Advice please - cruise for family

[jupops]

We are just beginning to plan our 2009 holiday.

We live in the UK and are 2 families. 1 family with children aged 10 + 6 and one with age 3.

We are celebrating a 10th wedding anniversay and also a 40th birthday!!!

 

We have never cruised before, or to be honest considered cruising. For the past couple of years we have booked independent self catering in Spain, but last year my son (10 year old) got pretty bored as there was nobody his age.

 

So we want to entertain all kids and adults have a fabulous celebration and with the economy as it is good value for our £.

 

I would be grateful for any recommendations of cruise lines which would meet our needs.

 

We are open to where we go and sail from.

 

thanks

[Keith1010]

jupops, welcome to cruise critic. I hope that you and the families enjoy cruising as much as many of us have. I think that cruising is great for adults and for the children as there is so much to do.

 

There are many options to choose from but I am going to try to recommend one and then list others.

 

One to consider is Princess. It provides a nice traditional cruise and has a vast fleet that sails many different itineraries providing lots of ships and itinaries to choose from. It does a nice job for both adults and for children. So, I think you will get a nice cruise on balance. This would be my recommendation for a first time cruiser and based on what you have said.

 

Others you could consider are Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and say Norwegian Cruise Line but again based on what you have said I think Princess might be the place to start.

 

There is also Disney which provides a nice cruise for families but is more children focused .

 

Again there is so much to choose from but for simplicity I would start with Princess to see if you find a cruise that works for you in terms of dates, itinerary and of course price. You could then look at the others for comparison sake.

 

 

And I want to add that a cruise is a great way to celebrate thes major anniversary and brithday celebrations.

 

 

Keith

[rebeccalouise]

Do a cruise out of Southampton. I have done two out of that port- QM2 and Grand Princess- both of which I highly recommend. NCL Jade sails out of there and Carnival cruise line does too. I think the Independence of the Seas (Royal Caribbean does too). I highly recommend you speak with a travel agent since our online prices may be different from yours.

 

Of the lines I mentioned, NCL is the cheapest. I have sailed them 4 times and had a wonderful time. Carnival is probably my least favorite because the decor is over the top. Princess would be my first choice- just all around it is sophisticated, food is good, cabins a good size and has great pools. I really liked the Grand Princess. This year, Crown Princess is also sailing out of Southampton. I am sailing Independence of the Seas on January 24th and I'll be back here with a review.

[guk]

Hi we're form the uk as well and last summer did the independence of the seas from southampton, before the cruise I didn't really fancy it but went as we went as a party of 10 and we all loved it we had a 2 yr old and 13 year old and they both loved it as therre was so much to do. We have booked to go again on the independence next nov sailing out from southampton to fort lauderdale for a really good price! In fact we all enjoyed it much each of the 4 families who went have all booked another royal carribean cruise already

[jupops]

Thanks for your advice, I'll start my research!!!

 

Cheers

Jupops

[mrspjotter]

Hi we are from Southampton and going on our first cruise on 1st Feb - we only booked it last August we have a son aged 8 and twin daughters aged 5. When we booked it everyone commented on how expensive cruises are but when you compare it to Disney or even all inclusive in the caribbean it isn't at all.

 

We have to go out of holiday season because my husband is a farmer and we chose Royal Caribbean as there seemed to be so much for the kids to do and they also have a family oceanview cabin which sleeps the 5 of us which cuts down on the cost of having 2 rooms.

 

We are flying to new york on 31st Jan and setting sail on Explorer of the Seas for a 12 night southern caribbean cruise on 1st Feb - very excited but not sure what to expect - I will be happy to post our experience when we get back but in the meantime - good luck!