Our family was in desperate need of a vacation. With a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old, we have to consider our options carefully so that we all can be happy. A cruise is the perfect solution to get family time AND adults/kids get a break too.

We booked our cruise 40 days out -- relatively short notice (as cruises go). We priced everything out and used CruiseCompete.com to get the best deal. Being from Florida, we have a lot of port options, but due to our short notice and it being during a holiday, our options were a little limited. So, we decided to go where we've never been -- Puerto Rico -- and take a cruise from there. We booked our flights ourselves and hotel room as well the night before the cruise using points from hubby's travels.

We arrived at San Juan. You stand in one line to drop off bags (make sure you have luggage tags if you can!). Then you stand in another line to have them check IDs and such. Check-in was quick and easy. We were on the ship in like 20 minutes. But make sure you keep out your passport and Sail Pass cause they check it another 10 times before boarding. As soon as you get on the ship, the kids must get their wrist bands identifying their muster station. They have to wear them all week. This is a coast guard rule -- we encountered the same on another cruise we did a couple years ago. We got there around lunch time so we ate and explored the ship while we waited for our room to be ready. Read more