family cruise for 16?

We are considering taking the whole family (3 kids, 3 spouses, 8 children ranging from 2-15, 2 grandparents) on a cruise in Europe next year. But we are hesitating, because this is a major expense. Has anyone had any experience and can recommend a suitable cruise line and itinerary? I would like to avoid the ship's land excursions and do this part ourselves.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :)

A Travel Agent who specializes in cruising would be a great help to you.

I agree...find a travel agent who really knows Europe. Tell them exactly what you want to see/do on the cruise. They will find options for ship and itinerary.

Then...head to the library and start reading up on your ports! That's the best way to DIY and get the most from your time ashore. Just "winging it" can leave you missing stuff you might not have even known about!

Find an itinerary before you choose a cruise line or ship. Think about what you want to see and do in Europe. Know that beach days are rare in Europe and beaches are no match for the Caribbean. Europe cruises are very port intensive, so ship amenities are not very important. Get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports or Rick Steves' Northern European Cruise Ports, depending on which area you choose. EM

You can fairly easily avoid all ship tours in Europe. We've taken our children (toddlers) to the Baltics and Norway. I've also done the Mediterranean with my family prior to having children.

If the 2 year old needs daycare, then you need to look at P & O, Cunard or Carnival (and check the other European based lines, as I'm not as familiar with the age restrictions on their programs. Or Disney (very expensive), Royal Caribbean newer or some refurbished ships have nurseries that you can pay per hour to attend. But we traveled Cunard on our last cruise for their daycare for a 2 year old, and were disappointed by the kids club staff, since it was the weakest of all the cruise lines we've traveled with kids (Princess, HAL, NCL).

The Baltic are really kid friendly, and my signature line describes that trip, which we did entirely on our own, except for St. Petersburg where we found a private tour for just our family with a private operator.

We are considering taking the whole family (3 kids, 3 spouses, 8 children ranging from 2-15, 2 grandparents) on a cruise in Europe next year. But we are hesitating, because this is a major expense. Has anyone had any experience and can recommend a suitable cruise line and itinerary? I would like to avoid the ship's land excursions and do this part ourselves.

This is almost exactly the same size and ages of our family. We have done a lot of traveling in the USA with the whole group and done Europe with individual families but last year we did an Alaskan cruise as a family of 16.

It was so easy, I have booked the Baltic for the summer of 2018. In the Baltic you really need a tour for St Petersburg and that is going to be over $3000 with a private tour company. Some of the group will go to Berlin on a tour and my husband and I will keep the 4 or 5 younger ones with us. Other than this is is quite doable on your own.

We have cruised Europe over 30 times and I think the Med might be a bit less expensive and all the ports can be done on your own. Our cruising has only been with Holland America, Cunard, Celebrity and NCL. I would recommend NCL for the family.

Hope this helps.