Will kids be bored on Rhapsody to Mediterranean?

I'm starting to second guess myself on the cruise I booked this summer. My husband and I have been to the ports before (Greece and Croatia) and loved it and wanted to experience it with our kids this time - I just worry they will be dissapointed with the ship. It's definitley not a Disney Cruise! I already have our airline tickets so part of me thought of looking at tours. Am I crazy? Cruising would be so my easier. My kids are three teens and an 8-year-old. Thank you for any advice!

It depends on which month you are sailing as to how many kids will be on board. Yes the activities which are available will limit activities. We sailed with our two boys many times when the were teenagers and off season when there were not a lot of kids on board, they always enjoyed their trips and still maid many new friends, probably had more fun because the staff were able to spend more time with them. Our experience says that if it is in July or August that their will be many kids on board and typically teen agers want to hang and do thing on there own anyway.

Just my thoughts, the ship is great we really enjoyed it and the staff too.

Happy sailing

Brian J

Thank you! We are set to sail the end of June. We are really excited about the ports, just not sure what the kids will do in the evenings on the ship.

Unless you think that the kids would really like the ports, I would not say that the Rhapsody is a good choice. Personally, I think that the Vision and Radiance Class ships should be made 18+ ships, and that means that families can sail the bigger ones which have more to offer.

When we were on the Vision out of Dubai the other year we met a family with one teen girl around 15 and she had a younger sibling. The kids didn't enjoy it and said they had been bored. This put the parents off booking another RCI ship or cruise - this had been their first cruise.

I remember saying to them to try a bigger ship with more kids facilities before giving up on RCI entirely - maybe a port intensive Europe cruise would be a bit better than that Arabian Gulf one but I wouldn't take my nieces and nephews with us (as we usually do) on this type of ship.

Hope this helps

I have no sympathy for those who book ships without doing their homework in terms of researching what the ship has to offer. We did that with Enchantment and paid the price as none of us liked that ship. We assumed it would be like Jewel, but the ship was older and had less than stellar pool facilities.

No longer do smaller ships as Oasis Class suits our needs perfectly.

Rhapsody is a beautiful ship, but not for kids.

Similar to cruisingfamily, we took our tgen teens on several trips on the small ships (Legend and Splendour before they were sold off). Summer had lots of other teens, off season tended to have a half dozen to a dozen other teens.

Personality plays a big part on whether kids enjoy a smaller ship with fewer bells and whistles and not so many other kids. I have one kid (19 now) who loves everything from the Oasis class on down and will tell you the cruise staff is what really makes a cruise enjoyable.

And one (now 21) who prefers smaller, less overwhelming ships and always found it easier to bond with the other teens on those off season sailings.

In either case, my kids were never bored on a ship.

Thanks! I did do my research, but unfortunatley there are no "big and fancy and fun" ships that sail to the Mediterranean. If we were going for a ship and just a cruise, we certainly would have picked a different ship. We are going for the ports, but being that we do have three teens and a younger child, we want them to enjoy the cruise. I believe we only have one day at sea.

The Med cruises are so port intensive that it’s not really about the ship. You spend all day in port, return for dinner, maybe do a show or something else and then bed. I think they will be fine.

Thanks! I did do my research, but unfortunatley there are no "big and fancy and fun" ships that sail to the Mediterranean. If we were going for a ship and just a cruise, we certainly would have picked a different ship. We are going for the ports, but being that we do have three teens and a younger child, we want them to enjoy the cruise. I believe we only have one day at sea.

Personally, I would guess the kids will have more fun on a ship than a land tour (which isn't likely to have giant slides or water parks or the like either).

There are bigger ships sailing the Western Med---but you are right that smaller seems to be more common for the Eastern side.

My suggestion would be to keep what you have booked and make sure the kids' expectations going in are in line with reality (if you have cruised DCL before and that is what the kids know as a norm, make sure they know not to expect characters and water sides, etc---but also let the know how enjoyable it can be to meet a much more international group of fellow cruisers. etc)

And, yes ports tend to be longer and have more to do than in the caribbean, meaning the ship's activities are less important. Maybe include the teens in planning some off ship activities (kayaking in the beautiful blue water off the coast of Dubrovnik or rafting through the forest in Montenegro for example).

Our first cruise with our daughter (aged 11) was on Brilliance in the med. We chose it as part of an around the world trip because we realised that she had a view of the world based on Disney Channel and she had never been out of Australia. We wanted her to understand that there was a great big world with many different cultures and many amazing icons. We also hoped that it would help her later studies if she had actually visited some of the incredible historical sites. (We called our trip the 'icon tour')

The med cruises are very port intensive and can be tiring for everyone - not just children. But it is a great opportunity to help your children understand more about the world. If they are rebellious or sulky teens, this might be difficult but otherwise I think they will have a fabulous time and learn a great deal!

I have two "adult" kids now. They both traveled a lot. One loved to travel, the other did not. You can't always please everyone so just go, enjoy, and if one or two want to be sulking teens, it's their loss.

On a Med cruise, I think the smaller ship should be fine - as others have mentioned they're VERY port intensive, with the days being busy. Our kids were quite happy catching up with their friends and chilling at the club, or watching the shows of an evening.

Sea days might be more of an issue looking for things to do, but as they're pretty rare, then the pool and kids club might be enough.

Thank you! We are set to sail the end of June. We are really excited about the ports, just not sure what the kids will do in the evenings on the ship.

We did this last October, the kids are often tired by the end of the day, we never even got the chance for a night swim and only dined at Edelweiss MDR once.They are more than happy to just watch and listen to some music and dancing at the Atrium. (Despacito was the craze at that time)

The cruise prior to this was on Oasis, and when asked what they remember most between those 2 cruises..,

Rhap: The drive up and down the hill in Kefalonia, the graffitis in Athens, pigeons of Venice, the mountains of Kotor, the snack joint in Croatia..

Oasis: Just.., the Coastal Kitchen.

... you be the judge.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

When our kids were teens we sailed on smaller ships with them (Legend/Splendour/Grandeur). We found that the teens really only want to hang out together and not necessarily do lots of organised activites and to some extent the smaller ships lend themselves better to this as there will be less kids on board and more chance to get to know all the ones who are. The key thing is to get them to go along to the teen/kids welcome party on the first day so they get to meet the others. At the end of June there should be a fair number of kids onboard, some of the schools in the UK will have already broken up for the summer holidays.

Thank you for the responses! This is very helpful. I love the idea of having them help pick port activities. My husband and I LOVED the ports, so I hope they see the beauty and culture and people like we did, and couldn't wait to share with them. Our ports are Kotor, Katakolon, Santorini, and Dubrovnik. The disney ship we were on didn't even have a waterslide (older ship) but my teenage boys loved the basketball court and spent most of their time their - and of course the nightly family shows - those were great to conclude a day, but it's hard to live up to those. I'm hoping we'll all be too tired from the long day in port too. Because it's a Med cruise too, I thought it would be neat for them to meet kids not from America. They are necesarrily "sulky" teens, and have enjoyed all our travels. I think picking the right port activities will be key. It's going to be HOT there.

I'm starting to second guess myself on the cruise I booked this summer. My husband and I have been to the ports before (Greece and Croatia) and loved it and wanted to experience it with our kids this time - I just worry they will be dissapointed with the ship. It's definitley not a Disney Cruise! I already have our airline tickets so part of me thought of looking at tours. Am I crazy? Cruising would be so my easier. My kids are three teens and an 8-year-old. Thank you for any advice!

I took my kids on the Rhapsody July of 2016. We did Greece, Croatia and Turkey from Venice. My kids were 18 (loves travel/history/exploring new ports) and 13 (doesn't like museums/history prefers the ship activities). Both loved this cruise each for different reasons. Hands down both of their favorite ports was Katakolon. We did a great tour to Olympia that included a stop for at a local shop where they were able to taste different oils, honey, Greek candy, etc. This was the 13 year old favorite part. Then onto Olympia where my history buff 18 year old loved every minute and finally to a beach where both of them got to enjoy a swim in the Aegean.

Both were able to find other teens to hang out with at night, although very few American teens so they were able to meet people from all over the world, some of whom they are still in contact with!

Overall, I would do it again, and in fact did the Western Med the following summer with the same teens! There is a link to a full review of both cruises in my signature if you would like to see our day by day activities.

We have done western and eastern med cruise. Our kids ages from 4-22 loved it. Croatia, we booked an excursion that did cliff diving and kayaking. Highly recommend it. Turkey, we did carpet weaving. On board, the kids hung out w the other kids. We went 2nd week of June. I only wish we could do it again! Enjoy!

I took my kids on the Rhapsody July of 2016. We did Greece, Croatia and Turkey from Venice. My kids were 18 (loves travel/history/exploring new ports) and 13 (doesn't like museums/history prefers the ship activities). Both loved this cruise each for different reasons. Hands down both of their favorite ports was Katakolon. We did a great tour to Olympia that included a stop for at a local shop where they were able to taste different oils, honey, Greek candy, etc. This was the 13 year old favorite part. Then onto Olympia where my history buff 18 year old loved every minute and finally to a beach where both of them got to enjoy a swim in the Aegean.

 

Both were able to find other teens to hang out with at night, although very few American teens so they were able to meet people from all over the world, some of whom they are still in contact with!

 

Overall, I would do it again, and in fact did the Western Med the following summer with the same teens! There is a link to a full review of both cruises in my signature if you would like to see our day by day activities.

thank you I will go check out your reviews! I would love for them to connect with other teens and create long term (long distance) friendships.

Thank you for the responses! This is very helpful. I love the idea of having them help pick port activities. My husband and I LOVED the ports, so I hope they see the beauty and culture and people like we did, and couldn't wait to share with them. Our ports are Kotor, Katakolon, Santorini, and Dubrovnik. The disney ship we were on didn't even have a waterslide (older ship) but my teenage boys loved the basketball court and spent most of their time their - and of course the nightly family shows - those were great to conclude a day, but it's hard to live up to those. I'm hoping we'll all be too tired from the long day in port too. Because it's a Med cruise too, I thought it would be neat for them to meet kids not from America. They are necesarrily "sulky" teens, and have enjoyed all our travels. I think picking the right port activities will be key. It's going to be HOT there.

Agree. As a teen I would have loved a Med cruise because I was studying European history then. But they may have other interests. And the shore days were exhausting. We went in May and it was brutally hot in port. The kids can stay onboard during port days but if you get them involved in the planning they will feel better about trudging around looking at ruins. Make sure they study the history of Santorini before they see it.

We have done western and eastern med cruise. Our kids ages from 4-22 loved it. Croatia, we booked an excursion that did cliff diving and kayaking. Highly recommend it. Turkey, we did carpet weaving. On board, the kids hung out w the other kids. We went 2nd week of June. I only wish we could do it again! Enjoy!

My kids would LOVE cliff diving! I didn't see that as an option? Maybe not available in Dubrovnik? Was that through RCCL or independent?

Let’s face it, no kid would pick that trip on their own. With that said I could see lots of types of kids loving it.

You know your kids so I’m guessing you have a pretty good feel for what they will enjoy or be bored with. I would hope most kids aren’t so spoiled now a days that a phenomenal trip like that would be boring. But with over reliance on technology, etc things are different than not long ago. Hope to hear how it goes later in the year.

We were on the Rhapsody two years ago with our boys, aged 20 and 18. They missed the sports court of the bigger ships, and the lively night life, and we missed the champagne/R bar, but we still all had a great time. We were on Independence this last summer, which we really enjoyed, but we're back on the Rhapsody in September from Venice. We and they know it won't be as lively as the Independence but we are all still really looking forward to it because the ports are so much more interesting. As long as you manage expectations it will be fine.

Have you walked the path to St. John's Castle (Castle of San Giovanni) in Kotor? We were there in 2013, and it was awesome. I had read about the alternate path up to the castle (actually an easier climb and way fewer people), so we did that and then took the regular trail back down. My daughter was 13 at the time and we were all worn out by the time we got back to the ship. We were on HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam (which has fewer "bells and whistles" than RCI's ships), but it was a beautiful ship and perfect for our very port intensive 24-day eastern and western Mediterranean cruise. Hope you enjoy your trip! Loved Santorini (rode donkey up, gyro for lunch, and walked back down) and Dubrovnik (walked the walls- amazing!) as well!

OP--for what it'S worth, my kids had been on 8-9 Disney cruises (mostly on the Magic) before we ever sailed RCI.

They still very much enjoyed ( what i think adds up to) 7 cruises on Vision class ships in Europe as teens (6 out of Venice and one in Norway).

Let’s face it, no kid would pick that trip on their own. With that said I could see lots of types of kids loving it.

.

I am certain that our back to back Legend cruises out of Venice were booked after our son, then 14, saw a good price for a cruise he wanted to take that fell into school holidays and put them on 24 hour hold until we got home that night and he could pitch the idea----so at least ONE kid would choose it ;p

(oh how i miss that 24 hur hold feature---half our cruises for a good many years were booked when one of us saw a deal and jumped even though we couldn't talk to one another until later that day)