There are adult-only cruises. They are probably more expensive. Usually, the kids seem to be in the activities most of the day.

My father and brother take 5-8 cruises each year...and they prefer Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. My favorite time to go was the second week in December because they have wonderful Christmas decorations. While there may be some children, they are so involved in activities that they are not a problem.

Joan, my SIL was just on a cruise and her one complaint was how many children were running around. So that although there are activities, obviously it wasn't enough.

Wanda, I am trying to gather info as to whether I should book something on Thanksgiving. has your father and brother ever gone Thanksgiving?

If you don't want kids around then go when school is in session. Some school districts offer an entire week off for Thanksgiving so I could see families choosing to cruise then especially if the Christmas festivities and decorations also happen during the cruise.

Lots of thoughts here.

I have been on 37 cruises (and counting); having sailed on six cruise lines' ships, I feel that I have a good sense of what is going on.

If you want to not be inundated with youngsters, consider the demographics of each of the cruise lines. Carnival (great food) and Royal Caribbean generally offer shorter cruises and go out of their way to entice family travel.

Holland America, Princess and Celebrity have a older crowd generally. The longer the cruise, the fewer youngsters there will be. That is especially true during the typical school-year period. If the kids are supposed to be in school, then fewer young families will go together on a cruise. Many people in that age group don't have the time for longer vacations.

I don't know where you live, but getting to the port of embarkation adds to the cost of the cruise. If you live on the US west coast and want to cruise into the Caribbean, then it will be more expensive. However, if you live in Florida (where I live), the costs of getting to the port are minimal.

Supply and demand. If there is a low demand, then the cost of traveling is low. If there is a high demand (typical summer vacation time), then the costs will reflect that demand.

Examples: Ruby Princess (3000 passengers) will sail from Los Angeles for 7-night cruises (great ports). All pricing is for an 'outside' cabin, one with a window, but not a balcony and port charges (which vary) are not included. 11/26 =$700 per person; 12/3 = $650 per person; 12/10 = $600 per person.

Holland America's Westerdam (1850 passengers) will sail from San Diego with a very similar itinerary as the Ruby Princess. 11/26 = $700 per person and 12/3 = $600 per person.

Holland American's Zuiderdam (1900 passengers) sails from Ft. Lauderdale to the Panama Canal and back 10 or 11 days. 11/20 = $2200 per person and 11/30 = $1100 per person.

Celebrity Cruise Line's Summit (2200 passengers) sails from San Juan for a good 7-day itinerary. 11/19 = $1,000 per person and 11/26 = $950 per person.

Celebrity Cruise Line's Reflection (2900 passengers) sails from Miami for a 7-day itinerary. 11/19 = $1400 per person and 11/26 = $1150 per person.

We prefer the smaller ships and the longer itineraries. In October, the missus and I will sail from Ft. Lauderdale and cruise to Morocco, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and back to Ft. Lauderdale. 42-days. Low demand (who wants to be away for that long in November and early December?). Small ship, fewer than 1500 passengers. Outside cabin, $4,000 per person. In May we took a 17-day cruise through the Panama Canal from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale on a small ship (fewer than 700 passengers) and it cost about $1750 per person!

On all cruises, the food and most entertainment are free. Many beverages cost extra. I always figure on a per person per night basis; run the numbers yourself. We like sea days when we can do nothing much. Others prefer the itineraries that are port intensive (get off in the morning, do your thing, back to the ship for the evening meal, go to a show, go to bed and do it all again the next day).

Do some research and/or contact a cruise specialist with a travel agency and see what fits into your work schedule and your willingness to pay. Sometimes, not always, there are last-minute deals. However, if you have to fly to the port, the cost of airfare negates any savings.

We have cruised several times during late November and it is fun to see the changes of the decor as the autumn themes get put away and the Christmas decorations are put up.

Another time to cruise when there are fewer youngsters is right after the first of the year. Most families have traveled in late December and everyone is done with that. The first couple of weeks in January are much more reasonable for pace and cost.

Jim thank you! I think you were the one I was thinking of. Did you just recently move to Florida? I thought it was Bob who cruised all the time.

We have been going to Costa Rica in January for the past five years and hope to do it again this year.

But, my DH suggested a fall cruise. How would I find out which cruises for Thanksgiving would be more for adults? Would they even be able to say?

Weare in NY and there are a few that would go out of here. I would do a cruise where I would have to add air fare unless it was for a special event or occasion.

So that people know...Bob has cruised with his loving wife on ships that offer Semester at Sea. He tags along as she does her absolutely instructive thing.

That is not pleasure cruising. But it is on a good solid ship and it goes to interesting ports as a part of the learning experience.

FYI, many or most public schools in Florida are on break the whole week of Thanksgiving. Many of our daughter's contemporaries (families with children) do cruise on that week.

I used to live in a community where the state university was a HUGE presence. As a result, all the local schools were not in session when the university was on break, which has become the entire week (too many unexcused absences on a 4-day weekend).

Also, there are many folks who home-school and those youngsters learn a lot about geography, history and culture by cruising with their parents. That is not a large number and those kids are not run-around-crazy types.

"But, my DH suggested a fall cruise." "We are in NY..."

Are you set on an ocean cruise? Or would you consider a river cruise? Since you're in New York and want to go in Autumn, you could always go on the American Cruise Line -- in particular the Hudson River Fall Foliage Cruise. If you book early, you can save $400 per stateroom. All of the ships have a passenger capacity between 100 and 185, so even if there are children, you aren't going to be overrun by them. :-)

We did a seven day cruise Thanksgiving week and children were pretty minimal. Because it started before Thanksgiving and ended after -- children aren't usually off the whole week of school (like Christmas or even Spring). We were on Holland America and as was stated IS an older crowd. We had absolutely no problem with the few children that might be on the ship at that time.

More and school districts are taking a full week off at Thanksgiving. My sister is a teacher at a huge district in Georgia and they get the full week off as do my kids at the school they go to.

More and more families travel for the entirety of the Thanksgiving period since adding three more days off gives nine in total. If you want to avoid kids, go when you can be sure school is in session.

I've taken about 10 cruises, the first time about 30 years ago and most recent one was two years ago. The quality and enjoyment of the experience has declined substantially for us over this period as the ships have gotten larger, the fares have gotten lower, and the operators need to pinch pennies and cut corners to an extent not necessary years ago. 30 years ago, it was an elegant and memorable experience in all respects. Today, on a large ship, it's like being one cow in a cattle car. Food, service, courtesy, amenities, seem to aim low, for a standard of mediocrity.

It depends what you like, try it and see. Port calls are so brief that you can hardly say you have "visited" those towns and areas. Sea days may or may not fill the bill for you. Our last two cruises were on two different but substantially more expensive up-market cruise lines with rather smaller ships. Our future cruises will be limited to those.

We did concierge level on the one cruise we booked because those were the only rooms that fit our needs. Being able to visit the concierge lounge really helped with the cattle car feeling.

Thanks everyone! I'm thinking that Thanksgiving would not be the best time to go. Personally, I am not interested in cruises. We did a weekend one about twelve years ago. It was just a thought on my DH's part to go in the fall. And, who am I to disagree on having an extra vacation thrown in to the mix of things?

So, if we do, it will be when most kids will be in school.

I was going to direct you to Jim as a much more knowledgeable source, but I see he has it covered. Jim is right, I've only ever been on the Semester-at-Sea ship, and even that was just the one time. It is similar to a cruise ship in many ways, but also different in almost every way that matters. (If that makes any sense)