Our favorites have been on Celebrity. There tend to be very few kids, which is nice. We've been to quite a few of the islands, I'd skip Aruba. Grenada is gorgeous. Loved St. Kitts. It depends a bit on what you would like to do.

I've been on a lot of Caribbean cruises. I would say, avoid Carnival! It's very party-oriented and tends to have young adult clientele. Plus lots of families with small kids b/c it's inexpensive.

Holland America used to cater to older clients, but I haven't been on one in a long time so I don't know if that's still the case.

We have been loyal Royal Caribbean customers for a long time, but are probably going to switch to Princess. We sailed Princess in Alaska this summer and the whole experience was above Royal's standard.

As far as destinations, Cozumel (western) and Nassau (eastern) are very busy ports and often very crowded. We've been in Cozumel when there were 12 ships in port, and adding approx. 12,000 people to a small island is a nightmare!

My personal favorites are the Cayman Islands, Aruba and Curacao, and St. Martin.

Donna

i like Holland America because their ships are smaller and they cater to older people rather than kids. Check out these forums for answers to your questions.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com

Also, Tripadvisor.com

Don't cruise during school holidays or there will be a lot of kids. I loved Dominica (different island than the Dominican Republic!)

I like the Caribbean and the Mediterranean/Agean Sea cruises. I'd love to do Norway fiords someday.

I would also recommend Celebrity. We have been on one of the other major lines (not our choice - we went with a group) and are returning to Celebrity this fall. They did everything just a bit better (or a lot better) than the other line we were on. Also, get a balcony!

Thank you for the intel.

My MIL & SIL are doing the preliminary planning but I wanted to offer them some starting points. Suggestion #1 - no Carnival cruises. Suggestion #2 - check out Celebrity and Holland American. Suggestion #3 - avoid Cozumel and Nassau.

I have no idea what their interests might be. They like shopping for cheap souvenirs, I’d rather have dental work. My SIL likes to tan, my MIL is so pale she’s almost translucent.

I’ll recommend that they check out those cruise discussion boards.

I’m feeling slightly better about this now that I have some recommendations to begin my own research.

My co-worker's nephew was a singer/musician on Holland cruises, and I would certainly look into them for a more luxury experience. She went to Alaska and then Antarctica with him. The Antarctica trip was almost three weeks, which she said never that long again though the trip itself was fabulous.

I've been on one cruise (Celerity) and never again, it was not for us. However, we did find Curacao, and went back for an actual vacation there, so all was not lost. I agree with the "skip Aruba" advice, all it is fast food outlets, mass market shopping you can find in the US and crappy beaches, not my style. I highly recommend Curacao and St. Lucia, however, for a destination or as a port of call on a cruise.

We (early 40s couple) will be taking our fourth Caribbean cruise on Celebrity in a couple of weeks. I have also sailed Carnival (in my 20s) and I agree with the other posters here - Carnival is WAY more of a party-hard atmosphere. Celebrity has a much more upscale feel without being stuffy. You will find a good range of ages and activities, but fewer children than on lines like Royal and Carnival, since Celebrity doesn't offer things like waterslides and rock walls.

We have also considered Princess and we'll probably give them a go at some point, but for now we really like what Celebrity offers. We have only sailed on their Solstice-class ships, which IMO offer a nice balance between size and amenities. Their Millennium class ships are smaller and have fewer amenities, but also fewer passengers, which can be a plus if you don't like crowds.

I've only been once and it was on Norwegian - St. Thomas, etc. We went with friends who had won the trip so we only had to pay about $500 I think. I don't think I'd go on a big cruise ship again - maybe a smaller one. What was far more fun was chartering a sailboat in the BVI with a crew including a chef. That I would do again.

Another thought, look at smaller ships. Some of the new mega-ships carry several thousand passengers. There is no way you're going to avoid standing in lines on a ship that big. If it's not a line for food, it'll be the embarkation/debarkation line.

Funny side note: we went on the same Celebrity ship twice. After we got our tickets the second time, DH thought that we were in the same cabin. Checked and yep, the same cabin as the first time. I said I was going to stick gum under the chair in case we came back again. LOL.

We enjoy cruising, so much so that we are embarking on our 14th cruise next month, going to the Caribbean on Princess. We have cruised on Carnival, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean, based on what we are seeking for an itinerary. We always chose itinerary first and cruise line second. I am a huge fan of www.cruisecritic.com and always book private excursions based on recommendations from that site. We have had excellent experience doing that.

Because I am a teacher we typically cruise during February vacation and have not found any major issues with children. My advice would be to get as deep into the Caribbean as possible if you are going in the winter. Last year we flew to Puerto Rico and took a Southern Caribbean cruise to 6 islands in 7 days!!! Lots of fun! You can also get fairly far south into warm weather by flying out of Miami. Because we are in Boston, we fly down a day or two ahead in case there are weather-related delays. We enjoy spending time in a nice warm place before boarding the ship. At the end we get the earliest flight out, choosing self-debarkation.

I'm in countdown mode now!

Actually, I’m not a big cruise fan. This is a trip for my in-laws and it’s what they want to do.

I do think they’ll handle foreign travel via a ship much better than a having to navigate a fully foreign experience. They have cruised before so they have a level of comfort with that.

The other issue is I suspect we find very different things appealing, for example I would seek out a smaller ship and I think they’ll want want large (and crowded) for a bigger experience.

All I can do is offer some suggestions and hope for the best. The feedback here is helpful to me, so thanks again.

Aok, that’s amazing that you had the same room. It must be known as the AOK room.

We cruised with Celebrity last summer to Alaska and Royal Caribbean a few weeks ago to the Caribbean. We preferred Celebrity. As suggested above, we did not pre-book excursions but found tours once we disembarked. We also waited until the crowds had dispersed providing time to more leisurely discuss with the guides what they had to offer; we were not disappointed. We liked St. Kitts and Grenada as well as our short stay in San Juan. We won't do another Caribbean cruise but would like to perhaps return to Grenada or Tortola and cruise with a sailing ship.

Hhierno, I am also not a fan, but do see the appeal for those who like to be on a ship.

We did Norwegian Breakaway the week after Thanksgiving. DH wanted to try it and liked the idea that it was "last minute" and we didn't need a plane to get to it as it leaves out of NYC.

I agree about the crowds. On this particular ship, there wasn't a place to sit and relax in the shade. The shady area was near the loud pool. Music playing, silly contests going on etc. Deck chairs literally were right on top of one another.

This ship and I'm sure most others, had an exclusive area called The Haven. It was on the top of the ship and only members were allowed. They had their own pool, dining room with upscale food, butler and concierge service. if this is in your budget, it might be worth looking into.

When booked a "spa" room which meant we had access to the spa area daily.

I didn't research all the options as I let DH handle it since he was the one interested.

Our room was conveniently located so we didn't have to go across the ship to get breakfast.

DH and I have been on one cruise. It was with a BIG group (100+) with his employer, on Carnival.

Cruising is not for us. We were seasick (we are not swimmers, boaters, or water-lovers) and claustrophobic the whole time. Regardless of whether we were in our room, in a dining or entertainment area below deck, or on deck, we felt confined.

It was a 7-day cruise with the ship traveling every night and docking early each morning. As soon as we docked, DH and I were off the boat! We usually teamed up with at least two other couples and negotiated private tours with local entrepreneurs who were ready and waiting for tourists to spill off the cruise ships. We paid them well and had a good time. DON'T buy the prepackaged island tours that the cruise line promotes.

St. Thomas was crowded and expensive. (Snorkeling was fun!) Guadalupe, Grenada and Curacao were interesting, but when we were there, Curacao had some political unrest and we didn't always feel safe there. Aruba was interesting, but small. Once you've seen one rocky beach and a residential street, you've pretty much seen it all.

Hhireno, I have done two 7-day cruises on Royal Caribbean Oasis and Allure and that might be a possibility for you all. They do Eastern or Western Caribbean - we only did Western. The ships are ginormous and have lots of nooks for those tired of crowds as well as some nice specialty restaurants. Lots of places to explore on ship. I really enjoyed the central “park” garden and took a garden tour, spent lots of time there in the evenings listening to (okay) classical music ensembles.

On the mega ships the ship is as much or more an attraction than the itinerary.

The three stops in Western are labadee (strictly a beach day), Falmouth (lots of choice from historical tours to waterfall jumping), and Cozumel (we went to Chichen Itza once and did a fun Jeep/snorkel tour once).

My inlaws have largely switched to celebrity from RC now I believe.

i really enjoy cruises much more than I thought I would. I absolutely love the water and find it very soothing to look out on the ocean. My inlaws are going back to the Mediterranean this fall with their teen grandkids and I so wish we could go! FIL knew MIL would just want to baby wrangle the whole time instead of sightseeing. We got to go on an Asia cruise with them a few years ago so it’s more than fair they are doing the med with the other half of the family.

another tip: get a patch from your doctor for seasickness, even if you are not sure if you need it. I tend to get motion sick and somewhat carsick, so I got a patch (or rather a set of them - the ones I used lasted 3 days each, and I need to put one on at least a day prior to sailing.) I did not have any problems while others in my party were leaving the dining room during a night of rocky seas. Mine went behind my ear.

As for excursions run by the cruise ship, I agree they can be pricey and you may do better on your own. But the one benefit is that the company-run excursions have to get you back to the ship on time (ie, the ship will not leave without you.) I have not heard of too many incidents of passengers being left in ports, but if there is an delay of some sort on a "private" (not ship-run) excursion, that is the passenger's problem.

The Canadians use “Bonnie” (bonamine) which seems to help seasickness with few ill effects. I use sea bands — Call me gullible but they really do seem to work for me! To the point where when I took them off to shower every day I would start to get sick in the shower and think I was getting food poisoning!

I get carsick and airsick, and have never been on a cruise because of that. It is good to hear that patches seem to work. Anyone else as susceptible as me? What works for you?

More intel! Thanks.

I also wear Sea bands for travel and occasionally take Bonine instead, depends on the situation.

Once the shuttle drive to the airport from offsite parking was so awful, I hadn’t put my wrist bands on yet, that I had to buy a package of Dramamine at the airport at airport prices. I needed the big guns! I think the shuttle didn’t have any shocks and he was driving like a lunatic. Luckily, it was a short ride. The guy next to me was funny because he had a hot coffee that he didn’t dare sip for fear of being splashed from the bumpy ride. How I dreaded the return trip pick-up but that shuttle had shocks and a calmer driver.

I’ll report back when my ILs come to a decision about which ship and which itinerary.

Avoid Norwegian. Their staff-passenger ratio is way worse than, say Holland America.