My family and I are planning a cruise for next spring. Any suggestions, its our first cruise.?

Show all answers

MomSezNo

My suggestion would be to do some research before you make your decision. There are so many variables, and only you can decide how important each one is.

There are books on cruising at your library or bookstore, and they can give you an overview and general idea of what's involved in selecting a cruise.

You could also go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Reviews" and read comments from the pros and, more importantly, "Member Reviews". You also can click on "Boards" and go to whatever topic interests you. You'll find reliable, current info from experienced cruisers on all aspects of cruising.

Carnival is usually considered a good first cruise, but some people love Royal Caribbean [although it is a bit more expensive and the quality of service and food is lower]. NCL also has its fans, but, again, the service and food are pretty low. Since it's your first cruise, it may not make that much difference, as you'll have nothing to compare it with. Princess is considered a step up from those three and it usually isn't that much more expensive.

Be careful about the dates. The cruises that are more expensive [on the same ship] are the ones that are "school break" cruises - that may or may not fit what you want and need. If you are going at a school break time, don't wait too long to book, as those cruises will fill up fast.

A couple of hints:

Use a good travel agent, preferably one who is experienced in booking cruises, for your first cruise. You can go to VacationsToGo.com and get an idea of itineraries/prices, but you'll probably want some help in the actual booking.

Don't use cruise line air arrangements, unless it's a particularly good deal. The cruise line flights are not the most convenient ones, although you can pay a deviation fee to change them or make special requests. [We had family members who were routed from Miami to Boston by way of Chicago - in winter! Yes, they spent the night at the airport in Chicago.]

Which leads me to my third suggestion. Go to your departure port the day before your cruise. If your flights are delayed, this will give you wiggle room to make other arrangements. And don't schedule your return flight before Noon. Ships don't always return to port as scheduled.

And you may want to seriously consider buying trip insurance, because you never know what might happen to cause you to have to change plans. The cruise line insurance isn't necessarily the best deal. Check out InsureMyTrip.com for policy comparisons and to see which ones cover what contingencies.

Have fun with your research. I hope you find just the right cruise for you and your family.

lce1953

I have had many people tell me that the best cruise they went on was to Alaska. I think a cruise around the Hawaii Islands would be fun too.

johnrklinger

Most of the mass market lines will be family friendly. If you guys are looking for mostly beach / water then try an eastern caribbean cruise. If you are looking for a bit more varied activities, try a western (although you can defiently do beach on the westerns). CCL, NCL and RCCL are all pretty similar in terms of activities and price and would work well for a family. You may want to avoid spring breaks or go for a 7 day cruises. The shorter ones esp during collage spring break tend to be a bit rowdier.

bigbrother_trucker

kinda hard to answer this one. I don't know any of your likes or dislikes. You can cruise virtually any part of the world. But if I recommend an Alaska cruise, what if you don't like looking at icebergs and snow capped mountains. I could recommend a western caribbean but you might be looking for something more exotic, such as a cruise to tahiti or a south american cruise. Do you want a 3 or 4 day getaway or a 7 day cruise. I would be happy to offer some suggestions if you will post another question and be a little more specific about what you want, how many days you have available, etc. Thanks

jambo92

I cruise every spring break with our kids. We always cruise on Carnival. They have a fantastic program for the kids!

We live close to Florida, so we usually drive to a port (saves on airfares for the family), and sail to the Carribean or the Bahamas.

My suggestion is to do a minimum of a 5 day cruise. Anything less is just too short. We've done 5 day cruises for the last several years, but this last year we did our first 7 day cruise. No we are hooked on the 7 day ones. We are already booked for next spring break as well.

It does seem like just about all the cruises out of the middle of Florida (Tampa, Port Canaveral) always make a stop in Cozumel - the good thing (almost the only thing) that's good about Cozumel, is you can get $1 Corona's there!!

HAVE FUN!!

LIL SIS KT

Hey sis u should look at this link for cruises

www.Vacationstogo.com

They have tons of cruises and reviews....

Time travler

I have been on 8 cruises, all with Princess. #9 is already booked. I guess what I would tell first time cruisers is if you have to fly a long distance to the cruise port(like more then 2 hours), you may want to go a day early and stay in a hotel. The reason is, you don't want to miss the cruise ship because of a big delay in your flight. Next I would say to pack light. You always bring tons more clothes then what you need. From dinning room wear, I wear the same slacks or skirt more then once and change only the top. I also bring only a couple of pairs of shoes, one for dress up, one for walking, and maybe one pair of other shoes like sandals. Leave hair dryers, shampoo, conditioner, soap all at home. The Cruise ship supplies these things. If it is a cruise where you may need to do laundry, then bring along one of those Little boxes of tide or something. Most cruise ships do have do it yourself laundry rooms. Bring quarters too. For lots more tips and excursions tips too, go to cruise critic and you can find out lots more info, even your fellow passengers.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: