Best European Itinerary Cruise Line for Kids?

[Luxuriate]

I want to take my son (he will be almost 6 years-old at the time) on a Mommy/Daddy Wedding Anniversary cruise to Europe. My husband and I were married on August 26, 2000, and took a wonderful land and vacation cruise on Celebrity Cruise lines from Amsterdam through Barcelona (I think) for our honeymoon. We were gone for about two weeks.

 

I want to take a similar cruise, same length but not necessarily the same ports, for our 10 year anniversary. As you would expect, we have a little one in tow now. :) Australia would be great too but I think the timing is bad.

 

Has anyone had exceptionally good luck with a particular cruise-line for a 10-14 day cruise in Europe that has been really good for kids? I'm thinking Celebrity again (we are regulars) but would like to hear about other options before I book.

 

I don't see any itineraries yet but would love to hear experiences, regarding kid's programs and everything else, for the August/September itineraries of various cruise lines.

 

Thanks,

 

Cheryl

[Keith1010]

I think Celebrity would be great. Another one to look at is Princess. But if you are happy with Celebrity take that one. They have a good childrens program and of course they are great for mom and dad.

 

Keith

[brazilgirl]

I loved the Celebrity Summit -Med itinerary. You hit all the "favorite" European cities-Barcelona , Nice , Livorno(Pisa) , Rome , Naples , Dubrovnik , Santorini , Athens and Venice. It is a perfect "sampler" of the Med´s beauty.

 

Celebrity´s Fun Factory is impeccable-my kids loved it.

 

Another interesting European option is the cruise we will be taking on the Constellation June, 27th. We will be leaving Harwich (England) , hitting Amsterdam , Rostock (Germany) , Stockholm , Helsinki , St.Petersburg ( 2 days) , Tallin (Estonia) , Copenhagen (2 days) then back to Harwich. All these ports are very , very kid friendly , with tons of things to do . They are also easier to navigate than the Med ports. The Med ports involve long distances , which require drivers etc (really worth it though!)

 

We are going to do 3 days Paris pre-cruise and 3 days London post-cruise. They both have so many wonderful things for families too. I have done lots of research on the Baltics for kids and it is really recommended.

 

Whatever you decide , have lots of fun!

Kim

[SelectSys]

...

Has anyone had exceptionally good luck with a particular cruise-line for a 10-14 day cruise in Europe that has been really good for kids? I'm thinking Celebrity again (we are regulars) but would like to hear about other options before I book.

...

 

I am not sure about exceptionally good luck but we have had great times on Celebrity's sister line RCCL. I would pick the med over the baltic for kids as you'll have more pool and sun time. My kids seemed to really like the eastern med trip with stops in the greek islands.

[Rudi610]

There are rumors floating about that Disney may do 12 night Baltic cruises in 2010 during the summer. Disney is definitely a kid friendly cruise line. You may want to keep your eyes out for press releases soon. Only downfall, Disney can be pricey (I head their Med cruises were expensive).

[riggins]

I checked out Disney's 12-night Baltics today and using their base published prices, the cheapest inside cabin for a family of 4 was $10,000 - before taxes and the fuel surcharge!:eek: When I did the math with the cabin type we wanted and estimated airfare, tips, and excursions, I was over $25k. We love DCL, but we won't be joining them for the Baltics. :(

[Luxuriate]

I checked out Disney's 12-night Baltics today and using their base published prices, the cheapest inside cabin for a family of 4 was $10,000 - before taxes and the fuel surcharge!:eek: When I did the math with the cabin type we wanted and estimated airfare, tips, and excursions, I was over $25k. We love DCL, but we won't be joining them for the Baltics. :(

 

Our son would be perfect for Disney at his age (he'll be about 5 years-old). Cost is out of control though.

 

Cheryl

[SelectSys]

I checked out Disney's 12-night Baltics today and using their base published prices, the cheapest inside cabin for a family of 4 was $10,000 - before taxes and the fuel surcharge!:eek: ...

 

Same price as a balcony/veranda cabin on most other mainstream lines... If you are willing to take RCCL at the beginning or end of summer you can almost get 2 balcony cabins for $10k!

[brazilgirl]

We booked an aft balcony cabin (family oceanview) on the Celebrity Constellation to the Baltics (14 days) for $12, 000. However , we are a family of five.It includes taxes , fuel supplements and pre-paid gratutities.

 

The stateroom is huge and the balcony is as big as the stateroom.

 

The itinerary is wonderful , as described above , and it is at the beginning of summer.Celebrity is so nice and great for kids.

Kim

[RangerMom]

riggins,

I got a chuckle on your reply. I'm glad you are on the same "boat" as me!! I thought I was just being cheap, but guess there are a few of us looking at Disney through the same glasses!:eek:

[Emma1]

We plan to go on our second cruise in 2010 and prebooked with DCL to get the 10% discount. My DH is very picky and when said he loved it - I grabbed at the chance - a trip with no complaints! The premium if not too great would be worth it in my case. But if there is a huge difference in my hoped for 12 nt northern capitals cruise it may not be happening. Hearing the prices mentioned above for a family of 5 , like us, was informative. I am just really afraid DH will not be happy. On our first cruise we got adjoining rooms that were listed as cat 5 with cat 10 pricing, so it wasn't bad. It was nice to have the bigger rooms DCL supposedly has and two bathrooms with two separate showers.

 

Excursions mentioned above for the same cities we plan to go sounded really positive. Could you please give me some ideas as to where you found all your info? My kidswill be 11,13, and 14 1/2. Any suggestions from the more experienced cruisers would be most welcome!!