Mediterranean Cruise with Kids

[Mals1]

We (myself, husband, 2 kids ages 9 &7)  are going on our first cruise in June 2019. It is a mediterranean cruise and I'm finding it hard not to book some kind of tour/excursion in every city. I have bought lots of books and initially planned to DIY in a couple ports but I find myself looking/booking all kinds of tours! My question for those who have traveled on a med cruise with kids: How much is too much? When do kids start to wear out? I have longish tours planned in Naples and La Spezia (8-9 hours), a half day tour in Barcelona and a beach transfer in Mallorca. The only port I have left is Marseille, and I couldn't figure out what is best for us as a family. Now I am finding reasonable priced tours that combine Cassis and Aix, but I wonder if adding a third day of long excursions is too much. I was going to just tour Marseille as a family, now I'm not sure. 

 

Let me know what did work or didn't work for your family! It's been interesting finding tours/excursions that has something for everyone. Leaving our kids in the kid's camp isn't an option for us. Thanks so much!

[Sauer-kraut]

You might get more answers if you post this on the Mediterranean Board.  

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/472-mediterranean-eastern-amp-western/

As for Marsailles you are docking at an industrial port, so there won't be much to see until you leave the area.   I think you need to book private tours, then you can tailor the excursion for your family and if the children start to melt down you can change up your itinerary.   I woudln't book ship's tours as they will not be able to adjust the tour and your kids might get bored.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Sauer-kraut

[Mals1]

Thank you. I'm still new to posting here and I thought I was on the Mediterranean Board. I will post there too. Thanks for the link!

[Hlitner]

Most kids wear-out very fast :(.  Cruise ship tours can even bore many adults and are certainly not designed to hold a child's interest.  You might want to consider what a 7 and 9 year old find interesting.  We took our DD on her first European trip when she was 9, but did a land trip through 4 countries (Germany, Holland, France and Spain) using Eurorail.  Now, about 30 years later our DD still remembers the trip.  Her highlights were buying shoes in Paris, watching ducks on Lake Lucerne, walking on the top of Jungfrau. and having an amazing dinner in an elegant Paris restaurant where our waiter treated our DD like a Princess.

 

Our DD was an art lover (even at 9) and a pretty gifted artist.  She wanted to see the Louvre, so we took her to the Museum (on our own).  Upon entering she asked to see the Mona Lisa which held her attention for about 20 seconds...and then the Venus de Milo which held her attention for about 15 seconds.  She then wanted to leave the Louvre so she could have ice cream and Orangina :).  We actually managed to spend about 30 min inside the Louvre.   On a tour where a guide would spend 15 min at a single painting talking about art history?  You must be kidding.

 

If you are going to drag a 7 and 9 year old on most ship excursions...we say "good luck."

 

Hank

[Mals1]

I completely agree. We only have one tour through the ship from the Naples port to see Pompeii, Sorrento (on our own time) and visit a farmhouse. All our other tours are private, or small group. The small group ones are half day. My kids and husband will not be happy on museum tours and churches all day so I am looking for different type tours to fit our interests. I'm just debating if adding another tour from the Marseille port is too much. That would make 3 all day or most of the day tours, 1 half day tour, and a beach transfer day. We've been to Disney several times, and I know we can handle 3 long days there, but this vacation is a completely different animal for us. 

[Mercury]

We have taken our children on 3 cruises and I can honestly say that the secret to the success of these trips has been one word: BALANCE!

So, to unpack that word:

Make sure that you have a balance between busy days and relaxed days.

Make sure that you balance what the adults find interesting with what your children will find interesting.

Remember that a cruise can be as busy or relaxed as you choose. You know your children best.

Personally, I would use Marseille as a day to take it easy.

 

Our last cruise (children were 8 and 10) was a river cruise on the Danube so I balanced the itinerary, for example, in Vienna, we spent the morning in art museums and the afternoon at Haus des Meeres. We ended at Prater in the evening (a fun park).

In Budapest, we had a guide for the first day and he especially made the tour fun for the children as well.

We had a quiet day in Bratislava exploring the old town on our own.

In Prague, we had spent the first day doing a lot of walking and touring and the next day, we enjoyed the cafes and our daughter got to play tennis on a clay court. 

 

So try to mix the experience. Have a look what are the child friendly activities too.

Our next cruise will be to Scandinavia/Russia and I have let the children choose which port they would like to research and present what they want to do. They are old enough to do this now (10 and 12) and so I am looking forward to seeing what they put forward! When we went to London in December, they chose all the sports venues and it allowed us a great mix. Who knew I would find Lords Cricket so interesting!