rruocco Posted April 13, 2008 #1 Share Posted April 13, 2008 Anyone have any suggestions? We are looking to go with other couples and have kids from 3-11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SelectSys Posted April 13, 2008 #2 Share Posted April 13, 2008 Anyone have any suggestions? We are looking to go with other couples and have kids from 3-11. Search the roll calls for people on western med cruises. In reality any med cruise during the summer on "kid friendly" lines will have plenty of kids on board. Try RCCL, Carnival, and Princess for starters. Even Celebrity and HAL will have lots of kids on board during summer. Have a great trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I&MsMom Posted April 13, 2008 #3 Share Posted April 13, 2008 I would consider whether you want to do an "open jaw" itinerary, which will have you flying into one country and out of another, or whether you want a cruise that is round trip out of a single port/country. Also, what length cruise are you looking for? For example, and with the exception of repositioning cruises, Carnival only offers 12 night cruises in Europe. There really are many options to choose from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatball77 Posted April 14, 2008 #4 Share Posted April 14, 2008 We just got back from the conquest with a four year old. We had a fantastic time. I wouldn't take kids younger than eight off the ship in Jamacia, they won't understand the pushy vendors. They'll have fun in the kids club. The older kids can learn from seeing the poverty and you can take them to do somthing adventerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaklang Posted April 14, 2008 #5 Share Posted April 14, 2008 I cruised the Med (without kids) a couple of years ago and it was amazing so you are really in for a treat! I would say that you are probably best not booking too many excursions but rather planning to do most cities on your own. The Med is a very port-intensive cruise and gets really tiring near the end, so you have to be prepared for meltdowns. If you've spent a lot of money on an excursion, you don't want to be stuck on a tour while your kid throws a tantrum or whines through the whole thing. Most cities were pretty easy to do on our own - just requires you to be a bit of a savvy traveler. I do recommend tours in Rome and Naples/Pompeii. Rome tour is great because it saves you a TON of time from standing in lines at places like the Colosseum and the Vatican. Pompeii is such a cool site that I think the older kids will really enjoy it. Even the little ones might like it, though the streets are pretty uneven so make sure they are wearing good walking shoes. When booking tours, your best bet is probably booking private tours. That way, you have a little freedom with your itinerary, you get an air conditioned van for travel, and you don't get herded around with everyone else. We loved http://www.benvenutolimos.com in Rome, and I believe they also service Naples and/or Florence. I hope you have a great time. We're taking our first cruise with our baby to Alaska next month so I am keeping my fingers crossed for a good trip there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I&MsMom Posted April 14, 2008 #6 Share Posted April 14, 2008 I agree with the previous poster: plan to do most ports on your own. That way, you can be maximally flexible. IMHO, the main thing is to accept, before you even start to really make plans, that there is NO way you can "see it all". Even if you spend a week in some of these cities, you can only scratch the surface. So, choose one or two must-sees, and plan your day around that. Also, we aren't big on spending time in museums in Europe. We're lucky enough to live close enough to NYC that we can get to amazing museums wherever we wish. So, when we're in Europe, we're more interested in spending time just "being there". Happy planning!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccalouise Posted April 14, 2008 #7 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Most of our favorite experiences were unplanned ones. For example in Villefranche- it was just fun watchng the locals jump off the stone wall into the water. There is a fort on the hill overlooking the harbor- which would appeal to kids and not cost you a fortune. Monte Carlo is nice and there are amusement rides by the water there. In Dubrovnik it was nice to just gaze out at the clear blue water. In Santorini we found a little hotel/cafe called "Casa Blanca", which ironically is the only red building in Santorini. In Pompeii, we ditched our tour guide and just explored on our own. My then 6 year old son loved it. In Venice- he loved sitting at the back of the vaporetto and playing in a park at the end near the Arsenal. If you can- do the Cinque Terre instead of Florence. Really a nice tour that would work well with kids 3 and older. In Rome- take the ship shuttle to and from and then explore on your own. The Hop-on-hop-off buses would be ideal. Kids will love sitting in on the upstairs, openair deck. My son loved it in Barcelona and Madrid. Anywhere where there is climbing to be done will be a hit- Forts, Castles and Ruins are a big hit and in most cases you can do these on your own. If you do go with a guide- just make sure you are back on the bus at the allocated time. If the kids get antsy- just ditch the guide. As for cruise lines, I can't think of a better line to Europe than Celebrity. The Fun Factory is awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onessa Posted April 14, 2008 #8 Share Posted April 14, 2008 We've done a few RCCI European trips. Itinerary depends upon what the you and the kids are interested in. None of us are "beach" people - we like the history and art, DD and I love to shop, and we also like to hike - so we tend to do those things. If the cruise is pretty port intensive, you don't need to worry as much about the on-board activities; but if you have several days at sea be certain to cruise a ship/line with lots of stuff for everyone to do. The larger RCCI have skating, court sports, mini-golf, etc. Some of the smaller ships have more limited activities. DD likes RCCI because of the climbing wall -- but that certainly is not our major deciding factor when booking a cruise! We've also cruised with kid(s) on NCL and Princess. All three have good kids programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeleBrat Posted April 15, 2008 #9 Share Posted April 15, 2008 We are booked on a MED cruise in July, leaving from Barcelona on the NCL Gem. We chose this ship so we could forgo formal dining, and not have to pack formal attire for that long trek overseas. We have been overseas before, but it will be our first trip for the kids. We thought that a cruise would be the best way to introduce them to Europe. A cruise ship will ALWAYS be a nice "welcome home" at the end of a long day of touring. And, the kids know they will always find a good slice of pizza after spending the day being introduced to strange foreign foods. OK--the foods are not really strange. It's just that my kids are super picky! And--the best thing about a cruise--the cities "come" to you overnight when the ship sails. So, no need to worry about coordinating travel plans to visit unique cities like Rome vs Pompeii vs wherever. We are visiting Malta, Villefranche, Citivecchia (Rome), Naples, and Livorno (Florence) on our upcoming cruise. I'll be sure to post a thorough review on this board when I return. Can't wait! CeleBrat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.