Which cruise line for Mediterranean Cruise w/ Children

[Ajsis]

We are looking into a summer cruise in the Mediterranean. We have never cruised before but we like the idea of being able to put all of our belongings in one place (vs multiple hotels w/ a land tour) and being able to visit so many countries. My children are 11 (boy) and 8 (girl) and very much enjoy physical activities such as swimming, rock wall climbing, etc. I have been looking at the 12-night Disney Magic cruise as well as the new Royal Princess ship. My kids loved Disney World but that was more about the rides and shows - they could care less about the characters. I like the idea of going on a new ship vs the Magic which is quite old but not sure it the extras are better on Disney. Are there any cruise lines I should be looking at? Not sure how to pick b/w them. Also, does they type of room matter that much? I was thinking of doing the inside stateroom, leaving more money for excursion. Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

[rebeccalouiseagain]

The new Royal Princess ship looks phenomenal and that would be my choice of the two. I did Disney Wonder and it was ok. It wasn't one of my favorites and I wouldn't do Disney again. I was ready to get off the Wonder after 3 days.

[boulders]

I've sailed the Med with my 3 children on both Disney and HAL. Disney Wonder in a balcony and HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam in an inside. Both were great cruises. The Nieuw Amsterdam was about a year old which was nice. The Wonder was about 12 years old at the time. The only downside to the Wonder was the incredibly, even for a cruise ship, slow internet.

 

The mainstream cruise lines will all have plenty of things for kids to do. I choose for itinerary and price.

[Essiesmom]

Med. cruises are usually quite port intensive, often a 12 day cruise will only have one sea day. So itinerary is more important than the ship because they will not have much time to use whatever attractions there are. So, choose an itinerary that will interest the kids, then the ship/line. Get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports and browse for the options at the ports before deciding on an itinerary. The Med. is not about beaches, water sports, etc. It is about history. EM

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Realistically- the parents should pick an itinerary that appeals to them not the kids. The kids aren't really going to care all that much whether they are in Europe or the Caribbean. Kids are much more interested in the ship activities than the land activities. So I don't think anyone should plan a cruise for the kids in Europe.

 

Having said that- it is nice to have a ship that has enough for kids to do onboard.

 

My son is a great little traveler and never complains. He really likes the narrated half day tours we did but was less interested in all day touring.

 

The best ports of call for cruisers are Venice, Istanbul, Santorini, Naples- because of Herculaneum and Pompeii, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Santorini, Durovnik and Villefranche. My son's favorite place in the Med is Taormini Sicily (he said he could live there) Civitavecchia and Livorno are far from the places of interest.

[Ajsis]

I forgot to mention that my kids thoroughly enjoy history! My son is a walking historical encyclopedia and will appreciate the port excursions very much! It sounds like the line doesn't matter as much as the ports themselves - good point everyone!

[boulders]

 

The best ports of call for cruisers are Venice, Istanbul, Santorini, Naples- because of Herculaneum and Pompeii, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Santorini, Durovnik and Villefranche. My son's favorite place in the Med is Taormini Sicily (he said he could live there) Civitavecchia and Livorno are far from the places of interest.

 

I really really disliked both Venice and Istanbul. I will not go back.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Sailing into Venice and Istanbul are without a doubt the most fantastic cruise experiences. Boulders, I am sorry you didn't enjoy them but you are in the minority. Most European cruisers rank these two cities the best cruise experiences. They are absolutely beautiful to sail into.

 

As for kids- Venice is extremely child friendly-no cars, maze-like streets, lots of vendors with interesting things to buy. It's great. In Istanbul- there is the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sofia and the Topkapi Palace- all close to where the ship docks and spectacular visually. Sailing through the Dardenelles and arriving in Istanbul is absolutely gorgeous.

[Kerry's Girls]

I'll echo the idea that for Europe, the cruiseline or ship are less important than itinerary and price. Your ship is more of a floating hotel since the focus is on enjoying the ports, so even with a few sea days, kids are not going to get tired of the ship even if it offers only a pool and a kids club. I agree that a cruise is a great way to see Europe - we've done both cruise and land and the cruise is great because breakfast and dinner are easy on board and we don't have the moving around issues - just wake up and you're in a new wonderland.

 

For a family we found that private tours are less expensive and more fun than the ship excursions. My kids also loved Athens and Barcelona - but it seems most of the ports have some great place for kids to explore, as long as you stay away from long museum and shopping stops.

 

Best,

Mia

[Onessa]

Yes, it will be more about the itinerary and less about the ship on a European cruise.

 

Venice is a great place for kids to explore -- it is very exotic and different. So is Istanbul. Both are difficult to "do" in one day. You may want to look at cruises that start or end at one of them so you can spend some "land" time there for a less frustrating experience.

 

Kotokolon Greece - visting the home of the original Olympics is great. Outdoor, history, opportunities for running around.

 

Athens - the Acropolis is great. It is a lot of stuff that kids are learning in school so it is way cool to see it.

 

Florence and Rome are each a ways away from the port -- so you'll need to evaluate how an hour-and-a-half to two-hour bus or train ride will work for your kids. In Florence in particular, Pisa is not far off and again the leaning tower facinates kids.

 

Pompei (Napels) is great.

 

Nice, Mykonos, other spots have great beach areas.

 

If your kids like history, get them interested in the ports beforehand with some good books or movies about the places and/or their history.

[kaerofan]

My daughter and I have done the Med. on Princess the last 2 summers and had a great time. She was 9 and 10 at the time. Very port intensive and also very hot, many days we would take a swim and ice cream break mid day. We have also done Disney and really didn't notice a big difference other than price (Disney was much more $),other than the characters. We always have an interior room, never been an issue. We often do the hop on/off bus tours. Our favorite ports are Santorini, Venice and we always add on Paris or London to the beginning or end.

[nothriver]

I have limited cruise experience compared to most on this board but last summer we sailed on HAL Eurodam in connecting inside cabins on Main deck. They were HUGE. We really loved HAL. I missed having a balcony, I expected that trip to be much colder than it was in northern europe, however, it was quite warm, and we would have liked to have access to the outdoors. My children were 7 and 18.

 

Next summer we are cruising Celebrity Silhouette with balcony. We chose this particular ship primarily for the itinerary and sail date. Other lines had similar itinerary but not in early June when we wanted to go, so Celebrity was our choice. For the Med, we chose a balcony cabins!

 

We love Disney, we've gone to WDW every year for the past 6 years. We are also all about the rides. We've never done a Disney cruise. I just don't feel they are a good value for the money.

 

So I'm pretty much in agreement with the others, choose for your itinerary. Try to get a feel for whether you think the ship will meet your needs and gives good value for the money as 'room and board'. Now that we've got pre and post cruise hotels booked, tours booked in most ports, our upcoming trip will be more expensive that I'd planned. I am looking forward to the balcony cabins, but in retrospect, could have saved on the overall budget by booking lower cost cabins. :o

[queenL]

We are looking into a summer cruise in the Mediterranean. We have never cruised before but we like the idea of being able to put all of our belongings in one place (vs multiple hotels w/ a land tour) and being able to visit so many countries. My children are 11 (boy) and 8 (girl) and very much enjoy physical activities such as swimming, rock wall climbing, etc. I have been looking at the 12-night Disney Magic cruise as well as the new Royal Princess ship. My kids loved Disney World but that was more about the rides and shows - they could care less about the characters. I like the idea of going on a new ship vs the Magic which is quite old but not sure it the extras are better on Disney. Are there any cruise lines I should be looking at? Not sure how to pick b/w them. Also, does they type of room matter that much? I was thinking of doing the inside stateroom, leaving more money for excursion. Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

We chose MSC. The lure of kids sail free was to strong for us to resist. I have no regrets though. It was an enjoyable cruise. If I were choosing between Princess and Disney, particularly with kids, I'd choose Disney. Princess was a little slow for my tastes. Disney was an AWESOME experience for DD. We do inside cabins a lot, but I don't think I would on a 12 night. I'd probably go with the lowest category OV I could get.

[Keith1010]

Princess does a great Mediterranean cruise and I feel would be a great choice for families.

 

Keith

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

We'll do a 12 night med cruise in July with our 13 year old fosterkid. It's his first time to travel at all and we chose Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas because of the overwhelming itinerary, the youth program on board and the fact that the kid and ourselves get to drink water and lemonade for free onboard. Especially in the summer it'll be hotter than hell and we'll probably be thirsty all the time. We're on a budget and to buy each glass of water seperately is just too much. We booked an inside cabin, since we don't plan on spending much time there and we'd rather use the saved money on various self organized trips with the kid. His favourite right now is the Colloseum in Rome, closely followed by Pompeii and Vesuvio. Lol -- he doesn't care about the overnighter In Venice at all -- but that's our favourite part -- so there's something for everybody I guess:).

The itinerary:

Barcelona, Cannes, La Spezia, Civitaveccia, Salerno, Venice (overnight), Ravenna Dubrovnik, Barcelona.