Family cruise to Europe?

[mtgibson]

Are we crazy wanting to take our kids on a Europe cruise? Next summer my 2 boys will be 10 & 7. Has anyone taken their family on a Med cruise? We were thinking western med. Would we be the only Americans with kids ? Any reccomendations?

thanks, Mark

[Boo's Mom]

Hi Mark...

 

We will be booking a cruise to Europe for the summer of 06, also. My children will be 13 and 10 by then.

 

(wow...those numbers seem big) :eek:

 

More than likely, it will be on Celebrity.

[vacationhappy]

Mark - I am taking my family this summer on a 12 night Rome to Venice cruise with 3 nights pre- and 2 nights post cruise. My girls will be 10 and 12 and we are all looking forward to it. We decided to go with Princess because of their PC dining option that will give us the flexibility to relax after coming back from a full day of touring before we go to dinner. The other reason we chose Princess is because of their self-serve laundry facilities. This is a long trip and I like the option of packing light and just doing some laundry...I will send the nice stuff out but for all the other daily stuff it is a nice option. The third reason is that my kids like the fresh water pools. We have tried other lines but we keep coming back to Princess for the fresh water pools. Given that this is an intensive touring trip, we felt that our kid's request for fresh water pools was a fair request. I am sure they will be thrilled to jump in a refreshing pool after a long day of sightseeing. I think a cruise is the way to go with kids - it gives them a comfort zone every evening. They sleep in the same bed and have access to famliar foods. As they get older, we will consider land trips but for now the cruise offers something for everyone. It is my understanding that there are quite a few families on the Med cruises in July and August.

[Artemis]

We took ours, ages 13 and 11, last summer on a Barcelona-Venice itinerary. In Texas, school is out before the end of May, so we got a jump on the summer travel season and cruised out of Spain on or about June 2 as I recall. There were some, but not a lot, of kids on board. Because there were only 2 At Sea days, this didn't matter too much as far as daytime activities, but most nights we were back aboard ship, and sometimes, I think they would've enjoyed more kids for socialization. As vacationhappy said, it's been well-reported around here that there are more kids in July and August.

 

Vacationhappy's points about PC dining and on-board laundry service are good ones to consider when choosing your cruise line.

 

Note, on close review of an itinerary, you will realize that a Med cruise is a taxing trip for kids and adults because you will usually want to get up and off the ship early in the morning and go-go-go all day; and then do it all again the next day; and the next! There are sure to be some cranky mornings. ;) But the beach stops, e.g., Greek Isles, are perfect antidotes to sightseeing trip fatigue, and even while touring cities, you will figure out how to dedicate some time to an ******** that allows your kids the break they need, e.g., park time, swimming, hike, bike, shopping, hang out at the local music store, ballgame, etc.

 

Re: Euro travel with kids generally, all of our other trips have been land trips, and we first took the kids with us when they were 9 and 7, and they've been back several times since. We are lucky our kids have been bitten by the same travel bug that struck us! I think a key to a successful trip is getting them involved in pre-trip reading (the obvious, e.g., Anne Frank's diary before going to Amsterdam or The Magic Tree House book on Pompeii; and the not-so-obvious, such as elementary level non-fiction about WWII or the Hapsburg Dynasty or Greek mythology). Another key is letting them help plan the trip, look at maps, read the travel guides, identify things they'd like to see, and even assign them "tour guide" duty for a segment--let them do the research & planning (with your guidance) from home and then lead while there. This can be as short & sweet as a half-day or one particular ******** or place of their choice. Journaling/picture drawing activites along the way are good. Kids get a kick out of how things are the same and how things are different. Our son kept a record of all the modes of transportation he took on the trip and another on the different toilets! Working with the money is interesting to them. Trying new foods is fun!

 

I could go on and on, but you get my point: You aren't crazy to take the kids, and they will have as much fun as you will!

[Marika]

Mark, Last July we did a Med cruise on the Millennium, Venice to Barcelona. Although my kids are older, 18 & 16, the ship was full of kids. Quite a few under 10 and even some babies. We did 1 week pre and 3 days post. They loved it, we all did!!

[Cortesefam]

We're taking our 9 and 12 year olds for a 12 day Mediterranean cruise in August, 2005. They've cruised with us on several 7 day cruises, and a 10 day Caribbean cruise in 2002. They love being at sea, and have enjoyed both touristic and beach activities over the years.

 

Both kids like Royal Caribbean, and we felt their comfort factor with that environment would make the sightseeing and touring more enjoyable for all. The many relaxation options onboard ship, along with the days at sea, will provide a reasonable pacing for the vacation, with beach breaks in Dubrovnik and Corfu.

 

Will we spend time in the Uffizzi and Accademia in Florence, or the Vatican Museums in Rome--no. Hopefully those will come with future trips, but for now, the exposure to different cultures, environments, the antiquities, etc. will be overwhelming enough!

 

Good luck choosing--we will report on our experience when we return. Most of the reports on these boards have been very positive about the experiences for families on summer Mediterranean cruises.

 

THANKS

[mtgibson]

Thank you for all the responses to my question.

What is PC dining? We are going to Alaska on NCL with the boys this Summer. Is it like NCLs free style dining?

[Boo's Mom]

Personal Choice.

 

You come down to eat anytime between 6-9pm...for example.

 

We experienced it on Princess. We didn't much care for it.

[CASkippr]

We are sailing with our 16 yr old and 2 1/2 year old (yes, same father...don' ask! :D) this summer.

 

We go to Europe every summer and regardless of the age, we always have a wonderful time and have great experiences.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[Artemis]

I'm with you, Boo's Mom, I don't really care for Princess' PC dining or Freestyle as NCL does it. However, when you are on a Med itinerary, there are some evenings that, because of port times and activities, it is hard to impossible make your assigned seating. For that reason, some flexibility in dining is a nice feature to consider. On a related note, consider options for evening dining outside of the traditional assigned seating in the dining room, especially if you are traveling with teens who seem to have a hollow leg!

[Boo's Mom]

Artemis.....

 

Yeah...we might be doing the late seating again. I do not like to be rushed.

 

I really like getting to know folks at our table....the same folks all week.

 

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Does anyone know if the dining hours on Celebrity are the same in Europe as in the Caribbean? 6 and 8:30?

[mtgibson]

Do you have the same wait staff and sit at the same table every night with PC dining? We are very comfortable with the normal same table and staff everynight. Our oldest boy has severe food allergies to peanuts & eggs....So we have found traveling via a cruise ship is very comfortable for us. The first day of a cruise we find the matre de', and fill him in on our situation. In doing that , we have found that it is smooth sailing in the diningroom and they educate us on where to & not to eat in the rest of the ship. So , we are a little leery of the freestyle with NCL & the PC with Princess. It's tough enough trying to get correct info out of the wait staff in our local resturants...let alone a foreign national who speaks broken English.

European cruise sounds great to us in knowing we have only one meal a day that we have to be on our toes. I'm just wondering if I am rushing a European cruise insead of a southern Caribbean with two little boys who will be then 10 & 7.

Heck a cruise to anywhere is great fore 2 little boys!