England or Greece?

[kndoxsee]

Hello,

Either in the Fall or Spring next year I will be traveling to Europe for the first time with my 10 year old daughter and 70 year old. My Mom has stability issues with walking so we will be "taking it slow" but figured that the only way for me to save my sanity and see the sights of Europe will be on a cruise. What I am trying to decide is where do we do South Hampton/England and Spain, France, Italy or do we do Greece with Spain, France and Italy. So the Spain, France, Italy remains the same it's just whether we eat Fish and Chips or Tzatziki and Souvalaki! Would love to hear any insight over the South Hampton/England or Greece. Thank you!

[CruiserBruce]

There is no right or wrong answer here. Seas and weather might be a bigger problem for the England cruise in those time frames.

[brian1]

Greek cruises are mainly the islands.Walking most of these can be an issue with steps and narrow streets,especially Santorini.

[ljandgb]

For the 10 yo, Harry Potter or Percy Jackson?  If she is a big fan of one or the other, she might enjoy England vs Greece.  If it makes no difference, then I agree that Greece may have a bit more challenges for mobility depending on how agile your mom is.  If it's just a difference of a port or two, you could certainly modify your excursion or even let her have a ship day to rest if she thinks she might want to.

 

I don't think you can go wrong either way.

[wheezedr]

Having spent time in both places I would suggest the itinerary originating from Southampton for a couple of reasons.  I believe you would find flights from your home in Canada to England more readily available and perhaps less costly.  Your mother’s mobility issues may be a problem in multiple ports but might be magnified in some of the popular Greek stops.  Lastly, and this is purely a matter of opinion, I personally enjoyed both Athens and London, but if I were choosing one as an introduction to Europe, I would have to opt for London.  Give yourself at least 3-4 days at one end of the cruise to explore the city.