First Time Cruise - Mediterranean?

[Blue Aspect]

We are thinking of undertaking our first cruise next year (after years of debating it!), and are looking at a Mediterranean one. Live in the UK with a 7yr old and 14yr old. We are starting to look through endless brochures and websites, but any suggestions on where / who with / what to do would be greatly appreciated :)

[SelectSys]

If you are looking at summer, I would suggest the Independence of the Seas Mediterranian Treasures cruise for 14 nights out of Southampton. Depending on where you live, being able to drive to the port is a big plus.

 

We did the trip when Navigator was the ship on this route and had a great time with kids aged 14 and 12. On our trip their must have been at least 1000 kids on board. Both my kids had a great time with all the activities on board.

 

The only downside on our trip was that the first two days going down to Gibraltar was pretty gloomy. The weather then stayed nice for the rest of the trip with the exception of the last sea day back to Southampton.

 

Another thing that I liked about this trip as a family cruise is that we found great kid-friendly activities in most of the ports including river rafting in Vigo and mountain biking outside Malaga. It is also easy to sprinkle in beach days at several of the ports like Cannes, Ibiza or Corsica. My kids liked Barcelona for the Gaudi architecture especially Parc Guell. They also have a "theme park" in Barcelona for younger kids.

[chipmaster]

We are thinking of undertaking our first cruise next year (after years of debating it!), and are looking at a Mediterranean one. Live in the UK with a 7yr old and 14yr old. We are starting to look through endless brochures and websites, but any suggestions on where / who with / what to do would be greatly appreciated :)

 

Welcome to CC,

 

There are many options. Its great you are on the other side of the Ocean that air fare isn't a big an expense as it is from the US.

 

I would say it all depends on what you hope to get out of it. You can save air fare by taking a sailing from UK but waste so much time at sea. Unless you are looking at the at sea and boat experience I think the Med is all about the convenience of waking up every day in a different port and never unpacking or worrying about travel. It does make for an exhausting port experience almost every day, but we never saw so much so efficiently in one go.

 

I would suggest decide what are the ports you like to see most, make that list from 1 to #. THen find the ships that hit the most port in the med. All major lines offer similar themed cruises, but surprising between schedule and ports you will find that you'll find no two exactly the same.

 

We personally liked the Princess Grand Med. Had a great lineup of all the big ports with price and schedule that was perfect.

 

Happy planning

[SelectSys]

...

I would say it all depends on what you hope to get out of it...

 

That is a really question, what is the focus of your trip? Are you taking the cruise to relax and have fun with the kids or are you trying to hit up as many monuments and museums as you can? Some combination of the two? If you answer Chipmaster's question you are well on the way towards picking a cruise itinerary and maybe a line as well.

 

Good luck!

[jfhandel]

You’ve plenty of choice. Most cruise lines cater very well for children, so to be fair you’ll be unlikely to go too far wrong, however there are some cruise lines that really are not aimed at families – although from the UK I can only think of Fred Olsen that fall into this category (and even they have some kids stuff in the school hols).

There is nothing quite like a no-fly cruise – we’ve cruised exclusively from the UK and we love avoiding the hassle of flying, particularly the luggage problem. However, unless you want to take a particularly long cruise, you will necessarily be restricted to the W.Med. Plus there is the “transit” to and from sunny climes; I don’t mind this so much as you shouldn’t forget that the ship itself is a destination, given that the cruise will most likely be port intensive it’s a good opportunity to take in the huge number of activities on board. Note that most W.Med itineraries are similar, with 6-8 stops from the following: Vigo, Lisbon, Gib, Malaga, Barcelona, Palma, Ibiza, Cannes, Nice/Monaco, Rome, Ajaccio.

Fly cruises obviously get you to the sun much more quickly – but then, you might have to give up a day or two on board to do this.

The more family oriented cruise lines P&O, RCI, Carnival and NCL (probably in order of poshness as well). Cunard are actually a very kiddy-friendly line, its just that they are not marketed as such. Costa and MSC also have kids activities, however they are much more oriented towards their home market of Italy, and reports from Brits are quite mixed.

[sbhdmh]

We just got back from MSC in the Baltics. Their kids sail free offer can be a good money saver. Just be aware that the port times are VERY short with them. We sailed out of Dover and at least half the ship was English speaking. This is apparently not the case on their other sailings, though. I enjoyed the European atmosphere but it was different from HAL, NCL, Celebrity, etc that I have sailed before. I met Brits on board who had a great time and others who were miserable. As jfhandel said, reports are mixed...

[boulders]

My children are similar ages to yours and we are planning to sail the Med next year. I've currently got 2 cruises on deposit - both for different reasons. The Celebrity cruise is to actually visit the ports. Equinox is a new ship, Celebrity is supposed to be a little more sophisticated than Royal Caribbean. We're also booked on the Independence of the Seas. This cruise is more for the on-ship experience. There should be lots of things for the kids to do and we're looking forward to an 18!!!! night cruise.

 

Another cruiseline that you should definitely look into is Disney! DCL will be in the Med and the Baltic next year. I haven't sailed on Disney, but have taken trips with their land-based Adventures by Disney. They do a fabulous job. DCL has a wonderful reputation. They were pricier than Celebrity and didn't go to the ports that I wanted. Definitely worth investigating though.

[Blue Aspect]

FYI - We finally went for P&O Ventura sailing from Southampton in August. Loads of threads to read now regarding everything else :)

[SelectSys]

FYI - We finally went for P&O Ventura sailing from Southampton in August. Loads of threads to read now regarding everything else :)

 

Looks like a very good family ship with lots of activities. I am sure you'll have a good time. The only downside leaving from Southampton is that the weather can be poor going to and from the med although for a UK traveler it is a very convenient port of departure.