Dh and I have been on many cruises. I began cruising solo almost 30 years ago when I was in my early 20's. For anyone familiar with the cruise lines, this goes back to when Carnival had only two ships and there were no cruise ships with balcony cabins.

Cruises though are a really terrific, almost ALL all-inclusive, vacation for a family. My grandmother took our family on cruises every year for Christmas over the course of a number of years. When they grew a bit "old" we switched off to an occasional Christmas "land vacation" in Aruba.

If you are not familiar with cruising, most cruises run on average, 6 nights and 7 days. All of your food is included. Some lines have "specialty restaurants" such as Johnny Rockets on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) or a gourmet restaurant. Years ago we ate at the specialty restaurant on a Princess Cruise Line ship and for $20 per head we had a 5 course dinner which included lobster and WAY too much food. Nowadays, specialty restaurants charge on up towards $40 per person. All this when you can dine in the dining room on the same night and not pay an extra fee.

With the exception of soda and of course alcohol, beverages are included with meals. Choices run from of course milk to fruit juices, lemonade, ice tea etc. Many of the cruise lines sell a soda card for the duration of the cruise for unlimited sodas. A good buy if you drink more than say two sodas a day. Some lines also offer packages for wine as well as alcoholic drinks and beer. Entertainment is also included. There are shows nightly. They range from magicians, to comedians, sngers, dancers.

Let's see, some other advantages of cruising. Anytime you go on vacation, the first question is usually drive or fly? With families the cost of flying piles up REALLY quickly. Depending on which part of the country you live in, there are cruises which depart from Boston, New York City, Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, Cape Canaveral Florida (about 45 minute drive from Disney), Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle. Cape Canaveral is a fairly easy drive for us about 7 - 8 hrs.

Depending on the length of your trip, you will more than likely visit a minimum of 3 ports. One of our previous cruises was twelve nights. Stops included:

Cozumel, Mexico
Costa Maya, MX
Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
George Town, Grand Cayman
And Panama and the Panama Canal...

Most "canal" cruises will traverse the entire canal; there are some out there which will go through a little less than half way to Gatun Lake. Even cruising through small portion of the canal, you travel through two (I think) locks. When you see the enormity of the locks, the thickness of the jungle, the mountains, it is a wonder. Our ship discharged passengers who were taking tour excursions for the day in Panama. A big bonus of taking this type of Panama Canal cruise is that it is generally less expensive in that by not traversing the canal, you will not be paying for airfare from the opposite coast where your cruise disembarks. For example, we departed from Galveston (a fantastic beach destination, stayed at the Hotel Galvez overnight pre-cruise, absolutely gorgeous historic hotel). Our airfare was from Atlanta to Houston roundtrip vs. Atlanta to Houston and Los Angeles to Atlanta.

When my parents cruise Hawaii, their itinerary was intense:

Mon. Honolulu, Oahu Depart 8 pm
Tue. Hilo, Hawaii 8am- 7pm
Wed.Kahului, Maui 8am Overnight Optional Tour to Lana'i Available
Thu. Kahului, Maui Depart 6pm
Fri. Kona, Hawaii 7:00am- 6:00pm
Sat. Nawiliwili, Kauai 10:00am Overnight
Sun. Nawiliwili, Kauai Depart 6:00pm
Mon. Honolulu, Oahu Arrive 7:00am

So let's see, you only have to unpack once and you get to visit a whole bunch of different places.

Some of the shore excursions can get extremely expensive, but if you search out tours on your own you can usually cut some costs.

The most expensive excursion we have ever taken was $100 per adult for 6 hours sailing on a catamaran in Barbados. We have done this twice so obviously enjoyed it and thought it well worth the money. Yes it is expensive, but there are only 18 passengers and includes swimming with sea turtles, 2 snorkel stops, a gourmet buffet lunch...think flying fish and Caesar salad followed up with fresh fruit and unlimited beverages. They waited on us hand and foot and have the best pina coladas I have ever encountered.
In Costa Rica, St Lucia, Dominica, Aruba, and Grenada we have used local guides and taken private mini van tours. Most of the time the cruise lines for island tours will pack you onto buses. Think crowded. The cost of these tours is usually dependent upon the number of people in your group. Our cheapest excursion was a private 7 hour tour of St Lucia. $40 per person, but we had 10 people. A ship's excursion would probably charge at least $80 pp for a bus tour of the island.

Otherwise, we are big beach lovers. Many stops where we simply choose to go to the beach, it costs us the taxi fare to and from the beach and whatever we spend there. BUT if we decide to stay on the ship and hang out at the swimming pool it will cost us zero.

If you do not like hot weather or beaches, during the spring, summer, fall there are cruises to New England/Canada and Alaska.

From Expedia-

What's the general age range for cruisers?

Different cruise lines appeal to different age groups. Average passenger age ranges are as follows:

Carnival: 30 percent under age 35; 40 percent ages 35–55; and 30 percent over age 55
Celebrity: Ages 30–55
Crystal: Age 60+
Disney Cruise Line®: 20s and up
Holland America: 40s to 60s
Norwegian (NCL): 50s
Princess: Age 50+
Windstar: Ages 35–55
Royal Caribbean: 30s to 50s

Carnival is probably the least expensive and most kid friendly (besides Disney which is MUCH MUCH more expensive) cruise line. Leaving the kids home? Try Crystal or Holland America. Norwegian has the market corned on Hawaii with some great deals this summer on a brand new cruise ship. Royal Caribbean is very kid friendly but much more expensive than Carnival. For a first time cruise, I would never hesitate recommending Carnival Cruise Lines.

Another great thing about cruising for us is the kid's activities. On a cruise our dd spends a great portion of her day at the kid's/teen club. They have trained professionals who run a schedule of activities each and every day. She is a bit on the shy side so it is a great way for her to meet other kids her own age. The kids are broken down into age groups so that makes it even better. Dd usually looks over the day's schedule and picks and chooses the activities she would like to participate in. Sometimes she will go an hour, other times she will go the entire day.

They also provide, sometimes there is a charge, activities on days where you are port. You will find this handy if you and your spouse wish to take part in some less kid friendly activities: heavy duty all day touring or say go scuba diving. Looking for a night with a nice dinner and some dancing, the casino or a show afterwards, again, the kid's clubs are open at night, even some until the wee hours.

Other things people ask about cruises regard sea sickness. Years ago this was a problem. Nowadays there are prescription medications which work like a charm. Just ask my Mom, she used to get sea sick when we beached our boat for a picnic. Two years ago she sailed across the Atlantic. Not a problem. Why take a Caribbean or Bermuda cruise during hurricane season? This is the cheapest time of year to cruise, but chances of being shut out of your vacation are slim. Ships do not want to put their passengers in jeopardy, nor do they leave their ships in a port which may have a hurricane heading towards it. It is well known (people still whine though) fact that on every cruise passage contract it states that the ports which are scheduled may be cancelled at the discretion of the cruise line. So, if you want to save a lot of money, and can cruise say end of August, you can take your chances and book say a Caribbean or Bermuda cruise which might in turn take you to New England. Or an Eastern Caribbean cruise may turn into a Western Caribbean cruise. The cruise ship is still a resort. Many ships offer at least three swimming pools. Newer ships offer 5 or more swimming pools, some adult only, some for that privilege at an extra cost. Many ships now have a pool with a retractable roof for inclement or cool weather cruising.

What do people not like about cruises? Most cruise lines have a minimum of 2 nights where formal dress is required. For a woman a dress and for men a suit and tie. No jeans allowed on formal nights. Almost every ship offers an alternate venue for dining when a night in the dining room requires dressing up. NCL does not require any formal dressing and many ships now offer "anytime dining". What does this mean? Cruise lines have generally two to four of these "seating’s" for dinner or you can just show up without a reservation. Scheduled seating’s are usually late seating 8 pm or 8:30 pm or the early seating at 6 pm. Disney has themed restaurants where you have a scheduled time, but rotate restaurants.

Are you still unsure? The Travel Channel regularly runs shows about cruise ships. Also a great forum is boards.cruisecritic.com. Some folks complain about being "nickled and dimed" for things like Hagen Dazs ice cream, upscale coffee shops, burger and shake restaurants and internet service which is available but by satellite, thus $$$

I am positive there are things I forgot, but this gives you some thought starters. Not sure how you would like a cruise? Try starting out with a 3 night cruise. Cannot afford to cruise the whole week, many lines also offer 4 and 5 night cruises.