I would like to take a cruise with my family on one of these ships next summer. Does anyone know a travel agent that gets great rates on cruises? I have heard these ships are phenomenal. I have 2 girls who will be 7 and 4 then. Or does anyone have any other cruise lines besides Disney and Carnival that depart from Florida? Thanks

E-mail my agent Alex at [email protected].

A quick check for Caribbean cruises for Aug. 2010 revealed FLA departures offered by Princess, Celebrity, NCL, RCI and Carnival. I would luv to try those new ships you mentioned though due to the size they are not for everyone. I would think the two girls would luv them and they do have Johnny Rockets restaurants on board. The Voyager and Freedom class ships from RCI are very nice too as are many of the newer Carnival and Celebrity ships. As for price just be aware that RCI and Celebrity do not discount off the posted price. However the savings come in OBC offered by the booking agent. Cheers, Larry

Every major cruise line has departures from Florida year round, though not always from Ft Lauderdale. These are great, albeit very large, ships. Prices really don't vary much more than a hundred dollars at most, so it's more imoortant (for me at least) to find a really good travel agent who will take the time to match you with the right ship. But it's far too early to book for next summer. Wait until wave season in January unless you come across a phenomenal early booking deal.

Try http://www.cruisecompete.com. Agents offer competing quotes and this gets you better deals.

With the 7 and 4, I'll pick Disney cruise line first, then Oasis of the Sea second.

They will be old enough to remmeber the ship and the characters available on the Disney ship.