British Isles cruise with 5.5 and 4 years old and 9 month old

[amcb]

We will be sailing on Caribbean Princess through the British Isles in August and I was hoping for some suggestions for interesting things to do and see with our children. We'd like to see as much as we can, without exhausting the kids and making ourselves crazy. We're more than happy to take it slow and easy and would definitely consider private tours.

 

Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

 

:-) amcb

[kitty9]

What ports? There are a lot of ports on a BI itinerary

[amcb]

We will be leaving from Southhampton, with stops in Le Havre, Edinburgh, Inverness/Loch Ness, Glasglow, Belfast, Liverpool, Dublin, Cork and Guernsey.

 

Sorry about that!

 

:-) amcb

[scubababy]

We did a 15 day Western Med/British Isles in 2010. Our daughter just turned 7. We visited a few of the places you are going.

LeHarve - we did Normandy. LeHarve is a port town with little to do. So you have to go outside (way outside) to get to main attractions. You can do Paris (over two hours one way), or Normandy (again, 1.5 hours one way). We arranged a private tour on our own where we had a van pick up our family of 5 (me, husband, daughter, and husband's parents). Visited all of the main stops through Normandy. My daughter loved going through all of sites, walking on the beach areas. But, it was a long day for her and semi-boring. I take along a bag with stuff to keep her occupied for the long drive. DVD/Ipad, snacks, craft things, etc.

 

Dublin - did the hop on/hop off bus. Worked really well. Saw the book of Kells, toured Guinness Beer brewery, main shopping district.

 

Scotland, we had one stop there. I wish we had done Edinburgh but that was at the end of our trip and we were tired of long drives. We rented a taxi and drove all through the Lochs, then came back to port and spent a lovely afternoon touring that area with the local tour groups. Lovely day in Scotland!

 

I've found that getting private tours arranged are the best thing to do when traveling with kids. It's at your own pace. If they get cranky, you can stop and get something to eat or stretch their legs. The tour guides normally can cater the tour for young families too.

 

Also, on a longer cruise, I've given our daughter a day or two to spend on the ship at the kids clubs while we go out. It's normally in the ports where the sites to see are close the ship and we could get back quickly (walking or taxi). She stayed on board in Barcelona one year, Athens one year, and Scotland for 1/2 day. They get tired of the hustle and bustle of sightseeing especially in Europe. So, your two older ones might enjoy a break!

[kitty9]

Things are going to be a lot tougher with 3 kids that young. The hop on, hop off buses might not be the best idea with three young ones, especially if you have strollers.

 

In Loch Ness, there's a really nice museum dedicated to the Loch Ness monster. It's also just nice to walk along the Loch if the weather is nice. The region is beautiful.

 

In Dublin there's a lot to see, but again with three kids it will be challenging. I would recommend going to Trinity College and seeing the Book of Kells and the amazing library that has books that date back to the 1300's. Then the Guinness brewery would be a good idea. There's a tour, a rather nice restaurant and then the revolving deck where you can get a sample of the brew. St Stephen's Green is a very nice park in the middle of Dublin, and it's near to the shopping area.

 

In Edinburgh, go directly to the Royal Mile and into the castle at the end of that walk. There's usually some of the crown jewels on display and the tour of the castle is really very nice. There's also Holyrood House that can be toured if the Queen isn't in residence.

 

Glasgow is a tough one because it's not really small child friendly. Lots of walking and some of the better things are museums. Again, the hop on hop off buses will be difficult with three small kids. You could do the Glasgow Science Center, the Cathedral and the Botanical Gardens.

 

LaHarve is not really much of a port and is the jumping off point for Paris. But it's a very long drive to Paris, four hours round trip, and the tours to Paris are very long and tiring. You might want to look at Normandy, but that's also a long drive and day with young kids.

 

Belfast is an OK city, but again, not for kids. I would recommend just hiring a private car and telling the driver to take you to some points of interest.

 

Check to see if Cork and Guernsey are tender ports as that could impact what you want to try. Tenders are not fun with small kids and could be a problem if it's bouncy. A private car and driver will be the best idea to see the highlights.