How do you choose your cruise?

I'm curious...especially with RCL...there are SO many ships and itineraries...do you search by destination or ship? Which ship would you recommend for kids ages 6-13?

We have done 45+ cruises. We have a 25 year old Daughter and a 10 year old daughter. Happy Kids=Happy Parents. Our kids do not choose our cruise, of course, but we do make sure the ship has lots for all of us to do.

Our youngest DD is almost 11. i would say the best ships are NCL Epic, Breakaway, Getaway, and upcoming Escape. We also like Carnival Breeze and Dream. These ships all have waterparks with slides. This occupies most kids for hours at a time.

RCCL's new ships - Allure, Oasis, etc. are nice. We just don't feel that they offer enough for younger kids to do. For teens, there is the flowrider, zipline, rockwall. Our dd is 10 and enjoys the waterpark much more.

Sometimes we just pick a week and decide we want to cruise. I look for flight options and if I can get a flight deal to Fort Lauderdale or Orlando, I will look for ships departing on those dates from the closest ports. Then I pick by ship and itinerary and PRICE.

Other times, we book far out. While on Reflection, I booked our next sailing - one year out- on Silhouette. Lucked out and got a good flight deal, but if I didn't, I would have cancelled and rebooked.

We have Oasis booked for November 2016 because friends asked us to join them.

My favourite is getting a deal on cruise so more often then not, I book the flight first and then see what cruising deal I can find. Most of our cruises have been booked like that.

Hi, we aren't willing to spend the extra money flying, so we chose by ports. Really that simple. BUT we don't care where we cruise too. Next cruise I've done those same ports a few time. I don't even plan to get off the ship since I don't want to ship or do beach.

You pick according to what YOU, the adults, want. The kids will have a great time on ANY cruise!

"He who pays gets to choose"!

How it fits in our family's vacation timeframe...and then ports we havent visited.

You pick according to what YOU, the adults, want. The kids will have a great time on ANY cruise!

"He who pays gets to choose"!

true, but not true at all ages. For the kids who want kid's club, the older ones, I would keep them in mind. If they are bored, they'll be all up on you to entertain them.

Also, we do want our kid to have fun. We wouldn't cruise an line geared towards older people at 3+, as a little, np. she had fun playing with my flip flops, jumping on the bed, pushing chairs around and was delighted she could get milk in a coffee cup and a banana on demand.

I personally, I want my kid happy/entertained, so I can be lazy.

I can't cruise often, so I "research" a lot in advance. In the past, DH and I have chosen cruises based pretty much equally on value/cost, ports, and ship. Now that I'm planning to travel with a toddler, we're choosing based on the ship, "easy excursions" (e.g., private islands), and travel time.

I'm pretty inexperienced in real life, but based on my research, I'd pick a newer Royal ship or newer Carnival ship for 6-13 year olds. Maybe a newer NCL ship, though that really depends on how you feel about anytime dining and upcharges for specialty restaurants.

Unless there's something special you really want to do at a certain port, there are fun activities at any destination. Beautiful beaches, resorts, watersports, zoos/animal farms, etc. (And remember that in the event of weather, you may miss a certain port anyway. It's a small chance, but it's a chance. Of course, we cruise in hurricane season in the fall for cheap prices.)

It honestly depends upon your personal needs. Try to think about what you believe your family will enjoy the most on vacation. Do you want an itinerary with lots of sea days? Or would you prefer spending most of your vacation on a beach? Or would you like to visit places with lots of museums and city tours (Baltics or Mediterranean cruises)? Or would you like to visit ports with gorgeous scenery (Norway, Alaska)?

How important is it to you to be able to travel to the port easily? Do your kids nap, and if so, do you need a kids club that will be open most of the day (even if you aren't planning on sending your kids to the kids club all day long, if they nap it can be hard if the kids club has limited hours since my son would wake up from his nap right as the HAL kids club was closing and be frustrated that he couldn't go). Are your children potty trained? If not, you might want a kids club that will either accept children in diapers (Carnival) or one that allows you to drop the kids off and take a beeper so you can come back to change them yourself (NCL).

What ship amenities do you think you would enjoy the most?

How important is it to you to have a large room? You might be able to afford a larger room on a lower cost line like Carnival even if the itinerary is similar.

Are you comfortable with cigarette smoke? Some lines still allow people to smoke on their balconies, and some parents are less likely to sail those lines or purchase a balcony room.

If there is a specific port you would love to visit, you can google cruise timetable and you can see all of the cruises that visit a specific port.

If your children are in school or your work schedule is tight, then you might want to choose a cruise based primarily on when it sails.

We can't answer those questions for you, so we can't tell you what the right cruise is for your family, but these are the factors I'd recommend someone new to cruising to consider prior to booking their trip.