Texas cruises for mom dad and 2 college sons

Hi

Any suggestions for family with 2 college age sons departing from Texas ports, late December early January 2015, never cruised before.:)

Thanks

There are not a lot of choices. I would look at what is departing out of Galveston and Houston. It is mainly Western Caribbean.

Check out the Princess and the RCI web sites to see what cruises they offer.

Keith

There is a 7 day Eastern Caribbean route on The Magic sailing December 28th. It's also offered again on January 4th, awesome rates for the January sail date.

you shouldn't wait too long to book if you find a cruise you like. With few choices, you could run into availability issues.

Your choices are 2 Carnival ships and 1 Royal Caribbean ship out of Galveston and 1 each Princess and Norwegian out of Houston (Bayport - actually Pasadena). All are 7 day cruises except one Carnival that does 4 and 5 day cruises.

I think your family would enjoy the Carnival Magic most of all. You should get a spa cabin for yourself and your husband if at all possible - Carnival has a great spa with a thermal suite and even a thalisotherapy pool that you can use whenever you want if you are in a spa cabin. This is a newer ship with lots of activities and lots of entertainment and lots of different restaurants. There are things geared for all ages on this ship, which is why I think you and your sons would enjoy this ship more than the others. This ship is also highly rated by people who have cruised on it. Typically 4.5 stars.

2 cabins...a must with adult-sized/aged kids!

Our first family cruise included a college age son and a high school age son, out of Galveston on the Rhapsody of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean ship.

I originally booked one inside cabin for all four of us. After a bit more research, we opted for two cabins. That was a wise decision. Inside cabins are pretty tight and the only way I could see 4 in that size of cabin would be for two adults and two younger children.

I can recommend the Navigator that sails out of Galveston right now. Actually, we are already booked for the first week of January. Can't wait. We've cruised the Navigator previously and find it to offer a great many activities and entertainment for a great cruise!

I agree. It would be good if you got a spa balcony for yourself and your spouse and an inside for your sons. This way, you and your husband would have a balcony you could share with your sons from time to time - not that they are likely to spend much time in your cabin- probably they will be too busy doing all sorts of other things on the ship! Your sons probably would not care about being in a spa cabin, however, non spa insides are located near the spa cabins so, just pick something down the hall for them. They will be thrilled!

Hi

Any suggestions for family with 2 college age sons departing from Texas ports, late December early January 2015, never cruised before.:)

Thanks

Since this is your first cruise I would recommend the Carnival Magic which has excellent pricing on the Galveston TX departure in January 4 2015. There are as stated earlier many other RCI and Princess and even Norwegian Cruiseline sailings at this time of year.

Regarding the Carnival Magic, I to recommend booking yourself and hubbie in a Spa Suite and the sons in the inside cabin, There are 14 decks (although marked as having 15 decks on the deck plan because there is no 13th deck) aboard Magic. She includes the Carnival Waterworks which is a miniature water park on the forward part of the upper decks. Cloud 9 Spa is on decks 12 and 14. Deck 11 includes Camp Carnival and Cucina Del Capitano (an Italian Restaurant with required reservations for dinner at an additional cost, but includes a pasta bar for lunch). The Lido deck, deck 10, includes the Beach Pool & Bar, the Seaside Theatre which shows movie favorites on a huge screen above the pool area, the Lido Marketplace which includes a variety of buffets, and a pool aft. The Promenade deck, deck 5, includes the top of the Showtime Theatre, The Fun Shops, Cherry On Top candy shop, the Hat Trick Casino, RedFrog Pub, Vibe Dance Club, Play It Again Piano Bar, Prime Steakhouse (where you can make reservations for a steak dinner at an additional cost), and the Spotlight Lounge, which is the location of the Punchliner Comedy Club. The Mezzanine Deck, deck 4, includes a Conference Center, Circle "C" (a club for kids ages 12–14), Club 02 (a club for kids ages 15–17), and The Warehouse (an arcade). There are two dining rooms on the Lobby Deck, deck 3, which includes Northern Lights and Southern Lights, and the Guest Services and Shore Excursions desks are also on the Lobby Deck.

The Carnival Magic is a great introductory cruise, go I feel you will like it and become addicted to cruising!:D

Look at All the ships, then choose which YOU prefer.

Everyone's taste is different.

We have sailed RCI and Princess, like both but prefer RCI.

DS & DIL and 2 teenagers have sailed Carnival Triumph and Magic and are planning to sail RCI Navigator.

They all said they would never sail Carnival again.

Sports court and Flow Rider are awesome on the Navigator.