my family of five (kids age 17, 19 & 20) want to try a cruise. Where do we even start? We have been spoiled by going to Hawaii for the last 5 years....have FF miles and want to go again! Anyway, we love the beaches and activities such as snorkeling, etc. Never been on a cruise but would like 7+ days in late June early July 2009. Any ideas?

As parents who have been on total of 5 cruises, 3 with kids int hat age range, I would think again. These ages are tough ages for kids on a cruise. They are too old for teen activities and too young - by both age and interest - in adult activities. My daughter at that age did fine on a school vacation week Caribbean cruise - she meets people easily and was also content to read on sea days. My son had an OK time, but he is much less outgoing and mainly spent time alone.

We just returned from Alaska cruise with our "kids" 17 and 22 - and since it was Alaska it was not your typical cruise - most people went to experience wildlife rather than food, bars, silly poolside games.

The port days are not a problem with older teens/young adults - it is the sea days where there is not much for them to do. If you think they are OK with that then go for it - if not, what about an All-inclusive type resort in the Carribean - at that age they are likely to have different interests from each other, will want to be with others their age, and will appreciate the freedom away from parents. You as parents will appreciate the confines of an all-inclusive - you can just worry about them roaming around some complex rather than an entire country.

ilovemaui

There are many great cruise options out there. Plenty of choices in the 7+ days you are wanting.

If beaches and snorkeling are your thing, I'd opt for somewhere in the Caribbean. Alaska is too cold for such activities. I don't know if they are even an option there... but you can do rafting/fishing and gaping at the awe inspiring beauty of the place. If you want to travel to get to your ship, what about the Mediterranean? Different from either Alaska or the Carib.

Take a look at cruisecritic.com where you will find much more information on cruising than just about any other site out there IMO.

vacationstogo.com is also a good site for cruises. I think you need to register (free) to acess their pricing, but its a very friendly search engine - how many days do you want? where do you want to depart from? any specific port to visit?

Grand Cayman has swimming with the stingrays. Belize also has a shark/stingray alley snorkel (nurse sharks ). Cozumel also has good snorkeling (and lots of shopping, a lot of sterling silver jewelry, if that's your thing).

Some of the newer ships are massive - 3500 people or so, but there are smaller ones. Something to keep in mind on that end too.

I'm just not a cruise person, I'd go back to Hawaii again. A non-cruise vacation (obviously) gives you more time on land for the beaches, activities, snorkeling you like to do.

If you love Hawaii, why not to take a 7-10 days cruise to the islands? Fly to Honolulu, and sail from there. This way you combine something old with something new

Try cruise.com or cruisecritic.com to find cruises.

Check out cruisecritic.com

Also- we love Royal Caribbean- great for families too! We took a great one to St. Thomas and St. Martin- beautiful sites. Fantastic snorkeling available in St. Thomas.
Ours was for 7 days-- just the right amount of time.

I would much prefer to return to Hawaii--you have been spoiled. We have been twice and long to return.

However, our children were teens when we went on a short cruise and they loved it. They didn't get together with any other teen cruisers but we had a great time as a family.

Our kids are now in their 20s and wanted to cruise again--they would have preferred Hawaii--but our total per person cost, including taxes and port charges, with 2 cabins/2 in each cabin was $400pp, in Feb. for 5 nts. We sailed on the Celebrity Century, which is an older ship that was refurbished a couple years ago.

A cruise is not my husband nor my first choice of vacations but we did have a great time--we spent the day in Grand Cayman on a lovely deserted beach, climbed the waterfall at Dunn River Falls in Jamaica(a fun one time experience) and then the beach . We would start the morning on the rear deck of the ship, eating breakfast, our kids would join us when they got up. Our kids want to do another cruise this year.

This trip was a lot more affordable than our Hawaii trip.

Other destinations we have enjoyed, if you want a change from Hawaii are St. John or the Turks and Caicos. If you just want to sit on the beach,snorkel the T&C have really beautiful beaches--I think they are nicer than Hawaii. St. John is our favorite though--reminds me of a little Kauai.

As I write this , I realize that since you have been to Hawaii the last 5 years, you are probably from the west coast. The flight to Hawaii is so long for us, the alternatives are much easier flights. If you are on the west coast, these might not work for you.