Baltics with kids

[Whitesand26]

Greetings to all. My husband and I are planing to go on a cruise with our 2 daughters 3 and 5 yo. We are looking at Princess cruises. Does anyone know if we can find anything special for kids in the ports of call? We do not want to miss anything in the cities we are going to visit, but on the other hand I am absolutely sure that a whole day of usual tours will be a torture for my little ones. I am especially concerned about big cities such as Stockholm and St. Petersburg. Any advice will be appreciated.

[Got2Cruise]

I don't think Stockholm will be a problem if you just walk around. You see plenty of families walking around. There is an amusement park right there if you wish to do that. The little ones might even enjoy seeing the Vasa Museum, depending on their interests. SPB is going to be a little more tricky with those little ones. Try contacting the various private tour companies and ask what they suggest. Two things that the little ones would like are a canal boat ride, and going to the gardens at Peterhof (because they can run around and don't have to be quiet).

[lmg1230]

Our younger daughter had just turned 6 when we were in the Baltics - so just a little bit older than your girls. In Stockholm we went to the Pippy Longstocking museum (Junibacken) b/c we had read the story at home earlier in the summer. We skipped VASA because the line up was extremely long and it was a very hot day. My girls enjoyed riding the hop on hop off ferry around the harbour. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Gamla Stan.

 

St. Petersburg is definitely more difficult. We had a private tour over two days. The first day we went to Catherine's Palace and Peterhof. The Palace was very crowded and not as enjoyable for the kids as Peterhof where we were able to walk outside and enjoy the fountains. The second day we did some shopping for nesting dolls which the girls loved. We cut short our tour of the Hermitage b/c it was too crowded. Spent some time running in the park where the Bronze Horseman statue is. The best part of the two days for my younger daughter was probably our tour guide - she was lovely and my daughter absolutely adored her which made her enjoy our two days in the city even though the crowds were difficult. Emma promised our tour guide that she was coming back to visit and both of them were sad to say goodbye. I would definitely suggest working with a private guide to come up with an itinerary that works for you with two little ones. You will need to decide if you want to try and see some of the main attractions and do it in the most family-friendly way possible or forego the popular, crowded sites in favour of more low-key time experiencing the city.

 

Lisa

[Giantfan13]

I am going to say something, and I can hear the replies already, but here goes, " The Baltics are really not for young children".

 

Most European cruises are about history, visiting old cities and trying to learn some of their history and culture. Sure there are things for young children to do, but IMVHO, you are sacrificing YOUR time and enjoyment to try and keep these young children occupied and they will remember nothing of this trip.

 

There I said it.

 

I am speaking as a senior who has not traveled with my children in many years. I have never done a crusie with my children,as when they were young, cruising was not what it is today, so there was never any thought of taking them.

Most people do a Baltic crusie, maybe once, and to take away your enjoyment of this itinerary, just trying to keep your children happy, to me, (and it is only MY opinion), is dollar foolish and time not well spent. If the children were teens and they would appreciate it, then it makes a lot of sense, but otherwise, if you do travel with your children, try not to let it interfere with your enjoyment of the crusie.

I am not trying to insult or criticize you on this, just offering my humble opinion.

 

OK, start throwing things at me.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Al_Frescoe]

I am going to say something, and I can hear the replies already, but here goes, " The Baltics are really not for young children".

 

Most European cruises are about history, visiting old cities and trying to learn some of their history and culture. Sure there are things for young children to do, but IMVHO, you are sacrificing YOUR time and enjoyment to try and keep these young children occupied and they will remember nothing of this trip.

 

There I said it.

 

I am speaking as a senior who has not traveled with my children in many years. I have never done a crusie with my children,as when they were young, cruising was not what it is today, so there was never any thought of taking them.

Most people do a Baltic crusie, maybe once, and to take away your enjoyment of this itinerary, just trying to keep your children happy, to me, (and it is only MY opinion), is dollar foolish and time not well spent. If the children were teens and they would appreciate it, then it makes a lot of sense, but otherwise, if you do travel with your children, try not to let it interfere with your enjoyment of the crusie.

I am not trying to insult or criticize you on this, just offering my humble opinion.

 

OK, start throwing things at me.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

One of the most flammable topics ever on the cruise boards there Len, but you knew that. :)

 

That said, I must admit that I agree with you. I don't know why people want to bring kids that young on a trip like this. I would wait until they are older and can appreciate the entire experience to its fullest. Guess they have their reasons, and well, whatever... ;)

 

Not going to do a big disclaimer here, I'll just say that this is - only my personal opinion and I sincerely hope "everyone" involved has a wonderful time.

 

Skål

 

Al

[surfsidemary]

I agree the Baltics is not the cruise I'd pick with young children. However, since the OP didn't ask my opinion on if they should do it, I have only one experience to offer.

 

St. Petersburg is going to be the problem if the parents hope to get anything out of it. Those shore excursions are expensive. Yes, they can run at Peterhof, but as far as the Summer Palace and the Hermitage, I can't imagine that they're going to do anything but hold on to the (probably miserable) children for dear life.

 

I was there last Spring and on special early-opening tours. Even at that, as a competent adult I had all I could do to stay with the group while taking it all in. By halfway through both tours, the crowds were incredible. The guides gave us each a radio receiver because 1) they weren't allowed to raise their voices and 2) there was tremendous potential to get separated from the group.

[baggal]

I am going to say something, and I can hear the replies already, but here goes, " The Baltics are really not for young children".

 

Most European cruises are about history, visiting old cities and trying to learn some of their history and culture. Sure there are things for young children to do, but IMVHO, you are sacrificing YOUR time and enjoyment to try and keep these young children occupied and they will remember nothing of this trip.

 

There I said it.

 

I am speaking as a senior who has not traveled with my children in many years. I have never done a crusie with my children,as when they were young, cruising was not what it is today, so there was never any thought of taking them.

Most people do a Baltic crusie, maybe once, and to take away your enjoyment of this itinerary, just trying to keep your children happy, to me, (and it is only MY opinion), is dollar foolish and time not well spent. If the children were teens and they would appreciate it, then it makes a lot of sense, but otherwise, if you do travel with your children, try not to let it interfere with your enjoyment of the crusie.

I am not trying to insult or criticize you on this, just offering my humble opinion.

 

OK, start throwing things at me.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

I agree as well. There were many children on our Baltics cruise, but they were older, more like "tweens," 10 and older, possibly a few younger than that but with older siblings. I don't remember seeing very young children at all.

[lmg1230]

I'm certainly not going to throw things but I would like to try and explain my perspective as a parent who does travel extensively with children. I believe that travel is an enriching experience regardless of the age of the child. Travel exposes them to other cultures and ways of life and teaches them from a young age that people may live differently but are fundamentally the same. Travel is educational - kids learn and retain far more from experiencing the world than they do sitting in a typical classroom. Travel also teaches kids to be more flexible and to just roll with things going wrong which often do when you are on the road.

 

My husband and I loved to travel and explore the world before we had kids and we had no intention of staying home with our kids after they were born or confining them to theme park visits. I believe that people in general are underestimating kids if they think that they can't enjoy any type of travel that doesn't involve a roller coaster or a giant stuffed character. We travel as a family to places that we all want to go. Once we have decided on a destination then I plan an itinerary that works for the entire family. Sometimes we have to slow down to accommodate our youngest and we may not see or do everything that a particular destination has to offer but I'm okay with that. The pleasure that I get from traveling with my children and experiencing the world through their eyes outweighs the disadvantage of missing something.

 

When we traveled to the Baltics my daughters were 12 and 6 and my youngest had a wonderful time as did the rest of us. The nature of a cruise trip is that you are not going to see everything in a port anyway. I think of it as a reconaissance mission to determine whether we would like to return to stay awhile. The only things we missed because we were traveling with kids were the VASA Museum (and I wasn't keen on a 2 hour wait in the heat either) and a longer visit at a very crowded Hermitage where people were lined up to see paintings (not an ideal way to experience art in my opinion either).

 

I do not intend this as a criticism of anyone else's opinion but every family is entitled to make their own choices about when and where it is appropriate to travel with their children - as with so many other choices that parents make there is no right or wrong answer. We love to travel, our children love to travel and we will continue to do so, regardless of whether or not others think that we are taking them on appropriate trips.

 

Lisa

[Giantfan13]

Lisa

 

Very nice explaination. If that works for you, I applaud you and your family. You have way of looking at this issue and taking the positives. Very nice.

 

But also on the other side, I have seen just too many kids who need their fix of being amused, entertained, and too many parents just do not consider their own needs and enjoyment, over trying to just please the kids, if you know what I mean.

 

Again, I wasn't looking to criticize anyone who wants to travel with their children. I was just trying to say that if you want to travel with young children there might be other, more exciting ports, for that purpose. The Baltics aren't really a children friendly itinerary.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Whitesand26]

I see. I had some doubts and your discussion proved them. Thank you for sharing your opinions. I’ll have to make my decision now.

[TLCOhio]

Greetings to all. My husband and I are planing to go on a cruise with our 2 daughters 3 and 5 yo. We are looking at Princess cruises. Does anyone know if we can find anything special for kids in the ports of call? We do not want to miss anything in the cities we are going to visit, but on the other hand I am absolutely sure that a whole day of usual tours will be a torture for my little ones. I am especially concerned about big cities such as Stockholm and St. Petersburg. Any advice will be appreciated.

 

I don't know your two girls, but ages 3 and 5, is very, very young for Europe and especially the Baltics. Len and Lisa have made extremely wise points about what are the super stars of this great area. It's ALL about history, art, architecture, culture, etc., here!! Right??

 

Tell us more about your daughters, what's of interest to them, how much you have reviewed with them on what's there in St. Petersburg, etc. From your library, I would get some book such as the Eyewitness series, show them pictures, see if that is really and honestly going to be of interest to them. Below are some of my photo highlights for a few "stars" in the Baltics. Share these with your daughters, discuss it, get their reactions, etc. I love this area so super much, but I'm much more into those history, architecture and art things.

 

Glad you are thinking and considering these important questions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 52,915 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

At Stockholm’s Royal Palace, the changing of the guard:

 

 

 

Fountains and water from the spectacular Peterhof outside of St. Petersburg:

 

 

 

As we entered Catherine's Palace outside of St. Petersburg, here was the welcoming band.:

 

 

 

At St. Petersburg’s Hermitage, just one of many, many great galleries:

 

 

 

Here is a wider shot of the Spilled Blood Church interior in St. Petersburg. Its exterior design is more traditionally "Russian" or Orthodox than St. Isaac.:

 

 

 

Copenhagen’s Nyhavn or “new” Harbor is actually old and charming. This waterfront entertainment district is lined by brightly colored 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants. Serving as a "heritage harbor", the canal also has many historical wooden ships. Lots of people and fun activity!!:

 

[Sauer-kraut]

My two cents as an adult that was taken to Europe as a very young child.

 

In London as a 3 year old I wanted to "see the Queen". Luckily we were there when she opened the Houses of Parliment and I got to see her in her coach. We also learned about the Tower of London on a very basic level. Got to feed the ducks in Kensington Gardens and walked to see the Peter Pan statue.

 

In other countries we walked around the markets, got lucky and were there on festival days and got to see colorful, traditonal costumes and played in parks and did local beaches.

 

All of this can be done on a baltics cruise. Your little ones will have a wonderful time, if you keep things on their level. You can talk about the palaces, Sweden's king, and the beach in Warnemunde is nice. Go up the lighthouse there, take a train ride to Schwerin, etc. There is plenty to keep them interested if you do planning.

 

Have a wonderful time.

[Hlitner]

I still remember taking our then 9 year old daughter to Europe where we took her through some of the best parts of Germany, France, Switzerland and Holland. Now, twenty years later she still remembers the trip and her personal highlights were buying a pair of shoes in Paris and just watching ducks on Lake Lucerne. She also enjoyed her frequent ice cream/gelato breaks. Attempts to get her to love things like seeing the Mona Lisa...met with some resistance :)

 

Hank

[petersburgguide]

Whitesand26, it is not very difficult.

 

For St. Petersburg just email different tour-operators asking about possible options (they are, for example, Matryoska doll paintings, local Disneyland - DivoOstrov with lots of attractions for kids). Peterhoff fountains would also be fun for your children.

 

In Helsinki visit Heureka museum, which is not far from the city and is easy accessible by train.

 

In Stockholm you can walk in Skansen park, which is very nice as well.