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  1. #1
    AnnieW625's Avatar
    AnnieW625 is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Default Cruise Lines …. favorites/lease favorites/destinations/tips/tricks

    What are some favorites? Another potential 2023 vacation option for us would be a cruise either to Mexico, Alaska, or the Caribbean. The Mexico ones would be the most affordable as there is no air travel required. We would go in either late June or July; maybe February or Spring break but most likely summer. Our cruise experience is limited as Dh and I have only ever cruised with Oceania (and will cruise with them again in 2024 as part of a larger family trip). And I know that cruise line skews older and the ships are smaller (and don’t have the water slides, large pools, kids clubs, etc.) so not the norm; however NCL is their parent company and they seem to have similar amenities (non alcoholic drinks and meals included, no required or formal dinners), but has much bigger ships and more kid/teen friendly amenities.

    Is Carnival still absolutely awful? (it is the only cruise company that goes out of Long Beach, CA and they own the port there). For years even as far back as college I knew people who hated their experience on Carnival. And some co workers got stuck in San Diego a few years ago due to ship issues. Friends who did Royal Caribbean years ago complained about their soda policy and brought in their own drinks in a cooler, but it was still a very limited amount.

    I am not sure we would do a Disney Cruise because we aren’t big Disney people and the kids will most likely be 17 and 13. I am not even sure how much DD1 would do a teen club activity; DD2 might. We don’t need to eat every meal with a character either (my kids don’t care for characters at DL at all).

    Room wise is it better to get two rooms with four people?


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    Last edited by AnnieW625; 08-12-2022 at 01:52 PM.
    Annie
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    DD L, 13,
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  2. #2
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    We’ve only done one cruise, Princess to Alaska (Vancouver to Whittier). We aren’t cruise people, but my kids loved it. We did it because it’s really the easiest way to see a decent amount of Alaska. We did research, and it seemed Princess was one of the top lines for Alaska. We stayed in Seward for 3 nights after the cruise so we could explore on our own as well.

    Personally, I wouldn’t do a Mexico/Caribbean cruise since we don’t like crowds and prefer a different type of vacation. But lots of people like cruising.

    Disney is super expensive and probably not worth it if you don’t have little kids. We looked into ship reviews and itinerary reviews on cruise critic. Randomly mom had been on the same ship we sailed on to Alaska when she did a Panama Canal cruise. She’s done two river cruises in Europe, the Panama Canal cruise, and an Alaska cruise.


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  3. #3
    AnnieW625's Avatar
    AnnieW625 is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by georgiegirl View Post
    We’ve only done one cruise, Princess to Alaska (Vancouver to Whittier). We aren’t cruise people, but my kids loved it. We did it because it’s really the easiest way to see a decent amount of Alaska. We did research, and it seemed Princess was one of the top lines for Alaska. We stayed in Seward for 3 nights after the cruise so we could explore on our own as well.

    Personally, I wouldn’t do a Mexico/Caribbean cruise since we don’t like crowds and prefer a different type of vacation. But lots of people like cruising.

    Disney is super expensive and probably not worth it if you don’t have little kids. We looked into ship reviews and itinerary reviews on cruise critic. Randomly mom had been on the same ship we sailed on to Alaska when she did a Panama Canal cruise. She’s done two river cruises in Europe, the Panama Canal cruise, and an Alaska cruise.


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    Thanks! I saw that one as an option one of the sites I was on. I have looked on cruise critic as well and could probably dig into a redit subforum as well. What did your kids like about it?


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    Annie
    WOHM to two wonderful little girls born in April
    DD E, 17
    DD L, 13,
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  4. #4
    SnuggleBuggles is online now Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    My parents love cruises. Solid NO to Carnival. They like Princess.

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    Quote Originally Posted by AnnieW625 View Post
    Thanks! I saw that one as an option one of the sites I was on. I have looked on cruise critic as well and could probably dig into a redit subforum as well. What did your kids like about it?


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    My kids liked the food. soft serve ice cream any time. The food court had so many options. So many desserts. My youngest loved the kids club. The other kids enjoyed other aspects (the ports) and some on board activities. It was exactly 4 years ago.


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  6. #6
    pharmjenn is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    We LOVE Princess. Have done Alaska, Mexico and the Caribbean with them. Have also sailed Disney. My SIL used to do an MLK weekend Carnival cruise with her teacher friends and they all enjoyed it. I can't imagine! I want to try Carnival just to see what it is about, as they do have plenty of admirers.
    I don't think Princess does Mexico out of LA during the summer, they have historically moved those ships up to Alaska.
    Princess does have teen clubs; my DS would go the first day to meet some kids and then usually just spend the week with a couple he enjoyed. Food is overall pretty good and you can now get a package that pays your gratuities and drinks so makes for a true "all-inclusive"
    mom to Billy 12/07

  7. #7
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    essnce629 is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    I think the only type of cruise I'd ever consider is one to Alaska. I've also only heard good things about Princess, probably from this board.

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  8. #8
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    Default Cruise Lines …. favorites/lease favorites/destinations/tips/tricks

    We sail NCL most often. Just got off one of their ships 2 days ago! We have been very happy with them across a wide variety of ships and destinations (Bermuda, Alaska, Hawaii, various Caribbean/Bahamas itineraries). We have booked everything from inside rooms to Haven suites. They are very family friendly but definitely not upscale. We have also sailed Royal Caribbean and Princess and were happy with both of them too. We will not go on Carnival. We have friends and family who have, but it is just not our preference. Our travel agent won’t even book trips on Carnival for clients anymore.

    Do research the specific ship as amenities vary a LOT between ships on the same line. We like different ships for different trips depending on who is going and what the destination is. Cruisecritic dot com is a good place for reviews and information on different ships. The forums there are also full of information.

    Edit: With 4 people you will probably want either a larger suite or 2 rooms. You would most likely need to book one adult and one teen in each room, but once onboard they won’t care who sleeps where. You can get extra keys from guest services if needed.


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    Last edited by gymnbomb; 08-14-2022 at 09:36 AM.
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  9. #9
    AnnieW625's Avatar
    AnnieW625 is offline Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Thank you all!

    Dh doesn’t think he wants to do a cruise with just the four of us. I think he likes that type of vacation when it is a larger group.

    Gymnbomb thanks for the NCL review.

    Essnce, you should consider a European cruise as well. Granted so far it is my one and only but it was a great way to see a bunch of countries (especially ones close together) and not have to repack every other day if traveling by air/train, etc. . I know cruising isn’t for everyone, but I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.


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    Annie
    WOHM to two wonderful little girls born in April
    DD E, 17
    DD L, 13,
    baby 2, 4-2009 (our Tri-18 baby)

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