Best Cruise Lines for family groups?
I’m looking into a cruise for a group of family and friends. And I’m wondering what cruise lines are family friendly (i.e. children’s activities) with just enough adult entertainment. We would be leaving from Baltimore or one of the lower east coast ports.
I have been on more than 25 cruises on several different cruise lines and my recommendation to you is to select a cruise line that caters to families and also select a ship that has lots of on board activities for families. My recommendation is Royal Caribbean for a cruise line but I also recommend that you pay close attention to the ship because they are NOT all the same.
Royal Caribbean is the cruise line that caters to young cruiser and families; ages about 25 to 60. It has the advantage of having the most on-board activities, like ice skating, roller skating, mini-golf course, a basketball/tennis court, the rock climbing wall, and on the new Oasis and Freedom Class ships the surfing simulator, the Flowrider. Not all Royal Caribbean ships are the same and I have cruised on the Enchantment of the Seas that cruises out of Baltimore and it is not among Royal Caribbean’s best. The RC ships that you should look for cruises on are the RC’s Oasis Class, Freedom Class, and Voyager Class ships (http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/home.do;jsessionid=0000SwU80VuAXMHTxXRZZRN3Ott:12hdhu6tq?cS=NAVBAR ) My recommendation would be the Explorer of the Seas which cruises out of the NY/NJ port of Cape Liberty, or the Navigator of the Seas which cruises out of Fort Lauderdale, Fl. Now if you do not want to drive/fly all the way to Ft Lauderdale then I recommend the Freedom of the seas which departs from Port Canaveral in Northern Florida. I suggest that you go to the link I provided above and look at the features of each ship. Click on the “virtual tour” links to see 360 degree photos.
Your next best option would be Carnival cruise line. Carnival is the budget cruise line that generally has the lowest prices, and caters to young people, first time cruiser, and families. Most of their cruiser will be in the 20 to 45 age group and there will be lots of kids on board. Their ships have some good on-board activities like water slides and basketball court. The best of their ships are their newer ships so do pay attention to when the ship was launched is you find a good and really cheap cruise. Again, you need to look at which ships are leaving from the ports you may want to use: http://www.carnival.com/FunShips.aspx
The ships you need to look at are the Carnival Pride from Baltimore, the Carnival Glory from Norfolk, the Carnival Fascination from Jacksonville, and The Carnival Freedom from Fort Lauderdale.
For the most part you don’t have to worry about kids on cruises because all of the cruise lines have FREE programs on their ships for kids ages about 2 through teens up to age 17. The ships even have special areas where the kids can hang out and they have professional staff to supervise them in games and activities. The kid’s programs have different names on each cruise line and even among the age groups but they all do the same things. On Royal Caribbean ships they are called Adventure Ocean:
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experiencetypes/home.do?#/?subcat=205
On Carnival ships they are called Circle C, Club Carnival, and Club 02: http://www.carnival.com/onboardexp_home.aspx
Be sure to click on the links I have provided to read about the ship and activities on board. My number one recommendation for you would be the Freedom of the Seas which cruises out of Port Canaveral, Fl and has the most on board activities for kids and adults. I have cruised on it and will be going again early next year. It’s top notch and loads of fun for everyone.
Most cruise lines have special listed on their home page that will save you hundreds; so look at the cruise lines for specials. The cruise lines also offer the best prices for early booking a year or more in advance, so book early. The prices of cruises vary by date so to get the best price select a date when the price is lowest; same cruise but costs less.
A family Friendly “Jazz and Blues and Hangi Cruise” on the Waikato River
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Cruise Ship $2.66 In Cruise Deck Party, take part in numerous entertainment offerings from shuffleboard and blackjack to trap shooting and rock climbing. Play various cruise ship related activities revolving around quick, easy to play but difficult to master mini-games.Features include: •Each ship features a game with varying levels of difficulty.•Family-friendly, four person multiplayer game support.&bul… |
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Premier Cruises $70.1 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles Premier Cruises was a cruise line holding company formed in the early 1990s that focused on the family cruise market as well as on developing cruise operations in new geographic markets. The companys business focus was to acquire older cruise vessels, refurbish these vessels in order to offer traditional cruise experiences, operate the vessels in geographic areas, such as Europe and south/central America, were the major operators such as Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International were not focusing at the time, and to market their cruises largely to Europeans and South Americans customers through strategic marketing partnerships with some of the major tour and travel groups in the world such as; Thomson Holidays in the U.K, TUI in Germany, Fritidsresor in Scandinavia, Alpitour in Italy, Pullmantur in Spain (acquired by Royal Caribbean International for USD 800 million) as well as through more than a dozen operators in south / central America such as CVC in Brazil which was acquired by the Carlyle Group (63.6) in January 2010 for USD 250 million. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Tennoe, Mariam T./ Henssonow, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 80 Publication Date: 2010/09/17 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.19 inches |
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Island Cruises by Christer, Emory [Paperback] $65.33 Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Island Cruises was the brand name of a cruise line operated by Sunshine Cruises Limited, founded as a joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and First Choice Travel PLC. First Choice were later acquired by TUI Travel PLC. In 2008 Royal Caribbean sold its stake in the company to TUI, and the cruise lines only fully owned ship, the Island Escape, will be transferred to TUIs Thomson Cruises brand. The company operates in Europe, the Caribbean, citation needed] and South America, aiming its products primarily at markets in the United Kingdom, Brazil and Argentina. In Europe and the Caribbean, Island Cruises targets the British family market, offering casual totally relaxed cruising. In South America, the company targets a younger audience. Author: Christer, Emory Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 56 Publication Date: 2011/07/30 Language: English Dimensions: 9.02 x 5.98 x 0.13 inches |
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Sunshine Cruises $64.99 Sunshine Cruises – Giclee Print |
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Orient Cruises $64.99 Orient Cruises – Giclee Print |
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Cruises $4.99 We believe it is important to preserve what makes music special, and make it easy to craft listening experiences. At MOG, browse millions songs and play them instantly. Or just turn on radio where you can stop and replay songs. You can also create playlists for any occasion, and even download songs to your mobile. We are dedicated to employing the cleanest but most powerful technology so you can enjoy music as much as ever. |
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Family Friendly Business for Mums $26.64 Are you stuck at home and need to earn money but lack childcare?Are you on maternity leave but desperate not to go back to the 9 to 5?If you are looking for ideas for flexible work, Start a FamilyFriendly Business 23 brilliant business ideas for mums can help you. Read the book to: Discover the sort of business that will suit you … and fit with your family Get 23 ways to successfully combine work and family Find detailed features weighing up the pros and cons of 23 great flexible business ideas Get 106 more business ideas And learn the 11 secrets of mumpreneur successAbout the authorsAntonia Chitty started a PR business when it became clear to her that employed work didnt offer the flexibility she needed after having a baby. Now mum to three Antonia offers PR training, copywriting and blogging for small businesses through ACPR. She also runs the Family Friendly Working website, which is packed with flexible work ideas, and offers advice and mentoring for business mums through The Mumpreneur Guide. Helen Lindop left her job as a trainer after having her first child as it involved frequent travel and it didnt suit parttime hours. Shed been a freelance before taking her last job, so she felt self employment might give her the flexibility she wanted. Now mum to two, Helen has been researching business ideas that could fit her and her new family, and writing about it on her blog www.businessplusbaby.com. Helen has launched her own new business and will carry on blogging as her business develops. Author: Chitty, Antonia/ Lindop, Helen Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 132 Publication Date: 2010/09/15 Language: English Dimensions: 5.00 x 8.00 x 0.30 inches |
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Furness Cruises $159.99 Adolph Treidler Furness Cruises – Framed Giclee Print |