We are big travelers in my family. We love nothing more than to gas up the van and take off for 8 weeks at a time. So, for our first cruise, we tried looking for something for everyone: It had to be long enough, it had to be full of things we'd never seen or done before, and - for me - this had to be super relaxing and no stress for Mom! The more sea days the better!

I would definitely say this cruise on the Miracle met all of our hopes and then some. When you can look around at your family every night and every single one of them has a big grin on their face, you know it was a success!

We live in Chicago and booked this cruise partially because it left out of New York. It would be the first visit there for my 17-year-old son (who was celebrating his high school graduation), and my 7-year-old daughter. Our 15-year-old daughter was thrilled to be leaving from there since NYC is her favorite place in the world! We flew in on our own two days before our cruise and stayed at the Embassy Suites in Battery Park. It was an excellent choice for our family. We were all extremely comfortable in one room and, though it was a bit far from the hustle and bustle of Times Square, we were actually happy to come back to a large room that was quiet and relaxing. The excellent (included) breakfast each morning was the best buffet we've ever had in an hotel. The subway wasn't far and even taking a cab to Times Square wasn't very pricey. Read more