Best Cruise line for whole family?

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Member
What is the best cruise line for the whole family?
Ages they will be next year ( when we plan on going.) We have:
Twin girls who are 6
an 8 year old girl
a 16 year old girl
plus my husband and I.

We would also like to know where you recommend to go. We wanted to do a beach area, then thought we might want to have more to do. We thought about Europe, but still wanted nice beaches and is that fun for six year olds? We want to entertain the whole family and have a blast! Person who answers all the questions with the best answer... gets best answer and points.
 
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AmandaD

Member
Royal Caribbean and Carnival are probably your best cruise line options for a family with those ages. They both have programs for kids and teens, and aim to be family-friendly ships so they will have a larger amount of kids and teens compared to other cruise lines. They are also your less expensive lines. Carnival will be cheaper, and I know people that prefer one or the other, seems to be a matter of taste. Carnival is often decorated with a louder theme, where Royal Caribbean people consider more tasteful. In terms of service and food, they seem to be similar but Royal Caribbean having an edge. Again, that is a matter of opinion. Try www.cruisecritic.com- you will be able to find outlines and reviews of the cruise lines as well as individual ships and itineraries. There is also a cruise forum on TripAdvisor.com. I always find reviews of others helpful when planning a vacation.

Many destinations in the Caribbean are kid-friendly- I would suggest a cruise that stopped in Nassau, Bahamas. There is Atlantis and are many kid-friendly activity options for any budget. You can find a great beach at. If you go to the cruise line websites, they will have a section of shore excursions, and you can look at what is available to do by destination. I plan my cruises based on what I want to do and where I want to go, then on the cruise line and individual ship. The cruise lines offer mostly similar itineraries, but might find one suits you better.

I would suggest keeping your cruise 5-6 days maximum. For a first time cruise, 7 days or longer can be too long, more so for kids. Also look for an itinerary that has fewer days at sea- where there are a lot of things to do on the ship, it is definitely more limited than exploring an island and the days at sea can be long for younger ones (and even adults). I hope you and your family enjoy your cruise!
 
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