First time cruise for family of 3

[nevercruisedB4]

My husband and I, and our 4 year old son are planning a cruise in April. We are thinking of a Western Carribean cruise. Have any of you been on the Norwegian Sun? I've been reading some reviews and now I'm a little worried. It seems affordable, but I don't want to feel like we are eating from a high school cafeteria. Do any of you seasoned cruisers have any suggestions as to what cruise line we should use? Any tips or advice about cruise lines/cruising in general would be greatly appreciated since we've never been on a cruise before.

[Born2Cruise]

I would look into royal caribbean. They seem to have a great kids program and are relatively inexpensive. The more flexible with dates you are, the better deals you can get. Hope you have a great time where ever and whenever you go!

B2C

[PEB]

Carnival and Royal Caribbean are very good for families. Carnival can have a little more party crowd during college school breaks. As far as NCL goes it is freestyle cruising. You say you have not cruised before so you do not have to worry about service comparing to other lines. I think this is where some complaints come if you are use to traditional cruising. As far as the food goes do not necessarily go by reviews written by people you do not know. Everyone has their own preference in taste. I know people that have cruised NCL and they said the food was fine it was the fact they were used to traditional dining so the service seemed slower.

I think if you go on any cruise line and just look for the things onboard that you will enjoy instead of looking for what may be wrong or what someone you do not know interpreted as wrong you will have a great time. It may not turn out to be your favorite cruise line once you try others but you will still have a great time.