What cruise to take with parents and children?

You probably want to focus on a cruise line with a good children's program. We did a multi-generational family trip to Alaska a few years ago on Royal Caribbean, and it was nice.

My daughter loved the kid's program -she didn't want to leave when I would go to pick her up. She went to the program a handful of times for only a few hours each, but the program is open basically all day and I recall seeing the same kids there everytime we went. There was no "set" schedule - you were free to drop in/pick up at any time during their hours of operation, so it wasn't like you had to preplan much or make reservations.

I'm not sure if August is too late to see the salmon run in Alaska, but it is a great cruise. We also combined the cruise with a couple of days in Vancouver prior to the cruise, and flew down to take my daughter to Disneyland for a few days post cruise.

Alaska is beautiful but does require mobility and energy if you are to get out and explore. If your parents are content to just sit and enjoy or to participate in excursions that are very easy, that would be a good choice.

You cannot predict weather so if that is a big concern, the Caribeen is not an option. You have eliminated the Med.

That leaves Bermuda if Alaska does not appeal. The waters are generally a bit rough on the trip up and back, if that is a consideration.

For the kids, I would suggest RCI as Adventure Ocean is a very comprehensive program. They have some great ships in Alaska.

Let me throw in another issue...my parents have already taken an Alaskan cruise not long ago (we gave it to them as a b-day gift for my dad).

What about Mexico? Someone suggested Baja but I'm not sure on that one. Any ideas about the Pacific cruises?

HAL has great kids programs - really great.

We took our children on an Alaskan cruise and it was wonderful! We chose Princess because we did not want to be tendered in any of the ports of call- we simply walked on and off the ship, which I feel was an advantage. There may be other cruise lines who have dock access but I know that Celebrity and Carnival used tenders in some of the ports when I was there.
Princess' children's programs were wonderful. My teenager met a lot of people from around the world. There was always plenty of supervision. I visited the center with my younger child and was very pleased with how the employees conversed with the children. Although I have no complaints with any of the cruise lines, Princess seems to have the market on Alaska. If you are interested in the salmon run, you would need to book in the early part of July. That would also be the peak time of the season and the warmest.

I've done a Baja cruise also, but it was a short 4 night one. The cruise departed out of San Pedro and stopped in San Diego, Catalina and Ensenada. It was a nice cruise, but I like the 7 night ones better. The shorter cruise felt more rushed as each day we stopped in a port.

The passengers on the cruise were generally younger and rowdier than the passengers on other 7 night cruises I have taken.

We did the Baja cruise at the beginning of June, so a lot of the crowd were families w/kids, college aged and high school aged kids out for summer break. The shorter itinerary also attracts the younger crowd because of greater affordability, not to mention that Ensenada has a bit of a reputation as a party port. Lots of tipsy people staggering back to the ship in Ensenada.

What about one of those cruises through the Mexican Riviera? I think I've seen cruises that include stops in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, as well as smaller ports. Obviously Cabo also could have a reputation as a "party port", but with a longer itinerary you might have less of that.

Thanks for all the responses. I am getting the feeling from my mom that they may go back to the Alaskan cruise because of the ship.

I think we will stay away from Baja but the Mexican Riviara is something to think about.

I have only been on one cruise, about 15 years ago, and what I am being told now is not to worry so much about where the ship is going but rather which ship is best (safety, amenities, kids programs...). Any thoughts about that line of thinking?

It sounds like your options are likely Mexico, Bermuda or Alaska. Do most live on the East Coast or West Coast...this could make a big difference in travel expenses. My first choice of the above would be Alaska.