How is Europe Cruise with kids?

[parkbr]

Hi, 

 

A friend of ours was on European cruise (Baltic) with Princess before and said the cruise wasn't very kid's friendly. 
I am wondering how it is like with Royal Caribbean. We've only sailed to Caribbean before, so I am not too sure what to expect.

I am looking at Mediterranean cruises or maybe the Iceland one. 
My husband does not want to do cruise in Europe, but I think our daughter will enjoy it very much if this is a similar experience as the one we had in Caribbean (with perfect day at Coco Cay).
And is the sea rough? (If you saw my other posting, I gave up the idea of going to Mexican Riviera cruise due to rough seas).

 

Thank you.  

 

[Tatka]

When you say not friendly what do you mean?

Princess just like Royal has kids clubs although I would rate RCI kids/teens programs higher than Princess's

Of course how many kids really depends to the time and length of the cruise.

How old is your daughter? Cruising in Europe is really sightseeing intensive so if kid is younger you need to plan accordingly. We did not take our son to Med cruise when he was 11, but took later...

 

Mediterranean is a sea which has some storms sometimes, but generally much calmer than Atlantic or even Pacific.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Tatka

[Joseph2017China]

17 minutes ago, parkbr said:

Hi, 

 

A friend of ours was on European cruise (Baltic) with Princess before and said the cruise wasn't very kid's friendly. 
I am wondering how it is like with Royal Caribbean. We've only sailed to Caribbean before, so I am not too sure what to expect.

I am looking at Mediterranean cruises or maybe the Iceland one. 
My husband does not want to do cruise in Europe, but I think our daughter will enjoy it very much if this is a similar experience as the one we had in Caribbean (with perfect day at Coco Cay).
And is the sea rough? (If you saw my other posting, I gave up the idea of going to Mexican Riviera cruise due to rough seas).

 

Thank you.  

 

Princess and RCCL are not the same cruise line, so tough to compare.  You also did not say Kid's age. Kid's clubs are the same regardless where it sails, but with that being said, if you are just looking at the kids club, than remember a European cruise is more port intensive.  

 

No, it is not a similar experience.  You don't go to beaches, play in the water etc.  The tempatures are also colder. It is a completely different experience and if daughter is older should appreciate it. 

 

The sea can be rough anyplace you go.  It's the sea and will do whatever the weather says it will do. 

 

Basically, I found European cruises to be family friendly, and filled with exciting places.  But it is up to you as the parent, to pick and choose what you will do in port that will both interest you, and your child.  The right combination of activities will make the difference. 

[parkbr]

41 minutes ago, Tatka said:

When you say not friendly what do you mean?

Princess just like Royal has kids clubs although I would rate RCI kids/teens programs higher than Princess's

Of course how many kids really depends to the time and length of the cruise.

How old is your daughter? Cruising in Europe is really sightseeing intensive so if kid is younger you need to plan accordingly. We did not take our son to Med cruise when he was 11, but took later...

 

Mediterranean is a sea which has some storms sometimes, but generally much calmer than Atlantic or even Pacific.

 

They mentioned the fellow cruisers did not seemed to like the facts there were kids in the dining room and the kids programs were not very interested. 

 

Oh yes. Our daugher is 9 years old and we are thinking of July/August for cruising. 

[Missusdubbya]

54 minutes ago, parkbr said:

I think our daughter will enjoy it very much if this is a similar experience as the one we had in Caribbean (with perfect day at Coco Cay).

Cruising Iceland or the Med is not really a similar experience to cruising in the Caribbean

[parkbr]

28 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

Princess and RCCL are not the same cruise line, so tough to compare.  You also did not say Kid's age. Kid's clubs are the same regardless where it sails, but with that being said, if you are just looking at the kids club, than remember a European cruise is more port intensive.  

 

No, it is not a similar experience.  You don't go to beaches, play in the water etc.  The tempatures are also colder. It is a completely different experience and if daughter is older should appreciate it. 

 

The sea can be rough anyplace you go.  It's the sea and will do whatever the weather says it will do. 

 

Basically, I found European cruises to be family friendly, and filled with exciting places.  But it is up to you as the parent, to pick and choose what you will do in port that will both interest you, and your child.  The right combination of activities will make the difference. 

 

She is 9 years old. 

 

Oh yes, i understand that roughness depends on the water, but some are more than the other (likelihood). So was just wondering. 

 

I see that is is different experience altogether then. 🙂

She does not like beaches nor swimming all day, but she enjoys them for couple of hours a day but also perfectly fine not doing any water play at all and doesn't really care about waterparks either. So basically, having pool in the hotel is good to have, but not must when we travel, for example. (Yeah. I dont know what she likes anymore. Lol!)

 

I want to know if they have a kids club, and if it is run the same way as Caribbean ones (you can drop them off after dinnerand pick them up at 10pm) and the level of activities are similar. 

 

Thanks!

[Tatka]

5 minutes ago, parkbr said:

 

They mentioned the fellow cruisers did not seemed to like the facts there were kids in the dining room and the kids programs were not very interested. 

 

Oh yes. Our daugher is 9 years old and we are thinking of July/August for cruising. 

 

I have not noticed on Princess any different treatment of kids than on RCI.

It is also family line.

Probably individual experience.

[parkbr]

1 minute ago, Tatka said:

 

I have not noticed on Princess any different treatment of kids than on RCI.

It is also family line.

Probably individual experience.

Must be. 

Thank you!

[Tatka]

5 minutes ago, Missusdubbya said:

Cruising Iceland or the Med is not really a similar experience to cruising in the Caribbean

 

It is different as you have much more to explore, but other than that everything is the same about ships.

[kernow]

9 minutes ago, parkbr said:

 

They mentioned the fellow cruisers did not seemed to like the facts there were kids in the dining room and the kids programs were not very interested. 

 

Oh yes. Our daugher is 9 years old and we are thinking of July/August for cruising. 

July/August is European school holidays so there will be lots of kids onboard. Med cruise will be very different to Iceland /Baltic, like comparing Carribean to Alaska, Europe is a big place😁.

Although Americans see Med as port intensive to us this side of the pond it's like our Caribbean so all the ports can be beach stops if you want them to be, it's what you make it. When our son was younger we cruised all the Europe itineraries and he always had a great time. Most Southern Europeans cruise in family groups and love children so not usually hostile to them.

[KiwiGal117]

We did a Mediterranean cruise on RCI Harmony of the Seas in 2016 - RCI is great for kids, and there was plenty for them to do. Our son was 12 at the time.  We tried to mix in fun kid stuff with sightseeing.  That included hanging out by the pool, letting him do the zip line, and during our days in port we did a pizza and gelato making class - things like that.  We were gone 2 1/2 weeks, with time in Italy before and after.  We were all ready to come home, but the last full day we were at St. Peter's Basilica and my son threw his arms around me and said "thank you for this amazing trip".  So, I would say that yes, there were ups and downs, but on the whole it was an amazing experience and I am so glad we did it.

[kernow]

11 minutes ago, parkbr said:

 

She is 9 years old. 

 

Oh yes, i understand that roughness depends on the water, but some are more than the other (likelihood). So was just wondering. 

 

I see that is is different experience altogether then. 🙂

She does not like beaches nor swimming all day, but she enjoys them for couple of hours a day but also perfectly fine not doing any water play at all and doesn't really care about waterparks either. So basically, having pool in the hotel is good to have, but not must when we travel, for example. (Yeah. I dont know what she likes anymore. Lol!)

 

I want to know if they have a kids club, and if it is run the same way as Caribbean ones (you can drop them off after dinnerand pick them up at 10pm) and the level of activities are similar. 

 

Thanks!

The Kids clubs are exactly the same as in the Caribbean. 

[Missusdubbya]

18 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

It is different as you have much more to explore, but other than that everything is the same about ships.

 

Differences I have experienced from cruising to Caribbean ports include the markedly different ports of call and access to them, onboard dining menus, onboard shops stock and diversity of other passengers. Other people may have had a different experience. 

[Tatka]

5 minutes ago, Missusdubbya said:

 

Differences I have experienced from cruising to Caribbean ports include the markedly different ports of call and access to them, onboard dining menus, onboard shops stock and diversity of other passengers. Other people may have had a different experience. 

 

Unless you are sailing with different cruise companies  same ships sail in Europe during summers and Caribbeans during colder seasons. Menus are same fleet wide.

 

 Are you comparing ships of same companies (for example RCI) ?

 

We cruised with RCI in Western Mediterranean and here

Same with NCL Eastern Mediterranean and here

Princess from England to Belgium and Scandinavia and here

 

except for different ports we did not notice much difference. Of course if you are tired from port exploration you can skip some late night activities

Edited March 6, 2023 by Tatka

[parkbr]

21 minutes ago, kernow said:

July/August is European school holidays so there will be lots of kids onboard. Med cruise will be very different to Iceland /Baltic, like comparing Carribean to Alaska, Europe is a big place😁.

Although Americans see Med as port intensive to us this side of the pond it's like our Caribbean so all the ports can be beach stops if you want them to be, it's what you make it. When our son was younger we cruised all the Europe itineraries and he always had a great time. Most Southern Europeans cruise in family groups and love children so not usually hostile to them.

 

That is great to hear. 

Which itinerary do you recommend for 9 year old? 

I am hoping to do mix of children and tours. 

Both me and my husband have been to Europe before, so we want to show it to our daughter. But in a fun way! (We did Portugal and Ireland in 2019 and she was 5. But we did a backpacking, so it was rather more intensive. 😛)

[Tatka]

I would avoid itineraries which stop in Civitavecchia (port for Rome) as it takes about an hour to drive/ride there. Maybe fly to Rome explore and then ride into the port to start your cruise.

 

Also I loved our Eastern Med cruise from Venice, but now ships are not allowed there. Cruises with Croatia (Dubrovnik, Split) , Montenegro, Greece are nice. IMHO explorations there is easier for a child than Rome

Edited March 6, 2023 by Tatka

[kernow]

5 minutes ago, parkbr said:

 

That is great to hear. 

Which itinerary do you recommend for 9 year old? 

I am hoping to do mix of children and tours. 

Both me and my husband have been to Europe before, so we want to show it to our daughter. But in a fun way! (We did Portugal and Ireland in 2019 and she was 5. But we did a backpacking, so it was rather more intensive. 😛)

It depends what you and your 9 year old like. Med at that time of year will be hot and ports busy but you can mix up sightseeing with a couple of beach days for a more relaxed feel. Northern Europe will probably be a bit cooler but you can still find lots of child friendly things to do in all the ports. There will be plenty of different nationalities onboard wherever you go and lots of families with children. 

[Missusdubbya]

10 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

Unless you are sailing with different cruise companies  same ships sail in Europe during summers and Caribbeans during colder seasons. Menus are same fleet wide.

 

 Are you comparing ships of same companies (for example RCI) ?

 

 

Thanks I am aware of deployment across seasons.

 

Yes my experience is with RCI, and in my experience menus are not the same. In 2022, Vision of the Seas from Barcelona MDR menu had additional items to cater to different tastes (for example, every night a savoury pie and Indian dish on the menu).

 

Just because you have had a different experience does not invalidate my experience.

 

[CruiseMelissa]

It's a FANTASTIC way to travel with kids, unpack once and see the world!  We've did Italy/France/Spain when my kids were 6 and 8, Baltics 11 and 8 and we're doing Greece and Montenegro on Explorer this summer, they'll be 10 and 12.  There are definitely less kids on these itineraries but there are also a bunch of kids from all over the world which my kids LOVE.

[Tatka]

6 minutes ago, Missusdubbya said:

 

Thanks I am aware of deployment across seasons.

 

Yes my experience is with RCI, and in my experience menus are not the same. In 2022, Vision of the Seas from Barcelona MDR menu had additional items to cater to different tastes (for example, every night a savoury pie and Indian dish on the menu).

 

Just because you have had a different experience does not invalidate my experience.

 

 

Thank you.

Menus are available in Royal App, I will check.

[MLAW]

We sailed Eastern med when my daughters were 9 and 11.  One of the best cruises we have ever taken.  The kids program was really the same but because our cruise was very port intensive, they spent less time there in the evenings.  We cruised June into July so it was extremely hot but the girls were troopers.  We did very little time at beaches but used the pool on the ship before dinner almost daily.  Also made sure we got gelato in every port.  Lots of kids from all over the world were onboard.  I would do it over again in a heart beat.  Memories we will all have forever.