Where is the best place to look for cruises?

[blessedby3]

I was considering doing a cruise next May or June instead of our usual beach vacation at Hilton Head Island.
I have only taken one cruise back in 1994 on the Big Red Boat:good vibes
We are definitely not looking for a Disney cruise as it would be too expensive. We are a family of 7. Me, DH, DD25, DSIL25, DS19, DD16 and DD7 (ages at times of travel).
I am guessing we would need 2 cabins? Not sure what is offered on the ships.
Does anyone have a particular ship they really like or is there a better time of year to cruise (although we would need to go May-August), or is there a better place to check prices and book?
We are not looking for a party boat, more family friendly.
I have zero experience with this so any info is appreciated.
Thanks so much

 

[havaneselover]

Royal Caribbean is running a special through 7/15. Are you a Costco member? If you book through them you get a cash card worth about 8% of the fare.

 

[mcorbo]

Since you are not familiar with cruise lines and what they offer, find yourself a good travel agent that specializes in the main stream cruise lines (RCCL, NCL, CCL) that can help match you to the cruise line that would be ideal for your family. Interview them as if you are hiring them to do a job for you (which you are), ask what certifications and trainings they have and have completed recently. Which cruise line they have personally sailed on in the last few years.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Go to cruisecritic.com. You'll find lots of good information.

 

[usd2bmd]

Go to cruisecritic.com. You'll find lots of good information.

If you do go to cruise critic, be aware that they have a tendency to be anti-Carnival. I have sailed Carnival three times and we love it. It is not a "party boat"

Something to consider is how long you will be cruising for...usually the shorter the cruise the more "party People" you will encounter.

Most cruise lines go to the same ports so you will also want to think about what you want to do on board. Royal Caribbean's ships are quite large and will have more activities on board because of the sheer size.

Good luck

 

[christineann]

We love Royal Caribbean. My kids and I booked cruises (just the three of us) for their high school graduations, and my son and his bride booked a cruise for their honeymoon. Plenty to do for guests of all ages.

We booked directly through the cruise line and got rates the same as we would have with travel agents. By doing so, we were also able to get refunds when the rates went down (over $1,000). I found the cruise line reps to be incredibly helpful.

Cruisecritic.com is a great resource for cruise lines and excursions. Have a great time!

 

[blessedby3]

Thanks for these suggestions. I will go check out cruise critic.
Is the May-August time frame a really expensive time to cruise?
I think I had read that last minute bookings are a great deal as they want to fill cabins. Just don't know if it will be feasible with 7 in our family.
Any thoughts?
Also, do you need a passport to cruise to the Virgin Islands or Mexico?

 

[ronandannette]

Thanks for these suggestions. I will go check out cruise critic.
Is the May-August time frame a really expensive time to cruise?
I think I had read that last minute bookings are a great deal as they want to fill cabins. Just don't know if it will be feasible with 7 in our family.
Any thoughts?
Also, do you need a passport to cruise to the Virgin Islands or Mexico?

Are you pretty web-literate? If so, I recommend using a site like Expedia or Travelocity to search and compare. You can set your criteria (destination - say Caribbean for example, and time frame) and the search engine will show you all the possible ships from all cruise lines sailing those itineraries and the prices. Once you have a bit of an idea what the choices are you can start narrowing it down to researching a specific ship or two. Cruise Critic will be of more help then, once you know what you're looking for.

As for actual booking, for a first-timer I might suggest a travel agent if you'd feel more comfortable, but only after you've done your own research. They usually focus on selling particular cruise lines and are rarely willing to put tons of hours into helping you see all the options. You can get some special incentives from certain TA's though, over and above what you could get booking independently on-line. Many more experienced cruisers do it all themselves, although I can see how that would be very daunting if you've never done it before. I book all of ours either through on-line agencies or directly with the cruise line itself, either on-line or by phone. Once I know what we want I just hunt for the best price (and pricing does vary substantially from source to source). Good luck!

As for your passport question, strictly speaking, NO. Americans don't need a passport to board a cruise ship and visit Mexico or the Caribbean islands as long as they disembark the cruise back at it's American point of origin (called a "closed loop"). It's really quite risky to travel without one though since if an emergency caused you to be unable to complete the trip it would be very difficult for you to get back into the US by air without one. Just go ahead get a passport for the peace of mind.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

If you are looking for a quiet, relaxing cruise, Celebrity and Holland America are great choices.
They will have less children than Carnival or Royal Caribbean but still have a kids' program and your kids will meet other kids onboard.
May to August is a great time to go to Bermuda if you are wanting to check out beaches rather than see a few Caribbean countries.
You will dock there for 3 full days. An unlimited bus and ferry pass would be about $30 per person (kids cheaper) and will get you all around the island for 3 days.
Bermuda is very clean and has a great variety of beaches.
May is the beginning of the season and has low pricing.
You can often get connecting cabins. Some families get an oceanview or balcony cabin for the parents and an inside cabin across the hall for the kids.
If you do the Caribbean, the eastern is usually the preferred route over western which includes Mexico, Jamaica, etc.
We book online at the cruise line site. If prices drop, you can call and get an adjustment or upgrade. It is not as easy to do if you book through a travel agent or one of the online cruise sellers. They are not always available, some simply refuse, and others are not motivated because it is more work for them and results in a lower commission.

 

[mchelle77]

I've done two (Norwegian Jewel and Carnival Dream) with Disney (Magic) coming up in April.

Carnival was the least expensive, NCL is one that I will go back on. Disney's inside stateroom is about double the cost of CCL and NCL's balconies, so I understand why you'd want to avoid.

Carnival's kids club was superior to NCL, although we did go on a "Nick" cruise, so they had some fun stuff for my daughter. I just thought the staff on NCL was awesome.

We are aiming to try Royal next time though - my husband wants to go on one of their crazy giant ships.

If you do a closed loop itinerary, you do not need passports. Licenses and birth certificates, I believe (check the cruise line's policies, each may differ)

You will most certainly need 2 rooms, unless you book a 2 bedroom suite (which would defeat the purpose of booking a less expensive line!) If you can swing it, go for a balcony. There's just something to be said for grabbing a beer and sitting on your deck while pulling into a port, or watching a sunset/rise. (We chose not to go for a balcony on Disney, don't want to spend the extra $600-1000 for one. It's not THAT worth it)

Feel free to message me for more details ... I think I've done reviews on the NCL cruise I went on. Didn't remember for CCL.

 

[MINNIEsotanice]

We find it best to book directly with the cruise line. That way you have complete control over your booking. It is very simple to book on your own. If you encounter any issues or have questions then you can call the cruise line directly. If you book through a travel agent you have to go through them. None of the cruise lines will even speak to you if you go through a travel agent. Unless you do a three way call, just too much work.

We have done 5 Carnival and 1 Royal Caribbean. They are more similar than different. We just got back June 1st from the Carnival Breeze. We had a cove balcony, so awesome and close to the water. It is their newest ship and it was an amazing cruise. We had great food and service. Our 3 year old DD loved Camp Carnival. Asked to go all the time. There was no "party boat" atmosphere like you hear horror stories of. We have never done anything less than 7 days the Breeze was an 8 day. Cruise critic is a great resource but you will get many biased opinions especially about Carnival. I could go on and on, any questions just ask.

Oh and we did decide to get passports for our family. More for peace of mind than anything.

 

[LynnTH]

Just got back from my 9th Cruise. (it was DS15 and DD13 4th Cruise). Have been on RCCL, NCL and CCL. These are the main ones that I would look at. When doing research I like to go to cruisesonly.com. I can put in the month or months I am looking at, length of cruise, and destination (like Caribbean, Alaska etc). This will pull up all the possible cruises.

Then you can look at approximate various prices (inside, outside, balcony, suite) and the ports that the go to.

After I find some that look in my price range and places I want to go then I start researching that particular ship to see if it is older/newer and what all is offered for both kids and adults.

Sometimes we go the cheapest (usually Carnival) and sometimes we go for the ship ( RCCL Allure of the Seas) and sometimes we go for the ports (any of them).

Just depends on what is most important and then go from there. May is going to be cheaper than the rest of summer as that is prime family cruise season.

Hope this helps some.