Favorite Cruise with Family

[CozGurl]

We're thinking about taking a big family cruise next year with age ranges 4-66 years.

 

Tell me about your great family cruise! What made the vacation so great?  Ship? itinerary? I need someplace to start my search.

[sprint180]

my family's fav cruise was to Alaska on NCL.  Ages 14 up.  Everytime i ask my kids what their favorite was they say Alaska. The entertainment was fantastic.  I have yet to find amazing food on any line and i've cruise Carnival, ncl, RCI, and Princess.  But NCL has good food and two of my favorites.  Crepes and Pistachio Creme Brule.  NCL had just enough extra for the kids to do that they enjoyed and of course Alaska is Amazing!

[WildBlueYonder64]

Our favorite time to cruise as a family is over New Year's. Our age range has been 4 years to 70+. Everyone is still in the holiday spirit without the pressure, the ships are still decorated, and it's a nice break for us to escape the cold and snow. The itinerary must include some beach time, and we go for at least 7 days. Cruising is the perfect multigenerational vacation, as there's something for everyone, and you don't have to be joined at the hip for activities, etc. Great way to start the New Year! 

Edited August 3, 2022 by WildBlueYonder64

[Drazil65]

Last big extended family cruise we did was on Breeze 2019 before it got too hot (late spring time) and covid of course.  Cruise ships are great for being with family and not being with family if you know what I mean.  We generally ate dinner (YTD early so everyone could do what they wanted in evening) all together for the most part.  Would discuss our days (some would do things together during day and some would do their own thing) and what was happening the next day as well.  That way not too much was planned but those that wanted to plan something together could do so.  

 

We choose a bigger ship for the activities and since most of our extended family have previously cruised, the itinerary didn't matter as much for us I guess.  We had a lot of fun but everyone felt they had plenty of options and control over what they did, their cabin choices, their eating habits etc. 

 

We made the ship and date choices with each family unit giving their time of year choices and majority ruled for time of year and month we chose.  Then looked at the ships sailing from what ports and voted, once ship and week was decided it was up to each family unit to book their own cabins, flights (if needed) and anything else they needed to do at that point. 

 

We have found in the past that once the main decisions were made about the where and when, it is the best way to let everyone be responsible for their own bookings at that point.  Family issues start when one person takes over all of the bookings and collecting money etc., so much easier to let everyone be accountable for their own family units.  If they show up, great, if not, their loss...

 

 

Edited August 3, 2022 by Drazil65

[Itchy&Scratchy]

We love newer RCI ships and the Caribbean. Food is ok, activities and entertainment are great.

 

We love Princess for food. Royal Princess and newer. Entertainment is ok. Nothing to do for kid, other than kid's club.

 

NCL had horrible food (save the crepes) and top notch entertainment (Getaway). Newer ships have some family activities. Getaway and Jade had horrible smoke smell. Jade broke down on day 3 and we had to go home.

[scubaslayer]

The only cruise we have taken with kids was Liberty of the Seas Christmas cruise and it was wonderful but my kids weren't interested in the kids club. The decorations were beautiful and they got a gift from Santa (even thought they were way past Santa age). The slides, splash area, and flowrider were a hit (skipped rockwall and ice skating). It was the overdone boring Western Caribbean itinerary but I think it was great with the kids at the time. They got to swim with stingrays, snorkel, and went to Blue Hole in Jamaica. Cozumel we went to Paradise Beach and did the inflatable water toy pass. We are actually doing the same itinerary with the now teens on Liberty this fall.

[TwinMamainMN]

We did Alaska in August of 2018 with our kids aged 10, 10, and 6.5 and my mom in her young 70s. It was amazing. Best vacation as a family ever. The excursions made it even more special (crab fishing on a Deadliest Catch boat, watching 9 humpback whales bubble net feed 20 yards in front of our private charter boat and feeling their calls vibrate the boat hull, riding a cart pulled by a team of sled dogs, etc.). Expensive but worth every dang penny.

[Faeton]

Our extended family (18 people in all) had a fantastic time on the Oasis of the Sea.  There was something for everyone, but big enough that you weren't forced to spend time with one another 😬

 

Got a private cabana for everyone on Labadee, well worth the cost

 

A few meals all together, but more than a few that were just sub-groups together. 

[mjmalino]

We have been cruising with 3 generations for several years. Our upcoming is 14 day S. America and we range in ages from 23-77. However, our first multi-generational cruise we ranged from 9-63.

 

All of them have been on Princess, and have been everywhere from the Caribbean, to Mediterranean, Baltic and Alaska. We have always loved it (which given that my kids are now adults and choosing to join us should be a testament to that). During sea days, everyone does their own thing. When the kids were younger they loved the kids camps. We spent meals together and did port excursions as a family, but outside of meals, our time was our time to spend how we each chose while onboard.

[oyme]

Apples to Oranges they've all had different pros and cons. Itinerary I'd say Hawaiian Islands for us. Line I'd say NCL pre-COVID as I hear lately they've had issues with keeping kids clubs open and running this past year but pre-COVID their kids club was top notch compared to Princess and Carnival. I mean none have been a terrible experience I don't feel you can go wrong. The only thing that could break an experience for us would be boring entertainment and multiple customer-service issues in a single cruise. We've had a few sailings with lackluster entertainment bur usually we felt it was made better with say better food or something and we've never had more than a few customer service hiccups, nothing major.