All mass market cruise lines have been forced to make changes to remain competitive during these past years of ship building boom and discount cruise pricing. That factor, too, has nothing to do with kids.

Now, it is true that changes have been made and will continue to be made in recognition of the fact that an ever-increasing percentage of travel dollars is directly attributable to family travelers.

Disney and Big Red Boats are designed for families. Carnival, Royal Carribean, Celebrity, Princess and Holland America have received positive comments for their children's programs. Some of the things you may want to consider is where and when you go if you are interested in having your children meet other children around their ages. The next is the facilities on the ships, some of the newer ships have more facilities. To my way of thinking this does not always translate into something better for children, sometimes having few facilities stimulates children to be more creative and bond better rather than have to wait to use this popular thing or that, however, the programs are designed to have children work together.

You may also want to consider what you want for yourself, what you want to do at ports and what you may want to do as a family at ports. Lines have become more family focused so that there are many options available. Best thing to do, IMO, is tailor the line/ship/itinerary/scheduled date to what sounds like the best compromise of your desires and works into your budget. Perhaps jotting down what you are looking for and then having a good travel agent go through your list will be helpful. Also, try a few travel agents and then see which suggestions makes most sense to you.

Good luck and welcome to cruising.