How to choose

[live2ski]

I'm starting to plan a vacation for the family. We have three boys (21,18,15), My wife and myself. None of us are partiers or gamblers but we don't want to sit around all day and night either. I'm trying to find a ship that we will all find something to do on.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have a post out there about additional costs of the new onboard stuff like; water slides, zip lines, bowling, ice skating, etc.

[DebbieandJerry]

I would look at Carnival. I think you will get the best bang for your buck. Carnival tends to attract all age brackets. The more expensive lines tend to just go with older couples.

Now with that being said, my sister and brother-in-law use NCL all the time . They have 2 girls (21 and 19)

Carnival use to offer 3 and 4 person 1/2 off (or sometimes free) but you are all in one room.

My sister would book at outside balcony for her and her husband and put the girls in an inside cabin directly across from them. Inside cabins are much cheaper and let's face it, do the kids really need their own balcony?

[murr]

I Highly recommend Carnival the "FUN SHIPS".

They have areas called Circle C for kids of all ages. Adults have made comments that you hardly see children running around even when there are hundreds aboard. They are well supervised during the cruise.

Plus Carnival is the only one we use. We're hooked.

Let me know what area and port you want to go out of. I may be able to recommend a cruise. No extra cost for waterslides but each ship is differant as far as what is charged for.

[DebbieandJerry]

Something else I was thinking about on my drive in to work:

All of the cruise ships offer a plethora of activities during the day: educational, fun, entertaining and FREE. I've learned line dancing, hula, and broadway dancing all on the stage that is used at night (while the ship is in motion); I've done a zillion arts and crafts projects; we've been to the movies (in an inside theater, outside under the stars and in our stateroom). There's a minature gold course, basketball court, putting green (and lessons with a pro if you want), ping pong (table tennis), card and game room and library.

During the sea days, the cruise director and his staff have pool side games and activites, inside games and activities, ongoing contests.

The food staff typically does an ice carving demonstration as well as fruit and veggies. I even went to a sushi making class where the audience got to make it.

There is usually two shows at night (one for each dining crowd) that is in the main auditorium. Some ships offer comedy or another venue in the other auditorium at the same time or later in the evening (for those that don't go to the numerous lounges, dances or casino).

The things that you pay for are soda, alcohol, spa or salon items, some fitness classes, personal training sessions, some educational sessions, gambling (bingo and casino) and any purchases made in the gift shops.

Most ships have a gym (some better than others) and most ships offer some type of classes (again, some better than others). I have noticed that the participation in classes drops as the cruise continues so you might find that you $10 to $15 got you a private yoga or pilates session.

The spa offers plenty of free How to Improve lectures with the hope that you will sign up for something.

Most ships have a walking track and jogging track and you will find many folks using them I've been on some where you record your activity for "prizes" at the end of the cruise.

In the evening, some of the lounges are stricter about the age requirement that others. If there is a "sock hop" or cruise director event in a lounge, the age requirement really becomes a non issue because their objective is to get everyone involved. For instance, our last cruise had "dancing with the stars and stripes" where a ship captain, purser, etc was teamed with a passenger and they practiced all week with the final show as a contest. They also had a dance contest for the passenger; two golden oldies nights where you got to wear 50's and 60's and dance to those tunes and sing along. They also had a naturalist on board who gave free lectures twice a day

I hope I've answered some of your questions.

[RayColey]

I agree with the above posters about Carnival, for the following reasons:

1. It's the cheapest cruise. Carnival generally undercuts the competition's price by 10% or more.

2. Due to #1, Carnival will attract a young crowd, especially during school breaks.

3. For ANY cruise line, if you look at the pictures in their brochures or at their TV ads, you will see the kinds of people they want to attract. As I look at Carnival ads, I see photo after photo of young people doing all sorts of activities - that is their target market.

4. Reading reviews for the various cruises, I have found that the positive reviews for the more sedate lines come from the older cruisers, and vice-versa.

All of the above being said, if you are cruising to a lively, fun-filled place, ANY cruise line will have a younger crowd aboard, e.g., we are cruising in September (school's in session) to New England and Canada (for scenery) on RCI (not the cheapest), and I will be SHOCKED if the average age aboard is under 50.

Hope this helps.

[KeithnRita]

Drew, having just cruised on Carnival we would agree they are probably the best for the age of your 3 boys. They have a lot of activities that should keep them very busy.

Also, there will probably be a lot of girls in their age groups!

[Jason]

This topic has been moved to the Cruising forum

[sailinglisa]

I would look at Royal Caribbean......especially the Voyager class ships (Voyager, Adventure, Mariner, Explorer) and the Freedom class (Freedom, Independence and Liberty). There are a lot of activities available on them for active people like rock climbing, the flow rider (on the Freedom class ships), sports courts, etc. Carnival is a good choice, but I feel that Royal Caribbean might be a better fit for you. jmho Plus the new Oasis of the Seas and the upcoming Allure of the Seas are something never seen before. Check them out.

[LynnS13]

My husband and I sailed on Carnival and it was lots of fun...but then again we did the casino and bars (to some extent). They do have lots of activities, however this time we are taking children...ages 21, 20, 17, and 16. We opted for RCI Explorer of the Seas because it seems to have even MORE stuff!! THis is our first time cruising with RCI, so we will see.... Lynn