Thinking about taking our first cruise

[colomom]

Look at Silverseas cruises if you want alcohol included. Personally I enjoy the alcohol better if I am paying by the drink. If it is paid, I kind of feel the more I drink the better deal I have. Not good.

 

Or Regent Seven Seas with alcohol, excursions, airfare and tips, ALL included.

[Kilgore32]

I cannot compare it to an all inclusive but I recently went on my first cruise...and we were sold. Definately a way to travel, far superior to train, plane or car.

 

me and the husband drink our far share. Princess allows you to bring along wine and beer and soda and water and juice. It definately cut down on our bar tab but we took advantage of happy hour prices when available.

[Valeen]

Sounds like the wife and daughter have come to think of the AI resort vacation as getting boring - too much of any good thing, gets boring for most people, but not for others. Here is my view. At an AI resort there is NO risk of getting sea sick. (I have been on many cruises and have experienced rough seas, but have never gotten sick) You may have mentioned your daughters age, but I did not see it. I assume she is at least 7 or older. The nice thing about cruising is that you get new options for things to do everyday, and different views (nothing to see but beautiful sea, the wonderful night view of stars, different ports). If you like spending time on the beach, that is a problem on a cruise because there is not a beach beside the ship at every port. Usually you have to take a taxi or an excursion to get to a nice beach. However there are pool options on the ship - same as at a resort. For your daughter there are the childrens/teen programs -likely same as a resort. Depending on the cruise chosen, you can treat your daughter to some history and cultural lessons on a cruise, which will give her more to talk about when she gets back home. If I were choosing a cruise line for a family vacation I'd choose Carnival, because they have a more lively agenda of activities than the what I have experienced on other lines. On Princess (which is owned by carnival) we buy a soda card for unlimited soft drinks. We attend ship sponsored parties where adult drinks are free. We bring wine aboard, and we use some restraint in drinking what we have to pay for. If you decide to try a cruise, I suggest that you let the wife and daughter pick it out to heighten their excitment and gratefullness to you. (If they hate the cruise experience, they won't have you to blame for it.) A ship that is very new and talked much about, would be a very good choice. The OASIS comes to mind as the current "WOW!" ship, but since your family has not cruised, any major cruise line ship will likely be a "WOW" experience.

Good luck.

[msgisfree]

Cruising is not cheap, but worth every penny spent. I agree with an earlier poster, try a short cruise first (3-4 days) and see what you think.

For some that is all it takes to spark the addiction, you might find that

vacationing AI is a thing of the past.

[trojangirl90066]

A balcony is nice. But you might want to price out an outside non balcony cabin on a 9-12 day cruise. It might give you the length of time for the same cost as a 7 day Balcony. Just a thought.

FYI RCCL does does a regulation sales promotion on every tuesday. You need to be fast on the draw to get the deals but it's worth checking.

 

I wouldn't cruise inside if they gave me the room for free. I would rather save and get a balcony of cruise on NCL and get a suite.