Cruise expert Linda Coffman, of www.cruisediva.com, advises that you look closely at teen facilities when choosing a ship -- the better they are, the more likely other teens will be aboard.

''Be aware of your teen's feeling about a family vacation (parents are not cool), and pick a ship that has facilities tailored for their interests, like gaming, surfing, basketball or other sports, and a teen center,'' Coffman says.

Aboard the Crown Princess, the organized activities for teens really got rolling at 9 p.m. or so, with many of these designed to break the ice, like karaoke, talent shows and a goofy take on the Dating Game. Makeovers, sports tourneys, and a bank of video games quickly attracted hordes of kids.

Our boys loved it -- too well, we discovered by the end of Day Two, when we realized we'd barely seen them. That's when we decided to . . .

• Schedule face-time with the kids. On days at sea, you won't see them much. Your teens will likely choose to sleep in, roll out of bed for a late (huge) lunch at the buffet, and head to the teen center or the pool.

How to get some face-time with them? Plan a time to touch base each day and make them stick to it. We had dinner every night with Connor and Jarrett, always at the same time, so they couldn't ditch us and claim ignorance.

Surprisingly, the boys were happy to accompany us to the ship's entertainment venues, so we saw plenty of comedians (with PG-13-rated material), a mentalist who could mind-read people's cell phone numbers (Connor thought this was a handy skill), and some cheesy-but-energetic stage shows.

Most nights, the boys headed to the teen center after we caught an early show en famille. That was fine with Paul and me. We boogied our way through the ship's various nightclubs. Badly.

• Schedule kissy-face time with each other. We happily club-hopped until the wee (for us) hour of 11 p.m. We also discovered a way to ditch our own teens -- and everyone else's: the adults-only pool area. Ahhh! We grew to love that peaceful spot.

After the first day or so at sea, we got into the rhythm of shipboard life and, wonder of wonders, quit worrying about the kids. We even had some, ahem, romantic moments, and enjoyed other grown-up pleasures, like relaxing in the hot tub and winning a little cash in the casino.

That's when we realized what we like best about cruising -- the happy balance of couple time and family time.

• Let them pick the shore excursions. Did you come all this way to hear your teens moan about going on ''another stupid hike?'' You did not.

Give them the list of shore excursions, clarify your budget, and let 'em have at it. Yes, this means you will be riding dune buggies and banana boats instead of visiting forts, charming villages and duty-free shops, but so be it. You will do things you never thought you'd do, like ultimate power snorkeling, helmet diving and zip-lining through a rain forest.

You will have a fabulous time. So will your kids. And you'll earn loads of street cred simply for agreeing to all this.

Visit your cruise line's website where you can preview shore excursions and pre-book your favorites. We didn't do that, alas, and some activities that sounded great to us were filled by the time we boarded the ship.

• Set the ground rules early. Deal with expenses right away. If your kids are soda drinkers, many ships offer unlimited drink cards you can buy. You can opt not to give them bill-signing power with their cruise cards. Agree beforehand on cell phone use so they don't run up huge roaming charges for calls and text messages.

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