Greece with 6yr old

[manlie]

Hello,

 

My in-laws want to do a land/cruise vacation highlighting Greece this August with myself and daughter. I am having trouble deciding on which cruise line and itinerary would best suit a 6 year old (who for some reason wants to go to Paris and China but not the Mediterranean :confused:). We are open to 7-14 days but 10 would be ideal so we have more time to spend with the family who live in Greece (but not too much time for this non Greek DIL). I have cruised Carnival, Princess and Royal Caribbean before and am open to any of the major lines.

 

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

TTY

[SPacificbound]

Have you researched the itineraries for August of the the cruise lines you are considering?

 

To me that would be step one.

 

Check here:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/area.cfm?area=15

Edited April 9, 2016 by SPacificbound

[manlie]

Extensively. That is why I am seeking advice of people who may have done this with small children before. Caribbean is easy .... some characters on the ship, pool, beaches as excursions, some sea life and all is good.

[Keith1010]

I would enlist the help of a Travel Specialist who specializes in Cruises.

 

There are some itineraries that have some Greece ports but on the ships that would be nice for someone who is 6 there will likely be one to two posts in Greece.

 

Cruise lines such as Princess, Celebrity and RCI might be nice choices and they will have children's programs.

 

Disney certainly has Children's Programs and they are really the only one with Characters, but in August they have a 12 day Barcelona R/T cruise that does not include any stops in Greece, and they also have three 7 day R/T Barcelona voyages that do not include Greece.

 

Again, get help from a TA.

 

You may know this but it will be very hot and humid in many ports in the Mediterranean in August.

 

Keith

[zqvol]

Hello,

 

My in-laws want to do a land/cruise vacation highlighting Greece this August with myself and daughter. I am having trouble deciding on which cruise line and itinerary would best suit a 6 year old (who for some reason wants to go to Paris and China but not the Mediterranean :confused:). We are open to 7-14 days but 10 would be ideal so we have more time to spend with the family who live in Greece (but not too much time for this non Greek DIL). I have cruised Carnival, Princess and Royal Caribbean before and am open to any of the major lines.

 

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

TTY

 

You need to find a TA that specializes in Greek cruises, and should probably plan on cruising on someone who is not a major or even minor player in the US markets if you want to truly see the Greek Islands. The alternative would be one of the luxury lines or maybe Windstar. Their small ships allow them to get into the ports that the large mass market lines can't touch. The problem with those becomes a question of costs and what to do with the six year old.

 

Good luck.

[SuiteTraveler]

You don't need a travel agent.

 

This is the Royal Princess Itinerary which terminates in Athens:

Sat Aug 13 Barcelona, Spain 6:00pm

Sun Aug 14 Cartagena, Spain Noon 7:00pm

Mon Aug 15 Gibraltar, UK Territory 9:00am 6:00pm

Tue Aug 16 At Sea

Wed Aug 17 Marseille, France 8:00am 6:00pm

Thu Aug 18 Genoa, Italy 7:00am 6:00pm

Fri Aug 19 Florence / Pisa (Livorno), Italy 7:00am 7:00pm

Sat Aug 20 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00am 6:00pm

Sun Aug 21 Naples / Capri (Sorrento), Italy 7:00am 6:00pm

Mon Aug 22 At Sea

Tue Aug 23 Crete (Heraklion), Greece 9:00am 6:00pm

Wed Aug 24 Ephesus / Kusadasi, Turkey 7:00am 1:00pm

Thu Aug 25 Istanbul, Turkey 8:00am 6:00pm

Fri Aug 26 Mykonos, Greece Noon 8:00pm

Sat Aug 27 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 4:00am

 

Royal Princess is a very new ship (2013) and it has a great kid's program. Food overall is very good. Cabins and service are very good. Spa is fantastic on this ship - do get a pass to the thermal area if you enjoy that sort of thing - it is worth it. The stop in Marseille is long enough to go into Paris for a few hours if you want - it is 3 hours and 20 minutes by train each way. The cruise terminates in Athens, so you could stay over a few days to visit your Greek relatives. With the great ports, I think I'd choose this cruise.

 

Fly in 1 day ahead of the cruise. In Barcelona, stay at Hotel 1889 on Las Ramblas. There is a swimming pool on top of the hotel and tapas bar as well and in the basement a thermal suite which is free for guests to use. Take your daughter to see Parc Guell, La Sagrada Familia and Bouqueria Market - oldest market in Europe (bring a camera it is amazing and only 1 block from Hotel 1889) and in the evening, go to a Flamenco show and dinner. There is also a beach a few blocks away if you prefer to do that.

 

Cartagena - the ship ports right in town, you can walk around and see the Roman Theater and enjoy amazing paella and fried sardines. There is a Roman Theater and museum that are interesting. You won't need a tour guide at all.

 

Gibraltar - there are taxis at the port to take you on a tour of the rock where you can see the barbary apes and tour the fort - very interesting. There is also a fascinating view of the airport with a road that goes through the middle of it - something you don't see normally.

 

Marseille - like I said you can go into Paris that day, if desired. You won't have a ton of time in Paris, but you can see the Eiffle Tower and so forth.

 

Genoa - Just a beautiful town to walk around and eat good food!

 

Florence/Pisa - So many options here but my favorite tour was a private tour we took to the Tuscan Hill towns of Volterra, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Sienna - wow!

 

Rome - We did an amazing walking tour with Through Eternity. We took the train from Civitavecchia, and they met us at Roma Termini and we saw most of Rome including the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Forum, Colosseum, etc. The guide was outstanding and it was quite inexpensive.

 

Naples - go to Pompeii and then Sorrento and Positano - get a private guide for this, you will beat the cruise ship tours to Pompeii in the early morning, then in Sorrento and Positano stop for lunch, buy pottery, enjoy the amazing views or go to Capri to the Blue Grotto and spend time at a beach club among the rocks - just fabulous there!

 

I'm sure your folks know what all to do in Greece. You can even leave the ship early if you so desire in order to spend more time in Greece with your relatives.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

Edited April 9, 2016 by SuiteTraveler

[zqvol]

You don't need a travel agent.

 

This is the Royal Princess Itinerary which terminates in Athens:

Sat Aug 13 Barcelona, Spain 6:00pm

Sun Aug 14 Cartagena, Spain Noon 7:00pm

Mon Aug 15 Gibraltar, UK Territory 9:00am 6:00pm

Tue Aug 16 At Sea

Wed Aug 17 Marseille, France 8:00am 6:00pm

Thu Aug 18 Genoa, Italy 7:00am 6:00pm

Fri Aug 19 Florence / Pisa (Livorno), Italy 7:00am 7:00pm

Sat Aug 20 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00am 6:00pm

Sun Aug 21 Naples / Capri (Sorrento), Italy 7:00am 6:00pm

Mon Aug 22 At Sea

Tue Aug 23 Crete (Heraklion), Greece 9:00am 6:00pm

Wed Aug 24 Ephesus / Kusadasi, Turkey 7:00am 1:00pm

Thu Aug 25 Istanbul, Turkey 8:00am 6:00pm

Fri Aug 26 Mykonos, Greece Noon 8:00pm

Sat Aug 27 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 4:00am

 

Royal Princess is a very new ship (2013) and it has a great kid's program. Food overall is very good. Cabins and service are very good. Spa is fantastic on this ship - do get a pass to the thermal area if you enjoy that sort of thing - it is worth it. The stop in Marseille is long enough to go into Paris for a few hours if you want - it is 3 hours and 20 minutes by train each way. The cruise terminates in Athens, so you could stay over a few days to visit your Greek relatives. With the great ports, I think I'd choose this cruise.

 

Fly in 1 day ahead of the cruise. In Barcelona, stay at Hotel 1889 on Las Ramblas. There is a swimming pool on top of the hotel and tapas bar as well and in the basement a thermal suite which is free for guests to use. Take your daughter to see Parc Guell, La Sagrada Familia and Bouqueria Market - oldest market in Europe (bring a camera it is amazing and only 1 block from Hotel 1889) and in the evening, go to a Flamenco show and dinner. There is also a beach a few blocks away if you prefer to do that.

 

Cartagena - the ship ports right in town, you can walk around and see the Roman Theater and enjoy amazing paella and fried sardines. There is a Roman Theater and museum that are interesting. You won't need a tour guide at all.

 

Gibraltar - there are taxis at the port to take you on a tour of the rock where you can see the barbary apes and tour the fort - very interesting. There is also a fascinating view of the airport with a road that goes through the middle of it - something you don't see normally.

 

Marseille - like I said you can go into Paris that day, if desired. You won't have a ton of time in Paris, but you can see the Eiffle Tower and so forth.

 

Genoa - Just a beautiful town to walk around and eat good food!

 

Florence/Pisa - So many options here but my favorite tour was a private tour we took to the Tuscan Hill towns of Volterra, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Sienna - wow!

 

Rome - We did an amazing walking tour with Through Eternity. We took the train from Civitavecchia, and they met us at Roma Termini and we saw most of Rome including the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Forum, Colosseum, etc. The guide was outstanding and it was quite inexpensive.

 

Naples - go to Pompeii and then Sorrento and Positano - get a private guide for this, you will beat the cruise ship tours to Pompeii in the early morning, then in Sorrento and Positano stop for lunch, buy pottery, enjoy the amazing views or go to Capri to the Blue Grotto and spend time at a beach club among the rocks - just fabulous there!

 

I'm sure your folks know what all to do in Greece. You can even leave the ship early if you so desire in order to spend more time in Greece with your relatives.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

 

 

That is a horrible voyage for the OP who wants to spend time in Greece. Two days plus Athens just doesn't go it. OP can find itineraries with all 7 - 14 days in the Greek Islands plus Kusadasi and Istanbul, which is what they want.

[SuiteTraveler]

I also looked at the 10 and 11 day cruises. Most of them don't begin or end in Greece. Some of the sailing ships do, but these don't have kids clubs, so I'm not sure that your daughter would enjoy these ships.

Here are the cruises in August that begin or end in Greece - the first number is the number of days, the date is the embarkation date. The first location is port of embarkation and the second location is the port of disembarkation, then the cruise line and ship name:

 

7 Aug 5 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Venice, Italy Silversea / Silver Spirit

 

7 Aug 6 Istanbul, Turkey Athens, Greece Windstar / Wind Star

 

7 Aug 9 Istanbul, Turkey Athens (Piraeus), Greece Ponant Yacht Cruises / Le Lyrical

 

14 Aug 13 Barcelona, Spain Athens (Piraeus), Greece Princess / Royal Princess

 

14 Aug 13 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Athens (Piraeus), Greece Cunard / Queen Victoria

 

7 Aug 13 Venice, Italy Athens (Piraeus), Greece Seabourn / Seaboard Odyssey

 

7 Aug 15 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Athens (Piraeus), Greece Lindblad Expeditions / Sea Cloud

 

7 Aug 16 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Venice, Italy Ponant Yacht Cruises / Le Lyrial

 

7 Aug 20 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Istanbul, Turkey Seabourn / Seaboard Odyssey

 

14 Aug 20 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Athens (Piraeus), Greece Seabourn / Seaboard Odyssey

 

7 Aug 20 Istanbul, Turkey Athens, Greece Windstar / Wind Star

 

7 Aug 20 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Athens (Piraeus), Greece Princess / Royal Princess

 

7 Aug 20 Venice, Italy Athens (Piraeus), Greece Cunard / Queen Victoria

 

9 Aug 22 Venice, Italy Athens (Piraeus), Greece Silversea / Silver Spirit

 

13 Aug 25 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Istanbul, Turkey Celebrity / Celebrity Equinox

 

10 Aug 26 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Athens (Piraeus), Greece Regent / Seven Seas Navigator

 

9 Aug 26 Venice, Italy Athens, Greece Windstar / Star Pride

 

7 Aug 27 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Athens (Piraeus), Greece Cunard / Queen Victoria

 

14 Aug 27 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Venice, Italy Cunard / Queen Victoria

 

7 Aug 27 Dubrovnik, Croatia Athens (Piraeus), Greece SeaDream Yacht Club / SeaDream II

 

7 Aug 27 Istanbul, Turkey Athens (Piraeus), Greece Seabourn / Seabourn Odyssey

 

12 Aug 31 Venice, Italy Athens (Piraeus), Greece Oceania Cruises / Riviera

 

As you can see, many of these ships are not really good for a 6 year old. Also, if you wish to minimize your time in Greece, if you take the 14 day Royal Princess cruise, then you tell your parents you have to fly home the day after you reach Athens due to your work commitments/school, etc. but they can stay in Greece as long as they want.

[SuiteTraveler]

That is a horrible voyage for the OP who wants to spend time in Greece. Two days plus Athens just doesn't go it. OP can find itineraries with all 7 - 14 days in the Greek Islands plus Kusadasi and Istanbul, which is what they want.

 

Highlight to me is the equivalent of "spend a few days in Greece", not spend the entire vacation in Greece. If her goal was to have an ALL Greek Isles vacation, I think she would have written that she wanted to cruise around the Greek Isles. She also stated that her daughter wanted to see Paris. This cruise fulfills all of that.

 

At any rate in my second post, I listed out all the different cruises around Greece and cruise lines for her to consider. She can look into all of them and decide which one is the best for her situation and family. The other thing she might consider is to invite the Greek members of the family to cruise with them.

Edited April 9, 2016 by SuiteTraveler

[manlie]

Wow!! Thank you so very much for the info!! I will price those out and discuss with the in-laws. Very helpful :o

 

The ultimate goal is to make the inlaws happy by showing my daughter where that side of her family came from and for the Greeks to meet her. They don't speak English and we don't speak Greek. My personal goal is to make them happy, keep my 6 year old happy and not have to be spend my vacation staying in guests rooms of the houses of family.

[Floridiana]

Lots of VERY expensive lines and elegant Cunard to boot. If your budget can take it ...

Get a knowledgeable travel agent to help you.

[manlie]

Thanks, those lines are beautiful and probably sale to more interesting ports, but out of my budget :-(

[SuiteTraveler]

I understand about not wanting to spend your vacation in someone's guest room. My husband is from Australia and that has been something we've had to do several times. Nowadays, we rent a villa or apartment with an extra bedroom and bathroom and have them come stay with us somewhere in Australia for a vacation - we find they bicker less when taken out of their normal environment. LOL!

 

The cruise with Celebrity on August 13 is more mass market in pricing. Let me tip you off, Celebrity Reflection has family cabins that have 2 bedrooms - but only 1 bathroom and a living room and dining room. There is a vestibule that can adjoin another window cabin (forward) to them which would give you all 2 bathrooms total. You have to call Celebrity to inquire about these cabins until after final payment as they usually only sell them to parties of 5 until then. The pricing is only slightly more than a verandah which I'm seeing prices like $1249 for and if 5 are sharing, I believe the price goes down. The only negative is that one bathroom and it's just a regular verandah cabin style bathroom with a shower. Reflection is a nice ship. There are not many kids onboard and the kids clubs are not as good as on Princess, but it is a great ship for the adults. Celebrity has some of the best food on mass market cruises. They also have nice specialty restaurants. This cruise has some decent port times in Greece:

 

Fri Aug 19 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00pm

Sat Aug 20 Messina, Sicily, Italy 10:00am 7:00pm

Sun Aug 21 At Sea

Mon Aug 22 Mykonos, Greece 7:00am 6:00pm

Tue Aug 23 Ephesus / Kusadasi, Turkey 7:00am 6:00pm

Wed Aug 24 Rhodes, Greece 7:30am 6:30pm

Thu Aug 25 Santorini, Greece 7:00am 6:00pm

Fri Aug 26 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 6:00am 6:00pm

Sat Aug 27 At Sea

Sun Aug 28 Naples (Capri), Italy 7:00am 6:30pm

Mon Aug 29 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00am

 

The alternatives are ships that sail from Rome or Venice or Barcelona and then back to one of those ports (usually a different one). These cruises are with HAL, RCCL, NCL, but mostly have only a few days in Greece. One that might work is RCCL's Vision of the Seas on August 27:

 

Sat Aug 27 Venice, Italy 5:00pm

Sun Aug 28 Kotor, Montenegro 2:00pm 8:00pm

Mon Aug 29 Corfu, Greece 9:00am 2:30pm

Tue Aug 30 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Noon 8:30pm

Wed Aug 31 Mykonos, Greece 7:00am 4:00pm

Thu Sep 1 Argostoli, Greece Noon 7:00pm

Fri Sep 2 At Sea

Sat Sep 3 Venice, Italy 7:00am

 

But look at the port times in Greece - not all that great.

 

Then there is NCL Jade - I've been on that ship twice - it's very, very nice. It has a good kids club. We were in The Haven and if you do that you could all share a 2 bedroom villa with master bedroom, separate bedroom with bunks, sofa bed in living room, dining room and 2 bathrooms. Sometimes when you share this accommodation with 5 people it's quite affordable and there are a lot of perks. Still the ship is lovely and the regular cabins have plenty of space and storage and nice bathrooms. Here's an example itinerary:

Sat Aug 13 Venice, Italy 6:00pm

Sun Aug 14 Dubrovnik, Croatia 2:00pm 9:00pm

Mon Aug 15 At Sea

Tue Aug 16 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 8:00am 6:00pm

Wed Aug 17 Santorini, Greece 8:00am 5:00pm

Thu Aug 18 At Sea

Fri Aug 19 Split, Croatia 11:00am 6:00pm

Sat Aug 20 Venice, Italy 8:00am 6:00pm

Sun Aug 21 At Sea

Mon Aug 22 Corfu, Greece 7:00am 3:00pm

Tue Aug 23 Santorini, Greece 2:00pm 10:00pm

Wed Aug 24 Mykonos, Greece 8:00am 4:00pm

Thu Aug 25 Olympia (Katakolon), Greece 9:00am 6:00pm

Fri Aug 26 At Sea

Sat Aug 27 Venice, Italy 8:00am

 

So you get a total of 6 days in Greece with this itinerary and balconies are $2959 for this 14 day cruise.

 

You might also look at MSC (Aug 21) $1119pp balcony

Sun Aug 21 Venice, Italy 5:00pm

Mon Aug 22 Bari, Italy 1:00pm 6:00pm

Tue Aug 23 Olympia (Katakolon), Greece 1:00pm 7:00pm

Wed Aug 24 Santorini, Greece 9:00am 5:00pm

Thu Aug 25 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 7:30am 4:30pm

Fri Aug 26 Corfu, Greece 12:30pm 6:30pm

Sat Aug 27 Kotor, Montenegro 7:00am 1:00pm

Sun Aug 28 Venice, Italy 9:00am

 

and RCCL's Jewel of the Sea (Aug 21) $1245 pp balcony

Sun Aug 21 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00pm

Mon Aug 22 At Sea

Tue Aug 23 Santorini, Greece 1:00pm 8:00pm

Wed Aug 24 Ephesus / Kusadasi, Turkey 7:00am 5:00pm

Thu Aug 25 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 6:00am 6:00pm

Fri Aug 26 Crete (Chania), Greece 7:00am 2:00pm

Sat Aug 27 At Sea

Sun Aug 28 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00am

 

Celebrity Equinox - $1099pp balcony:

Thu Aug 25 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Embark

Fri Aug 26 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 6:00pm

Sat Aug 27 At Sea

Sun Aug 28 Dubrovnik, Croatia 7:00am 7:00pm

Mon Aug 29 Split, Croatia 8:00am 5:00pm

Tue Aug 30 Corfu, Greece 8:00am 5:00pm

Wed Aug 31 At Sea

Thu Sep 1 Santorini, Greece 10:00am 8:00pm

Fri Sep 2 Rhodes, Greece 8:00am 5:00pm

Sat Sep 3 Mykonos, Greece 8:00am

Sun Sep 4 Mykonos, Greece 3:00am

Mon Sep 5 Ephesus / Kusadasi, Turkey 7:00am 6:00pm

Tue Sep 6 At Sea

Wed Sep 7 Istanbul, Turkey 7:00am

 

Anyway, I hope this information is helpful in pointing you in the right direction to find a cruise that will work for your family and be cost effective.

[manlie]

Everyone on this board is so helpful .... I truly appreciate all the input and advice :o

[jocap]

Have you looked at Louis Cruises, now known as Celestial Cruiseline? They sail from Athens (Piraeus) and back on short cruises to Greece and Turkey... perhaps you could have a couple of nights before and after with family? They use older, small ships, but can cover two islands a day. There was a small children's club when we were on board, but the itineraries are very busy, so not much time for that! Plenty of beaches on the small islands for your daughter to enjoy.

[manlie]

Thank you all for your replies ... We have chosen the Celebrity Reflection 10 day Italy and Greek Isle cruise (departing August 19th) and stay for 5 days in Monemvasia. There were other itineraries I preferred but it was a small window of when we could leave and when my daughter would need to be back for school. :-(

Edited April 13, 2016 by manlie