Looking for luxury, Greek cruise, for family of 5 (children 5,6,7)

[couture1]

I am looking for a week long cruise focused on Greece to take with my husband and three children (5,6,7) We don't plan to utilize a 'kid's club' but instead will try to plan days which are fun and realistic.

My husband is a foodie, we save to splurge on nice trips, and have only cruised once before (Regent to Tahiti without kids).

Our kids are younger and although rock walls and water slides sound nice, I think this cruise would be about seeing new things, achievable adventures, and nice relaxing time when on board.

I can't seem to find a cruise line which sails in Greece which has suites for 5...

I looked at Regent, but would have to split into 2 rooms.

Ideally I'd like to find a ship with a room configuration which would be adjoining or spacious/allows 5.

We were thinking of cruising at 'cusp' times when Greece isn't overly hot or crowded (May, Sept)? :rolleyes:

Any suggestions or advice would be very much appreciated,

thank you

[junglejane]

Take a look at Celebrity. It's not a "luxury" line but they have a lot of connecting rooms, and I think they also have some configurations where suites connect to standard balcony rooms, etc. The Solstice class ships have rooms that connect by the interior door and also enable you to open up the partition between the balconies. They also have several upgraded "levels" of rooms such as concierge class, Aqua Class and suites. Finding a Greek Isles cruise that is just 7 days instead of 12 maybe a challenge though.

[Scrapchick]

I agree with JungleJane about Celebrity and would also recommend Princess and HAL, although neither may meet the "luxury" requirement that you have. The big issue is that it's hard to find a 7 day cruise through the Greek Islands on a ship big enough to have decent kids activities. Most of them do 10 or 12 days voyages.

 

Windstar would be a marveous way to see the Islands in 7 days, but they're not kids appropriate and I think you may have to compromise on some part of what you're looking for....

[Lisou]

I know that RCI is not a luxury line by far, however, they do have many 7 night Eastern Med cruises and some of their ships have a connecting rooms.

 

You may want to first find a cruise line that offers 7 night E. Med cruises and then call the cruise lines directly and ask them if they can accommodate what you need.

 

I wish you much success in finding the right vacation for your family...happy planning!

[imsulin]

I am looking for a week long cruise focused on Greece to take with my husband and three children (5,6,7) We don't plan to utilize a 'kid's club' but instead will try to plan days which are fun and realistic.

My husband is a foodie, we save to splurge on nice trips, and have only cruised once before (Regent to Tahiti without kids).

Our kids are younger and although rock walls and water slides sound nice, I think this cruise would be about seeing new things, achievable adventures, and nice relaxing time when on board.

I can't seem to find a cruise line which sails in Greece which has suites for 5...

I looked at Regent, but would have to split into 2 rooms.

Ideally I'd like to find a ship with a room configuration which would be adjoining or spacious/allows 5.

We were thinking of cruising at 'cusp' times when Greece isn't overly hot or crowded (May, Sept)? :rolleyes:

Any suggestions or advice would be very much appreciated,

thank you

 

Many years ago, (1993?) a group of teachers chartered a 20-pax yacht to do a 7-day cruise exclusive to Greek islands. I couldn't go, but they did, and had a wonderful time! They went in mid-June, and it was HOT. There's some kind of Greek wind in the Med. in August which exacerbates the heat to being almost unbearable. None of my fellow teachers were "luxury" cruisers, but one was a TA with "connections" (and her husband was a CO pilot). We cruised together over Spring Break for several years (before Spring Break became a "dirty word"). I was also able to take many Caribbean cruises - including the Grenadines - on a privately owned tall ship through the late 80's into the mid- 90's. Very different from the mass markets. They flew into Athens for a couple of days before and after. If you're looking for luxury and only 7 days, consider doing a private charter, and be prepared to pay for what you want, because you'll probably get it. Happy cruising!

[kitty9]

The high end luxury lines really do not cater to families, and don't have suites to accommodate a family of 5. Not even the Penthouse suites on Crystal can handle 5---their maximum is 3 to a cabin. And, the cabins on lines that are one step down from the luxury lines, like Azamara and Oceania, don't cater to families and don't have any cabins that can handle 5. You will probably have to look at lines like Celebrity or Princess. On Celebrity, look into their Family Ocean View Cabins. I believe they may handle 5, but in some cases the max they allow is four. In order to get them to allow all five, you will have to book very, very early before they start to reach their lifeboat capacity.

[couture1]

Thank you all for your tips and excellent ideas. I will spend some time looking into charters...

 

Digging around I was able to find 7 day Greek Isle/Turkey cruises on Silversea, Seabourn, Azamara, and Crystal.

 

As I mentioned we are not looking for a kids club or sitters, but are we crazy to consider these lines if we are traveling with kids?:rolleyes:

 

And thanks to your suggestions I will avoid June/July, and look for May, September or October.

 

Again thank you for your kindness

[imsulin]

Thank you all for your tips and excellent ideas. I will spend some time looking into charters...

 

Digging around I was able to find 7 day Greek Isle/Turkey cruises on Silversea, Seabourn, Azamara, and Crystal.

 

As I mentioned we are not looking for a kids club or sitters, but are we crazy to consider these lines if we are traveling with kids?:rolleyes:

 

And thanks to your suggestions I will avoid June/July, and look for May, September or October.

 

Again thank you for your kindness

 

Silversea, Seabourn, Azamara, and Crystal are definitely in the "luxury" category! Check on these Boards to find out about bringing kids. All of those lines are listed there on Cruise Critic. Greek Isle/Turkey cruises are not 7-day Greek island cruises. I would also avoid September, if you can, because of the heat. Nile River cruises are generally during the winter months for the same reason. Good luck to you, and keep on researching!

[Essiesmom]

You are not going to find everything you ask for in one ship. Ships are not allowed five in a cabin, unless built before 2000, or have cabins specifically designed for 5+ passengers. As mentioned, some of the Royal ships do, and perhaps Celebrity. Carnival has ships that do, but they are not in the Med. this year. Carnival will be launching the Carnival Magic in May of 2011, and she will have family cabins for five, but will not be doing the Greek isles.

This website will give you an idea of who is sailing the Greek isles:

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/

Click on a departure port, such as Piraeus (for Athens), Istanbul, or Venice, and see what ships are going there. The nice thing about the site is that it shows the itinerary for the ship. Windstar has been mentioned, and also check out Star Clippers. They won't have any programs for children, but they do short Greek cruises. EM

[junglejane]

To me, the concepts of "luxury" and "5 in a cabin" do not go together!:eek: That's why I suggested Celebrity. Rather than the Family Ocean View, if it were in my budget I'd go for something like two connecting aft Sky Suites or an aft Sky Suite that connects to a Concierge Class balcony, etc. Then they could enjoy the suite benefits. While Celebrity is not a luxury cruise line, I would rate it as a premium cruiseline. Food and service are excellent and there is a great kids program if they decide to use it. Hope the OP comes back and lets us know what they decide and how it works out.

[couture1]

Hi, no having us all in a room would not be ideal, unless it was a large suite.

I will check into the adjoining room options...

Thank you!

[RoadTripFanatic]

I am looking for a week long cruise focused on Greece to take with my husband and three children (5,6,7) We don't plan to utilize a 'kid's club' but instead will try to plan days which are fun and realistic.

My husband is a foodie, we save to splurge on nice trips, and have only cruised once before (Regent to Tahiti without kids). I've never been on one of the top of the line cruise ships but you might check out NCL and Holland. NCL has tons of food options. You do have to pay an upgrade fee to eat in the nicer restaurants but that could be an option. Holland has the best food on a cruise that I have had in the main dinning room.

Our kids are younger and although rock walls and water slides sound nice, I think this cruise would be about seeing new things, achievable adventures, and nice relaxing time when on board.

And it will be. The Greek isles is a very busy cruise with very little time on the ship. Do you want to spend the extra $$ for a top of the line cruise ship when you won't be spending that much time on the ship? If you were taking a cruise with several days at sea I could see that being an option. When you are in port all day it's pretty much get up, eat breakfast, spend the day in port, eat dinner and collapse. :) I will say that if you have a day at sea with your kids being younger I enjoy having the option of going to the slide, putt putt or even letting them play for a few hrs in the kids center. (So I can sit by the pool and read w/o having to lifeguard- There are no lifeguards on the boat. And even if there were I can not 'relax' by the pool when my daughter is in the pool. I have to pay attention.)

I can't seem to find a cruise line which sails in Greece which has suites for 5...

I looked at Regent, but would have to split into 2 rooms.

Ideally I'd like to find a ship with a room configuration which would be adjoining or spacious/allows 5.

We were thinking of cruising at 'cusp' times when Greece isn't overly hot or crowded (May, Sept)? :rolleyes: I think May would be nice. :) We were there in February and had an amazing time. It was cold but it was fun!

Any suggestions or advice would be very much appreciated,

thank you

 

Is there a reason you only want a 7 day cruise? Are you planning on visiting anywhere else while you are over there? To me it's a long flight for just 7 days. :) Just curious.

[couture1]

Hi, we are planning a day or two in Athens or Istanbul. My husband and I both work and a vacation longer than 10-11 days isn't really an option for us.

Thank you for all of your comments and tips. I will be hard at work to try and balance our family needs and my husbands taste for 'luxury' without crowds.

[RoadTripFanatic]

Hi, we are planning a day or two in Athens or Istanbul. My husband and I both work and a vacation longer than 10-11 days isn't really an option for us.

Thank you for all of your comments and tips. I will be hard at work to try and balance our family needs and my husbands taste for 'luxury' without crowds.

I understand that completely! I hope you find that perfect cruise! :) It is absolutely amazing. I don't think you can go wrong with either Istanbul or Athens. Athens is really great! DH loved Istanbul when he went there several years ago.