the RC's Freedom Class and Voyager Class ships. You can look at the features of these ships on this web link:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/home.do;jsessionid=0000Y55JwfFdDaYPX5AOG8JzG_E:12hdhua36?cS=NAVBAR

These ships sail from a variety of ports, from NJ, to Florida, to Texas and LA. The best prices will likely be from the Freedom class ships sailing from Florida where there are many ships and sailing dates. In addition, consider all of January and February next year in order to get the best price. The first week of January may not be the best priced date; cruise prices generally vary by date and its generally always cheaper to book very early, like a year or so in advance.

After Royal Caribbean the next best would be Carnival. Carnival is the budget cruise line that generally has the lowest prices. They cater to young people, first time cruiser and families. The best of their ships are their newer ships so do pay attention to when the ship was launched is you find a really cheap cruise.

kellifromkeller

Disney

marek

Try Princess. There are on sale now: http://cs.cruisebase.com/sites_cruise/princess/?skin=256&HOME=http://www.ytbtravel.com&PIN=YTB418748

Erin M

I would recommend Carnival. It has a lot of activities for your wide range of ages, and is definitely the cheapest. Royal Caribbean is nice as well, but you will have to expect to spend more money. Oh, and I think a 5 night would work well. 3 always seem too short and 7/8 might be pushing it with the little ones. Have a great time! :)

Personally I would say Carnival or Royal Caribbean.
Disney is an excellent choice for families but very pricey.

Paul in San Diego

If cost is a major factor, go with Carnival. They are cheapest across the board for all room types and destinations. They also have what they call Camp Carnival, which is basically a free day camp for kids. This can be nice, because it gives the parents time to themselves during the day. It's also fun for the kids, because there's lots of kids their age and activities geared for them.

Consider that you have to spend a lot of time together with the kids in the same room. And, an inside stateroom might be kind of claustrophobic. They're very small and I doubt you could even get one that sleeps 5 (even if 3 are young children). So, consider getting a bigger exterior room or two adjoining rooms (some staterooms have internal interconnecting doors). It's more expensive than the inside staterooms. But, like I said, a room for that many people may not even be possible with an inside room.

I wouldn't start out on a cruise that's more than about 5 days. The longer cruises will have more ports of call, which means more expense if you get off the ship or go on excursions. Also, you don't know how stir crazy you'll get on a longer cruise. You may find that you can only take about 5 days in such close quarters with everyone.

If you're sailing from some place on the Gulf of Mexico or Florida, do a 5-day cruise to one or two ports of call. If on the west coast, do a 5 day Mexican Riviera cruise. It will be warm once you get far enough south, which will allow the kids to enjoy the pool and stuff.

sally b

I have been on over 30 cruises with and without various ages of family members. I am now a cruise agent so I have learned even more. Without question, go with Royal Caribbean. They have fantastic programs for the kids and much to be enjoyed by the adults. They are one of the lower priced lines, not as low as Carnival, but a better line for the group that you are taking. If you contact me, I will work to get you the best rates possible and will see to it that there are some bonus goodies too.
1-800-892-8694
www.cruisesinc.com/sbozeat

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