Lifetime Trip to Europe Questions

[pajazz28]

My Wife and I  along with a couple friends of ours are looking to take a once in a lifetime trip  to Europe.  We have a lot of questions.

 

Best Itinerary for Cruise to Italy and Greece?

Best cruise line to Europe? 

Must do in Italy and Greece? 

Any information that is important to a cruise in Europe? 

 

 

 

 

[pajazz28]

Also friend son is 6 years old traveling with us. How is June or July for Europe travel? 

 

 

[bennybear]

With the heat, the earlier the better.   We’ve enjoyed Princess and Holland America,  it really depends on what itinerary you want to see.   With a six year old along you may wish to check out best childrens programs,    That’s young for Europe and to be away from home.  We first took our son when he was seven and it was fine but we geared the trip to the children’s interests.  If they’re not happy no one is.  
What are your interests?  What are your must sees?  Everyone has different priorities. We like cruising from Rome to Venice or Athens, with stops in the Greek islands.  But Mykonos is not our favourite.  We prefer Crete or Kefalonia  or Corfu as stops.   
 

 

[cruisemom42]

Most of the Mediterranean will be crowded in summer as well as hot. I agree with the above poster that earlier is better. The six-year-old is not so old that missing a few days at the end of the year would be very problematic, I'd think.

 

How long are you planning to stay?  Generally I would suggest at least a 10-day cruise (12 days is better) with two different ports for embarkation and disembarkation where you should plan to stay another few days to get a different experience (more in depth).

 

Princess is pretty good with kids at that age. My son loved Princess until he was an older teen. They also have some good "starter" or "first taste" itineraries that include a lot of ports many would consider highlights.

 

If possible, make Rome a port where you either embark or disembark. It is hopeless to try to see Rome in a day from a port stop (as it is over an hour's drive just to get there from the port).

 

Other than Rome and Athens with obvious historical significance and must sees, what interests you?  Gorgeous scenery (like the Amalfi coast)?  Beaches?  Ancient ruins (e.g., Pompeii, Ephesus)?

 

[carlmm]

So many options, one cruise is certainly not enough.

Yet, once in a lfetime? A cruise as long as possible. Athens with the Acropolis and Rome with the Vatican as the places defining European civilisation.

For a cruise line why not choose a European one? For more flavour.

Eg. Italian MSC.

[mapleleaves]

You're looking for a shortcut, but you need to do your research, just like the rest of us have done ! Research is the only way you can discover which cruiseline is best for YOUR needs, or which countries to visit, or which sites are most appealing, etc etc.  

Learn as much as you can about the cruiselines, ships, and itineraries. ie as I compared itineraries I found that port times can vary widely between cruiselines, so if you find an itinerary you really like, be sure you're in port long enough and at the right time of day for planned activities. 

And if there's a site you REALLY must see, pay attention to their hours of operation. ie some museums are closed on Monday. 

-Go to each cruiseline forum and read trip reports as they come in. Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, MSC, Costa, Celebrity.  There have been 3 or 4 excellent reports on NCL and RCI recently.

-In the blue banner at the top of the page are LIVE CRUISE REPORTS. 

- Borrow travel books from your library .... there are even books specific to Mediterranean cruises.  I have Rick Steves'  " Mediterranean Cruise Ports'  and Ann Vipond's "  Mediterranean by Cruiseship'.  I prefer RickSteves.   The books discuss popular destinations, sights, activities, tours, etc.

- youtube is another good resource.  ie Do a search on Corfu Cruise Port and you'll find dozens of recent video from people's recent visits to Corfu.  Check out what they did/saw and see if it appeals.

 

Have fun with your research !

[marazul]

1 hour ago, carlmm said:

So many options, one cruise is certainly not enough.

Yet, once in a lfetime? A cruise as long as possible. Athens with the Acropolis and Rome with the Vatican as the places defining European civilisation.

For a cruise line why not choose a European one? For more flavour.

Eg. Italian MSC.

MSC is notorious for short port days. Make sure you look at the itineraries and check the amount of time spent in each port.  Deduct at least one hour from that time to allow for a safe time to return to the ship and for using tenders if needed.  

[Over from NZ]

I wouldn't have taken our 6 year old. We took him on cruises in the South Pacific.. but shore days there are days at the beach etc. A Europe or Mediterranean cruise on the other hand, has hardly any sea days and every day is a long day looking at ruins, churches, cathedrals and so-on. Either you're going to leave him onboard a ship on his own just about everyday for a couple of weeks.. or you're not going to get the "trip of a lifetime" or you're going to have to take a 6-year old on 8 hour excursions to see 1200 year old buildings. hmm lol. There's 2 many must-dos for 1 trip. My advice is whatever you do.. don't scrimp on excursions. Book the full day, the best of, the ultimate experience etc. The least exciting ports have always been the ones we haven't put any effort into. Some of the ports we have booked full excursions for that we didn't know a lot about have turned out to be real gems. Good luck 🙂 

[carlmm]

Regarding your six years old: Wonderful and great thatyou offer him this opportunity.

I would recommend just to take him and opposite him to all the great surroundings. 

Just try to explain the importance to him in an age appropriate eay and allow him to experience the sights in his way, eg rund around St. Peter's square or climb ruins where allowed and if and what he enjoy.

[KiddieKruzer]

On 7/18/2022 at 1:08 PM, pajazz28 said:

Also friend son is 6 years old traveling with us. How is June or July for Europe travel? 

 

 

The very last thing I’d do is take a 6 year old on a Med cruise - especially in the middle of a HOT European summer. And extra Especially,  if this is a “once in a lifetime trip” for yourselves.  
 

If they insist on taking him, be sure to make your own plans and reservations apart from your friends - because by day 5 they’ll be holding you back 😫.  

[marazul]

On 7/19/2022 at 3:27 PM, carlmm said:

Regarding your six years old: Wonderful and great that you offer him this opportunity.

 

4 hours ago, KiddieKruzer said:

The very last thing I’d do is take a 6 year old on a Med cruise - especially in the middle of a HOT European summer. And extra Especially,  if this is a “once in a lifetime trip” for yourselves.  
 

If they insist on taking him, be sure to make your own plans and reservations apart from your friends - because by day 5 they’ll be holding you back 😫.  

On 7/18/2022 at 1:08 PM, pajazz28 said:

Also friend son is 6 years old traveling with us. How is June or July for Europe travel? 

 

The child belongs to the OP's friends, not to the OP.  This year the summer temps in Europe have been in the high 90sF or more.  And the same the last few years. 

 

We have lived in Europe and traveled extensively when the kids were small.  We have also gone back with small grandkids that age.  A lot of beaches, a lot of bored kids looking at ruins, a lot of little kid stuff - a few meltdowns.  We loved it and adapted, but none of those trips would qualify as an adult first time ever trip of a lifetime. 

 

KiddieKruzer is right.  Set everyone's expectations of the cruise from the beginning: together on the ship, but independent on land.  You can tour on your own while the parents tour in child appropriate excursions.  It is your trip. Set your own program with places and things you want to see and do.  Your friends and child would be happier with shorter excursions and going back early to the pool or staying at a beach. You can all meet afterwards to compare notes and have dinner.  If some day you go back with a small child, you will have a lot of good pointers on what to do.

 

 

[elaine5]

we took our 9 yr olds (a bit older). I'd have a frank conversation with the couple about their expectations. It also depends if the child will separate and go into the kids' club. If so, one option is to see which cruiselines allow a child to stay in kids camp while adults are on excursion. We did a mix of 1/2 days with our kids and then allowed them to stay in kids camp a few days. This was a good mix. 6 is quite young. For example, going all day into Rome would be too much. For our 12 yr olds, 4 hours for  Pompeii was enough--we needed to skip Herculean and just go back to the ship for a swim. also, get early dining--kids cannot wait that long to eat dinner and most kids clubs activities start after early dinner.

for each port, I made a "dossier" of "secret agent" activities for my children to do. Such as: go gelato tasting, count the steps at the  Spanish steps, climb the tower in Lucca, etc. and they got to pick out a prize/souvenir each day when the completed the mission. 

For places--we love Rome, Florence (a long trip from Livorno), Venice, Naples for Pompeii and/or Sorrento, Cinque Terre (from Livorno/La Spezia or Portofino), Santorini, Athens, and we found Corfu very nice. we also liked Split, Croatia very much. If you can find a cruise that also hits Monaco and/or Nice, that's very lovely also. We have been very happy with Princess. Norwegian (newer ship) and Royal Caribbean were fine. We're partial to Princess. As adults with teens, we enjoyed Disney also. However, for younger kids, I think the other lines actually do a better job than Disney in the kids clubs. 

[Twolittleboys]

We live in Europe and have taken various Med cruises when the kids were younger (I think my younger son was six or seven on our first trip). Both kids enjoyed it and it really was no problem. Of course I did gear our activities to things that are fun for kids so it may be somewhat difficult to find a balance between a kid-friendly vacation and a "once in a lifetime" trip.

We mostly went with Royal Caribbean and were happy with it. Lots of activities and both boys enjoyed the kids club (though younger son did not want to go on our first trip so it will depend on the child). 

Personally, if going with a small child, I would probably not go for the most expensive options (for hotels, ship etc.) and plan on maybe going again in a couple of years. I do think that in any case it puts a lot of pressure on a trip to try to make it perfect/complete, even without kids. For example on one of our cruises Athens was cancelled without much warning. I am sure this was a bucket-list item for many and led to a lot of disappointment but there was nothing to be done.

As far as what to see, it does depend on personal preferences. Here is what we did and my thoughts on it (Not all the same cruise):

 

Rome - definitely a must see, fun for kids as well, easily done on most cruises. recommend to either start or end your cruise there

 

Florence - kind of a long drive from Livorno. Many of the main attractions aren't geared that well for kids so it may be difficult to see all you want to see there with a child. We did more low key stuff and enjoyed it.

 

Naples - Pompeij is great. Easily done and quite fun for kids. On another trip we went to Capri which also was wonderful.

 

Venice - definitely a great destination but with the recent restrictions for cruise ships more difficult to manage. I would recommend beginning/ending the cruise in Ravenna etc. and then spending a day or two in Venice before/after flying there/back

 

Athens - personally not a great fan but definitely something one should see once

 

I would try to get a good mix of cities/churches/ruins/nature/beach. That way you can avoid the feeling of "oh, some more ruins" or "which church is that again".

 

[wcook]

On 7/18/2022 at 6:23 PM, mapleleaves said:

have Rick Steves'  " Mediterranean Cruise Ports'

Rick also has an hour-long teevee episode that’s on YouTube. 
 

 

[wcook]

On 7/18/2022 at 6:32 PM, marazul said:

MSC is notorious for short port days. Make sure you look at the itineraries and check the amount of time spent in each port.  Deduct at least one hour from that time to allow for a safe time to return to the ship and for using tenders if needed.  

I’m a big fan of MSC. Take much of what they are “notorious” for with a grain of salt. But with any cruise you are considering, do follow the advice above look at the itinerary and note how long you’ll be in port.  

[wcook]

The big thing to understanding Mediterranean cruises is that ports aren’t necessarily in the places you want to visit. the resources suggested above can explain better than a post here. 
 

So many great options. The only thing I’d strongly suggest is not going in July and August. People aren’t exaggerating about heat and crowds. 

Edited July 30, 2022 by wcook