Where to start?

[tedescokid]

Hi all,

 

We are thinking of taking a cruise next spring. We have done Disney the past two years and I am feeling overwhelmed with all the information. Is there a good place to start? We have 2 kids (will be 8 1/2 & 6). We may be going with another family. Where should I start trying to figure out the best ships etc.

 

My kids are active, strong swimmers so a good pool is important. I don't know how many excursions we will do so the ship activities are the most important. We sort of want a vacation where we just show up on the boat and don't have to worry about anything (cooking, planning, cleaning, etc) for a week.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Tonya

[Essiesmom]

One thing to keep in mind is that although RCCL and Carnival have fancy slides in their pool areas, there is no real swimming done on a cruise ship...the pools are too small. BUT...nearly every port offers the opportunity to visit a beach. You will get a lot of good advice here...I will leave that to those who have children. But I think that after you have digested all the advice and tips, you should take yourself to a good travel agent for the booking. Every first time cruiser should at least VISIT a travel agent, ask questions, and allow the agent to ask you questions. Especially if there is more than one family involved. You might go together to see the agent. And take home an armload of brochures. You have lots of time to think and plan, don't rush it. EM

[Citizen Jane]

When we started planning our first cruise with other extended family last Spring (for last Summer) we were largely driven by when the older kids (cousins) could fit the cruise into their busy summer schedules. So, we only had a few cruise lines and itineraries we could choose from and it came down to Carnival vs. RCI. After a lot of research (much of it done on these boards...thanks especially to Michele!) we decided that RCI would be a much better fit and it worked out great.

 

In re the pools, they are very small. We were on Enchantment which had one freshwater pool and one salt water pool. People were, on the whole, very tolerant of my 6 year old practicing paddling from side to side and other kids were playing a bit, but there really is not much room for serious play. We partially chose Enchantment also because she is a slightly smaller and older ship (no water slides or ice skating) and provided a way to cruise on a manageable ship for our first time. We loved her so much I'm trying to figure out when I can book on her again this summer!

 

All in all we had a great experience...so much so that we are heading out in a couple of weeks on practically the same itinerary (again, that's what worked with our dates). Load up on info like Essiesmom said and have fun. Good luck!