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Hi all!
First, I want to say that cruisers seem to be a very friendly bunch! :wave I've been reading some posts today and I'm surprised with how many responses the newbies get so I'll run my tentative plan by y'all.

I am looking at doing a cruise this September (only because it's it the cheapest time to go with good weather?) We had originally discussed going to Disneyworld but I really, really want to take a cruise. So I looked into a Disney cruise but *gasp* $6800 for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids, 1 room) for 7 days.
I talked to a Cruisesonly.com agent last night and got that price as well as:
-Caribbean, 4 days, 5 people, 1 room $1,000
-Caribbean, 7 days, 5 people, 2 connecting rooms $2,300

I forget what part of the Caribbean they were, I'll guess Western since that's usually cheaper??
I also forget which ships.

Which leads me to my questions -
1) My boyfriend and I would like to get married on the ship - vacation, wedding, honeymoon all at once. I'm frugal like that. Can we do that without a $1,000+ wedding packing? We won't have any family there besides our 3 kids. We want it simple and the kids to be involved. No frills. Just someone to officiate and let all 5 of us say vows/commitments.

2) Any Carnival ship better over another for kids? Kids are 9, 6 & 5. We do want the Water Works park - is that on all of them?

3) Any other cruise lines family friendly other than Carnival that I should look into? Shh, I know this is the Carnival forum.

4) I honestly don't think I care TOO much about where we go - I just want the experience of a cruise and I think the kids will have a blast, regardless. I've heard stories about going to Jamaica and buying an off-shore excursion and being very disappointed. I don't mind seeing such areas, I do want to experience as many parts of the world as I can BUT I'm also spending good $$ on a cruise and don't want to be disappointed either.

5) I've heard there is $10 per day/per person? tipping and I've seen you can buy a tip package ahead of time. which is better?

6) Is there any other time of year that is cheaper to go than September?

I think this is a good start to my questions. I'll wait for some replies, ponder some more, read some more forums and go from there.

Thank you in advance!
Kara

<blockquote data-quote="Kararific" data-source="post: 1309272">Hi all!First, I want to say that cruisers seem to be a very friendly bunch! :wave I've been reading some posts today and I'm surprised with how many responses the newbies get so I'll run my tentative plan by y'all.I am looking at doing a cruise this September (only because it's it the cheapest time to go with good weather?) We had originally discussed going to Disneyworld but I really, really want to take a cruise. So I looked into a Disney cruise but *gasp* $6800 for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids, 1 room) for 7 days.I talked to a Cruisesonly.com agent last night and got that price as well as:-Caribbean, 4 days, 5 people, 1 room $1,000-Caribbean, 7 days, 5 people, 2 connecting rooms $2,300I forget what part of the Caribbean they were, I'll guess Western since that's usually cheaper??I also forget which ships.Which leads me to my questions - 1) My boyfriend and I would like to get married on the ship - vacation, wedding, honeymoon all at once. I'm frugal like that. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> Can we do that without a $1,000+ wedding packing? We won't have any family there besides our 3 kids. We want it simple and the kids to be involved. No frills. Just someone to officiate and let all 5 of us say vows/commitments. 2) Any Carnival ship better over another for kids? Kids are 9, 6 &amp; 5. We do want the Water Works park - is that on all of them?3) Any other cruise lines family friendly other than Carnival that I should look into? Shh, I know this is the Carnival forum. 4) I honestly don't think I care TOO much about where we go - I just want the experience of a cruise and I think the kids will have a blast, regardless. I've heard stories about going to Jamaica and buying an off-shore excursion and being very disappointed. I don't mind seeing such areas, I do want to experience as many parts of the world as I can BUT I'm also spending good $$ on a cruise and don't want to be disappointed either.5) I've heard there is $10 per day/per person? tipping and I've seen you can buy a tip package ahead of time. which is better?6) Is there any other time of year that is cheaper to go than September?I think this is a good start to my questions. I'll wait for some replies, ponder some more, read some more forums and go from there.Thank you in advance!Kara</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Kararific, post: 1309272"] Hi all! First, I want to say that cruisers seem to be a very friendly bunch! :wave I've been reading some posts today and I'm surprised with how many responses the newbies get so I'll run my tentative plan by y'all. I am looking at doing a cruise this September (only because it's it the cheapest time to go with good weather?) We had originally discussed going to Disneyworld but I really, really want to take a cruise. So I looked into a Disney cruise but *gasp* $6800 for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids, 1 room) for 7 days. I talked to a Cruisesonly.com agent last night and got that price as well as: -Caribbean, 4 days, 5 people, 1 room $1,000 -Caribbean, 7 days, 5 people, 2 connecting rooms $2,300 I forget what part of the Caribbean they were, I'll guess Western since that's usually cheaper?? I also forget which ships. Which leads me to my questions - 1) My boyfriend and I would like to get married on the ship - vacation, wedding, honeymoon all at once. I'm frugal like that. :D Can we do that without a $1,000+ wedding packing? We won't have any family there besides our 3 kids. We want it simple and the kids to be involved. No frills. Just someone to officiate and let all 5 of us say vows/commitments. 2) Any Carnival ship better over another for kids? Kids are 9, 6 & 5. We do want the Water Works park - is that on all of them? 3) Any other cruise lines family friendly other than Carnival that I should look into? Shh, I know this is the Carnival forum. 4) I honestly don't think I care TOO much about where we go - I just want the experience of a cruise and I think the kids will have a blast, regardless. I've heard stories about going to Jamaica and buying an off-shore excursion and being very disappointed. I don't mind seeing such areas, I do want to experience as many parts of the world as I can BUT I'm also spending good $$ on a cruise and don't want to be disappointed either. 5) I've heard there is $10 per day/per person? tipping and I've seen you can buy a tip package ahead of time. which is better? 6) Is there any other time of year that is cheaper to go than September? I think this is a good start to my questions. I'll wait for some replies, ponder some more, read some more forums and go from there. Thank you in advance! Kara [/QUOTE]