Mediterranean or Baltic with kids?

[caribgirl40]

We'd love to introduce our 10 and 12 year old boys to a bit of Europe next summer. The Med and Northern European cruises both sound appealing, but I am wondering if anyone has opinions or insights into which might be more interesting or fun given the ages of our guys? We've sailed Celebrity to Alaska a couple of times and have had a great experience, but we are open to any suggestions. We'd be interested in knowing which ports your family enjoyed, if the summer weather and crowds detracted from your trip, and would you do anything the same/different? Thanks so much for any help!!!

[Essiesmom]

Northern Europe for sure. Kids will get very tired of old churches and ruins in the Med., and it will be hot there! If you can swing one to Olso for the Viking Ship museum and others in the area, and Stockholm for the Vasa Museum, they will be perfect for boys that age. Copenhagen would be good, and nothing compares to St. Petersburg. It can be warm in the Baltic, but nothing like the heat in the Med. in July and August! EM

[junglejane]

If you are looking at Northern Europe, consider a British Isles cruise as an alternative to a Baltic cruise. Princess has a great British Isles cruise. The weather is much cooler than the Med, and you see lots of castles. Ports include Guernsey, Cork, Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Inverness, Edinburgh, Le Havre. We also did a great pre-cruise visit to London.

 

We're headed back to the Med for the second time with our family this summer. We loved Venice. Dubrovnik was an unexpected delight. This time we decided we need to spend more time in Rome, so we picked a cruise that embarks from Rome (Civitavecchia) and also overnights in Istanbul.

 

A Baltic cruise is on our bucket list. Just haven't gotten to it yet.:)

[lmg1230]

We went on a Baltic cruise with our daughters for summer vacation in 2009. The girls were 12 and 6 at the time. We had a great time spending a few days in Copenhagen first and then sailing on Emerald Princess. Our ports of call were Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Gdansk, Tallinn, and Oslo. I have written about what we did in each of these ports on my blog at www.gonewiththefamily.*****.com and you are welcome to take a look if you like.

 

This summer we are taking a Celebrity cruise in the Mediterranean. I'm sure that it will be very different but still a lot of fun.

 

Lisa

[brazilgirl]

Both are wonderful options.

 

Here are my reviews for our Med and Baltic Cruises with kids , compare them to get a "feel" and see which one appeals to your family more.

 

Baltic Review:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1029709&highlight=baltic+cruise+review

 

 

Med Review:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=785432&highlight=med+review

 

Would be glad to answer any specific questions about the trips.

 

Kim

[chipmaster]

I will offer the counter point, sure it was hot, but so were the sights :D

 

Athens: Acropolis

Venice: rides on the canals and the cool narrow walkways and etc.

Rome, Pantheon,Colosseum, Forum, Trevi, and boring Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum.

Pisa: Climbing the tower

Naples: Pompeii a story no child has not heard,

Florence: Boring David etc. etc.

Istanbul: Topkapı Palace a world heritage site with stuff I never knew existed. All the islamic heritiage... eye opening

etc. etc. :D

 

I think there is no right answer, every foreign country has treasures. I know I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to expose my children to some of the many things they have read about or will read in their western and ancient history. I'm sure there is equal cool stuff up north and that will be our next European, but for our first can't imagine not making the Med the start, after all that is where Western Civilization started and I'm not even from the west.

 

Northern Europe for sure. Kids will get very tired of old churches and ruins in the Med., and it will be hot there! If you can swing one to Olso for the Viking Ship museum and others in the area, and Stockholm for the Vasa Museum, they will be perfect for boys that age. Copenhagen would be good, and nothing compares to St. Petersburg. It can be warm in the Baltic, but nothing like the heat in the Med. in July and August! EM

[caribgirl40]

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions and info. I think either way, it will be a fantastic trip! I feel so lucky,

[onthelake]

We love both but I must say, for the Baltic cruise, you are often within walking distance of the sites. It makes it so easy to just step off of the ship and go. Somehow, the pace seems more relaxing than the Med where it is easy to feel pressured to try to pack in too much and not enjoy it.

[epixx]

We have sailed both itineraries, the Mediterranean 3 times and the Baltics once, each time in August. Our kids were 11 and 7 for the first Med cruise and 14 and 10 for the Baltic cruise. I don't think you can go wrong either way. The kids loved all the cruises, but our favorite was the Baltics. Have a great trip.

[RoadTripFanatic]

We took DD to the Med a year ago January. She was 9 at the time. She loved it. We had an amazing trip. Her favorite spot was Athens. She loved the ruins. The one thing that really made the trip outstanding was the fact she was reading the Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief series. She knew who all of the Greek gods were! She was telling us about the gods while we were touring Athens and various ports in Greece!

 

We also visited Pisa, Florence and Rome after the cruise. DD had a great time!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

My son had fun on the British Isle cruise, the med cruise and the cruise to greece and turkey. I think it is important to decide which itinerary you want and take the kids with you. Quite frankly kids like the ship and the friends they make more than the ports. I would give a nod to the British Isle cruise because of the time of year and the best excursions were Loch Ness and the Giant's Causeway.

[stormyitaly]

We'd love to introduce our 10 and 12 year old boys to a bit of Europe next summer. The Med and Northern European cruises both sound appealing, but I am wondering if anyone has opinions or insights into which might be more interesting or fun given the ages of our guys? We've sailed Celebrity to Alaska a couple of times and have had a great experience, but we are open to any suggestions. We'd be interested in knowing which ports your family enjoyed, if the summer weather and crowds detracted from your trip, and would you do anything the same/different? Thanks so much for any help!!!

 

 

It really depends on your children. We live in Italy and my kids are crazy about the ruins and churches. My son is 11 and very into Greek Gods etc, so Athens is a hit with him. In Ephesus, the tour guide said we didn't even need her. Many of his friends are into it as well due to the Percy Jones books :)