<p>I think cruises are the ideal big family vacation because there is something for everyone. One note of caution: The 16 - 20 age group can be awkward, because they are too old for the organized kiddie activities and too young to do what everyone else is doing, ie gambling and drinking. Our kids and their cousins spent a lot of time in the cabin watching TV and ordering room service (They got a huge kick out of FREE room service). This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, because the cousins don’t get together too often and they enjoy each others company, but that age group can be a little tough on a cruise. Sometimes you see groups of teens congregating in the stairwells.</p>
<p>NJRes- That sure wasn’t the experience my teens had. First cruise D was 18 and S was 16. Both had tons of kids the same age and hung out on deck or in the clubs. D could drink at 18 on that cruise. The last cruise S was 19 and D 21. Carnival had a drinking age of 21, but that didn’t stop any of the teens, especially on New Year’s Eve when the free glasses of champagne were sitting all over the ship and being scarfed up by pre-teens as well as the older set. The teen scene appeared to be one huge week-long party, with both my kids staying out until all hours of the night.</p>
<p>RCCL does not allow drinking ages 18 to 21 anymore. My son, almost 20, checked on it. They did allow him to have beer and wine on our last cruise. They must have had trouble, because it was a big money maker for them.</p>
<p>The cruise we took was one of our BEST family vacations ever!! We did Alaska, though. Went right before D started college. Norwegian was a great cruise line because they don’t require any “dress-up” nights–free-style cruising is how they refer to it. Also, you are not assigned to a particular table, or a specific seating time. </p>
<p>Although there were many kids on board (and ours were 18, 16 and 14 at the time), they ended up doing most everything together, or with us, and not with the other kids on board. They spent very little time in the cabin they shared. There’s too much to do!! We did several of the excursions and they were wonderful adventures!! </p>
<p>Norwegian did not allow drinking or gambling under age 21.</p>
<p>We have been on Princess Lines a few times and always have had a great experience. We did Puerto Rico-St. Thomas-Grenada-Aruba-Cuaracas and back a few years ago for a total solar eclipse trip and it was great! I think they actually reversed the route to accomodate the sun/moon thing and be in the right part of the Carribean at the right time! </p>
<p>Carnival (at least the short trips out of the LA area) is known to be for partiers and singles…so would probably appeal more to your kids than you! Not sure if that is true of their carribean routes.</p>
<p>I always thought I would go crazy on a cruise and have found them to be the only way I truly relax on a vacation, short of going to Hawaii and parking myself under an umbrella with a drink. </p>
<p>Have fun!</p>
<p>Wow! Lots of great ideas! I am glad to see that I’ve been on the right track (vacations to go was the first website I hit). Since Carnival announced its severe outbreak of rotovirus on the Liberty in this morning’s news (more than 700 were sick! Ughhh!) perhaps sale prices will pop up! (Needless to say, although a nice stomach bug would do wonders for my diet, I thonk I’ll scratch that ship off the list). We are limited to travelling between Dec 22 or 23 and returning by the 30th. My 16 and 20 yr olds are actually very close, so will probably want to spend a fair amount of time together. I can’t really picture them going their separate ways to separate events too often. </p>
<p>NJRes-- funny you mention about the free room service-- when we went to Cancun a few yrs ago to one of those “all inclusive” places, they also went nuts with the once-a-day free room service. For some reason younger s. got into the little pats of butter–he had them on everything!</p>
<p>Well, off to do more research-- Keep the tips coming!</p>
<p>I took the Royal Carribean “Navigator of the seas” to the carribbean with 2 teens. they loved it. There is a disco for 15 and up teens, and a Jonny Rockets on board, which is where they often ate. Rock climbing, health club, skating rink, pool for people 16 and over, so it was a little more private than the one with screaming kids, and all ages.</p>
<p>Our first cruise was a Carnival-Western Carribean. My boss told me that Carnival was terrible, others said it was rowdy. I loved it didn’t see any problems. I love Carnival’s lettuce. Later we took son on 4 day Mexico (Carnival) great time by all-love that lettuce. Took 7 day Mexico w/ RC. I was surprised that RC did not seem as nice. Regular lettuce, although they cleaned a lot-it wasn’t as clean. Restrooms often had problems. Weird but I would go Carnival again. Neighbors swear by Holland.</p>
<p>I recommend staying off Carnival. Not only the news of the norovirus outbreak on the Liberty currently effecting over 700 passengers but I took the Victory this summer. Our room smelled like an ash tray when we checked in and they would not move us. Took 2 days to get the smell out but in the meanwhile I had headaches and picked up a sore throat. Complained repeatedly but no one really cared. Followed up with HQ when we got back but they basically said tough luck. </p>
<p>I have many friends who really liked Royal Carribean and we took Disney years ago and loved it. They cost more but I think worth it. Under no circumstance would I ever step on a Carnival again since they didn’t give a darn about us. My money is better spent elsewhere.</p>
<p>I’d forgotten to be sure to check to see if they have no-smoking rooms. Thanks for the reminder!</p>
<p>I’ve been on Princess, Carnival and RCI. For adults travelling alone I would always go on Princess. I’ve taken teenagers on Royal Carribean and that is the line I would choose if I were the OP. I would always stay away from Carnival. I found the rooms less clean, the crowd more rowdy, etc. One note I haven’t read yet: please everyone who goes on cruises with young adults talk to them about safety. It is not safe to wander around in port with too much alcohol in your system. When you get off the boat in Mexico and the Carribean 18 year olds can and do drink. Here in CA at least one passenger a trip doesn’t get back on the boat from a Mexican port. The ports are full of restaurants that sell shots, jello shooters, etc.<br>
Second note particularly for young women: do NOT socialize with the crew. This is supposed to be a hard and fast crew rule but I have seen it bent quite a bit. I travelled with a group of 15 year old girl scouts once and had to take the girls in hand and explain that a young man from another country doesn’t care if you are under age.<br>
Okay, lecture over. Have a great trip.</p>
<p>I’ve been on Carnival, Celebrity (RC’s more up-scale line), and some lesser carrier booked thru Apple Vacations. I don’t think Celebrity was any better than Carnival. Alaska is a little more about the scenery and touring, and the islands are more about the party and the booze cruise.</p>
<p>Re: socializing with the crew. I agree, generally, but had to chuckle. D met her dear boyfriend on our family Christmas cruise last year. He was the pianist in the ship’s orchestra. She was 21 at the time. They did “socialize”. Turns out he is a med student in Houston (where she is at Rice), and did gigs on Carnival to earn money for school. There are exceptions to every rule, I guess.</p>
<p>I also recommend Royal Carribean. We took a cruise with 5 other families last spring break and it was awesome! We were on the Rhapsody of the Seas-7 day out of Galveson. The staff was so friendly, even when dealing with a table of 10 boys aged 14-17. By the second night, they realized that they better have bread on the table by the time the boys got there and to keep the rolls coming all evening. The boys, routinely, ordered 2 entrees a piece (no salad or app. course). The waitstaff was terrific!!! The activities were fun and we parents never felt like the boys were bored. The entertainment was also surprisingly good. Great comedians and singing/dancing numbers. Really, there was something for everyone!!</p>
<p>PS: Patsmom’s husband (Patsmom posts on CC) works for RC, so may be a good person to ask for info.</p>
<p>I’ll put in a plug for ships that leave from New Orleans. They could use the business and New Orleans has plenty to offer despite the constant TV photos of the Lower Ninth Ward.</p>
<p>Rebound is more than a Fantasy
Cruise line sees city with a future</p>
<p>From The Times Picayune</p>
<p>“Three cruise lines and four ships were homeported in the city before the storm. Two ships, Carnival’s Fantasy and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Sun have returned so far. The Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas will return in December. Carnival’s Triumph will debut next year.”</p>
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<p>LOL! That’s how I met my husband! He was a chief purser, I was freshly graduated from college. I took a cruise with my sister and some friends and fell head over heels for his dark Spanish good looks. Less than a year later, I got a job on the same ship and the courtship began - the rest is history! The funny part is that my parents had taken a cruise (without me) a couple of years before I did and happened to meet him and spend some time talking with him. They were so impressed with his continental manners and his kindness that they kidded that they wanted to take him home. Eventually they got their wish and gained a son-in-law in the process.</p>
<p>MOWC- better watch out - your D could be next :)</p>
<p>We also have used Carnival and RC. Liked RC the best. We took 24 high school seniors on RC and the staff was wonderful to work with us and deal with any little problems that many teenagers can come up with (that was 6 years ago).</p>
<p>patsmom- I hope so! This one’s a keeper.</p>
<p>We’ve done Celebrity and RC, and both were fine. </p>
<p>One comment I’d add: we chose a cruise in January 2006 that included Cozumel so that we could visit the Mayan ruins. The landing area in Mexico was destroyed by the 2005 hurricanes, and the cruiseline could not dock there - we had to take a smaller boat to the dock with a 30-minute ride. I was fine with that, but our family and friends all got horribly seasick - the seas are rough, and the boat rocked like crazy. We should have caught a clue when we were handed little paper bags when we boarded! </p>
<p>So if Cozumel is in your plans, you may want to check the status of the repairs on the dock if you might suffer from seasickness.</p>
<p>Thanks for ll the tips! I’ve been gone all day but plan to tackle all this tomorrow. One last question- Any suggestions as to first or second seating for dinner? I figure first seating is full of all the little screaming kids, but if you do second, will we miss the shows?</p>