Europe - by land or sea - which did you prefer?

[cdnliving]

Hello fellow cruisers. I was just wondering if those of you who have travelled to Europe by both land and sea could comment on which they preferred and why. We are a family of four, our kids being 13, & 10, and have waivered on which would be the best way to experience it. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. Your first hand comments are always most helpful!

[GORDONCHICK]

I think with your family in mind, a cruise may be the best way to do that, but if in depth sight-seeing is what you want, and land vacation would be best for that. Maybe a cruise for the family, and a land vacation when the kids are older and not with you.

[cdnliving]

Thanks Gordonchick for your reply. You mentioned that a cruise is the way to go for our family - would you mind commenting as to why a cruise would be the better option? Thanks.....

[cdnliving]

Love to hear from some others ........

[paul929207]

The major cities of Europe (like London, Paris & Rome) are far from the ports you might stop it. It is impossible to really see these cities on an excursion from the ship. If you are starting or ending a cruise in or two of them, you could go early, or stay over.

 

That said, a cruise is a nice way to go for a family. No hassles about getting up to go sightseeing. The tour leaves at a given time. Be there or miss it.

 

Paul

[pg.]

I love cruising, but honestly, no one can really say they have seen Europe by cruising. It is just too little time in ports for what there is to see.

For instance, how can you say you have seen Paris when the port is a three hour drive away,, that is six hours of driving on a bus, for maybe a total of 4 or 6 hours i the city, it is the same with ROME!

 

It is tiring for kids to tour that way. It is not the same as Caribbean or Mexican cruising where the main sites( be it beachers or shopping) are usaully 10 to 20 minutes away from the piers).

 

I have taken my kids cruising, ( although not ot europe) and I have taken my then 14 yr old son to Europe ( 2 yrs ago) and this year our next son gets his turn to go ( he is now 14) , and there is no comparision nor any question in my mind over how to "see Europe"

 

Your question was what is the best way "to experience it" well I strongly feel the answer is picking two or three main cities and spending at least 4 or 5 days in each. Europe is not the McDonalds of travellling( meaning not fast food grab) it is meant to be savoured.

PS As a child I travelled to Europe at 10 and 13... so kids and Europe mix well, just don't rush through it.

[LHT28]

Hello fellow cruisers. I was just wondering if those of you who have travelled to Europe by both land and sea could comment on which they preferred and why. We are a family of four, our kids being 13, & 10, and have waivered on which would be the best way to experience it. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. Your first hand comments are always most helpful!

 

It is a hard decision.

Only you know what your children would be interested in.

Europe is more steeped in history than the Caribbean.

If they enjoy old buildings and history maybe a land tour would be a good way to see it all.

If you do a land trip are you planning on driving in Europe, a bus tour or the train?? There is a alot of pre planning to do if going it alone.

 

A cruise is a good way to see a small portion of each place then you can decide for another trip where to see more.

[agabbymama]

I would definitely plan a land tour, and get a rental car. They drive on the same side of the road that we do (everywhere but England).

 

Did Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and back to Germany by car(4 weeks). Had a great time. I did Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg by train (3 weeks) and that was fun too. So decide what is most important for you to see, decide how much time you have. Distances are not so great in Europe as here in the US, so you can actually drive to quite a few more places.

 

It's easy to plan everything on the Internet. For Holland I had all the reservations made in advance. For Italy, we winged it with no reservations ahead of time (wouldn't do that again) actually had to sleep in the car one night because the hotel I had planned had a fire and wasn't open.

 

You see so much more when travelling on land, than just visiting a port for a couple of hours.

 

Have a great trip no matter what you choose.

[psklak]

Can't comment on which is better - both are great!

Cruising definitely is easier, particularly with a family. No packing and unpacking, activities (and even a kids club on some lines), and timing. The disadvantage is limited time in port. As mentioned above, Rome is AT LEAST an hour away from the port. The cruise lines do an admirable job on excursions but they are expensive - especially when you're talking about a family of four! Also, there are so many choices and only time enough to do one. Should you do Pompeii or the Amalfi Coast? What about Capri? You don't have time to do it all.

Land tours are great. You know your family and their interests. If they are into history of the country, the land tour probably is best. You will see more and, if you have a centralized base of operation, can see a lot. London and Paris in particular are great central locations to see a lot.

We have done both and enjoyed both. I'm sure you will too.

[cwc]

Just a though, if you are doing a land tour on your own, you will need to find places to eat every single meal. That really stressed me out when I was in Paris for 3 days solo. I was afraid "wasting" my meal/money at some bad restaurant.:D Incase your kids are picky eater, cruise will gurantee they will be well fed :).

 

If you want to see what Europe is like, do a cruise. You will get a favor of different places, but if you want to experience European life, then land tour.

[alwalaska]

I would definitely plan a land tour, and get a rental car. They drive on the same side of the road that we do (everywhere but England).

 

Did Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and back to Germany by car(4 weeks). Had a great time. I did Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg by train (3 weeks) and that was fun too. So decide what is most important for you to see, decide how much time you have. Distances are not so great in Europe as here in the US, so you can actually drive to quite a few more places.

 

It's easy to plan everything on the Internet. For Holland I had all the reservations made in advance. For Italy, we winged it with no reservations ahead of time (wouldn't do that again) actually had to sleep in the car one night because the hotel I had planned had a fire and wasn't open.

 

You see so much more when travelling on land, than just visiting a port for a couple of hours.

 

Have a great trip no matter what you choose.

 

Can you give me more info about renting cars that you will be driving between countries? We too are trying to decide land based or cruise to Europe.

[daiB]

On one holiday you cannot do Europe.

 

If you want a taste and the bairns would not like to much history then a cruise is perfect especially with the Kids club.

 

If you want experience a country then it has to be by land as you then come into contact with more Europeans.

 

But be warned in many places on the continent people do not speak English and so learning a little French, German or Italian would add so much to your experience. Having said that we British are among the worst regarding speaking to the locals. It really breaks the ice if you start by speaking in the language of the country even if you have only about 20 words and a few sentence's.

 

When you are on a cruise and you take the organised trips you are to an extent cocooned and are only seeing the country. You must do some of your own thing to experience it.

 

As has been said it is difficult to advise as only you know your own children. It may not be as easy to find fun things for them to do on a land trip.

 

 

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

 

 

:cool:

Dai

[agabbymama]

Can you give me more info about renting cars that you will be driving between countries? We too are trying to decide land based or cruise to Europe.

 

We rented the car in Frankfurt Germany through Hertz. The only forbidden areas were the former Communist Block nations. Even though they are no

longer Communist, guess they aren't considered safe. They give you a map showing the countries you cannot go into. Got a good price because we rented it for the month. That was just before the Euro took effect. Don't know what the prices are like now.

[cdnliving]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful insights. I think you likely summed it up well when you said "if you want to see it, than cruising is best....but if you want to experience it, than land is best. I guess my difficulty is that we want to do it all.....and don't have enought time to do that!!

I think we will then spend 2.5 days in Paris, 3 in Rome, and then 2.5 in Venice, followed by our cruise to Italy, Spain, Greece, France and Dubrovnik. Does this sound like overkill, or overly busy to any of you? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this itinerary....Thanks so much..again.....

[pisces1]

First, if I was doing a land tour, I would try and not rent a car but use the excellent rail/bus service available. I guess it depends on where you would want to visit, but many times in the larger cities a car is not only a hassle, but can be hazardous to your health. If you thought driving in Boston or Manhattan was bad, Rome, Paris and other major destinations can be ridiculous. Foreign road signs, heavy traffic, incredible fuel costs, unfamiliar maps, expensive parking tariffs, all make for a gigantic migraine. I have lived in Europe, and we rarely traveled by car. The Euro continues to dominate the dollar so if you thought our gas prices were high, you are in for sticker shock. Also, there have been many complaints in regards to rentals and rental agreements. They are not so cut and dry as they are here, but even in the States, those things can be confusing. Remember too, that each country has different road rules and regulations. Rail travel is excellent, it gives you a chance to see the country side and you always arrive in a central location at your destination.

[aprildream]

If I were taking my kids(they're grown) I think picking a central location like London, Paris, etc. and staying put for a week or 2 with the luggage and stuff and take day trips. London has enough to keep kids busy and some of the castles outside the city actually have knights and jousting and that kind of thing. You can even take the train to Paris for the day. It sounds hard with kids to keep packing and unpacking and spending all the time on the road. That's the good thing about cruises. The bad thing is you don't get that "in depth look." Spend a week or two in London then take a cruise out of London to the Mediterranian or the Baltics. The best of both.

[critterchick]

DH and I did Italy by rail and it worked brilliantly. There is the occasional strike, but when we were in Florence it was announced several days ahead of time. I think that would be a nicer way to travel than being lost in a country with signs you can't read (although that can be quite an adventure, too).

 

I think you have a very ambitious but completely doable itinerary. Is your cruise R/T out of Venice? If so, why not consider staying there post cruise - do Paris, fly to Rome, take the train to Venice, board the ship, then take a couple of days after to see Venice. That way you're not ending 2 fabulous weeks by racing to the airport. Just a thought....

[wieslaw]

Hello fellow cruisers. I was just wondering if those of you who have travelled to Europe by both land and sea could comment on which they preferred and why. We are a family of four, our kids being 13, & 10, and have waivered on which would be the best way to experience it. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. Your first hand comments are always most helpful!

Hi,

there is so much to see and experience in Europe that either the short excursions from ' ocean liners' or even the tours on some of the larger tour operators all inclusive tours will not do justice to what you will see and experience.

I was born in Europe (but live in the US since 1959) and traveled in Europe through number of counties in a car on my own....and also toured portion of Europe (1994) on an all inclusive tour from London to Naples and back to London. I am not going to 'cover' the 'ocean cruise liners' tours....others have done that already......they are short, really short in most cases.......so I will cover more of the 'land' and a little about ' a river cruise' in Europe.

Going in a car gives you the most freedom......but you are facing the heavy traffic, high prices of gasoline, expensive hotels, expensive meals (Europe is not 'cheap' and the low value of the US dollar does not help any), difficulty in finding parking and sometimes just plain getting lost.

Traveling on the tour bus is a lot better than the car.....you leave the driving, the parking - to someone else. But you still face the same traffic conditions and might be sitting in the bus for many hours each day......but at least you can do some things in the bus (even a simple but necessary use of the WC is there) that you can not do in the car in the same traffic jam.

Hotels arranged by the tour company might not be the 5 or 4 star rating...but they are clean and good enough and probably they would cost you a lot more if you arranged them yourself - they get better price most of the time. Meals in the hotels and restaurants (part of your tour package) might not be the best..... but not bad at all....and all of that has been arranged for you - on your own you have to know where to go, where to park.

On your own you travel at your own pace - on the tour you up early every day, laggage out by 6 or 7 am, quick brakfast and you are on the road again.

So the traveling either on your own or 'tour' will give you some real taste of Europe but not enough......and it is not that easy...especially with 10 and 13 year old kids.

What we have done in 2003 - was a river cruise. That one was mostly in Netherlands.

There are rivers in Europe that can take you through several countries.

The 'hotel' was the river 'boat' - you unpack only once and pack again when you ready to leave.

The 'boat' travels at night (sometimes during the day too) and will take you to places that you will visit the next day - very convienient.

The food is very good and you eat mostly on the 'boat'. Each morning there is a bus with a local tour guide waiting for you to go and see Europe. Sometimes you come back for lunch (boat might have moved to new location) and sometimes they will provide lunch for you in some nice local restaurant....afternoon another tour and back to the 'boat' for nice dinner and some lecture about what you will see the next day...and some entertainment.

A lot more convienient than the car or the bus......but it still will only give some taste of Europe.

Wes

[Nonna and Papa]

You've received some very good advice from the other posters. Ultimately, you and your family, especially with the kid's input (if not your life could be made miserable!), have to decide what you most want to see and that will help determine the plans you make.

 

A few other thoughts to consider... If it is important to you to get more of a cultural flavor from where you travel, a land trip will act as a resource, and be a great benefit to the children. Stay in smaller hotels where they are exposed to the language and some of the customs. This can't be done from a cruise ship.

 

Not only can a car be a hassle in a large city, as pointed out by another poster, in terms of gas, but you also have to consider where you will park. In many countries, theft is common, since it's usually easy to spot a rental car.

 

Unless you want to travel to more remote areas or to the countryside, where a car might be a consideration, I am an advocate of train travel. It is practical, dependable ( although a one day strike may occur in Italy now and then), and affordable. Trains go everywhere. Just make sure you plan for time needed to travel; but then you'd have to do this with a car, too.

 

A cruise is the easiest way to get a sense of what each country looks like, but that's about all. There's just not enough time to experience more. But you also have ease of travel, all the amenities, and at night, it's like coming back home, in a way.

 

Whatever you decide, land, cruise, or a combination of both, get some good guidebooks and plan your time as best you can. Get a pocket sized notebook and before you leave home, list transportation tips, restaurants, and things you want to sightsee and any other hints and/or ideas you may find in the guidebooks. We do this on every land trip and it has proved invaluable for the times we are too tired to wing it.

 

Good Luck. Have a wonderful time.

 

Mary

[pg.]

I think your combination cruise and land is a good idea,, I might consider revising some of your time allowances. In Paris there is more then 2.5 days worth of sites, that even your children will like. Kids as a rule love climbing the towers at Notre Dame, going up the Eiffel Tower, climbing down into les Catacombs( google that ! ) and seeing the mummies at the Louvre,, plus a river cruise up the Siene and ice cream in the Luxemburg Gardens. Rome, well what kid is not interested in seeing the Coloseum,,and Roman ruins,,the fountains are spectacular even a child can acknowledge that, and eating spaghetti,, but Venice, well honestly , parents love it, but for kids one gondola ride just about does it.

I had NO trouble finding food in Paris for my son. Almost any basice bistro/cafe has roast chicken and fries, I know, since my son ate alot of it! LOL Fancy restaurants are not great for kids ,, service can take long,, the concept of "leisurly dining" is not somthing most North Americans embrace , so we always ate in bistros, brasseries, and cafes.

 

I agree with posters who suggest picking one or two cities, and avoid renting a car for such short city bound stays. I would consider flying into London( my son LOVED London) and taking the Eurostar to Paris( son loved that too, and it was only 45 euros ( return) with advance buy , (travel on non peak ,days/times) then take the train onto Rome or Venice , where I assume you then board the ship. I would purchase return train tickets as I have not been able to find open jaw tickets that weren't way too expensive, perhaps with you may though, you Americans seem to know about so many good deals! LOL

 

 

I have used "Tripadvisor" forum boards and gotten tons of useful tips and even used the READER reviews to book my hotels. I travelled solo with my son and had no safety concerns..

 

I just wanted to say the Greek Isles are spectacular,,, you will love them.

[kestrel]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful insights. I think you likely summed it up well when you said "if you want to see it, than cruising is best....but if you want to experience it, than land is best. I guess my difficulty is that we want to do it all.....and don't have enought time to do that!!

I think we will then spend 2.5 days in Paris, 3 in Rome, and then 2.5 in Venice, followed by our cruise to Italy, Spain, Greece, France and Dubrovnik. Does this sound like overkill, or overly busy to any of you? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this itinerary....Thanks so much..again.....

 

Europe is a place that you will want to go back to visit again and again. Therefore, you don't have to "do it all" in a single trip. In our first trip to Europe, we did a land tour and spent several days each in London and Paris. Our second trip is a Med cruise with pre- and post-cruise stay in Rome and Venice, respectively. We (including kids) enjoyed both trips. We are taking our third European trip this summer (with kids again) :D

[momofmeg]

If I were taking my kids(they're grown) I think picking a central location like London, Paris, etc. and staying put for a week or 2 with the luggage and stuff and take day trips. London has enough to keep kids busy and some of the castles outside the city actually have knights and jousting and that kind of thing. You can even take the train to Paris for the day. It sounds hard with kids to keep packing and unpacking and spending all the time on the road. That's the good thing about cruises. The bad thing is you don't get that "in depth look." Spend a week or two in London then take a cruise out of London to the Mediterranian or the Baltics. The best of both.

 

We did that several years ago when our daughter was a young teen-we loved London but she didn't-she missed not having spicy food to eat! The first thing she did when we got off the plane back in the states-once we cleared customs- was hit the airport Taco Bell! and not because she was a Taco bell fan-she was just sick of the plain, unseasoned food!

 

I do think though, she found Hampton Court, the Tower of London, and all those other places interesting, and she really loved the day trip we took to Warrick Castle and Shakespeare's birthplace-she just missed American food!

 

We are going back to England this fall-precruise; but our daughter won't be with us this time; although now that she is an adult I think she would appreciate the trip more then the last one-but this is our 25th aniversary trip so she can't come!

[momofmeg]

Europe is a place that you will want to go back to visit again and again. Therefore, you don't have to "do it all" in a single trip. In our first trip to Europe, we did a land tour and spent several days each in London and Paris. Our second trip is a Med cruise with pre- and post-cruise stay in Rome and Venice, respectively. We (including kids) enjoyed both trips. We are taking our third European trip this summer (with kids again) :D

 

Our next trip to Europe after this fall-we want to do a land tour of France and Italy with highlights of Paris, Venice, and Rome. Our daughter will go with us on that trip. I guess when we do that trip; we will not do a cruise that year.

[RetiredMustang]

cdnliving,

 

Wow, you've really gotten me thinking. You have gotten a lot of great advice from many people, but I will see if I can emphasize some things or help a bit.

 

DW and I (and for much of it our sons), lived in Europe off and on, for 11 years total, and someday we hope to have seen most of it! That sounds like a flip answer, but it wasn't intended as that. Europe is large and complex, and think how long it would take to see most of Canada, U.S. and Mexico, not to mention the rest of Latin America.

 

Some observations:

 

1. Check with your teens. Find out their preferences. Do they like history, natural beauty, cool museums, whatever. We did that with ours once they became old enough, and to our surprise, they once picked Paris. We found out that we had left them with sitters earlier in their lives to see Paris, and they always wanted to know what was the big hairy deal about it. (Plus, they wanted to see Jim Morrison's grave, so who knows what goes on in their thought process at any one time :D ).

 

2. I don't recommend a car in most places; rail service is quite good, and it would be almost impossible to park a car in most central cities, where you likely will want to be, whereas that's where the main train station usually is. Absolutely DO NOT rent a car in southern Italy. Theft is a problem, but even more so is you are probably not able to negotiate the traffic and driving habits of Neapolitans with any kind of ease! I wasn't, until I had lived in Naples for months.

 

3. Dai is correct -- Absolutely learn at least "please", "thank you" and other simple phrases in the language(s) of the country(ies) you plan to visit. Just showing the effort generally pays off with willingness to help you out.

 

4. Don't try to do it all at once!!! You will just exhaust yourselves and the memories will blur. Several people have given great advice about picking a central place and striking out from there on day trips or so. For a first time, I would recommend the following:

 

- London. We lived there three years, and go back to visit every so often, and always find something new. There is no (or only a little, Dai ;) ) problem understanding the language. There are wonderful attractions, from the Tower to the London dungeon both of which teens seem to like, a river cruise to Greenwich, and trips to parks, museums, the London Eye, etc., etc. For spicy food, you can get decent TexMex at the Texas Embassy, and Indian restaurants abound. And, Britrail will easily take you on day trips to Oxford, Bath, Brighton, etc., and your hotel concierge can help you arrange bus trips to Stratford, Warwick Castle, and many others. Then, you could catch a QM2 crossing to NYC, perhaps!

 

- Paris. This is a wonderful city for walking about. There are also world heritage museums (The Louvre, Jeu de Paume, many others), history and monuments and boulevards and food. A favorite sight of ours is the view of the sweep of the city from the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) cathederal high on a hill. Lots of side trips are available as well, from Versailles to chateux to vinyards. You could combine it with a QM2 crossing, going to Southampton via London on a train through the Chunnel.

 

- Munich. This is the capital of the Bavaria district of Germany. Museums, food, etc. Side trips are many, including into southern Bavaria to places such as Oberammergau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (quick, think of Bavaria -- the image you have really exists there) as well as fairy-tale castles of King Ludwig like Neuschwanstein, the model for Disney's Cinderalla Castle. You might match this with a Rhine River cruise, even if it's only a day around St. Goarshausen and the Lorelei.

 

- Rome. My second favorite city after London. There's history like the Coliseum and Forum; the art like the Sistine Chapel; the religious history and architecture like the Vatican and St. Peter's; the food, the wonderful people, the Spanish steps, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, cappucinos on the Piazza Navona, etc., etc., etc. And, you could take a re-positioning trip, like us, from Rome to the U.S.!

 

Whatever you choose, even if it's just a day shore excursion from a cruise ship, please savor and enjoy whatever time you have in Europe!

 

Dave

[cdnliving]

Thankyou everyone for the FAbulous and well thought out replies..you have all been most helpful & make the planning process all the more enjoyable. Thanks for sharing your ideas, thoughts & experiences..greatly appreciated.