How is a cruise in the Med difference than the Carib with kids?

[whineconnoiseur]

So we've done the Carib a couple of times with our children. Its great fun, and easy because the beach is a built in fun day for the whole family. Overall the vibe is really relaxing and easy going.

 

We are considering doing the Med next year. I realize it's really port intensive, but it seems like we will be able to schedule in some beach fun in Greece. What is the overall vibe like on a Med cruise.

How did the intensive port itinerary work with your kids? What other things should I think about in how it will be different?

[6rugrats]

It's totally different. Cruising the Med is a very good way to experience different parts of Europe in an easy way. But, it's certainly not what I would consider relaxing like a Caribbean cruise.

 

Some of the main towns (such as Rome) are over an hour away from the port. There's lots and lots of walking, museums, other historical sites, etc. that doesn't interest many younger children. In the summer months, especially July and August, it can be very hot and very crowded.

 

If you haven't been to the Med before, you will be surprised at the beaches there; they are nothing like the ones in the Caribbean. I agree, your best bet for a beach day would probably be in Greece.

 

If you take children to the Med, I highly recommend booking private tours. It will probably be less expensive in the long run, and you can tailor them to your interests. No riding on a bus with lots of other people for hours.

 

It can be a great way to get a taste of Europe. Just do your research and find some family friendly outings. Keep in mind the cost of airfare to get everyone there; that seems to shock people who don't check before they book the cruise.

[junglejane]

I agree with everything said by 6rugrats. We have been on two Med cruises. One was in 2008 when our kids were 7 and 11, and the last one was in 2011 when they were 10 and 14. They were great cruises, but not what I would call relaxing. There tend to be few sea days on the Med itineraries, because everyone is there for the ports. Obviously you can tailor your activities to your own desires. But for us, the huge investment of time and money to fly over there meant that we wanted to make the most of our port visits. So on port days we were usually getting off the ship at 8:00 am for a full day of touring. We used private tours in most ports with an occasional DIY (e.g., Mykonos where we took the public bus to the beach).

[Kerry's Girls]

In the Med we found we used the ship mostly just for meals/as a hotel and didn't participate in activities or use other ship facilities hardly at all. I thought it was a great way to do Europe with kids and we're hoping to do it again in 2013. It was tons of fun, but not relaxing - just a completely different kind of vacation. I took the advice of others here and used private tours and kept our days fairly easy rather than trying to see everything, but still, it was a very active vacation.

 

Best,

Mia

[tikcho]

I am a huge advocate of crusing with kids and our 5 year old has already been on five cruises but the times we have cruised the Med we have left him at home. Yes, you can certainly take kids on a Med cruise and i'm sure it will be better than being at home but for the price you'll pay it may not be worth it. you don't say how old your kids are - if they are over 8-9 and are good travelers then it will be fine but young kids may be too much. Caribbean cruises for us are mostly relaxation, pool, naps, beeches, some wildlife and activities but we pretty much see how we feel for the day and play it by ear. In Europe, assuming you are mostly going there to see the sights, it is a totally different ball game. You only have 6-7-8 hours to see a beautiful old city so you usually are up early, spend the entire day walking and do not get back on the ship for dinner and sometimes even later. Most of the sights, while quite impressive for adults, are not as interesting for kids and they would definitely not be interested in listening to the guide talk about them or stopping at every church/monument/arch, etc. Even with the best kids you will probably have to factor in a lot of time to stop in parks/playgrounds/ice cream shops in order to keep them happy which will significanlty decrease you time to see what you want to see. If you don't set your goals high and just agree to see a few things in each city and then be back onboard for some pool time then you may be fine. But then you've spent close to $10K and still were not able to see a lot. I agree with the previous poster that European beaches are totally not like the Caribbean - most of them are tiny (especially in Italy), rocky or black sand, overcrowded and not so relaxing. We have been on both Eastern and Western Med cruises and the only good beach I ever saw was in Barcelona. So yes, I think you can take kids on a Med cruise but go with very low expectations of what you'll see and go back to the ship when kids are tired and you should do fine.

[nightfire]

I'd to thank the OP for posting this question. We've taken our 8 year old on the last 5 Caribbean cruises and have been considering a Med cruise as the next one. Your shared experiences gives me pause in considering this for our family at this point. At least I have an idea of what to expect and knowing this will save disappointment. Thank you all.

[chipmaster]

Carib= beach and they are all similar mostly.

 

Med is all about unique ports with very distinct attractions in each. They are busy busy busy port days IMHO.

 

We like others here did ours when our kids were kids; 7, 11, 13.. and parents in their 70's and 80's. It was busy, rolled off the boat onto private excursion vans often between 7am and 7:30 and go go go thru the day till we were back on the ship. Others have asked are there ports one should skip, or stay on the ship, maybe if you plan a boring port in, but for us every port was go go go, in hindsight a vacation and cruise for the ages, wouldn't have done it any other way.

 

Did the kids get tired, yeah. Did the kids complain, yeah. If you ask them today if they had a great time, yes. No questions they were like another church.. another ruin, another pile of rocks :D Can't wait to do it again with them in 4-5 years!

 

So we've done the Carib a couple of times with our children. Its great fun, and easy because the beach is a built in fun day for the whole family. Overall the vibe is really relaxing and easy going.

 

We are considering doing the Med next year. I realize it's really port intensive, but it seems like we will be able to schedule in some beach fun in Greece. What is the overall vibe like on a Med cruise.

How did the intensive port itinerary work with your kids? What other things should I think about in how it will be different?

[Onessa]

Our dd (now 16YO) has been traveling with us her whole life -- and has done all the same itineraries that we have. We've never left her behind, we've never really changed our idea of itineraries, etc. She's been on cruises around the world including 5 Med cruises (first when she was 4.5YO).

1. Beaches - you will find beaches in many port cities in France, Croatia, Greece and Turkey. Not so much in Italy - although from those ports you can hit many classic beaches. They tend to be a bit more pebbley rather than pure sand. The activities are all about laying on the beach and playing in the sea -- not so much parasailing, beach games, etc.
   
2. Ship board activities - these cruises are very port intensive. You will have few sea days and most days you'll cruise into a port at 6:00am and out around 6 or 7:00pm. If you are like my family you will be on the go in port sightseeing most of that time. Evenings are for relaxing -- so we tend to sit out on the balconey rather than go to shows, dancing or gambling. DD will generally meet up with other kids her age and they will "hang out"
   
3. In port activities - We like to explore the cities and towns, do the ancient ruins thing, visit museums, hike up the volcanos, etc. I average 22-25,000 steps a day in port. There is just so much to see and do, and we enjoy it all.
   

No matter where we go on a cruise, we are more likely to be off "doing" stuff rather than laying on a beach or by the pool.

[lmg1230]

We have cruised with our daughters five times - twice in the Caribbean, once in Alaska, and twice in Europe. Personally I prefer cruising in Europe to cruising in the Caribbean - we aren't really a lay around the beach family and we love the excitement of exploring a new city. Our first European cruise was in the Baltics when my younger daughter was 6 and we cruised in the Mediterranean last summer when she was 8.

 

Primarily we toured ports on our own or booked private tours so that we could dictate our schedule. With careful planning you can have a great time cruising in Europe with your kids. Will you see everything there is to see in a city? - no, but it's difficult even for a couple of adults going full tilt to see everything that a city has to offer in one day. Our entire family enjoyed our European cruises and in the process we have discovered places that we would love to go back and visit for a lengthier period of time.

 

Plan your trip with your kids - show them pics of the places that you will be visiting and find kids travel guides or books that take place in the places that you will be visiting for them to read in preparation for the trip. My 8 year old was as keen as any adult trekking through Italy, Greece and Turkey last summer because she had become obsessed with Greek mythology after reading Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief before our trip.

 

On our Mediterranean cruise last August we knew that the heat would be an issue so we chose an itinerary that had 3 sea days so that there would be some downtime in between ports. We also planned nothing for our day in Mykonos and had a relaxing time just wandering town and playing on the beachfront near town.

 

If you have a desire to go to Europe - I'd go for it!

 

Lisa

[boulders]

I cruised the Med with my kids aged 4, 11, 14. This summer I'm going back with a 7 and 13 year old for a 24 day cruise. Like a pp, we're not into visiting beaches. We'd much rather see historical sites. The 4 year old never complained. There were plenty of places to run around outside, things to climb over at Pompeii, etc. There was yummy gelato too.

 

Cruising is an excellent way to travel for us. I don't need to worry about getting from point A to point B or finding a place to eat. As a single mom, I don't need that hassle. Instead, we get pampered very step of the way. It's a great vacation.

[onthelake]

I agree with what has been said. We have done the Med 5 times with our son from age 2 until the present - 18. What I suggest is considering the Baltic. You walk off the ship and into the heart of a city. We loved every port from Copenhagen with Tivoli Gardens to Oslo with the northernmost zoo. It was both an adult and a kid friendly itinerary. My DS was in second grade at the time and until we did a South Pacific cruise we all agreed the Baltic was our favorite.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

A lot more walking ...

[graceinmelbourne]

We did a Mediterranean cruise in 2010 when are kids were 13 and 10. We had a fabulous time and it is an easy way for them to be introduced to travelling in Europe. Yes, it is port intensive and yes it can be tiring but they enjoyed every bit of it. We did most of the ports on our own - Cannes, Livorno (Florence), Salerno (Amalfi Coast), Venice, Dubrovnik and Corfu. We did no ship tours but we did a private tour of Rome. I would recommend doing a private tour of Rome or a ships tour as there is so much to see in Rome and sights are not necessarily within walking distance. The other ports were easy to do on our own with a little research. We did go to one beach in Dubrovnik after spending most of the day in the town. We did not go to Europe to go to beaches as we have plenty of great beaches at home and we live right next to the beach. Europe is for experiencing history, amazing architecture, food, beautiful scenery, art etc. A cruise is the easiest way of experiencing an amazing part of Europe with your family. The only frustrating thing is not having quite enough time in each port but it is a great introduction to some wonderful places.