Trying to help my mom decide, a little overwhelmed...

[Kristinemomof3]

My mom is working with a Travel Agent (that my aunt uses and travels all of the time), but wants me to help find suggestions. We want a family cruise, at least 9 people going (not sure how that will work?) my parents, my brother & gf, and dh & myself and 3 kids (i'm thinking they can just bunk together if needed, dd 15 & 2 ds's 13 & 11). We homeschool, so they are pretty close siblings. We are looking in November or December. Most likely December and the Caribbean. Any suggestions? Thanks,

Kristine

[paul929207]

Since you are in Indiana, I assume you will want to go to the south to get the ship. That would mean Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston. Is one of those better or worse from your point of view. Tampa & New Orleans would probably be better if you drive. If you fly there is less difference.

 

Probably the most popular for families with kids are Carnival and Royal Caribbean. They both have kids programs with lots of activities for them.

[Kristinemomof3]

Since you are in Indiana, I assume you will want to go to the south to get the ship. That would mean Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston. Is one of those better or worse from your point of view. Tampa & New Orleans would probably be better if you drive. If you fly there is less difference.

 

Probably the most popular for families with kids are Carnival and Royal Caribbean. They both have kids programs with lots of activities for them.

 

Paul, no we will be flying to where ever, so we really don't care, I was hoping for the Caribbean. I've never been out of the US.

[paul929207]

Lots of cruise to the Caribbean in November & December. Ships leave from the ports I mentioned, plus San Juan. Lines would include Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, Princess, Celebrity and HAL, but HAL attracts a generally older passenger set.

 

Most Cruises are 3 to 10 days. Each will go to one or more ports and have one or more days at sea. So as you look at cruises, consider how long you want to go for and the mix of port and sea days you prefer. This will help you eliminate some of the choices. Also, consider the budget. I guess there are three main parts to it. Getting there (flying, etc), the cruise itself, and your additional spending during the cruise both on the ship and off. Things that are not free that some expect to be are: Tips ($10 to @12 per person per day), sodas ($2 each or get an all the soda you can drink plan for about $4.50 to $6 per day). alcohol, excursions in the ports, specialty restaurants (regular meals are included), specialty coffees.

[maryred]

Before picking a cruise line and/or itinerary first figure out when your all available to go and have some flexibility, because unlike land vacations not all cruises can run within a Saturday to Sunday schedule. Some cruises start mid week and end the middle of the next. Don't forget if flying in or driving more than 8 hours to the port city you may want to consider being there a day or 2 before the cruise begins to avoid delays or tiredness.

 

Secondly figure out what destination ports will appeal to the majority of the family. There no sense on taking a a cruise to say Och Rios if mom is too fearful of the pushy locals to get off the ship. Or to Freeport where there's very little beyond day pass resort beaches for the kids to enjoy. The Caribbean is a big place so narrow your best bet choices down 3 -5 appealing ports. But if nothing sticks out in the Caribbean don't forget there are cruises to Bermuda and Mexico in the winter and they have water warm enough to swim in.

 

Then figure out which lines have the most to offer a diverse set of ages. Mom may wind up preferring the activities offered on Holland America but the kids would be bored. The you may be totally engrossed by the menus and food choices of Norwegian but your brother may not like being with nearly 4200 other passengers for the buffet lunch on the Epic. The kids might be thrilled by the activities and water parks offered by Disney while the Mouse and lack of casino on board makes the adults cringe. Personal advice stick w/ Carnival or Royal for the best mid ground choices, a little of everything for everybody.

 

Next figure out what the gross vacation budget for each individual that needs to pony-up a portion of the total bill. At this point don't worry about breaking it down just guesstimate that the cabin bookings alone will be about half of the budget. Later you can break the budgets into sections like travel, pre-cruise hotel expenses, port parking charges, the cruise itself, on board expenses including gratuities, & in port excursions and spending money.

 

After all that you should have it narrowed down to 3 or 4 cruises to choose from, and can proceed to figure out how to arrange the cabin situations and make any adjustments to the budget.

[fleckle]

My mom is working with a Travel Agent (that my aunt uses and travels all of the time), but wants me to help find suggestions. We want a family cruise, at least 9 people going (not sure how that will work?) my parents, my brother & gf, and dh & myself and 3 kids (i'm thinking they can just bunk together if needed, dd 15 & 2 ds's 13 & 11). We homeschool, so they are pretty close siblings. We are looking in November or December. Most likely December and the Caribbean. Any suggestions? Thanks,

You can usually get good prices on cruises in early December.

Up at the top of the screen, check out the Caribbean cruise deals under Cruise Deals

 

When you have narrowed it down to a few cruises that look appealing to you, read the recent reviews of those ships under Cruise Reviews

 

Also, look at the forums here on Cruise Critic for the specific cruise lines you are considering and post any questions you have about a ship or cruise there. Different people have different favorites.

 

 

As for the ports, here is a direct link to the board for

 

Caribbean - Cruise Critic Message Boards

 

Under it you will find links for the individual islands, and you can just pick the ports you are considering to read what others have to say about them and get suggestions of what to do at each.

 

 

 

As Paul mentioned, you can find Caribbean cruises leaving from Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston.

You may want to compare the costs of round-trip airline flights from your home airport to the various locations as that could influence your decision.

 

Fort Lauderdale and Miami are very close together, so you can fly into either airport (FLL or MIA) to cruise from either cruise port (Port Everglades or Port of Miami) as it is easy to get from one to the other.

 

 

[cb at sea]

Libraries have guidebooks on the Caribbean...get one and read it, to see which countries might interest your group the most! The Bahamas and Bermuda are NOT in the Caribbean...they are in the Atlantic!

[JimAOk1945]

Early December is better than later in the month. The cost goes a little higher as you get closer to Christmas.

 

We have done two Christmas cruises and plan another this year. We enjoyed all of them tremendously.

 

Happy sailing! It's a wonderful way to see the world.

[Essiesmom]

Also check the various cruise lines regulations about kids in their own cabin. EM

[kingoftheicedragons]

Because you mention homeschooling, and even though it's a family vacation, there are some great ports that may be great to give the kids an opportunity to see, and work in with studies as well. Mayan ruins in Mexico/Belize, or San Juan and St. Kitts have great historical sites, or Panama.

[Colorado Kat]

Since you home-school, I would advise avoiding school vacation times. Either the first 2 weeks in November, or the first 2 weeks in December would be the least crowded, and least expensive.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I would suggest the first couple of weeks of December after Thanksgiving -- prices as a rule are cheaper.

Some of the ships may even have started to decorate for Christmas.

Seeing the ages of your children you may want to check on cruise lines that have family cabins that can hold 5 people -- costly. Or maybe take 2 inside connecting cabins.

[Kristinemomof3]

Thanks everyone, we are going the 1st week of December. My mom is working with her TA to figure out which ship, possibly Epic or Freedom of the Seas. Will be Ncl or Rcil for sure, I'm hoping Ncl from what I've read, but I don't care, just happy to be going.

[Jimnbigd]

You might try the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas from Port Canaveral, Florida. You would fly into Orlando and take a shuttle. With a group your size, you might charter Supershuttle. If you have the time, you could stay longer in Orlando before or after the cruise and see Disneyworld and/or Universal Studios.

 

You said there are 3 kids. Do they have the same parents, or all different, or 2 with one set, or what? I ask because if they are all different, you'll probably want cabins that sleep 3 for them. If 2 or more from the same parents, I'd get 2 connecting cabins (with an inside door so you can go from one cabin to the other without going into the hall). If all 3 are from the same set of parents, you'd want 2 connecting cabins where one cabins sleeps at least 3 -- several inside cabins have this. Don't wait too long too book. With Royal Caribbean you can always cancel and get a full refund before final payment date (at least for USA passengers). If you wait you might find there are no cabins for 3 or no connecting cabins remaining. Sometimes parents get a balcony for themselves and put the kids across the hall in an inside cabin. But connecting cabins do give you 2 bathrooms for 5 people, which is good.

 

I recommend you go the 1st or 2nd week in December. The ships are usually decorated for Christmas then, the prices good, and the Caribbean weather warm. And hurricane season should be over -- although late hurricanes can happen. USA Thanksgiving is late in 2013 -- Nov. 28 (as late as it gets). If you have Thursday and Friday off work, you could go to Orlando for Thankgiving, see Disney and other places on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, then cruise the Freedom of the Seas on Sunday, and fly home when the cruise is done. (Don't book too early a return flight -- I'd book 1pm or later to be safe.)