Originally Posted by lily25

^ great site, I think I found a lovely cruise to celebrate our anniversary next year!

We started cruising 12/09 and are leaving on our 5th cruise next month (where we'll book our 6th cruises LOL)! We really enjoy it :-)

cruisecritic has been a lifesaver for me! In addition, for our upcoming Med trip we use the roll calls to organize group tours and are saving a TON of money and getting way better tours than the cruiseline offers.

Originally Posted by dr. twiggers

We started cruising 12/09 and are leaving on our 5th cruise next month (where we'll book our 6th cruises LOL)! We really enjoy it :-) cruisecritic has been a lifesaver for me! In addition, for our upcoming Med trip we use the roll calls to organize group tours and are saving a TON of money and getting way better tours than the cruiseline offers.

What kind of cruises have you been too?

Originally Posted by dr. twiggers

We started cruising 12/09 and are leaving on our 5th cruise next month (where we'll book our 6th cruises LOL)! We really enjoy it :-) cruisecritic has been a lifesaver for me! In addition, for our upcoming Med trip we use the roll calls to organize group tours and are saving a TON of money and getting way better tours than the cruiseline offers.

Enjoy your Med cruise! I took one a few years back and it was amazing. It was very port intensive though so make sure you're well rested for the long days in port. My mom and I travelled as part of a group and we barely saw them the entire 12 days because we were always on shore excursions! We did the Italy/Spain/France itinerary so next time we'd like to do the Greece/Turkey one.

Which cruiselines are family friendly, aside from DisneyCruise?

My suggestion would be if you don't like a cruiseline try another before you say you don't like cruising. If I hear someone say that, most likely they haven't been on the right cruiseline for them.

There are as diverse as hotels. Some cruiselines are at the Motel 6 level & some are at the 4 Seasons/Ritz level.

I've been a member of Cruisecritic for years!!! I love it!! I have been on 10 cruises and it helped me with each one of them.

Originally Posted by pinay28

Which cruiselines are family friendly, aside from DisneyCruise?

I think Carnival has good children programs! I've only been on Carnival and Royal Carribbean cruises and noticed more children on the Carnival one!

^ I always thought Carnival was more the party boat. I had booze cruise in mind.

Originally Posted by Mediana

What kind of cruises have you been too?

Our first cruise was: Belize, Honduras, Mexico
Followed by: Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Mexico
Then: Bahamas
And: Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Grenada

Our upcoming cruise is: Rome, Sicily, Athens, Turkey, Crete

And we're booking an Alaskan for next summer and thinking about another Bahamas in June.

I'm really sick of the Caribbean though....although we really liked Jamaica and some of the S. Caribbean islands. Mexico was the most fascinating because I am a history buff and loved the Mayan ruins.

Originally Posted by Vegas Long Legs

My suggestion would be if you don't like a cruiseline try another before you say you don't like cruising. If I hear someone say that, most likely they haven't been on the right cruiseline for them. There are as diverse as hotels. Some cruiselines are at the Motel 6 level & some are at the 4 Seasons/Ritz level.

This + 1000!!! We did our first cruise on Norwegian and were SO disappointed that we vowed NEVER to cruise. But then, living in Miami, we thought we'd try one more time and LOVED it (Royal Caribbean).


In terms of family friendly: Carnival has that reputation simply because they are one of the lower priced lines that caters to families. However, Royal Caribbean has really good children's programs. Norwegian also had children's programs, but I glanced quickly and wasn't impressed.

To be honest, Royal Caribbean is really starting to edge out other lines. They have all the Dreamworks characters on board, they have a build-a-bear type thing onboard, the Flowrider, sports decks, mini golf, ice skating, etc. So much stuff for kids to do!

Originally Posted by Mediana

^ I always thought Carnival was more the party boat. I had booze cruise in mind.

They do during Spring Break....TBH, the comparison I've heard is that Carnival = Walmart. I don't know that from experience and there is nothing wrong with Walmart....just the connotation that Carnival is a budget line.

make sure you lose like 5 lbs before u go because u will gain it during the cruise lol...i couldn't stop eating...so much food 24/7

Cruises with lots of ports are the best!

Originally Posted by dr. twiggers

Our upcoming cruise is: Rome, Sicily, Athens, Turkey, Crete

Are you doing the Mariner of the Seas? I looked at one that had about the same itinerary. I was drawn by the fact that it stops 2 days in Istanbul.


I've only done one Caribbean cruise so far, so I'm not down with it yet, I'm thinking of doing one next january.

You have to determine what your purpose is:

- if you just want to chill out and relax, choose an itinerary with lots of days at sea.
- If you like to tour, then choose the opposite.. pick a cruise with lots of ports.

- do you like a lot of noise, drinking, and partying? Is the quality of the food unimportant? Then choose a line like Carnival. (and yes, I agree with the walmart analogy)
- if you want something quieter, I've heard Holland is more on the "reserved" side... sounds too boring for me, but I'm sure it appeals to some

IMO Royal Carribean is a happy medium.

I actually liked my Carnival cruise more than the Royal Carribbean one! I am also not a drinker/big party type! But it could be affected by time of year and more specifically the size of ship.

The Carnival ship (Carnival Valour) I was on was bigger than the Royal Carribbean ship (Serenade of the Seas) - and so the Carnival ship had more amenities and even more selection of foods.

I do agree the new Royal Carribbean ships (Oasis & Allure) look amazing for families!

On the Cruise Critic boards - you can also read reviews for specific ships and itineraries - this can help with deciding