European Lines & Kids

[CruisinEurope]

Hello!

 

We are Americans living in Europe and are looking to cruise with them around Europe.

 

They are 4 and 6 currently - so we are looking for ships that have:

 

- a decent kids club

- great pools (my kids are part fish)

- easy dining options (variety, choice of times, etc.)

 

I'm OK with the differences in European and American customs, and don't easily shock.

 

I'm really just trying to figure out if most of the European Lines (Costa, MSC, P&O, etc.) are KID friendly... or if it's more senior based.

 

Any thoughts would be great!

 

Thanks!

[CeleBrat]

We've sailed Costa twice with the kids (now aged 5 and 7), and really enjoyed it. The Kids Club features a fictional "Squokker" as its mascot, and throughout the week the kids earn Squokker bucks for participating in activities. At the end of the week, they get to participate in an auction to redeem their Squokker bucks for cool souvenirs, such as backpacks, CD cases, frisbees, yoyos, hats, etc...

 

There were lots of fun activities in the Squok Club, including parties, face painting, scavenger hunts, art/crafts, etc. Lot of variety.

 

On both the Costa Fortuna and Costa Mediterranea, there were several pools and lots of opportunity to swim. Both had slides also.

 

BOth the ships also had a great buffet--lots of variety, including always-available pizza and ice cream.

 

You can see in my signature that we are trying out MSC next year. We love to try new/different ships.

 

CeleBrat

[rebeccalouise]

I really think it depends what type of experience you are looking for. Cruising in the med is very popular in summer. Costa will have many children in the kids program- many that are Italian. Costa offers the kids sail free cruises in summer.

 

If your kids really like to swim I would choose either Holland America or Princess- since they have freshwater pools (as opposed to Saltwater). Princess offers Anytime dining and has buffet dining almost 24 hours. The kids program on Princess is really good for the little ones- mostly arts and crafts but not over-run with children.

 

I am doing Holland America this summer to Greece and Turkey and I'll let everyone know how it goes. Then we are doing the British Isles on Princess a few days later.