Cruising is a great way to travel with your family. It keeps everyone together while providing a variety of activities to keep everyone happy. Your kids will find lots to keep them occupied while you relax reading by the pool or in the spa. And with hungry kids along, having all meals and entertainment included is a definite plus. But what many people like most about a cruise is that they only have to pack and unpack once — it's like staying in the same resort for your entire vacation. And one of the greatest advantages to cruising is that you can go swimming, play games, hit golf balls, and climb walls, all while you're traveling to your destination.

But if you've never taken a cruise, there are a few things you should know. While your cruise price includes accommodations, meals, and entertainment, it doesn't include port charges, ports-of-call tours, photographs taken by the ship's photographer, drinks (including alcoholic beverages, sodas, and specialty coffees), spa treatments, exercise classes, medical services, and gratuities. While you'll be able to use your credit cards for shipboard purchases, it's a good idea to bring along some cash to use when exploring your ports of call. And today's ships all have ATMs onboard.

Tipping on your cruise can become an expensive affair for your family if you follow most cruise lines's guidelines. Most suggest you leave a total tip of $10 per person per day. For a seven-day cruise for a family of four, that would add up to $280. Many lines provide envelopes addressed to various types of personnel into which you can deposit your tip. It's usual to tip your cabin steward the most since he or she does the most for you. Next comes your waiter. Since your waiter will be serving you only at dinner, tip accordingly. Other than that, you should tip anyone who provides you with exceptional service after they perform the service — baby-sitters, salon staff, tour guides, and so on. Some lines insist you tip the maitre'd in the dining room. If that person goes out of their way to seat you at a special table or provides some other service, then by all means leave a tip.

Cruising today is an informal affair for the most part, so you won't have to bring along formal clothes, especially on the family-friendly ships. For dress-up nights, men should bring along a coat and tie and women a dress. Children should look dressed up, too. If you're not into dressing up for dinner, many ships have casual dining areas where you can have a more relaxed meal.

Today's cruise ships have three types of accommodations — inside cabins with no windows, outside cabins with windows, and suites. Most regular cabins are the same size on the newer ships, though inside cabins may be smaller. While most cabins will accommodate four people, you'll find them a bit cramped. Cabins usually come with twin, double, or queen-sized beds, a fold-out sleeper sofa, and another single bed that folds out of the wall or ceiling. Family-friendly ships, like those of the Disney Cruise Line, offer family cabins that sleep six but would be comfortable for four (two adults and two small children). Children must be at least six months old to sail.

Before, dining on a cruise ship meant eating with the same people at your table for all three meals every day. Today, while you'll usually have an assigned table for dinner, you can eat at other venues onboard, including twenty-four-hour room service, for other meals. Some ships allow their adult passengers the option of eating at a more upscale restaurant for an additional fee of $10 or $20.

All modern cruise ships feature some sort of theater for showing movies and putting on Broadway-style shows, several pools, a variety of restaurants, including casual eateries serving pizza and burgers, elegant spas, Internet cafés, libraries, coffee bars, cocktail lounges, shopping promenades, and sports facilities like rock-climbing walls, driving ranges, and exercise rooms.

On the day your ship sails, you'll want to board the ship at least three hours before departure so that you have time to get comfortable, make dining or spa reservations, and set up your onboard account using a credit card. Snacks are usually available.