Vacation Tips for Cheap Family Cruises
Category: Cheap Family Vacation | Dec 17, 2009 |
Cruising is fun for people of all ages. From toddlers to teenagers and from young couples on honeymoon to the older person relaxing after a life of hectic careers, cruise vacations offer enjoyment and excitement to everyone. If you wish to find cheap family cruises, then there are plenty of choices, wherever you live. Nearly all cruise lines offer specials and programs for families with specific emphasis on children. Services like baby-sitting, play-stations; mini computer labs, etc. are presented to lure children also on cruise ventures. Many of them combine exclusive offshore excursions geared to attract children of all ages. Some of the select features of cheap family cruises are presented here for your basic information.
- Reduced cruise rates like 2 full adult fares for a family of 3 or even 4, if the children are below the age of 5.
- Special baby-sitting provisions and monitored cribs.
- Family cabins with full beds or separate bunkers for children to accommodate children up to the age of 12.
- Cartoon shows and cartoon magazines.
- Classes for arts, crafts, dancing, music, foreign languages, etc.
- Game facilities like billiards, chess, basketball, volleyball, ping pong, swimming, snorkeling, etc.
- Kids-only swimming pools.
- Kid, teen, and youth counselors.
- Computer labs and computer game stations.
- Special beach parties and barbeque parties.
With most cruises, the accommodation, all meals, entertainment, and other onboard activities are all included in the price. Transportation to and from the port is also generally part of the package. However, other expenses like drinks, excursion expenses at stoppage ports, personal services like hairstyling, massage, etc. are generally not included in cruise package. On the other hand, most cruise lines accept requests for special diets like low-carbohydrate, salt-free, etc. but these have to be advised in advance.
A cheap or inexpensive family cruise can be found either by browsing the Internet or by contacting any reputable travel agency. At the outset, make a decision about the destination or destinations that you would like to visit and the number of days that you could afford, along with your probable budget. After that, obtain at least 4-5 family cruise package quotes from different cruise lines. Compare them for all the features, including fine print like the inclusion or exclusion of VAT, personal insurance, tips, etc. In general, you have a choice of around major 200 cruise lines operating all over the globe, with more than 1,800 ports-of-call.
Remember that family cruises are meant for fun and relaxation. You can find a family cruise package that will not strain your family budget and be great fun as well. Make sure that your family cruise selection offers adequate rest between ports-of-call, where you may be visiting several places on hectic-paced guided tours. Talk to the cruise director or the travel agent about the specific facilities offered for the family members. Find out ahead of time about all on-board activities, so that all members of the family, including the kids, will be well informed of all the fun to expect. If you consider all the above facts, then your next family cruise should be within your budget and at the same time, offer all of you unlimited recreation, relaxation, and pleasure.
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"Cheap" and "beach" go together like oil and vinegar. They tend to be mutually exclusive. If you like camping, try getting reservations at Carpinteria State Beach, Leo Carillo, or Doheny. http://www.reserveamerica.com.
Ocracoke island
Honestly, the 10 and 5 year olds would love anything you can think of to do in Florida. The 1 year old is too young to enjoy a lot of Disney and the associated whirlwind of activity.
You can rent a condo or a private house with a pool in Orlando or close for a reasonable amount. That will save you some bucks, you can plan to eat breakfast and dinner at home. The trade-off is getting back and forth to the parks. Disney often runs a special, usually in September, to get free meals with your park tickets and hotel stay on property. That plan was going to cost our family of 6 (4 adults, 2 kids) about $2800 for this September. That was for 2 rooms at the Pop Century resort. As it happens, our grand children decided they wanted to go to Washington DC instead. So we aren't doing Disney this year after all.
Other parts of Florida have things to offer if you aren't planning to do theme parks every day.
If you've never been to Florida, I will warn you that it is hot, sticky, buggy, and miserable from June through mid-September.
Little Rock has a great kids museum by River Market (and if you go on Tues or Sat the Farmer's Market is there and fun to walk around). Down in Hot Springs there's a ton of stuff to do for kids from playing in the streams around there to the Mid America Science Museum to walking around downtown to mini golf.
If you are thinking AR around the LR and HS area I would suggest staying in Benton, it is 1/2 way between both cities and not crowded at all. Have fun!
Branson Missouri? Me and my family love going there:)
I was surprised myself to find that LA could actually be done on a budget. I've been hoping to go a while and now I'm quite tempted to actually do it. I did a quick search and found an article… Apparently you don't need a boatload of money to visit Los Angeles. I'm more interested in the city itself, but my guess is that other than the stuff in the city it might be even cheaper to stay outside the city. Maybe try going to some of the parks in the area, like Universal and such. I'm not sure how much admission is, considering you're looking for a cheap vacation…
I would have to say that it really does depend on where you live. If you are near or live in driving distance to Orlando you can easily stay at the Tropical Palms Resort each studio comfortable holds up to 8 people, it's 59-79 a night depending on when you want to vacation. And the Tickets to Universal Studios are only 99 dollars for 5 days and a free kids ticket for each adult one purchased (3-9 years old).
If you live in or around New Jersey you can do the same thing for Six Flags Great Adventure.
When we were young my mom really couldn't afford a traditional vacations so we would go to local hotels and live it up tourist style for a few days.
Find the nicest hotel within 50 miles of your home, call for rates and visit the websites (sometimes they have internet specials). You can get 2 or 3 rooms for a few days, enjoy the pools, go to the malls and movie theatres and restuarants.
Another option would be to rent a cabin near any body of water in driving distance. You can stay at a hotel near the Turning Stone Casino.
Have you thought about Virginia Beach?
Below is a link to help coordinating family vacations on the cheap. Best of luck and I hope, no metter were you end up, that you have a great time.
Asheville is the hub of the mountain and can be cheap but it really depends on what you want to see (Biltmore House), where you want to stay (Grove Park Inn), and what you want to eat.
There are tons of websites with information on the North Carolina Mountains.
Once you decide what you want to do, then call the hotels/motels and ask for a deal.
Let me know if you have other NC questions.
Mike Honeycutt
honeycutt@unca.edu
It depends upon what you want to do and what you would consider cheap.
I love Washington, DC personally and you can often get priceline.com for a decent price (I usually get $50/$75 per night when I go). For a 10-year old boy there is the museum of Natural History and Air & Space which would be really neat. US Mint. And there are tons of other things to do that you could easily fill up a week. If you like the DC idea, stay in Arlington or Alexandria and use the Metro to get into DC itself. Most hotels are close enough to a station to walk or offer a shuttle.
Philadelphia is another options.
The Poconos do not offer much in the winter and there hasn't been that much snow so I do not know the condition of the skiing areas (or if you & your family like that). Also, with the casinos coming in, the Poconos are gaining alot of attention.
Your 10 year-old may not enjoy it, but February is a lovely time to go to Cape May, NJ. And winter is the most affordable time to stay there (but not exactly cheap).