Cruise Suggestions

I swear by Norwegian. My girlfriend swears by Disney. All their destinations are wonderful, so it's really up to you where you'd like to explore.

It's pretty hard to go wrong with a cruise on one of the major lines. We have done Disney, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity and loved them all. My husband and I thought the food was by far the best on Celebrity. While Celebrity generally has an older population, they do have a nice kids club, pools, and activities for the whole family. The dress code in the dining rooms will be enforced more on Celebrity and is generally dressier overall.

Disney was amazing. So many incredibly fun activities for the kids, awesome kids club, and plenty of stuff for the adults to do, too. Many adults travel on Disney even if they don't have kids. The dining rooms aren't nearly as formal, and many people wear jeans, so it's really nice to not have to dress up every night. Disney primarily does Caribbean itineraries, but does have some others planned in 2013 (Caribbean only so far in 2014).

Royal Caribbean was great too. We did that one without kids so I didn't ever see the kids club, but i've heard good things about it.

Honestly, they are all really great. Carnival generally has a younger crowd and more of a "party ship" atmosphere/stereotype. I've never really wanted to do a Carnival cruise.

I have done Alaska, Mediterranean, Western Caribbean and Mexican Riviera. The Mexico one has the least interesting ports and is one I don't have a strong desire to do again (though it's the only one I don't have to fly to get to). I would love to go back to any of the others. Think about the type of vacation do you want - beach? cultural/scenic? sightseeing/historical? That will help you choose between Caribbean, Alaska and Mediterranean.

Have fun! Check out www.cruisecritic.com for a ton of info about each line and each port.

I can let you know on the 13th! We fly out this Friday for our first ever cruise. We are going on Carnival, and leaving from Miami. We will visit Nassau, San Juan, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk. From what I've heard, it's one of the best cruise lines for families. So with it being our first and our kids being 5, 7, and 9, we figured it was a good starting point.

I REALLY want to do a Disney cruise. We may look to plan that one for next year or the following year.

I have heard good and bad about the different cruise lines. One of the things I have heard is that Disney has the smallest rooms. They expect you to go to your room and collapse, that you'll be so tired you won't care what the room looks like or the size. That could be totally true of course. I think that the thing that Disney has to offer that is different than the other lines is the shows they put on. They are like a stage performance that is Disney quality. If the kids and adults going like that type of family style show that could be a good draw. The kids may just be too old though. I would probably not do Disney at all due to the kids. I would imagine finding even a half hour of kid free area would be hard.

As for Celebrity I have heard they are the least likely to accommodate different needs for their passengers.

I have researched a lot of different lines and have decided if we do go on a cruise this year it will only be on Royal Caribbean mostly because I want to say I ice skated on the ocean...silly I know. But they also have rock climbing walls and many other activities that would appeal to the older youth and adults alike.

They also seem to have the bigger ships and they are much newer. They are adding ships nearly every year with all the latest updates in technology. They also have a lot of things to offer people who come on board such as shows, movies, classes, activities.

We like Norwegian cruise line, although the major lines are very similar. The advantage with Norwegian is that it's casual all the time (with some minor restrictions) and you can eat when and where you want to -- no assigned seating time. We love the flexibility. If we want, we can eat early one night and later the next.

I went with my husband up to Alaska a couple years and it was a fabulous cruise. It's so beautiful and unique up there; definitely a place everyone should see. Alaska would work for the age group you've mentioned.

ETA: I second CruiseCritic.com as a great resource.

I HIGHLY recommend Celebrity Cruise Lines. They are not as big as the others, but the services is IMPECCABLE! I've also been on a Princess cruise - would not do that again!

Princess did a great job for a family 0-75. They had meals together and accomodated special diets well.

I am leary of carnival.

I will say vacationstogo.com got us the best deal and made zero mistakes every time. our local travel agent charged us top dollar and made numerous mistakes. I would rather save at least 50%. Groups can save more.

The only cruises we've done are Disney Cruises (2 so far, 3rd one scheduled) and they are awesome for families with people of all ages. The first one we went on, our daughter was 3.5, my stepsons were 16 and 17, and they all loved it. They are plenty of kid-free areas and activities for adults when they don't want to be surrounded by kids. Disney may be a little more expensive than others, but it's well worth it. If you talk to people who have done Disney as well other other cruise lines, they will tell you Disney wins hands down. They have a few Caribbean itineraries as well as other destinations (Alaska, California coast, Mexico).

ETA: Disney is one of the few and rare cruise lines that allows you to bring your own alcohol on board. If you can physically carry it on (rather than it being in checked luggage), you can bring it. DH brought his own beer and even had one in a glass with dinner a few nights.

I would love to do a Disney! We have done Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity and I like RC the best I think. It had a good mix of people and had pretty good food. Celebrity was a lot of older people and they didn't really cater to kids. I know 10 is older, so it might be okay, but still, it wasn't particularly kid friendly.

I love Grand Cayman and Jamaica. Each time I've been to Mexico on a cruise it was only okay. The Caymans are simply beautiful and there is a lot of stuff to do as far as excursions.

If your family drinks at all you may consider looking into one that would offer drink packages, they are worth it if you think you'll use it. Each cruise line has a soda/juice package of some sort which is also a good idea.

8KidsDad has been on tons of cruises and he'll probably respond to this question but if he doesn't, you may consider PMing him.