TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums Afloat icruise.com or other planners

Hi,

1st time post here. We are not a fan of cruises, but here it goes. We are planning a family reunion and decided that a cruise would be a good idea. People will be coming from CA, OK, FL and Paris. We live in FL. I am trying to find a cruise planner that deals with all cruise lines and came across icruise.com. Has anyone used them before?

Does anyone have any suggestions on where we should start. We do have the date in mind of early Dec 2026. We are looking for either a good do it yourself app or website that will let you filter through our depart ports, duration, price, etc.

We are looking for.

- more adult accommodating ships
- leave out of Ft. Laud, Miami or Tampa
- ships with connecting cabins
- 6-8 days
- would like at least one port of call to be where a power wheelchair can get off ship, no tenders (so far I've seen Grand Turk, Cozumel and Nassau)
- cruises that won't nickel and dime you to death, we would want options for drink packages, tip included, not just the basic food, etc.
- smaller ship?

Anyway don't know where to start, any help appreciated, thanks!

We hunt down cruises using vacationstogo.com website. They do most cruise lines and can sort by price/night/person. Sometimes we book through them as they are very good but sometimes take the info they gave and book direct.

Don’t dismiss Port Canaveral. It is not close #2 to Miami in departures and passengers and double Port Everglades.

Having your Klan arrive in Orlando, staying at airport hotel, and making 1 hour transfer to the port may very well be less stressful than Miami.

Meant to type Port Canaveral IS A close #2 behind Miami and double the amount of Port Everglades.

Canaveral is the easiest departure and boarding we have had. Zero chaos.

I would understand picking Tampa as a port because of how close you are. We have found Tampa easy enough and I get my meal at The Colombian.

We try to avoid Miami as we find it most crowded and expensive, and we also are not fans of MIA. Prefer FLL and Orlando as airports. In your case, you may want everyone to check on best airport into which to fly. I am not very familiar with Tampa airport in terms of flight options and prices. Again, I personally try to avoid MIA, if possible.

If I were you, I would want to find a cruise travel agent I liked and seemed knowledgeable. You may be able to use group rates, depending on how many cabins you all need. Anyone in your group have established relationship? If you go with company, still establish relationship with individual relationship if possible. Although companies often have best prices, their agents may not have much personal knowledge.

Good Luck!