Planning your next family vacation? Dreading spending ten hours in the car followed by five days dragging your kids to the beach, the hotel pool and a local restaurant that doesn’t offer a children’s menu?

If you’re looking for a vacation that will show both you and the kids a good time, cruising could be it.

To learn about the benefits and drawbacks of family cruise vacations, keep reading to find out the best tips for planning your first or next family cruise.

Why a Family Cruise Vacation?

Because so many cruise ships are targeted directly toward families, you’re getting a fully packaged vacation in a safe and contained environment.

There are daily, scheduled activities for the children along with parental getaways that both allow you to enjoy time with your children and also have your own private vacation.

Most cruise lines either offer “day camp” options with regularly scheduled, on-board activities or supervised day care facilities. Because your children are on a boat with you and under the care of a well-screened and professionally-supervised staff, you can rest a little easier.

Isn’t it Expensive?

Cruising can be expensive, but most family cruise destinations typically cost about $500-$1000 per person per week. Add up the cost of all the hotels, meals, souvenirs and mileage that your last vacation cost you and compare it to that figure. You’ll quickly see that a cruise vacation budgets in at about the same rate as a full, family vacation.

How do I a Book a “Family” Cruise?

Most cruise lines offer family-specific or family-friendly cruises that are geared specifically toward families with children. Ideally, you want to choose one of these rather than, say, a Senior’s cruise or a Single’s cruise.

Cruise lines like Disney or Norwegian also offer themed ships with full youth programs that are targeted to specific age groups from toddlers to teens. Again, this affords you the chance to take a break and enjoy the pool on your own.

When booking a full family cruise, you may want to consider a travel agent. Often, they’re able to discuss ship amenities, past client reviews and possible discounts.

However, if you’re searching alone and online, try reading past traveler reviews of each individual ship. This will provide you a clearer indication of the ship’s facilities and accommodations than the cruise line’s promotional website.

Things to Consider Before Departure

Make sure everyone in your family has their passport, travel health insurance and extra medication. Keep all of your documents in a safe and secure place with one person.

We all know with the econmy in the shape its in people are looking to make the dollar go as far as possible. This is probably why the number of searches for discount shore excursions is at an all time high.

Even though I’m a vetern of many cruises I still scearch the internet for excursion information. As I was looking I found a new ebook called “Shore Excursions on the Cheap“.

This ebook does a great job of detailing out everything I had to learn the hard way about cruise ship excursions. I think it would great if you would read my review of this ebook at “Cruise Ship Excursions“.

Vacations are created to make sure that we get lots of new experience, emotions, change the atmosphere around, get new impressions and - who knows - maybe even broaden the horizons of how we see the world.

Cruises are a perfect match for these goals. This is the type of vacation that is really different from what you have got used to. This is something which is very popular, but needs special skills and knowledge to make a wise choice.

Don’t forget that in a cruise you are on board of a ship, and this is the place where you will spend most of the time.

So, let’s get down to the practical and useful tips and information about how to make a wise cruise vacation choice.

Helpful hints from others who have cruised before you, will guide you through the process of creating your perfect Caribbean cruise.

Planning for your cruise can be overwhelming, there is a lot of things to do and that you need to buy, but in the end you will have a relaxing vacation and a great time. Once you have experienced a couple Caribbean cruises you will be prepared to enjoy the sun and sand in style.

Planning an Itinerary

Choosing a Caribbean cruise line and itinerary are the first steps necessary in planning your Caribbean cruise. Your next step is to plan for what you will need to pack. There are often special activities planned on the island for people taking a Caribbean cruise. If you plan on leaving the ship when it makes port, be sure to book those excursions in advance. It is best to plan ahead in order to properly schedule and stay within financial constraints.

Packing the right clothes is a trickier part of planning a Caribbean cruise than you might imagine. Planning for resort wear, beach wear, and special excursions can create more forethought and planning than the Caribbean cruise traveler planned for. But packing wisely will have a very positive effect in terms of stress-free traveling and making the most efficient use of the limited space in your stateroom.

Choosing a single color scheme for your travel clothing that can be mixed with a few other pieces during your Caribbean cruise vacations is the best packing trip. Luggage space can be saved by renting tuxedos on the ship or by packing a simple dress that can be altered for different occasions by the addition of accessories. When going on a Caribbean cruise, coordinate shorts and tops that can be worn with each other. This will cut down on the amount of space you need when packing.

There are a few things you should never forget on a Caribbean cruise, including sunglasses, sunscreen, and of course a camera so you can remember all those great memories. You will be able to have a worry-free vacation if you plan ahead and pack well.

For the vacation packing checklist tips please read this blog post.

Well just as I expect and commented about in my post on Carnival fuel charge, Royal Caribbean has now dropped all fuel charges for 2009.

Following Carnival if a passenger has already paid the fuel surcharge they will get it refunded in a form of shipboard credit when they sail

Let’s all hope oil prices say down and it gives everyone a few more dollars a month.