We wanted to celebrate my wife's birthday with our friends and their families, but I didn't want to end up overwhelmed with too much togetherness. That's why we opted for a cruise instead of a land vacation somewhere.
We would be traveling with an empty nest family, family with kids older than ours, and even one of our friends brought their senior citizen parents. It was a wide range of ages, each with their own food and activity preferences.
I knew we needed something with plenty of dining, activities, and entertainment options. An Alaska cruise was the obvious choice.
We worked with the same travel agent to get us booked on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas.
To our delight, the trip was so much fun because we got to vacation together without overdoing how much time we spent together.
We shared what we were doing in a group chat without expectations
We started a group chat as a way to plan our cruise, but once onboard, it became our "hey, this is what I'm up to if anyone wants to join" messaging center.
There's always a few things going on at any given time while on a Royal Caribbean ship. Trivia, entertainers performing, pools, and the casino are just a few examples.
If one of us was headed to do something, we'd post where we were headed. I never expected anyone to join, but sometimes I'd get a person or two. And sometimes the entire group would show up.
We met up each evening for dinner, then, depending on the entertainment, either stayed together or went in different directions.
Leveraging a group chat was an easy way to always stay in contact. But a mutual understanding of family time versus group time was also important.
The teens made friends, but we enforced family time
Each family we were traveling with had kids of various ages, but they all were tweens and teens. As such, they expect a fair amount of independence.
I've cruised long enough to know it's important to give your teens roaming privileges, but also made sure they were back with us for certain activities or meals.
At the very least, dinner every night is a must-do for all of us together. They're expected to not only dine with us, but be dressed and on time for it.
Certainly we did all of our shore excursions together, but we also picked a few activities during our cruise that we wanted everyone present. Any good parent can also wield guilt to compel their kids to join in an "optional" trivia or other event.
All of things included on a cruise made it so much easier
Whenever we take land vacations, it seems my wallet is constantly open. From paying for meals and snacks to coughing up credit cards for activities, family fun comes at a steep cost.
On a cruise, much of the food and beverages are included. This includes pools, activities, entertainment, ice cream, pizza, and more. It means my kids can indulge without it hurting my bottom line.
The fact my kids have their Diamond drink vouchers is a huge value because they can enjoy mocktails and Frappuccinos without it costing me anything.
We planned some excursions together, but met up in port
The focus of an Alaska cruise is what we do on land, so excursions were very important.
Prior to the cruise, we booked tours and shared our plans. In Ketchikan, we all booked the same wildlife and waterfall tour. It worked out really well because they put our group in one van, so it felt like a private tour.
In Sitka, part of our group went out on a small marine wildlife tour. I tried to invite more of the group, but the boat was limited in capacity.
We all met up after our tours concluded in Juneau before heading back to the ship.
Just like the ship, we kept things open but without expectations.
We could find places to spread out if we wanted alone time
Even if a trip with friends goes exceedingly well, you're going to want alone time at some point.
Aside from our balcony room, a cruise ship offers lounges, open decks, restaurants, and seating just about everywhere that we could find a place to getaway.
I spent my mornings working at the internet cafe on deck 7 because it allowed me to work and take calls without disturbing my wife in the room. Moreover, there are comfortable office chairs that were far better than any lounge chair.
Anyone that wanted to find space could find it, which wouldn't be the case if we all rented an Airbnb.
Avoiding feeling "attached at the hip" made this trip a success
During our weeklong adventure, there was enough to keep us all entertained without the issue of feeling like were on top of each other.
There's a fine line between together time and "I need a break", and a cruise works very well to balance this.
We enjoyed our time at sea so much, we're doing it again for New Years Eve with the same families. I think it will be an even better experience considering we nailed the winning vacation formula to cruise with friends and family.
