I've been happy buying cruises from www.vacationstogo.com. In fact, the specific agent is Katrina Long ([email protected]). She seems to have a knack for finding the better deals.

You might find three rooms with a couple of them inside (or oceanview) and one balcony (or suite) to be roughly the same cost as two suites. And there would be three bathrooms.

Some of the shore activities are wonderful for kids. My granddaughter loved a zip line and snorkeling.

I'm big on "toe-in-the-water" too. My first cruise was 3 nights Seattle to Vancouver. It worked, and I've been back for 7 or 8 more, including a transatlantic.