I read most of the posts to you. While very different, you are getting all sorts of good advice. My tidbits:

If one owns at least 100 shares of stock in CCL or RCL, one can get a $100 discount on one's cabin for each cruise booked within that particular company's lines. This might apply to your in-laws?

I like vacationstogo.com for the easy of using their web site. It is the most powerful I know of the cruise sites. Particularly the Custom Search where I can select areas and date ranges and all sorts of other things. Then changing to Price Per Night and sorting on that. The better bargains bubble right to the top.

I've booked with VTG a number of times. When I encountered some minor issues, they immediately helped me. I admit I'm very much of a DYIer though, and really don't want any hand-holding. Your situation is a whole lot more complex.

Some people on board like walkie-talkies for keeping track of kids. I'm usually traveling by myself, so can't really address that, but thought I'd mention that you do want to have something worked out ahead of time. There seem to be pretty good kid programs, but it may vary by ship?

I know some larger family groups agree that they will only all join together once a day at the dinner table. Otherwise the sub-families and individuals are free to do as they please. A good solution to too much togetherness and organizational problems I think.

Those automatic tips can be adjusted by just talking to the front desk.

I really thought cruises were for silly older very social rich people. I've found I can genuinely enjoy a fairly quiet time on one - library, reading, going to selected programs that make or build or educate, just watching the water and landscapes. And get to all sorts of interesting places. There is so much going on on the larger ships that one can pick and choose just what works for them. You may end up deciding you like cruises.

Not getting off the ship when in a particular port, staying on board to just enjoy the ship is sometimes referred to as "steel beaching".

I've had inner cabins, windows and balconies. The window made a huge difference, as the room felt not so confining. The balcony not so much, as it seemed always on the wrong side of the ship. Rather than sit out on the balcony, I usually ended up going higher in the ship to open areas where I could see in more directions and further. But I'm OK with the inner cabins. Quiet, snug, and I can leave them whenever I want more space/light/air.

One trip I had a bathtub in addition to the shower. If you've any bathtub people in your group, that might be a consideration.

Romelle