We are starting to plan our 08 Spring Break trip and were thinking instead of our usual Smoky Mountain, Disney World, or Gulf coast trip we might do something different and go on a cruise. I have an 8 year old daughter and my wife and I have never been on a cruise. We have started looking at all the websites, Norwegian, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Disney cruises. Our ports of choice are New Orleans, Charleston, Jacksonville and Cape Canaveral. Looking at anywhere from a 4 to 7 day Bahama/Caribbean trip. So if you have been on one what would you suggest, who did you go with and what did you like or not like about the cruise? Thanks for any info in advance.....

We've been on several and absolutely love them. We've gone when our kids were young and as they got older. We didn't do the Disney cruise so I can't speak to that. We've stayed from economy to penthouse (penthouse is better/bought it for half price on ebay). I really, really enjoy having a private balcony, but it is not necessary.

Find a ship that has programs for the kids. They usually have some young well qualified people that keep the kids busy. They have a great time and feel like they have freedom from the parents. (Truth is parents get some free time from the kids!) Food and service is awesome. Where you really start to spend money is in the ports of call. You can choose to take all of the really cool shore excursions from scuba diving, horseback riding, zip line tours of jungles, raft trips, snorkeling, pyramid tours, site seeing, on and on. Some people never leave the boat, we keep saying we are gonna do that sometime, but we always wind up doing something. You'll wind up spending as much on shore excursions, bar, and tips as you do on the fares. You go to so many different places and only have to unpack one time. Our first time we went on a 3/4day trip, it isn't long enough, just as you start to relax it's over. The budget is the thing, but if you can... do the seven day.

Our last trip was out of N.O. which does the West Caribbean. We took the train down stayed the night and left the next day. If you drive down there budget for parking. Otherwise you fly somewhere and then get on the boat. The more flexible you are the better the deal you can find. I have fun researching my trip on line and looking for a good deal. If you know a good travel agent that knows what they are doing then you can get some help. Maybe if you go see a couple of TAs then start to compare what they tell you to what you find on line, you can get up to speed quicker. I've used Norwegian for most of my trips. Its just who I've gotten started with (they all offer frequent cruiser programs with extra benefits for returnees. Norwegian offers scuba trips in port that I like to use, but I imagine you could have a good experience on any cruise line. There are casinos on the ships; my wife is nuts for the Bingo parlor.

They expect you to tip the stewards and other staff. Ask a travel agent about what is proper on a given ship and be prepared ahead of time. That was the only unpleasant moment that I had on my first cruise. I wasn't aware, and was scrambling to come up with a proper tip. We love to cruise. I encourage you to go.

Cruising is excellent; the most relaxing way to vacation in my book!

I agree with mphsfan's advice all the way...one other tidbit to consider is preparing for seasickness...taking a good decongestant helps me; some folks need to consider a prescription or over-the-counter med to combat that possibility...you sure don't want to ruin a great time by sitting in your cabin your guts out!

My ex-wife took our three kids (ages 12-17) on a cruise during Spring Break last year and it turned out to be a big MISTAKE!

The cruise was wonderful ....for adults, but there were some many college-age kids getting so rip-roaring drunk :drinky2::drunk2:that it was very difficult for them to avoid seeing lots of public groping and make out sessions and general wild-ass behavior that young children need to be exposed to.

....not to mention witnessing several incidents of vomiting. My youngest stepped right in a giant puddle of puke where several coeds laughed hysterically at her. She STILL talks about it today. (:puke:Ahh...the memories!)

Just keep that in mind about any Florida/Caribbean area trips between March and April.

TigerTitan Wrote:My ex-wife took our three kids (ages 12-17) on a cruise during Spring Break last year and it turned out to be a big MISTAKE!

The cruise was wonderful ....for adults, but there were some many college-age kids getting so rip-roaring drunk :drinky2::drunk2:that it was very difficult for them to avoid seeing lots of public groping and make out sessions and general wild-ass behavior that young children need to be exposed to.

....not to mention witnessing several incidents of vomiting. My youngest stepped right in a giant puddle of puke where several coeds laughed hysterically at her. She STILL talks about it today. (:puke:Ahh...the memories!)

Just keep that in mind about any Florida/Caribbean area trips between March and April.

Sounds like Carnival Cruise lines...I heard that's the one the college-age set favors.

GermantownTiger Wrote:Cruising is excellent; the most relaxing way to vacation in my book!

I agree with mphsfan's advice all the way...one other tidbit to consider is preparing for seasickness...taking a good decongestant helps me; some folks need to consider a prescription or over-the-counter med to combat that possibility...you sure don't want to ruin a great time by sitting in your cabin your guts out!

You should know that the modern ships have stabilizers and that most of the time motion sickness is rare. Dramamine is available on board, some people use a patch behind the ear. I've heard people say that the Dramamine makes them feel bad, too. I don't know. They will detour to miss bad weather, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

TigerTitan Wrote:My ex-wife took our three kids (ages 12-17) on a cruise during Spring Break last year and it turned out to be a big MISTAKE!

The cruise was wonderful ....for adults, but there were some many college-age kids getting so rip-roaring drunk :drinky2::drunk2:that it was very difficult for them to avoid seeing lots of public groping and make out sessions and general wild-ass behavior that young children need to be exposed to.

....not to mention witnessing several incidents of vomiting. My youngest stepped right in a giant puddle of puke where several coeds laughed hysterically at her. She STILL talks about it today. (:puke:Ahh...the memories!)

Just keep that in mind about any Florida/Caribbean area trips between March and April.

Sun, music, a lounge chair, a drink with an umbrella in it and all that entertainment. No worries, mon.... I can almost hear the calypso music now.

I agree with mphsfan. We've been on several-- Royal Caribbean, Norwegian (3x), Princess and Crystal. I've liked them all. Clientele varies. What's the saying--you get what you pay for. One thing I've found to make the trip really pleasurable is pay extra for the specialty restaurants--at least try them. On our last cruise--like mphsfan-- out of New Orleans, we did the 7 night and went to the specialty restaurants on five of the nights. It's special-like going to the finest restaurant in town, and considering what the shore excursions cost--it is a BARGAIN. You can save money (if you know what and where to go) if you rent a car before you go, and then it's like any other vacation you've had. It's your day to do what you want.

If you opt out of New Orleans--it's a snap. We drove in and right up to the port and unloaded, and I parked the car at the port garage. It was $90 for a week. Upon disembarking--loaded the car and drove to the D-Day Museum, the picked up some po-boys for the return trip at Mother's and was back home--piece of cake.

Have fun! I'm going again in December to the southern Caribbean down to South America.

mphsfan Wrote:

GermantownTiger Wrote:Cruising is excellent; the most relaxing way to vacation in my book!

I agree with mphsfan's advice all the way...one other tidbit to consider is preparing for seasickness...taking a good decongestant helps me; some folks need to consider a prescription or over-the-counter med to combat that possibility...you sure don't want to ruin a great time by sitting in your cabin your guts out!

You should know that the modern ships have stabilizers and that most of the time motion sickness is rare. Dramamine is available on board, some people use a patch behind the ear. I've heard people say that the Dramamine makes them feel bad, too. I don't know. They will detour to miss bad weather, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

This is a true story...the one and only cruise I've been on caused me to feel a bit queasy while still waiting to embark from the Port of Miami...I think it was that nasty algae smell that got to me. The advice I got from a crewman was to go to the bar and knock down a couple of stiff drinks...needless to say, I took his advice and felt better almost immediately...no more seasickness for this sailor, that's for sure!

Sea Cruise
Huey Smith/John Vincent

Old man Rhythm is in my shoes
No use sittin' here and singin' the blues
So be my guest, you got nothin' to lose
Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise?

Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise?

Well I feel like jumpin'
Baby, won't you join me please?
You know, I don't like beggin'
But know I'm on bended knees

Well I got to get movin' get my hat off the rack
I got to boogie woogie like a knife in the back
So be my guest, you got nothin' to lose
Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise?

Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise?

Well I got to get to rockin' baby, I ain't lyin'
My heart is beatin' rhythm and it's right on time
So be my guest, you got nothin' to lose
Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise?

Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise?

Well I feel like jumpin'
Baby, won't you join me please?
You know, I don't like beggin'
But know I'm on bended knees

Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Ooo eee, ooo eee baby
Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise?
Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise?
Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise?

We took a cruise out of New Orleans (Carnival Fantasy) in February. It was fairly cheap. There was a lot to do for the kids (Camp Carnival). The Cruise Critic web site (http://www.cruisecritic.com/is a great source of information. Go to reviews and then member reviews and you can find info on just about any ship.

Volh8r Wrote:We took a cruise out of New Orleans (Carnival Fantasy) in February. It was fairly cheap. There was a lot to do for the kids (Camp Carnival). The Cruise Critic web site (http://www.cruisecritic.com/is a great source of information. Go to reviews and then member reviews and you can find info on just about any ship.

thanks for the link I added it to my bookmarks.

Thanks to everyone... soaking all the info in, just went to the cruisecritic site and it has some good info, also found cruisediva.com, pretty good stuff also. Just going to have to decide if its what we really want to do. They all look pretty similar and just like hotel reviews, it looks as though people have a wide range of views and experiences on each cruise, so guess you just have to go with your gut and hope it turns out OK. I also did not think about the college crowd with spring break. Probably like anything else, hit and miss, but will have to keep that in mind as last year we stopped in Panama City for a couple of days on our way to Orlando during spring break and it wasn't the smartest move I ever made having an 8 year old daughter, live and learn.