For something this important make sure you find a good travel agent to plan your trip and handle all the details. A good travel agent will ask you a lot of questions about what you’d like to experience on your cruise, what are the interests of everyone going, if there is anything in particular you’d like to see or do on your cruise, etc. before discussing where you’ld like to go. A ppoor agent will ask you what you want, hand you one or two brochures and tell you about why THEY like a particular cruise line. If you run into this type of agent on the phone or in person, just tell them thank you and keep searching. A good agent wants to help you create a memorable vacation experience. A poor agent just wants to make a sale. (A good agent will take a look at booking independent air and insurance rather than just using what’s offered by the cruise line, which is usually much more expensive). You’re working hard to save for this trip, so please don’t just settle for any agent.

The others were nice enough to take the time to provide you answers but remember that most of these people have only been on one or two cruise lines and there are a lot of cruise lines that these people may not even know about. Also keep in mind that they are telling you why they liked certain aspects of a cruise line and this might not apply to you or your family.

Here is a list of major cruise lines that market to the US and how
they are catergorized.

Mass-market – Examples: NCL, Carnival, MSC, Royal Cariibbean
(they are aimed at the price conscious and young families; 1500+ passengers) If you end up booking one of these I’d recommend Royal Carribbean. MSC is a new Italian line, and although they have beautiful ships and excellent pricing, they have had problems with the quality of their food and service. Same applies to NCL. Carnival has a very young crowd and on many of the sailings your parents might not enjoy a lot of younger
passengers drinking and partying.

Premium – Examples: Celebrity, Holland-America, Princess, & Disney (nicer ships, bit more in price, better itineraries, 1500+ passengers) Of these, probably Celebrity or Princess – Holland-America is a great line but tends to attract an older crowd. Disney is very family oriented but perhaps more younger families.

Ultra Premium – Example: Oceania (684+ passengers, still large ship, longer itineraries 10+ days vs 7 or less on others, very interesting itineraries – very good value for what you are getting)
Cunard -nicer ships, bit more in price, better itineraries, 7+ day sailings, 1500+ passengers) Oceania would be my choice here. If Cunard, then the QM2, the QE2 deifinitly draws a much older crowd.

If you will be consuming alcohol on your cruise you might want to consider one of the following luxury/upscale ships where everything is all inclusive. Once you’ve paid for your vacation everything is included except shore excursions, salon/spa treatments, casino, and personal purchases. If you’re open on dates, you might find some great deals in the off season (Oct-Nov) on these ships. Consider that a drink on any of the other cruise ships will run you about $7.50+ and soft drinks /bottled wabout $2.00, then add the gratuities, and see if you can find one of the off-season sailings the would be comparable in price to any of the above cruises. My suggestion would be Sea Dream, but I don’t think you’ll have a bad experience on any of these lines.

Luxury – Example: Silversea, Regent (390 – 790 passengers, all inclusive includes accommodations, meals, all beverages, including alcohol, entertainment on board, and gratuities.) No inside cabins, all staterooms are suites 90% w/ balconies.

Seabourne has smaller ships but is all inclusive and all suites.

Sea Dream has 2 mega-yachts that carry 110 passengers each.
Smallish cabiins compared to others, but also all-inclusive.

Crystal has 1100+ passenger ships but also all-inclusive

There are great discounted sailings on all of these "luxury cruises" and if you look at those and compare that pricing to the total amount you will lay out on a lesser cruise line, after they "nickel and dime" you to death even for things like soda and bottled water, you’ll find you’re spending probably the same amount of money and not getting the nicer cabins, better food and service.

Long answer but I hope it helps.
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I’m an agent and have sailed and/or toured ships of many of these lines.

Kidding.

I’ve been on a few cruises and my suggestion would be to take a cruise that leaves San Juan. This way you go to better islands and have more time spent at other islands, instead of the days at sea. It’s a little more money to fly to San Juan, but it’s worth it. Days at sea can be boring if you don’t like doing the "activities" they have on board. You can do these activities at night.

Norweigian has the casual dress code for dinners, with a couple nights to dress up and no specific time that you have to be to dinner. If there is a dinner time…I’d suggest the late dinner so you won’t be rushed off the island by three to make the dinner at say five. There’s always food around if you get hungry before the late seating anyway.

If you’re booking a cabin with a window, go ahead a book a cheap room near the bottom of the ship. Once you’re on board and hop in an elevator, it doesn’t matter what floor you’re on. Just make sure it’s in the middle of the ship, where it doesn’t rock if there are waves. (Only one night so far has the waves bothered me…not to worry).

The other idea…after you book a cabin room with a porthole (don’t get an inside one…you’ll go nuts). About two weeks before you disembark, call the ship’s cruise line directly and ask if there are any free upgrades. They’ll be selling their rooms cheaply by then, and will be more then happy to accommodate you with a free upgrade, or perhaps charge you another $20.00.

Buy your snorkel gear here. This way you won’t have to rent it, and it’s something all four of you will love to do while on the islands. Don’t make reservations with the ship concierge, do it yourself. Get off the ship and find a taxi. This driver will pick you up when you ask too. Find good snorkeling spots by going to cruisecritic.com and ask what beaches are the best. You can also book your own "booze cruise, catamaran/snorkel trip" online before you go, by going directly through the company handling the trip. If you head to St. Martin, check out their America’s cup sailing race. You can participate as a family, mom can be in charge of the bar, you, dad and bro can sail or not…you can just sit too. You’ll actually be racing against another America’s cup sailing ship too. Lots of fun. Expensive, but fun and worth it.

And my final thought, head to iBtraveling.com to compare prices on cruises. This is where I always find a good deal.

Have fun and good luck!
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As four routes I would recomend standard wester/eastern carrebian 7 days routes or a 14 day back to back if you can afford it.

If you have youre children sence left I would recomend a cruise from port caneveral (near the space center) combined with a week or so staying at a good hotel in Orlando (walt disney world and more). Book as early as you can for the cheapest prices! Johan
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Good Luck, Have Fun!
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