A great way to see Europe is taking a cruise that is paid in U.S. Dollars and your shore excursions are also pre-paid in U.S. Dollars.  There are many numerous departure ports in Europe depending on what you want to see, so don't let the Euro hold you back from the experience of Europe.

 

A Venice departure takes in Croatia, Greece and sometimes Turkey, while a Rome departure ports can include Florence, the French and Italian Rivieras and Spain.

 

The Baltic cruises sail out of Copenhagen and you have the chance to visit St. Petersburg, Russia.

 

The ports of call vary as much as the cruise lines themselves and the size of the cabins and service on board can make the difference between a great cruise and a not so great cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Line: Disney Cruise Line

Passengers: 2,600

Itineraries: Bahamas

Smart parents base their choice of ship on their children's ages, and Disney excels with infants and toddlers. On most ships your child must be three and potty-trained to be left in the child-care facility—diapers and pull-ups are forbidden—but Disney cares for kids starting at three months, and its counselors are licensed to change diapers (which means parents aren't forced to return to the kiddie club every time their child needs changing). While most ships don't allow swim diapers in any pools, the Wonder's wading pool is an exception, and there's a splash zone with interactive fountains, so even if your toddler can't swim he can still burn off a whole lot of energy. The Wonder's staterooms make life easier for families too: With one and a half bathrooms, neither tots nor parents ever have to wait for a toilet. Other shipboard features include a waterslide that leads into a pool shaped like Mickey's head, illuminated walls that change color in the Animator's Palette restaurant, live musicals based on cartoons, and a pirate party (note: BYO costumes) complete with fireworks display. Parents will appreciate the adults-only pool, hot tub, spa, fitness center, and restaurant, as well as the kid-free beach on Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, one of the Wonder's stops. The nightly shows typically skew their earlier performance to a family crowd, the later one to adults. Sister ship Disney Magic is also child-friendly, but the Wonder offers shorter sailings—only three or four nights long—allowing first-time cruising families to get their toes wet before committing to a week at sea.

 

Line: Royal Caribbean

Passengers: 3,634

Itineraries: Caribbean

There's no doubt that Royal Caribbean is a great cruise line for kids of all ages from three up, but where this ship really stands out from the competition is in its activities for teens. Royal Caribbean was the first cruise line to install an onboard climbing wall, a FlowRider surf park, and an ice rink, and teens have been fascinated ever since. More than the hardware, though, the ship has carefully engineered its program so that it appears unstructured enough to appeal to most kids between the ages of 13 and 17. Boring, out-of-touch adults—a.k.a. parents—are banned from the section of the ship dedicated to the teen facilities, where the kids can come and go throughout the day on their own schedule rather than be corralled into preprogrammed activities. "The children were always gone; it was wonderful, and I didn't worry," says Vickie Wagers, a former marketing executive from Portland, Oregon, who took her 13- and 17-year-old sons on a Caribbean sailing. "The staff treat children with respect, yet keep them under control." To appeal to a fuller spectrum of finely nuanced and nigh indefinable tastes, the ship divides teens into two age-groups: 12 through 14, and 15 through 17. Both have access to video games and musical instruments (for jam sessions), but other components are separated. The younger group can try out some acting at Adventure Theater, make buddies at the Teen BBQ, and take part in a snowball fight. Older teens can try their hand at scratch deejaying, learn card games at the Teen Casino, or frequent their own nightclubs—Living Room and Fuel—until the wee hours.

 

Line: Princess Cruises

Passengers: 3,070 passengers

Itineraries: Caribbean, Mediterranean, Transatlantic

This latest addition to Princess's fleet debuts in November 2008. While the Ruby's kids' program mirrors those of the Crown Princess and the Emerald Princess and its facilities are generally similar, there is nothing like the thrill of setting sail on a spanking new ship. Onboard, the children's programs are split among three age-groups: scavenger hunts and ice-cream parties for the Princess Pelicans (ages 3 through 7); pajama parties, kids-only dinners, and Nintendo Wii video games for the Shockwaves (8 through 12); and hip-hop dance lessons and air hockey shows for the Remix crowd (13 through 17). On certain nights, the 8-through-12 group is invited to bring along their parents as they take over the ship's working galley kitchen, donning toques and aprons to create pizzas, roll sushi, and decorate cakes. Should the parents crave independence and yet not want to venture too far from their progeny, they can escape to the Sanctuary, an adults-only area with plush deck loungers, situated on the same level as the kids' center. Families reunite in the evening to munch popcorn and watch a movie on the 300-square-foot LED screen by the pool.

 

 

Top of the line is Crystal Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, the Yachts of Seabourn and Silversea, Cunard.   Holland America, Princess Cruise Lines, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity follow and so on.