Family Cruises

[Skipper 6202]

I'm not sure if we'll ever do a cruise (and if we do, it's likely Disney when kids are older) but is there such a thing as a non-poors cruise line for adults?  Definitely have no desire to ever go out of Galveston with the Wal Mart crowd. Years back pre-kids, we thought about taking one out of Puerto Rico thinking we could hit random islands to see where we might want to take a vacation to in the future, while also getting to tie in a weekend in San Juan on the front or back end.

[Viper 12112]

Virgin is supposed to be starting an adults only cruise. 

you could also look at Luxury cruises, https://www.cruisecritic.com/luxurycruises/ 

 

[phdhorn 6224]

On 3/5/2019 at 5:06 PM, Hank_Hill said:

I’m going Carnival with 4 women from school for Spring break next week. Very different experience but will report back.

A cruise?  Not hard to figure out, then:

[Js1 85583]

39 minutes ago, Viper said:

look at it this way, you probably won't get caught by the wife checking out other women. 

And you can probably earn some credit hours towards a degree in marine biology studying the recreational habits of land whales 

[Nueces River Rat 5539]

1 hour ago, Skipper said:

I'm not sure if we'll ever do a cruise (and if we do, it's likely Disney when kids are older) but is there such a thing as a non-poors cruise line for adults?  Definitely have no desire to ever go out of Galveston with the Wal Mart crowd. Years back pre-kids, we thought about taking one out of Puerto Rico thinking we could hit random islands to see where we might want to take a vacation to in the future, while also getting to tie in a weekend in San Juan on the front or back end.

I've been researching the same thing.  Unfortunately if you are Texas based and want to take one of cruise line which cater more to the adult crowd, you will have to go to Florida or San Juan to depart.  And really compared to other cruise regions,  adult cruise offerings are a little less.   Alaska, Asia, and Europe are more popular for the adult only cruise lines and for good reason.  It cost a bit more to get there in the first place which prices out many families.  

[BabaYaga 15321]

On 3/4/2019 at 10:32 PM, tokamak said:

Looking at taking the whole family on a 4-day Caribbean cruise this fall. My kids will be 4 and 2 at the time of the cruise. Friends with similar-aged kids have highly recommended Disney and I know we can count on them to have plenty of shit for the kids. Thing is, Disney looks to be 40-50% more expensive than Carnival/RCL/Norwegian for similar iteneraries. I can't believe they get that kind of premium, but then again it IS Disney.

So my question is how much stuff for young kids will the other lines have? I've never set foot on a cruise ship in my life so I have no idea what to expect. Should we bite the bullet and go Disney?

Disney Cruises are a giant money-suck.  Tack on another few grand for drinks.  Been on about a half-dozen cruises.  Carnival is a beating.  The price point is low enough for the college kids & wal-mart crowd.  Great if you have body image issues.  So there's that.  If you are a heart or diabetes doctor (endocrinologist), take extra business cards and pass them out at the buffet lines.

Norwegian and Royal Caribbean aren't bad.  If you have kids and you and your wife want to do bad things to each other, get adjoining rooms.  Even the upgrades room/suites are tiny.  Zero privacy.  Having a balcony is nice in the evening to just sit out and listen to the ocean and drink any booze you smuggled onto the boat of from your lasts port (Google 'rum runners').  Drink package is worth it.  The excursions/port of call destinations are always fun.  

This spring break we have a few friends taking various cruises.  One is going to Cuba (which sounds intriguing).  Another leaving out of Miami for various islands.  Cell phone package never seemed worth it to me.  We've taken walkie-talkies to communicate but never really used them.  

*you'll see a ton of people with what looks like a little, round band-aid behind their ear.  Motion sickness patches.  Have to get form doc before you go.  Worth looking into if you think you'll need.  Getting sick and needing to see the doc on the boat is ex-frickin-pensive.  So prepare just in case.

[High Plains Drifter 11052]

2 hours ago, Js1 said:

And you can probably earn some credit hours towards a degree in marine biology studying the recreational habits of land whales 

If you look closely at the pic I posted, there seems to be a mermaid sitting on the right side of the pool by the net. After careful perusal using the latest in image enhancement technology , wood study inter-species mating habits with her.

[Js1 85583]

1 hour ago, Nueces River Rat said:

I've been researching the same thing.  Unfortunately if you are Texas based and want to take one of cruise line which cater more to the adult crowd, you will have to go to Florida or San Juan to depart.  And really compared to other cruise regions,  adult cruise offerings are a little less.   Alaska, Asia, and Europe are more popular for the adult only cruise lines and for good reason.  It cost a bit more to get there in the first place which prices out many families.  

This.

My folks are flying to Rome to cruise out of there. 

[LonghornJones 837]

11 hours ago, High Plains Drifter said:

Yeah that guy filming that mermaids boobs from above knows exactly what he's doing...or he's instant replay.

[Hank_Hill 18896]

3 hours ago, phdhorn said:

A cruise?  Not hard to figure out, then:

I’m 25 and the oldest one.

[phdhorn 6224]

1 hour ago, Hank_Hill said:

I’m 25 and the oldest one.

Well that's good, but trust me, the five of you put together might not be as old as some of the people on that boat.

[Hank_Hill 18896]

47 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

Well that's good, but trust me, the five of you put together might not be as old as some of the people on that boat.

That’s the goal