Help finding which Family Cruise is right for us

Hi. Looking to cruise in 2019/early 2020 for my Dad's 75th bday. Will consist of 6 adults and 4 kids (ages 4-7)

We live in NY, don't have an urge to go anywhere specific, would like it to be roughly 7 days. Up for debate is RCL, Norwegian and Carnival. Do you think it's better to leave out of NY/NJ and do Bahamas/Bermuda or would it be better to leave from FL and see better ports? Is a 7 day cruise to Bermuda boring? Whats the best cruise line in terms of price- but also dining/drinks...I know some are great like MCS- but I hear you have to pay more for food on the boat so.. which cruise has best dining options- I saw on a Carnival ship (via website) that like 5 out of 8 restaurants were extra $$$, so I'm thinking well that sucks. and i know people have mentioned booking dining ahead of time, so that's a consideration too vs free dining. I know it's all opinion based but I would love to hear thoughts on all this. Obviously kids impt but adults happiness too (ie pricing for food/alcohol/overall experience) once aboard the ship.:confused:

They’re more similar than different. To save airfare and money, I’d look at a NCL out of NYC or RCL out of Bayonne. Cruise ships today have specialty dining for an extra fee, bu5 also offer complementary dining. Since you seem to be new to cruising, I’d suggest you find a TA specializing in cruising, to help with what is included, and what is not (like gratuities, soda, alcohol, specialty coffee, excursions, photos, thermal spas, specialty restaurants, some experiences, room service fees...).

Think about what time of year you are cruising too when deciding where to sail out of. We had a cruise booked out of NJ in March and it was freezing on the way down and the way back. We actually ended up missing the ship because of a snow storm and missing our connection. But that worked out well because our insurance flew us on to Puerto Rico where we met up with the ship two days later and with our family that hadn't missed the ship. While we were enjoying the warmth and the beach and the rain forest, they had been freezing their butts off and had hit a huge storm with 30 foot waves! Even on the way back though - the last two days were so cold. I felt like it really cut into the enjoyment of the cruise. At least for me! But it'd be different if you were going in July!

I would much rather leave from Florida and see the CARIBBEAN ports, than Bermuda. I know there are folks who think Bermuda is great....but 2 days is more than enough, IMO.

It's really a personal decision. If you are picky, then you might prefer the specialty food. Oddly, we were happy with the free food on our cheapest cruise (Carnival) and most of our more expensive ones (Princess, HAL, Cunard) but not on NCL, in which we knew ahead of time we'd probably want the specialty dining package based upon the mixed dining reviews. But a lot of people were happy with the free dining on NCL, so I think it's a really personal thing.

Bermuda vs leaving from florida is also a very personal decision - if everyone just wants to go to a beautiful beach, then Bermuda might be a good choice. It's very safe, easy to travel with public transportation or taxis and has gorgeous beaches. It's a fairly easy flight to florida from NY, but flying with kids isn't easy and some parents in your group might just want to leave locally. There are a lot of interesting ports in the Caribbean, including some with historical or cultural significance so it really depends upon what you want to do with your vacation. We live in the NYC area and haven't taken a cruise to Bermuda since we'd rather explore on vacation (we've done land vacations to Bermuda in the past), but a lot of people are happy going to Bermuda (it is a lovely island) so it just depends on what everyone's goals are. I'd talk to the parents and ask them how they'd feel about a flight plus what they'd want to do on the cruise (honestly, if they just want to go to the beach in every port then you might be better off just sailing to Bermuda since that's an easy trip).

For you're family and the age range, I would easily suggest you sail out of Fort Lauderdale...Eastern Caribbean....Allure. You'll be glad and so will you're family that you made this choice.

Thanks. Me and my sister don't mind flying with the kids as we do it yearly to visit our parents who winter in Florida.

Unless it is summer, I would fly to FL a day early and cruise from there as the weather will be good 24/7. Personally, I don't care for the mega ships and I prefer the family friendly casual elegance of Princess. The majority of our cruises however have been on Carnival because you just can't beat their rates and it means traveling more often.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the major lines, unless you are super picky about food or need 5 diamond accommodations.

I would not do Bermuda with younger kids as it is several sea days in a row. We actually prefer Western because there are so many activities beyond just the beach, from wildlife encounters, to Mayan ruins, to jungle zip lining. So I would chose based upon where you would like to see!

We are doing our 3rd Carnival Cruise with our kids (now 12,10,10,7). The kids love cruising and it makes a great family vacation. We have typically traveled in slightly off season when it was less expensive as we can still take our kids out of school. (Canadian schools seem to be much more free in this matter than american schools)

We did the Pride out of Baltimore, the Freedom out of Galveston and now the Ecstasy out of Charleston. In all cases we drove to the port from Ottawa Canada as flying with 4 children gets expensive fast.

We never did any pay dining and we were always satisfied with the food choices. One of my sons loves Guy's Burgers and that was important in staying with Carnival.

With the Cruise coming up, we choose it because it was closer (17h drive to get to Charleston vs 24 to Port Canaveral) and the ports that this cruise went to all had fun things to do without booking excursions. (Nassau, Private Island, Grand Turk)

The kids have enjoyed Circle C and Camp Carnival as well as the other activities on the ship. (We spent a lot of time playing mini-golf and shuffleboard on our last cruise)

I agree that you’re asking some questions that rely on personal preference. The logistics of getting that many people and their gear to Florida sounds pretty hefty to me, but if you do the flight with the kids routinely, you’ll be fine.

I like the variety of the Caribbean cruises, personally.

As for line, my family has settled on RCI and Carnival and we have a great time, albeit slightly different highlights on each. Paying attention to amenities on the specific ship would be more important than cruise line to my family. (Multiple pools and a rock wall or other high impact activity for my husband are requirements) Think about what your family needs and go from there.

No need to think too much. Anthem of the Seas sails out of Cape Liberty, NJ. If you can cruise during off peak/shoulder season, not picky with the specific islands you'll visit but just want warm weather, doing a less intriguing itinerary - meaning 7 or 8 days Bahamas instead of the more exotic/$$ 12 days Caribbean, it isn't difficult to find good value. Ship has good food and fun activities onboard.

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We love NCL. We Live in NJ and Just booked out 2nd cruise out of Boston since it was 1/2 the price of NY. The ship is smaller but, much more affordable.