First Cruise (Family)...Bahamas or Caribbean?

We are starting to plan our 1st ever cruise (for April 2014), at that time it will be my wife and I plus twin 10 year old boys.

We are thinking a 4-5 night cruise.

We don't know exactly WHERE we want to depart from, but we do know from Florida. We are hoping to tie in a 2 day trip to Universal Studio's (Orlando) on either the front end or back end of the cruise, the boys are big into Harry Potter.

I have NEVER been anywhere tropical, so I don't know a thing about either place..

Is one any better than the other for the ports we would stop at?

Would the weather be any better (warmer) 1 way or the other.

Any suggestions or input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Guy

I have done 2 4 night cruises. One with kids and one just DH and I. When planning I would also look at sea days vs ports of call. DH & I had 1 sea day and 2 ports when we went on our first cruise. With the kids, we had 2 port days. We were on the smaller/older ships so the lack of sea day with the kids was not an issue-although we did feel rushed in the mornings to get to excursions. The sea day seemed much more relaxed-so much so that we are now taking a 4 nighter with 2 sea days and 1 port. :)

The farther south you go, the warmer it will be.

It may depend on how much time you have for vacation. If only 7 days you will be hard pressed to find a carribbean cruise that leaves you time for Harry Potter but there are short 3 & 4 day trips to the Bahamas.

If you have time for the Carribbean plus Harry do that but I'm biased b/c I don't care for the Bahamas.

the bahamas in april might be a bit chilly in the water. I would choose the carribean. Harry potter is ok , we went opening day. it is only 2 new rides one of which has a weight limit and one is a kiddy coaster. the 3rd ride is not new they just renamed the fire and ice coaster to dueling dragons. it is mostly shops. but im sure your 10 yr olds will love it. you can actually do the park in one day if you pay for priority pass (not sure that thats what its called) but we paid 20$ extra and you get to the front of the line on most of the rides one time. we actually did both universal parks in one day. If they still have this special it is worth it.

The first cruise we did with our sons was the RCCL Majesty of the Seas that went to a private island (Coco Cay), Nassau, and then to Key West. It left on a Monday and returned on a Friday and then we drove up to Orlando until Sunday.

Our kids still say it was the best vacation ever and we've been on many other longer more exciting trips since then. :)

The first cruise we did with our sons was the RCCL Majesty of the Seas that went to a private island (Coco Cay), Nassau, and then to Key West. It left on a Monday and returned on a Friday and then we drove up to Orlando until Sunday.

Our kids still say it was the best vacation ever and we've been on many other longer more exciting trips since then. :)

We did the same itinerary with our kids. :D We went during spring break (end of March/early April) in 2010 and the water in the Bahamas and Coco Cay was definitely warm enough to swim. The kids spent tons of time on the blow ups in Coco Cay and we swam with the dolphins & Atlantis water park in Nassau. Was not chilly at all.

Guy,

Do your thing on land, before or after for 2 or three 3 nights, and then see what Royal Caribbean has out of Miami for 4 or 5 nights, maybe an eastern or western Caribbean deal. It will be plenty hot, but there is never a guarantee as to weather (think rain). The Bahamas are no problem if you stop at Nassau or some private island. You have a ton of time to plan this. :)