please suggest a 10th anniversary cruise

I am taking my wife and two kids on a 10th anniversary cruise in December 2014 (anniversary is 1/1/15). We will be 41 and the kids will be 5 and almost 8.

I am looking for about 10 days; must be warm weather. And we have to fly from Oregon to the port and pay for hotels, so that needs to be in our budget.

Priorities are:

food quality

kid friendly (but not kid-focused like Disney)

warm weather

Budget is flexible, maybe $10,000 for everything including airfare (which is typically $2000 roundtrip at the holidays) and hotels, etc.

We have cruised 4 days Royal Caribbean out of Galveston. That was ok but not impressive.

We cruised 7 days on Princess out of Seattle to Alaska, and that was great. Food was awesome.

If you can help steer me in the direction of a cruise line and an itinerary I will do some research and come back with some questions. Also please consider the best family accommodations given the constraints - a suite would be nice for the space but will eat up almost all our money. Would two adjoining rooms be better?

Thank you, this is such a great resource for those of us who don't know a lot about the industry.

My initial thought is Celebrity to the Southern Caribbean...

We suggest Carnival Magic out of Galveston. It has the amenities you asked for and lots of outdoor activites for the whole family. This ship has a full court for basketball or volleyball, a sports square with mini golf, foosball, and a ropes course. The kids might like the age-specific camps and clubs organized and operated by kid-firendly Carnival employees. Meanwhile, there are adult areas, such as the Serenity Deck for quiet relaxation, or the full-featured spa for complete pampering. You can get one cabin for four, with or without a balcony at a reasonable fare. This ship also has unique cove balconies on deck 2. In addition, there are family-sized cabins on deck 2 with 2 bathrooms that hold up to 5. In addition to the main dining room, there are specialty restaurants, such as the Italian restaurant, which is included in your fare for lunch but extra for dinner, the Red Frog Pub, with its own brand of beer, and the Steakhouse restaurant, which is extra. Besides the main lounge for evening shows, there are other entertainment venues, including a couple of different commedians, karaoke, and various clubs both family- and adult-oriented. Carnival Magic is a great ship with a wonderful crew and staff. The food and service is excellent and the entertainment is outstanding.

Here's hoping you find a really great cruise. Bon Voyage!

thank you for the suggestion, we will look into it.

Any others?

friendly bump

Prices during Xmas week are usually twice the regular price. I suggest looking into the larger Royal Caribean ships. They have great activities for children.

You've given such a wide berth that it is hard to know where to start to answer. There are boards for family cruising. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49. Just start scrolling through the titles until you find subjects that interest you and read, read, read. Maybe you should go there to narrow down to a few cruise lines. I've done holiday cruises on HAL, Cunard, and RCCL and I would rule out HAL and Cunard with children.

Other things you have to consider are the room arrangements. Your children are pretty young to get their own room unless they are connecting cabins. You either need a crowded room for 4 or connecting cabins which will probably go early for the holidays. Of course there are suites, but probably out of your price range over the holidays.

Most of the Caribean cruises are 7 days but easy to combine with a few days at a hotel with a pool on the beach.

There are several large cruise travel agents on line where you can do searches and get an idea of what is available and prices for the dates you are interested in. This might also help you narrow down your search.

Whatever you choose you will have a blast. And come back again with more questions.

If you are looking for warm weather only, then you should probably cruise out of Puerto Rico. The reason I say this is because December temperatures may be in their 50's in Texas or even Florida. I did a December cruise 2 years ago out of Ft. Lauderdale, and it was cold and rainy until after we went south of Puerto Rico. After that, we had great sunny weather.