Planning a Summer Cruise?

Is a summer cruise on your list for 2017? Although our cruises are planned for 2017 already my sister is looking to plan a extended family cruise vacation for her and her in laws in June of this year. She asked for my thoughts on a good cruise to take for roughly 7 adults, 3 children and a baby. While I am unable to join them on this cruise it was certainly fun researching the options-and I decided to share my findings with you all! Their parameters were a cruise for the month of June from a central/south Florida port and ideally a week long trip. While one family member will need a wheelchair accessible balcony room the other cruisers would prefer balcony rooms in a family friendly area. Child care and a cool kids club is requested, as well as ports for water sports and active excursions. I chose to search for a cabin for two adults and one child, so the totals will vary a bit. Here is what I found for them:


Norwegian Escape- June 24-July 1- Balcony (B2-Family) Room 9736. Includes Ultimate Beverage Package and Shore Excursion Bonus of $50 per port (other options are Ultimate Dining and Wi-Fi- you pick two). $100 on board credit is also given, along with $50 deposits. This cruise goes to Roatan, Harvest Caye (new private island), Cozumel and Costa Maya. The Escape is the newest NCL ship with lots of kids activities on board, including a large sports complex and aqua park. This ship leaves from Miami and the total cost is $4325.00.

Carnival Magic- June 24-July 2 (*8 days)- Cove Balcony Room 2378. Includes a $75 on board credit and $25 per person deposits. This cruise goes to Grand Turk, Amber Cove (new private island), San Juan and St. Thomas. The Magic is a large ship with Waterworks, Seuss at Sea and the Hasbro Game Show-which are all great for kids. This ship leaves from Port Canaveral and the total cost is $3754.00.

Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas- June 25-July 2-Balcony Room (D4) Room 6264. This cruise goes to Nassau, St. Thomas and St Kitts. The Allure of the Seas offers a Dreamworks kids experience, a boardwalk with games and a carousel, aquatic activities, a flowrider and ice skating. This ship, which leaves from Fort Lauderdale has a total cost of $4307.00 and a deposit of $750. 


MSC Divina- June 24-July 1- Balcony Room 12011, Aurea Experience-includes unlimited beverages, spa package, a private sun deck, cooking classes for kids and priority dining times.This cruise goes to Nassau, San Juan and St. Maarten. The Divina has a small kids club with a Smurfs theme, as well as pools and some family friendly activities planned. This newest MSC ship leaves from Miami and the total cost is $2883.00. The deposit now should be $100 per person, although this is subject to change.

By a sizable amount the MSC Divina is the least expensive, with the most perks as well. The drawback to the Divina is the lack of substantial children's activities and family friendly spaces. The Allure of the Seas is chock full of young at heart fun, with all day and night family entertainment. However, RC does not offer any perks like alcoholic/non alcoholic beverages or spa treatments. Carnival comes in as the third cheapest cruise, with a small on board credit. The benefit of the Seuss at Sea, as well as water activities make the Magic a good option. Finally, the NCL Escape offers the latest and greatest in aqua sports fun and includes a generous beverage package, as well as credit towards shore excursions. The high price of over $4000 makes this cruise week an expensive one, however. Also, don't forget to add on a budget for parking fees, flights to and from the port (or gas), shore excursions and gratuities per person, which are added daily by all the cruise lines. 

The take away is my sister and family are looking at a cruise costing between $3200 and $4600 for the week (including gratuities only). They will need to decide on the importance of beverages, spa amenities and kids activities, as well as ports to debark from and visit on their cruise. I will let you know what they end up deciding! :)