January 19, 2018.  Today marks 5 years since My Cruising Family’s first family cruise. 

Sidebar… It’s funny because my first cruise – not a family cruise – was in 2005, prior to becoming a mother and prior to meeting my husband, yet it was on Disney Cruise Line, which is probably the first cruise line that comes to mind when you hear the words “family cruise.”  I’ve got to let you know that Disney is loads of fun for adults without children, as I experienced it first-hand in 2005.  Nevertheless, I now say that that Disney Magic cruise, being my first cruise, was a sign that I’d be loving family cruising years later, and that I’d be a resource for all things related to family cruising. 

So, back to January 19, 2013.  My husband, our then 2-year-old son, and I sailed on the Carnival Dream’s 7-day Western Caribbean itinerary.  Little did we know then what we know now, and what we put into practice as we now usually sail as a family of four or five. 

So today, I’ve reflected on that very first family cruise where, despite each of us being ill for a moment, we also experienced amazing ports of call (Belize, Honduras, and Costa Maya), and had a fabulous time onboard the ship as wedding guests sailing with a wedding group.  Yes, two of our friends tied the knot onboard the ship.  Pretty special, right!  Happy Anniversary Chris and Amiris! 

What I truly treasure about that first family cruise experience, along with witnessing our friends’ vows, is the genuine love for cruising that our family has developed… mainly, my husband and our then 2-year-old son, because I had already fallen in love with cruising thanks to Disney in 2005, but in preparing to graduate from law school and in starting my career, cruising took a back seat for a while. 

So, with that said, some of the lessons from our first family cruise are as follows:

1)     Although no one plans to get sick on a cruise, it is possible to still have an AWESOME cruise even if you get sick on the ship. 

2)     Getting married, celebrating an anniversary, birthday, or other special event is not an impediment to booking a cruise, but it’s actually a GREAT reason to book a cruise because cruise lines manage special celebrations very well. 

3)     Always consider a balcony stateroom (although that doesn’t mean that you always need to book a balcony… but do consider one) 

4)     If cruising as a family with babies, toddlers, or other young children, and if a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other responsible adult is available, consider booking the cruise with them, so that the adults can take turns supervising the children. 

5)     Purchase trip protection/cruise protection/travel insurance… whatever you want to call it… get it because the peace of mind it provides is priceless. 

6)     Disney is NOT the only family-friendly cruise line.  In fact, there are a number of other EXCELLENT children’s programs at sea. 

7)     Cruising as a family is FUN! 

There’s lots more I can say here because we have learned more and more on each cruise, and we are presently planning our 6th family cruise.  However, I look forward to future blog entries, your comments, questions, our conversations, and more so that we can have a great interactive experience on the My Cruising Family blog.  It is my hope that, through our interactions on this blog and social media, you will feel like a part of My Cruising Family.  

Maybe you’re thinking of cruising, but you are afraid to do so with your children or at all… or you are afraid to be sick at sea… or you are afraid to cruise with a particular cruise line… or you are in the midst of planning a huge life event and think you cannot afford a cruise as well… or maybe, it’s something else.  I write this to encourage you by letting you know that I have been there, done that, seen it, love it, highly recommend it!  I would love to talk with you to hear your questions, your concerns, and your desires in order to provide you with legitimate answers, clarity, and to put you at ease about cruising, particularly, with your family. 

With the goal of being a go-to resource for you, thus far for 2018, I have been doing something cruise-related every day, including planning and booking excursions for My Cruising Family’s upcoming 14-day cruise, researching cruise options for others, booking cruises for others, and constantly learning more from the cruise lines themselves and other industry leaders.  Additionally, My Cruising Family has reserved space for a group cruise in March 2019!  In true “family cruise” style, reserving the March 2019 group space allows members of the group enough time to plan and budget accordingly.  Comment below, or contact us at mycruisingfamily@gmail.com if you are interested in sailing with us in March 2019! 

So, whether you are interested in cruising as a family, nervous about cruising as a family, excited about cruising as a family, or quite frankly – keeping it all the way real – ready to cruise away from your family for a bit – you’re in the right place.  I love talking about family cruises, mommy escapes, and couple’s getaways!  So, please please please share your questions, comments, and concerns here or on our social media pages.  My Cruising Family has tips, tricks, deals, and more to share with you… and we would love to hear some of your tips and tricks as well. 

We hope and pray that 2018 is a blessing to you and your family.  If cruising as a family is one of your goals for this year and beyond, we hope to inspire and help you to achieve that goal.  Be blessed! 

So, what sort of information will be most useful to you at this point?  For you, which is it?  Interested?  Nervous?  Excited?  Ready to Cruise Away?  Tell us below, or via email at mycruisingfamily@gmail.com