11 Day Mediterranean with 5 yr old and 1 yr old-yes we're crazy!

[Nebr.cruiser]

I would not in a thousand years take children this young on a cruise line big-bus excursion. Even much older kids get antsy and bored--in fact, I'm 66 and I can't stand the cruise excursions because you do so much waiting and sitting and getting on and off the bus, not to mention the ubiquitous shopping stops, which won't be much fun with kids.

 

Besides, for six of you, private tours will probably be cheaper, and will certainly be more flexible. You can use these boards to find reputable operators and the ones we have used have been very communicative and helpful about what they can do.

 

For instance, if you know you want a four hour tour rather than an 8 hour tour, you have that option. Your driver, if you tell him your needs, will make stops whenever possible for bathrooms, drinks, snacks, running around in parks, etc. Pick the things that you want to do the most that can still be done with children without too much hassle. Bring travel games or DVD players for long car rides.

 

Ruins, churches, castles, etc., in fact sight-seeing in general, don't mean much to most kids and even much older children will tire of it all pretty quickly. You already know that on this cruise you won't be able to see and do everything that you would if it was just the two of you; many things pretty much will have to revolve around the needs of the children.

 

As to the double stroller, I'd avoid it if at all possible and wouldn't plan anything that was too far/long for the five-year-old to walk. I mean, we walked all over Rome for 9 hours a day, but you don't want to be doing that with the kids anyway. Plan lots of breaks!

 

I'd get a balcony if you can possibly swing it, but the Med can get very expensive because it is port intensive, usually, which costs lots of money.

 

Is it possible the one year old will be eating table food by then? If (with your drs. okay) you start them eating finger food well ahead of time, you may not need the baby food. I know most of our grand children have been off the baby food by one year.

[AgVball]

If you do decide to take your 5 yo into museums, one idea which I have found helpful is to hit up the gift shop first. Buy several postcards of famous pieces throughout the museum. Then go on a scavenger hunt and try to find what is on the cards. Play I Spy. My son (now 6 years old) loves learning the basics (please, thank you, hello, goodbye) in other languages and the locals love to hear a little child trying to speak to them in their own language.

 

Love that - what a great idea for here and abroad!

[GoldenRose]

We took our 5 year old son for a 2 week Spanish Mediterranean cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse last year (also with grandparents), and he absolutely loved the trip. He came back saying, "Europe is WAY better than Disneyworld!" :D

 

We did a lot of long day tours with him, so we did the opposite of what people are suggesting and booked the big group excursions through the cruise line. We knew we'd be out all day, and we didn't want to risk missing the boat with a small child. (If you're on a private excursion that runs late, the ship will not wait for you, but if you're on a ship booked excursion, they will.) We brought his Ipod touch, he could watch movies with his headphones if the bus rides got too long for him.

 

We let him help plan the shore excursions, and he knew in advance what we were going to see every day. We'd looked up a lot of it on the internet in advance, so he was already excited about the trip. His favorite port was Gibraltar, because he loved the caves and the apes.

 

Our ship left from Southhampton, and we added time in England on both ends of the trip. He absolutely adored the London Museum of Natural History, and liked the British Museum pretty well. Other than that, we didn't try to take him into museums on the trip. It was an amazing trip.

[koalagurl]

We are just back from a Med cruise with a 4 and 6 year old (and my 1 and 3 year old nieces.)

 

PRIVATE TOUR = The only way to go!!!

 

We used Rome in Limo, and they were an absolutely fantastic resource for fun facts and finding bathrooms for the kids, LOL!! Rome was a tough day for everyone, but we knew it would be, and without the private tour, I think we would have given up and headed back to the ship by 10am. It was hot and crowded, and RIL was able to help us bypass the lines, see some "off the beaten path" sights, and the Vatican guide whisked us through the museum with some fun facts for the kids (e.g. comparing an Emperors bath tub to a wealthy mans bathtub.)

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Bring a friend to be a baby sitter

[foxesden1]

We did a 14 day TA with our DD - age 5.5 at the time. We had a aft on the LOS and kept the stroller outside. In truth, it was more of a hassle to have the stroller other then the airports.

 

I also did not want to take Miss Em on daily tours (not nice for other pax to have child crying.. :rolleyes: wanting to go pee, etc) so I stuck it out with her, while DH did the tours (I had been to most of the ports). She did do the underwater cave tour, and the final city tour drop off at the airport - :D but my husband carried her around ALOT.

 

T

[stormyitaly]

We just got back from Celebrity Equinox 10 day Eastern Med with 3 boys ages 9, 6 and 10 months. We had a great time, it is definitely doable. I would highly recommend the private tours over the bus tours. We did all private tours except one ship tour and really preferred the private tours with the kids. We did mostly full day tours and the kids did great. They got a bit bored at times, but brought their Nintendos along and that kept them occupied.

 

We had a car seat for the baby, so could nap on the tours. We just had one stroller, so I am not sure about the double. I think it would take up a ton of space in the room though. I would definitely recommend the balcony as well. We had adjoining rooms with my mom and the kids went back and forth.

 

We brought all of our diapers, wipes and baby food. I had read elsewhere on the boards that the service was unpredictable and several people didn't get their items as ordered.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

I totally agree! Private is the way to go. You don't have to worry about bothering others if your child gets fussy, you usually get dropped off closer to the entrance etc.

[queenL]

I took my then 3 yr old daughter on a Mediterranean cruise last year. Even though we were on a 7 day cruise we stayed an additional 5 days pre/post cruise. She loved it too. When we were in Sicily she told me, "that the Gelato in Italy tastes better then the Gelato in Spain." Of course its things like this that makes it worthwhile to bring the little ones. They bring a whole new perspective and it is great to have those memories.

 

We didn't do a single ships tour. I like the freedom and the lower cost of doing it on my own. We chose an OV cabin and I had no regrets. The money we saved covered our excursions.

 

Although I prefer Celebrity to HAL in general. I'd let the better itinerary and newer ship win. Also, I'd heavily consider the port of embarkation as some of the med. ports cost more to fly into then others.

 

I'd take one stroller also. Last cruise I finally left the stroller at home and DD didn't miss it all. She was fine walking. That said Europe ports are a little more walking then the Caribbean so I'd wear the smallest one and bring one single stroller just in case.

 

My advice is to pack some activities. When DD was bored on a long bus or train ride, I pulled out the portable DVD player or the Leapfrog explorer. I had snacks and things to keep her busy when the long tours got too much for her. I kept a portable travel potty in my backpack and it was a God send. Just but more planning into it but don't cancel your trip the Med. is awesome.

[SadieN]

Not only is baby food different in Europe, so are the diapers and wipes. They are expensive.

In Rome we only saw a small section of baby food, primarily meat- chicken, beef, rabbit & horse.

 

At one your baby might be already on cut table foods.