Advice on Mediterranean w/young kids-NCL Epic

Hi all,

We are a family of four, seasoned cruisers but this will be our first with NCL. My husband and I have done the Mediterranean before and toured extensively but this time we will have our two young children with us (5 and 7).

Has anyone done this itinerary with younger kids before? Any pointers on what type of tours/excursions worked best? We are thinking about limiting each port day with a shorter tour/single stop (to maybe places my husband and I missed on previous trips). Thus, giving us time to not be so rushed and enjoy the sites but with time to get back on the ship and swim in the uncrowded pools! That said, if anyone has done it and could recommend tips or suggestions, we'd appreciate it. Starting to plan our 2018 summer vacation. 😎

Thanks

We did that route on the Gem in 2008 as a large family group. Our DS was 5 at the time. We pretty much did the normal excursions to Pompeii and Pisa.

Thanks!

There were a couple of younger children on the Rome Highlights tour I did and they really struggled to keep up, so I'd avoid that one. In fact, if you've been to Rome before, I would probably avoid Rome with young kids as it's a very long day.

If you've never been to Cannes before, I'd suggest not bothering with a tour that takes you elsewhere, and just getting off the ship and go for a wander at your leisure... or even take the kids onto the beach there.

Naples - you can get off and turn left round the headland to the promenade, ride the hoho or even grab the ferry across to sorrento or just wander into Naples and get pizza.

Cannes, grab the tender and just go for a walk or head to one of the many beaches

If you've got Palma, town is a bus ride away from the stop right outside the ship, lovely area near the cathedral with a small park, swings etc

Florence and Rome are a long ride but taking the kids to Pisa so they can photo holding up the tower maybe fun for them

Civittavechia itself is a nice little place to walk round but over an hour each way to Rome and it's hard going once there.

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My kids were 12 and 7 when we took our Med cruise - we tried to chose tours that looked kid friendly or did some ports ourselves going to aquariums, zoos, hands-on science museums, etc. For tours, we kept it, as you stated "light" (they really hated the tours with long bus rides).

We stayed in Rome pre-cruise and explored the town ourselves - both of my daughters enjoyed it. However, I was the "tour guide" and was able to explain the statues, monuments, etc. on a level that they both understood (and also made it interesting for them with little stories and other gimmicks to make it a more fun experience [i still did this a few weeks ago in the Baltics, and they are now 12 and 17]).

These are all great suggestions. Thank you!

I'm going to buy some kid friendly books that take place in some of these towns so we can learn all about our excursions before we get there. Hoping that will keep their attention span just a tad longer!

I travel extensively with my kids, five year old twins. My experience has been to do it myself as long tours of even small group trips can end in tantrums and stress for even the most well behaved kids. (time change, tired and hungry are hard for adults on vacation multiple that by ten to see what it does to your kids.)

We take public transit or rent a car so when anyone is hungry or tired we can make that happen quickly. If you select my username you can see my previous trip reports which include my europe cruises to see specifics.

I travel extensively with my kids, five year old twins. My experience has been to do it myself as long tours of even small group trips can end in tantrums and stress for even the most well behaved kids. (time change, tired and hungry are hard for adults on vacation multiple that by ten to see what it does to your kids.)

 

We take public transit or rent a car so when anyone is hungry or tired we can make that happen quickly. If you select my username you can see my previous trip reports which include my europe cruises to see specifics.

Will do! Thanks for the tips!