Best Family Cruise?

no personal experience, but my cruise-happy friends and family advise us to avoid carnival like the plague (which in some cases is pretty literal, apparently.)
khairete
S.

ETA: Patty K, we just got notified that as of July 9 Carnival is no longer allowing you to bring on your own alcohol OR sodas OR water (and they are lowering the price of bottled water to make it affordable). They are attempting to cut down on the drinking and partying. My husband and I don't drink so we did not witness any "issues" on the last 3 we have been on but then again, we were not in the bars and were in bed by 10pm. lol

Disney of course, but its very expensive.

We are taking our kids (15 and 12) on a 5 day at the end of the month. Check in with me after that and I'll probably have some tips for you. lol

There are all kinds of packing tips and info on Pinterest and online. I am packing mix and match outfits and plan to not take much. The rooms are very small unless you get a big suite. Also, get walkie talkies so everyone can communicate. The kids will likely be running around and that way you can stay in touch. I got a 4 pack online for $54.

We are going on a Carnival cruise. My husband and I have been on a few but it's the first time for the kids. Good luck!

Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of the major cruise lines. All have programs for kids now, so it's just a matter of researching the different options. There are big variations in ships and activities within each cruise line. I've been on a Carnival cruise and loved it, as well as two Norwegian cruises and loved them, too.

Disney gets rave reviews. However, we looked into them and my jaw hit the ground with the pricing. You really need to be upper class to afford them. We were going to be stuck in one of the least desirable rooms to be able to take our kids on a Disney cruise. Maybe their rates are better during the school year, but during the time we looked at with kids out of school, the rates were crazy high. I don't care if Mickey Mouse personally watches and entertains my kids the entire cruise, not worth it to me. I've been on other cruise lines and had an amazing time.

I agree with the others mentioning cruisecritic.com. Really, really helpful articles and boards for figuring out the best option for you.

ETA: As another west coast resident, I recommend looking into cruises leaving from LA, San Francisco, Houston or Vancouver. Flying out to Florida costs a fortune. When we were looking into a family cruise, we realized it was going to cost more to fly to Florida than for the cruise itself.

I would recommend Disney, Royal Caribbean, or Princess. All are great for families. Disney has nice family rooms that comfortably fit a family of five. Most other cruise lines, you would need to get either a suite or adjoining rooms to fit five people. There are enough activities for your 11-12 year olds that you don't need to worry about Disney being too babyish for them at all.

Alaska would be a great cruise destination if you're looking to stay within the US. It is beautiful and there are lots of fun, adventurous things to do with the kids. Princess is known for having great Alaska itineraries. These cruises typically only sail late May - early September.

Otherwise, I would prefer an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, but you may need passports for that. I'm not sure what the current laws are since you'll be on a cruise ship and not flying (you can leave from Florida or Texas).

I love cruising and hope to do another one within the next couple of years.

ETA: I strongly recommend checking out the website www.cruisecritic.com to answer all of your cruising questions. If you go with Disney, then disboards.com is an amazing resource, too.

Disney is the BEST EVER! If you are not open to getting passports, yoUu are very limited as to where you can go. Carnival tends to be the party cruise. Inexpensive, young singles, and lots of drinking. Once was enough for me. Disney is expensive but you get what you pay for. I think you would only be able to do a west coast cruise to Hawaii.

We just booked our first Disney cruise. We sail in October. We've heard so many amazing things about it. Everyone says it's even better than what you can imagine. Our trip will average out to about $1200 per person for the cruise (8 of us going). We sail out of FL and will drive down. We booked in January 2015 for October 2015 and the ship was already 1/2 full. Our final payment isn't due until July. Our cruise does stop in Cozumel, but Disney says you don't need passports, since we're sailing in and not flying in.

From Disney's website:

US Citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port) and travel to destinations in Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Bermuda are able to re-enter the United States with proof of citizenship other than a passport or passport card. Acceptable proof of citizenship includes an original or certified copy of a government issued birth certificate (raised seal and signature) and a laminated government issued picture ID (typically, driver's license), Consular Report of Born Abroad Certificate, or a Certificate of Naturalization. NOTE: Baptismal records and certificates issued by a hospital are not acceptable.

Good choice. We love taking cruises with our kids for many reasons. Hawaii was a great one. We will be going to South America this winter. We often extend our cruise vacations by a few days to a week either before or after as the area of the departing ports have a lot to see in themselves. We've been very happy with Norwegian.

Disney is great, but expensive. I like to get the most bang for my buck and tend to book Royal Caribbean or Carnival or Norweigan. Whoever has the best deal.
Definitely check out cruisecritic.com Some people document their entire cruise with pics/video so you can get a preview of what there is to do day by day on a particular intinerary depending on which sailing you choose. You will find people are very passionate about their cruise line of choice. Most are loyal to one and sing their praises while putting down other cruise lines.
There will be things for kids to do on all cruise ships. Newer ones have more space and activities, but also have more passengers. I would figure out where you want to go, how long you want to go and then start researching from there.
You will have the best selection of east coast cruises going out of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa or Port Canaveral. I have never cruised on the west coast.
Make sure you ask about needing a passport as I thought they were changing that rule of just needing original birth certificate.

Disney. It maybe more expensive, but it's worth it. They have kids club for all your kids ages, that they kids love and refuse to leave. They have great shows, and a dinner rotation that is amazing. You can bring your own alcohol on board and fountain sodas, juices, water, and coffee are included, and on most ships they are not. Can soda and bottle water are extra, but the fountain sodas are self serve, so you can get them whenever you want. Most people bring their own reusable cups and fill up at the beverage stations. Even if you don't like Disney characters, there is so much to do. They have adult only sections of the boat as well, so you can have a grown up vacation too. They have ports out of Miami and Port Canaveral that are "closed-loop" so you don't need a passport. I know they have cruises out of San Diego, but I don't know of they are closed loop. We went out of Miami on the Wonder and we went to Key West and Castaway Cay. Castaway Cay is their own island and they have tons of activities for all ages. If you are willing to pull your kids out of school, they prices can be better. I was looking at October of 2016 (2017 dates are not released yet) and we can get a 4 night cruise out of Port Canaveral (fly into Orlando) for our family of 5 for $3600. Sounds like a lot, but you get a lot. The rooms are also bigger than some other cruise ships.

I don't think you can do Disney Alaska because it goes out of Vancouver.

I've been on Princess and Holland America as well, and I wouldn't recommend them for kids. I believe they do have kid clubs, but not enough activities to keep kids occupied. I saw kids running amok all over the ship with nothing to do, bothering other passengers. I didn't see that on Disney.

I haven't been yet (I'm going in April) but I hear Disney is fantastic. So many of my friends tell me it was their best family vacation and they'd even love to go on another one without the kids. Without passports, and given your location, I'd opt for a Disney Alaskan cruise.

We did a Carnival cruise in 2013 and left from Miami. Our stops were Bahamas, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turks and Caicos - AMAZING trip. The kids didn't want to get off the ship at the end and we didn't either. We have ZERO complaints about Carnival.

We have friends who cruise every year and have done every cruise line. They said Disney was great, but not worth the extra money. They only for a 4 day cruise for the same price as a 7 day cruise on Royal or Carnival and they just didn't like it - they won't do it again.

ADDED: Suz T is right - I also heard that from people. My friends who cruise often prefer Royal. But our personal experience on Carnival was AMAZING. We would definitely go again - and it's cheaper with 3 kids and needing two rooms :).

Most cruises require visiting a foreign port so you need to go ahead and get them. You'll need to call each cruise line individually and find out exactly what they require. I've known people who went through even travel agents and when they got to their ship they couldn't get on due to not having the right paperwork or documentation. Each cruise line might even require different papers for each destination too, AND they are the ones that have to keep up with all this information. If the laws change in a place they visit regarding what is needed for visitors via ship then the cruise line would be the first to know.

IF you do NOT want to get passports and all that goes with that such as custody papers and letters of permission for divorced parents....lots of work, then you have to do something like a river cruise. Even doing the inside passage.Alaska goes to/through Canadian waters. Touring the east coast goes to Canada.

Going to the Caribbean requires passports, going to Mexico too. Every cruise except the really small ones by river or yacht types will require passports.