Cruising without kids - during European school holidays!!!

[Katgoesonholiday]

My husband and I are planning a 7 night Mediterranean cruise next July - right during the European summer holidays. We are thinking about travelling on the MSC Preziosa and noticed that they are advertising that kids travel free.

 

Don't get me wrong - I like kids and have three boys of my own plus two more boys who live with me - but I'm hoping for a bit of relaxed time with my beloved and don't want to be overrun with other people's kids who are bored and misbehaving.

 

I'd love to hear if anyone has experience of travelling on an MSC cruise in this region during the summer holidays. Are the kids well catered for? Is there plenty of areas that we can relax without kid related noise and ruckus?

[AmoMondo]

Well you can't really go anywhere in the med on land or sea during July without kids being around.

 

I've not sailed the Preziosa but have been on other MSC ships during school holidays and the ships are definitely busier with fuller capacity as well as more kids. Second dinner tends to have fewer kids than first. I wouldn't say I've had a problem with the number of kids onboard. Yes there are more of them shrieking around the pool, but I expect that if I sail in school holidays. There are still quieter places to go onboard and if you are willing to pay extra for peace and quiet, use the to

Sail club which is adults only.

 

European cruises tend to be very port intensive, so you're going to be ashore almost all day.

 

I prefer to sail in June or early Sepetember as it is less busy and also cheaper as it's not school holidays.

[Katgoesonholiday]

Thank you very much for that very reasonable and balanced review. :) That's excellent advice about the sail club and the later meal sitting.

 

It's good to get our expectations in line before we go so there are no surprises. We generally have five boys in close proximity (ages 5-17) so I have a fairly high tolerance for noise and fuss - especially if I don't have to deal with it! :eek:

[Capricruiser]

One thing that annoys me is having undisciplined children running up and down the cabin corridors laughing and shrieking even after midnight. But I suppose that's a problem on most any cruise line.

[Elmartellama]

Well you can't really go anywhere in the med on land or sea during July without kids being around.

 

I've not sailed the Preziosa but have been on other MSC ships during school holidays and the ships are definitely busier with fuller capacity as well as more kids. Second dinner tends to have fewer kids than first. I wouldn't say I've had a problem with the number of kids onboard. Yes there are more of them shrieking around the pool, but I expect that if I sail in school holidays. There are still quieter places to go onboard and if you are willing to pay extra for peace and quiet, use the to

Sail club which is adults only.

 

European cruises tend to be very port intensive, so you're going to be ashore almost all day.

 

I prefer to sail in June or early Sepetember as it is less busy and also cheaper as it's not school holidays.

 

Actually, more and more hotels or resorts in the Mediterranean are now shifting to adults only areas. A few years ago was just a novelty, now it's something very common, at least in Mallorca. No doubt someone will offer adults only cruises in the future, if they do not exist already, of course not in a big ship but maybe in a smaller one.

 

I like june and september also, the fewer kids we find the better. Plus it's way cheaper.

 

In souther european countries I have the feeling that children usually misbehave, and parents tolerate it as long as they can relax a little. If their children annoy someone else, many times they just don't care.

[agnes0318]

Hello all

 

My husband and I are Asians and have booked to travel on the Splendida from Genoa starting 9 Nov for a week. Does this coincide with any European school holidays? This is our first cruise trip and we are really looking forward it. Hate to have it ruined by misbehaved children.

 

Thanks for any info!

Edited November 6, 2013 by agnes0318

[Capricruiser]

Hello all

 

My husband and I are Asians and have booked to travel on the Splendida from Genoa starting 9 Nov for a week. Does this coincide with any European school holidays? This is our first cruise trip and we are really looking forward it. Hate to have it ruined by misbehaved children.

 

Thanks for any info!

You should be fine - kids will be in school. Enjoy your cruise.

[Katgoesonholiday]

I've booked so fingers crossed it won't be too bad! We can't do a cruise later in the year as we host two international students and they will be going home to their respective countries for two weeks in July - it's too much to ask family to look after our three kids plus two more!

[agnes0318]

Thanks capricruiser that's a comfort!

[travelberlin]

I was recently at a Mediterranean cruise with the MSc Poesia. It was in October and it was full of kids all ages. I am not sure if they were school hollidays or not but in Germany for example school hollidays are in a different date depending on where you live. This means Berlin has different dates for school hollidays than Bayern for example.

I think that it is unrealistic to cruise with MSC, which is very family oriented and kids cruise free, and expect not to have lots of children on board. I would just accept the fact and look for places in which I can be on my own for example my balcony or inside venues. If you are very strong about not having too many children on board, then have you considered Celebrity Cruises? They are more oriented to older adults and do not have the offer of children cruising for free.

[cruisingcanadian]

I was recently at a Mediterranean cruise with the MSc Poesia. It was in October and it was full of kids all ages. I am not sure if they were school hollidays or not but in Germany for example school hollidays are in a different date depending on where you live. This means Berlin has different dates for school hollidays than Bayern for example.

I think that it is unrealistic to cruise with MSC, which is very family oriented and kids cruise free, and expect not to have lots of children on board. I would just accept the fact and look for places in which I can be on my own for example my balcony or inside venues. If you are very strong about not having too many children on board, then have you considered Celebrity Cruises? They are more oriented to older adults and do not have the offer of children cruising for free.

I can highly recommend Celebrity,too.Love the cruise line:D.

[Katgoesonholiday]

I was recently at a Mediterranean cruise with the MSc Poesia. It was in October and it was full of kids all ages. I am not sure if they were school hollidays or not but in Germany for example school hollidays are in a different date depending on where you live. This means Berlin has different dates for school hollidays than Bayern for example.

I think that it is unrealistic to cruise with MSC, which is very family oriented and kids cruise free, and expect not to have lots of children on board. I would just accept the fact and look for places in which I can be on my own for example my balcony or inside venues. If you are very strong about not having too many children on board, then have you considered Celebrity Cruises? They are more oriented to older adults and do not have the offer of children cruising for free.

 

I appreciate your input. As you will recall from my original post, I'm not strong on not having too many children on board and I certainly do expect there to be plenty - I just want to know how well they are catered for on ship and to inquire whether there are any adult only areas so I can ensure I have realistic expectations. We have booked a balcony cabin at the aft and we enjoy relaxing in bars so I don't think we will have any difficulty finding child free venues.