Choosing a European Cruise for a 6 year old

[TheCruisingBrewers]

Our kids both grew up cruising, and we are now starting that tradition with our 6-year-old granddaughter and her parents, (my son).

Since she will have been on a cruise to Alaska this coming summer, I am looking at Europe for the next experience. Since we all have done the Mexican Riveria, Caribbean and Alaska cruises. She is a good traveler, can handle airplane flights well, and has a great curious nature. 

 

Of these itineraries where would you go and why? I am looking for one that resonates with a young mind and has memorable sights, but also a few sea days to "recoup". She will be in school it will have to be the standard vacation time frame. Also, what cruise line (besides Disney, did your kids love the most? That you do not have to explain

 

Great Britain without Ireland

Ireland and possibly Scotland

Iceland 

Norwegian Fjords

Baltic

Med Spain to Western Italy

Med Greece /Croatia/Turkey

 

What cruise line did your kids love the most?

 

Thanks for answering!

 

Nancy

 

 

[Essiesmom]

First, I would book by itinerary rather than ship.

Second, decide if you are booking the itinerary for four adults, or one small child.

Get copies of Rick Steves’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports, and his Scandinavia and Northern Europe Cruise Ports.  Have your son and DIL read them to see what is available to do in the ports, then decide on itinerary.

August is vacation in Europe so everything will be crowded.  The eastern Mediterranean will be beastly hot in July and August so I would not do Greece and Turkey then.  EM

[puppycanducruise]

I loved Norway, lots of great scenery.  But I'm not sure that it would hold a lot of fascination for a 6 year old.    But I don't know your granddaughter.

[Kerry's Girls]

Often for Med cruises the port is far from the city center where in the Baltics it's easier to get off the ship and immediately explore.  That said, my twins were 5 when we did a Med cruise and they loved it, BUT it was over winter break.  I absolutely wouldn't expect a good outcome with a young child in the blazing heat and crowds of Med ports in summer.  Honestly, choose the best itinerary for the adults.  Any mainstream ship is going to have a pool and other kids to play with on board - more important for a child is that in any port you do a private tour or go independently so you avoid museums/shopping/waiting that goes along with ship tours.  On a private tour anywhere choose outdoor sightseeing, stop for ice cream, etc.  I'd say any of the Northern Europe or UK cruises would be a dream for a kid - so much beauty and spaces to explore.  

[kasi1979]

We live in Germany and have put of the Med til a later time since my now 8 year old is not interested in "old stones". As others have mentioned the Med is pretty hot in the summer and crowded as Europe is on vacation at that time, too.

We´ve been on several cruises with the kid to Norway, the Baltics and Great Britain and Ireland. I found that my kid loves nature, animals and action. She´s good on city sightseeing as long as we don´t over do it and visit nature and sience museums instead of art which holds little interest to her. 

So, I´d check if the north holds any interest for you. 

 

If you want a lot of city and culture check he Baltic Sea, even though St. Petersburg won´t be in the schedules for the time being, there are lots of fascinating cities and some nature put into the mix (e.g. the little Islands outside Stockholm). 

If more nature and less city is ok, a Scotland centered tour or Norway is the way I would take a look.

 

Most of Europe can get warm in summer as it was last year but it can also be wet and mild, there is no weather guarantee. So maybe a ship with a good pool and ports that hold the interest of your family. With 5 people it might be interesting to look into private tours or diy it. 

 

[kitkat343]

My oldest loved the Baltics when he was 3.  The big issue with the Baltics if you are flying all the way from Texas right now is the loss of the highlight of that cruise, St. Petersburg.  All of the ports were very accessible for children (we only did a tour in St. Petersburg and traveled independently using public transport everywhere else).  Highlights were the open air lemur exhibit  in Skansan and Vassa in Stockholm (get to Vassa  early before it gets crowded though) the fountains at Peterhof (not accessible now), exploring Tallinn (there's a nearly unknown Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour museum that has lots of interesting hands on activities for kids).  My cruise review in my signature line has a lot about this cruise, which is an amazing one for kids.  But if you've never seen St. Petersburg you might want to hold off if you think it might be accessible at some point in the not so distant future.

 

My children also loved Norway at age 2 and 6.  The highlights for us were the Loen Skylift in Olden, Geiranger and the Flam railway and independent tour to a goat farm in Flam.  Most people with children love Bergen, but it was a horribly rainy day and we didn't have the ability to really appreciate it.  The Loen skylift is extremely accessible for children, as is the Geiranger Skywalk.  But Norway has a rule that children cannot be transported in cabs without car seats, and this was very difficult for our family because we usually use public transportation, private tours or cabs.  We would up having to use a tour bus for the first time in Bergen, and it definitely is a lot less convenient and harder to manage with kids.  Plus the weather in Norway can be quite unstable, and its all about the amazing views and nature.  If you are unlucky with the weather you won't be able to see much.

 

Thinking long term, have you also done the Panama Canal cruises?  If you are an easy flight from Florida, that's a great cruise for kids - Cartagena is gorgeous, and our cruise went to Aruba (Phillips animal gardens),  Roatan Honduras (lots of animal experiences) Costa Rica (rain forests for kids) and to see the canal.  We did the 10 day partial transit on Princess, which was a very easy trip logistically for us from NY.

 

There's more detail about all of my cruises with kids in my signature line.  Oh, and Roatan, Honduras has a lot of great activities with animals for kids, so if there are 7 day cruises that go there from Texas that might be an easy cruise to squeeze in on a spring break.

 

We've sailed primarily for itinerary so we've only been on old, uninteresting boats so far and can't advise you on that.  

Edited December 4, 2022 by kitkat343

[ontheweb]

I would also agree on the Baltic cruise. Tallinn, Estonia is like being in a medieval village. Stockholm has so much to do. And I agree that the Vasa Museum is fascinating.

 

As for St. Petersburg, though I agree that for the adults it would be a shame to miss, I think the length of time there on tours would make it not as amenable for a young child.

[kitkat343]

On 12/9/2022 at 7:36 AM, ontheweb said:

I would also agree on the Baltic cruise. Tallinn, Estonia is like being in a medieval village. Stockholm has so much to do. And I agree that the Vasa Museum is fascinating.

 

As for St. Petersburg, though I agree that for the adults it would be a shame to miss, I think the length of time there on tours would make it not as amenable for a young child.

If St. Petersburg ever comes back as a cruiseport that’s probably the place to splurge on a private (just your family) tour if you bring kids there.  There are kid friendly attractions, like the fountains at Peterhof, canal tour and hydrofoil.  My son was 3 and lasted for a little while in each of the other main attractions. We just identified what we wanted to see at each location and had a very focused tour.  At the hermitage, I wanted to see renaissance art, and my husband wanted to see the impressionists.  Our three year old was happy for 40 minutes in the hermitage, so we all saw the renaissance art and then I went to the Internet cafe and gave my son cake while my husband saw the impressionists.  In Catherine’s palace, the rooms are amazing but we moved very quickly through the middle rooms, so we focused on the beginning rooms, the ballroom  and the amber room.  We stopped and bought him treats whenever he started to look hungry or cranky (stolle was perfect for this, since they are a chain all over St. Petersburg with quick yummy sweet and savory pies).  
 

 But you are correct - with young kids, they might hit their limit in St. Petersburg and the parents might be disappointed if they travel all the way there and don’t get to see everything they want.  The kids club staff reported that a number of the kids stayed onboard during the St. Petersburg stop   I’d recommend taking it easy in Tallinn the day before (taking a cab to the top of toompea hill and walking down) because you want to conserve your energy for St. Petersburg.  

Edited December 10, 2022 by kitkat343

[Onessa]

Italy was my daughter's favorite when she was young -- some longer trips from port to cities, but she was surprisingly fascinated by Venice's canals and the Roman ruins in various spots. The older Italian women love little kids :).  Greece and Turkey was great as well when she was young, but we tend to cruise early spring or late autumn so the weather was bearable -- Turkey regularly gets into the high 100's and even over 110 in mid summer.