Too young for the Mediterranean?

[dmlm1995]

DW and I have been discussing a 12 night Mediterranean Greek Isles cruise on Serenade. We have several questions. Our DD and DS will be 10 yo. at that point. Will they be too young to truly appereciate it? Is the cruise mostly older families? How is the weather and sea conditions typically in August? Will it be rougher than the Caribbean? Appreciate your thoughts :-)

[rogueangel]

My daughter was 10 last summer when we did a Med cruise on IOS during August and she absolutely loved it. She definitely wasn't too young for it, she had a great time. I dont know anything about the Serenade but our ship was full of young families. As for the weather in August in the Med, it's gorgeous, very hot but not rough, the sea was quite glassy at times.

[littlesteelo]

DW and I have been discussing a 12 night Mediterranean Greek Isles cruise on Serenade. We have several questions. Our DD and DS will be 10 yo. at that point. Will they be too young to truly appereciate it? Is the cruise mostly older families? How is the weather and sea conditions typically in August? Will it be rougher than the Caribbean? Appreciate your thoughts :-)

 

Both times I have been to the Med in July/August it has been beautiful. Very hot, sunny, and calm. rogueangel is right about the sea sometimes being like glass.

[Bramwell Brown]

We are just back from a 2 week Italian Mediterranean cruise on Independence of the Seas with our 2 children (11 and 7 years). They had a great time. There was lots to do onboard including Adventure Ocean, flowrider, climbing wall and icerink. They particularly liked the ports that you were able to wander round that didn't involve a big drive. I felt the likes of Rome was too rushed and would have loved to have taken it at a more leisurely pace. One of their favourite places was Cadiz where they spent a couple of hours on the beach. It definitely was a hit with the children but probably due to the onboard experiences more than the ports of call. :cool:

[dmlm1995]

I appreciate the feedback from people who have kids the same age. Sounds like everyone enjoyed it. I did see that Serenade has gotten mixed reviews here and that some say she looks tired. I wouls hope that the dry dock scheduled for December will not only provide the enhancements but also the facelift she might need. Is there a preferred Mediterranean itinerary to the Mediterranean Greek Isles?:confused:

[mskaufman]

I was on Liberty of Seas two weeks ago and there were kids all over the boat.

[villauk]

I appreciate the feedback from people who have kids the same age. Sounds like everyone enjoyed it. I did see that Serenade has gotten mixed reviews here and that some say she looks tired. I wouls hope that the dry dock scheduled for December will not only provide the enhancements but also the facelift she might need. Is there a preferred Mediterranean itinerary to the Mediterranean Greek Isles?:confused:

 

Your kids will love it. Our first cruise was on Brilliance doing probably the same itinerary as you will do on Serenade, and our youngest was only 5 at the time. It got us hooked on cruising and they had an absolutely fabulous time. As you can see, we have continued to take our kids to the Med (as well as further afield) and they have some wonderful experiences to share with their school friends when we return.

 

A good tip is for them to make a scrap book/journal of all the places they visit. Let them collect brochures and pamphlets from the various sites and stick them in. We also start the book before we leave by including questions for them to complete at the various ports e.g. What are the guards called that protect the Vatican etc. - each page or two is reserved for each individual port. Additionally, as they have their own camera, they print off their favourite photo of each port and also glue this on the relevant page. It's a great way for them share their trip once they return i.e. to take into school to display during 'show and tell' time or show grandparents etc.

 

Btw, it will be extremely hot in August but the seas should be very calm.