Europe?

[beckyjohns]

Any suggestions on a good cruise line for a family with kids (age 7) to do a summer European cruise? We've done many, many cruises to the Caribbean, but Europe is new territory for us. As much as a ship like Epic appeals to me (and I definitely want to try it some time), I think all the specialty restaurants and entertainment would be lost on us in Europe because we would want to eat/experience as much of the local food/entertainment as possible.

[RSLeesburg]

I would take a look at MSC. You will find more Europeans, and more immersion than with any of the US based cruise lines. But, it will be a very different experience - most of the children will not be native English speakers, the service will be different.

[Travel R]

We did a Western Med on RCI's Legend of the Seas with our 8 yo (and 13 yo) -- My review of the cruise (still in progress) is at: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1876478 - with an emphasis on cruising in Europe with kids. I hope it helps.

[Onessa]

We've travelled Europe with our DD - both land and cruise - since she was just a few months old (she's now nearly 18YO:eek:).

 

Much depends upon your 7YO's interests. If they are OK with history and sightseeing - Europe can be a very cool place. The cruises tend to be VERY port intenstive so the ships amenities are less important.

 

When DD was younger, the NorthAmerican lines were kind of nice because after a day of foriegn it was nice to get back on board where things were a bit more normal. -- She is a bit more resilent now, but early on the fact that she could get some of her American comfort foods helped make the trip a bit more fun. Now we will do a land vacation and hike halfway across Spain and she's prefectly fine -- although once we hit Barcelona (the first big city) she was thrilled to find a Pizza Hut :confused:

 

At the early elementary level, Italy is very accessible. Italians seem to love kids and the ancient ruins and cool canels and stuff are things the kids of that age can relate to. Similarly Greece and Turkey have a lot of cool ruins and stuff as well. If you are looking summer - Greece has some great beaches as well.

 

Eastern Med itineraries are interesting (and France has some great beaches) but do not have history that is as easy to relate to as the Coliseum or Acropolis.

 

Baltic/Norwegian are beautiful but the weather is always a bit cooler. The history there was facinating to my 16YO who had just finished up AP Euro History but would have been a bit more "work" to a 7YO. There are things like Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, and the Vassau ship in Stockholm.

 

British Isle cruises can be great, but again consider the interests of your child and review the stops with him/her in mind.

 

Cruise Travel in Europe with an elementary schooler can be great fun for kids and parents, but it will be a vastly different trip than a Caribbean cruise.

[Essiesmom]

pay close attention to your port times in Europe. folks there dine later, often after 8pm. By that time, your shipis usually on the way to the next port. Your only meals ashore will probably be lunch, unless you have an overnight in port. EM

[boulders]

We've sailed the Med on 2 lines - Disney and HAL. Disney when the kids were 14, 11 and 4 and HAL when the kids were 16, 13 and 7. Both were good experiences. Both were very good, but I liked HAL better. In fact, I liked it better than RCCL, Princess and Carnival too. Their ships are a little smaller, so they are able to get into smaller, more off the beaten path ports. We were on their largest ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam, and saw quite a few Greek ports that I didn't see on other itineraries.

 

I would choose the ship based on the itinerary and price. IME, especially in the Med, the ship is secondary.

 

pay close attention to your port times in Europe. folks there dine later, often after 8pm. By that time, your shipis usually on the way to the next port. Your only meals ashore will probably be lunch, unless you have an overnight in port. EM

 

I certainly agree with the above. Even the latest port departures tend to be at 7 pm, before restaurants open for dinner.

[bear5]

We recently returned from Jun 30, 7-night W Med on RCI Liberty of the Seas with 7 y.o. girl and 4 y.o. boy. Given the time of year, it was HOT and while my kids are experienced travellers (multiple US cities, Bahamas, Asia), I was surprised how whiny they were this time: "It's too hot, I'm tired, I'm bored". It's not typical behavior for them so that really caught me off guard. I'm telling you this because I agree with other posters that Europe is port-intensive so ship amenities matters less BUT I was glad we were on the Liberty because they had character dining, rock climbing, ice skating, etc that I could "bribe" the kids with to get through the touring. It really depends on the child but my 4 y.o. actually did better than the 7 y.o.! All in all it was a great experience for us. You're going to have a great time.