Europe/Mediterranean with 3 kids, 3, 5, and 7

[seacrcsvz]

We are planning a European vacation for March/April 2010 and thought that a cruise might break up the travel a bit, and also help us to visit a few extra countries that we wouldn't reach otherwise. Has anyone ever done the Europe or Mediterranean cruises with kids this age? Which route will be best for their ages (boys, all very active)? Which cruise lines would you recommend? Do any have cabins that will accomodate 5, or are their connecting cabins? Finally, if anyone has suggestions for shore excursions we are looking for all the info we can get! Just in the early planning stages but I want to get everything squared away quickly.

[sbhdmh]

We are just back from doing the Northern Europe/Baltic with our 4 year old. If you look at the last post under Has Anyone done the Baltic with a Preschooler thread you can find what worked for us in those ports.

 

We were on MSC which offers kids sail free so there were a lot of kids on board. My dd really enjoyed Kids Club and it allowed her to burn some energy and be a kid on those days that were filled with visits to museums, castles, palaces, etc. It did not have some of the amenities (waterslide, rock climbing, etc) that some of the larger lines offer on Caribbean cruises. If your boys need that sort of thing then MSC probably wouldn't be for you. We had great weather so the pools were usually filled with 10-12 year old boys.

 

My best idea for my 4 year old was coming up with a dossier for each day. She was a "special agent" and had assignments - things to look for or foods to try in each port. It really helped her to understand that she was in a different country each day. The ports on MSC were very short so we were rushed on most days. Also, despite advertising that your children can stay in Kids Club while parents go ashore this was only available if we did ship's excursions. Since we did everything on our own she had to come with us. It worked okay for us but you may want to find a ship where the kids can stay on board in case they get really bored at some of the ports.

[Kerry's Girls]

I booked a Med cruise for me and my twins, who will turn 5 on the cruise, after reading a spectacular review of another family that went on the Norwegian Jade - it leaves from Barcelona and goes to Rome, Athens, Izmir (Turkey), 2 days in Cairo and Malta - many, many places that we otherwise would never visit but can't wait to see. If you do a search of "Europe" on this board, you'll probably find that review and lots of other info. Prices on the Jade are also really reasonable, but not as reasonable as MSC - especially considering their Kids Sail Free program.

 

We've planned mostly private tours (using suggestions from others on Cruise Critic) so that we can customize our tour (less time at museums, more time at places where they can roam) and so that we can go at our own pace and not worry about bothering any other passengers.

 

Sounds like you're doing a dream trip!

 

Best,

Mia

[CeleBrat]

We did! Last summer, we went with extended family on the 7-day NCL Gem to the Western Med. The kids were 5 and 7 at the time. GREAT TRIP!!!! Link to the review with pics, in my signature.

 

CeleBrat

[Terpnut]

We just spent almost 4 weeks cruising the Med with lots of extra time in Roma. My main advice is to be realistic about how much sightseeing you will be able to do because the kids will get bored and tire must faster than the adults. I'm an "aggressive sightseeer" and, when it's just my wife and me, we would pack our days with lots of churches, museums and touring. However, even though my kids are much older than yours (8 and 10 YO), they rarely tolerated more than a couple hours of sightseeing at a time, and could never do a full port day.

 

So some of my advice is:

- prioritize what you want to do in each port

- sprinkle in lots of kid-friendly sights and activities

- pace yourself each port day and over the duration of the trip

- allow yourself lots of snack/gelati breaks

- consider using the ship's kids club occasionally for parts or all of some port days

 

Check out my blog (http://terpnut.blogspot.com/search/label/cruise) if you're interested in more specifics. We learned fast what stuff was kid-friendly and what wasn't! Good luck! :)

[Onessa]

1) Choose an itinerary where the ports are close to the places you want to visit. (if for example, you want to visit Rome, the port is a long car/train trip away).

2) Greece and/or other more southern med ports might be nice for the March April timeline. The Baltic and even some of the Northern Med ports may still be a bit cool.

 

My DD (now nearly 14YO) travelled Italy quite nicely when she was 4YO -- but she's one rather mellow girl. I don't know how much of our experiences would apply to three active boys :). Sorry I can't be of more assistance

[poppan]

Disney has a kids sail free promotion for that timeframe in the Mediterranean:

 

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/special-offers/

 

No idea how much the adult fare is, but I think it would be super fun for your kids!