Doing the Mediterranean with kids

[mpb43]

Hi,

I'm new to these boards and am taking my first cruise to the Mediterranean this summer with an 11 year old, 9 year old, and 4 year old. Anyone done the Med with kids or stayed in Greece with children? Specifically, did anyone have any good kid-friendly guides while in Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes or Katokolon (Olympia)?

 

Thanks!

[patl95]

Us and another family are considering doing a Mediterrean cruise Spring 08 (either the end of April or the end of June). There are going to be 2 kids ages 6 and 7 (ours is the 6 year old, another family has the 7 year old). Does anyone have experience out there?? I'd love to hear how your kids enjoyed it - did they do excurisions with you or stay on the boat? How did they hold up?

 

We've done the Carribbean with our daugther several times (going on our 4th one in just a few weeks) and would like to do something different. She loves cruising so I'm sure she'll be fine with the "big boat"...it is the sight-seeing party my husband is a little leery of...

 

Thanks!

 

Patty

[I&MsMom]

Hi! We're going to the Med. with our kids in April: RT from Rome, with the ports of Naples, Rhodes, Izmir (Ephesus), Istanbul, Athens, Katakalon, and Livorno, with three sea days. Our kids are 4 and 8. We're spending two nights pre-cruise in Rome, then taking the train to Venice for another two nights. The night before embarkation, we're spending in Civitavecchia.

 

We're not doing any ship excursions, and plan on bringing the kids with us at each port. We've hired drivers and guides for the two ports in Turkey. We are hoping to rent a car in Katakalon to go to Olympia at our own pace. In Naples, we're going to let the weather dictate our day: Capri if it's beautiful, Sorrento if it's so-so, and the museum in Naples and a pizza quest if it's raining. In Rhodes, we're going to explore the Old Town on foot. In Athens, we're taking the Metro to the Acropolis and hoping to wander the Plaka and have a nice lunch. In Livorno, we're thinking Pisa and Lucca, as I think the kids are a bit young to appreciate the best of what Florence has to offer.

 

We've taken the kids to Italy before, but this will be our first cruise in the Med. I'll report on how it went on our return!

[kestrel]

We have cruised on Grand Princess with kids (14, 12, 9) to Eastern Mediterranean in August, 2005. It was very hot and humid. So we tried to do sightseeing in the morning, and went to museums or relaxed in the afternoon.

 

This is what we have done:

 

Rome (pre-cruise): (On our own) We visited the Colosseum (kids loved it), Roman Forums, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and the Four Rivers Fountain on the first day. The second morning we visited Vatican. The line to the Vatican Museum was extremely long, so we didn't enter. Instead we climbed the St. Peter's cupola (kids enjoyed it).

 

Monte Carlo: (On our own) We went to the Royal Palace and Musee Oceanographicque. Kids loved the aquarium in the museum, not to mention that it's cool (temperature wise) inside :)

 

Livorno: (On our own) We took a train ride to Pisa, walked to see the Leaning Tower and Duomo. (Kids liked the Leaning Tower.)

 

Naples: (On our own) We took a train ride to Pompeii to see the ruins. Kids were very impressed, but they also complained that it's too hot.

 

Santorini: (On our own) We took the cable car ride to Fira and then took a bus ride to Oia. Parents were very impressed with the view, kids not so much.

 

Rhodes: (On our own) We walked the Knight's Road to the Palace of the Grand Masters. Kids enjoyed the palace (a medieval castle) very much.

 

Mykonos: (Princess Tour) We took a shore excursion to Delos. The guide was great. Kids liked it, but again complained it's too hot.

 

Athens: (On our own) We visited Acropolis and Ancient Agora in the early morning, and went to the air-conditioned National Archaeological Museum in the afternoon. Kids especially enjoyed the air conditioning in the museum :)

 

Katakolon: (Princess Tour) We took a shore excursion to Olympia in the morning. I went shopping alone in the afternoon. Kids stayed on the cruise with Dad.

 

Corfu: (On our own) We visited the Old Fort. It was nice, but not particularly impressive. If we go there again, I would join a tour to see other parts of the island.

 

Venice (post-cruise): (On our own) We stayed at Venice after cruise, and visited the Correr Museum, Doge's Palace, and St. Marco. This is my daughter's favorite city.

 

Overall, kids enjoyed the trip, but considered the weather too hot. They all seemed to like Italy better than Greece, while parents enjoyed both.

[patl95]

Thanks kestrel your kids experience! That sounds like the exact one we're thinking of doing.

 

It seems like you did most things on your own - wow difficult was it to do? Did you do research before hand or was there enough info when you got into the port?

 

I&MsMom - I'd love to hear about it when you get back! What cruise line are you going on? I didn't realize there was a train from Venice to Rome. The cruises we were looking at we were specially looking to end or start in Rome because we wanted to spend a few extra days there - but if there is an easy way to get there from Venice that is an option. How expensive is the train?

 

How did you go about finding hotels? Did you do it on your own or with a TA?

 

Thanks for all the great info!!!

 

Patty

[mpb43]

Wow, my thanks as well for the great info. We too have also gone to Italy with the kids but this will be our first cruise. I like the idea of doing many of the ports on our own and maybe picking one or two for a tour. We will be traveling in late July so the heat will be an issue. Olympia sounds like a good choice for a tour.

[lov2sailtoo]

Wow, my thanks as well for the great info. We too have also gone to Italy with the kids but this will be our first cruise. I like the idea of doing many of the ports on our own and maybe picking one or two for a tour. We will be traveling in late July so the heat will be an issue. Olympia sounds like a good choice for a tour.

 

..long story, we live in Ireland during the off school months in the US. My partner and I tell our children where we are taking them during the months of June, July and early August; we then ask them to research the areas and ask what interests them; what do they want to see? They have never had a problem in telling us exactly what they want to see or not. Kid's are so much fun!!

[kestrel]

It was not difficult to tour on our own. (However, we do have extensive travel experiences.)

 

I had Rick Steves' Italy (highly recommended; both informative and entertaining) and Frommer's Greek Islands (very informative).

 

I also want to mention that the Cruise Director (?) on Grand Princess (sorry, don't remember his name) was very helpful. He offered Port Talks (both live and recorded), materials and maps for all ports. He was also available to answer questions daily (usually in the morning).

[mpb43]

I can't tell you how much the replies have helped. Being my first cruise, I was a litte worried about trying to get the most out of the ports in such a short amount of time. Luckily, my children have traveled to Europe several times previously and really enjoyed simple walks, a great piazza, or a cool castle. It sounds like we can continue to do what we have always done, just enjoy our time exploring a wonderful new town, even if it is only for a few hours. Doing the towns on our own and doing our own research actually sounds like a lot of fun. Our cruise of Greece is RT out of Venice. We have rented an apartment in Venice for 5 days post cruise. We missed Venice on our trip to Italy last summer. I'll have the kids do a little research on Greece and maybe pick one or two locations for a tour. Maybe they can be my tour guide at some ports!

[lov2sailtoo]

I can't tell you how much the replies have helped. Being my first cruise, I was a litte worried about trying to get the most out of the ports in such a short amount of time. Luckily, my children have traveled to Europe several times previously and really enjoyed simple walks, a great piazza, or a cool castle. It sounds like we can continue to do what we have always done, just enjoy our time exploring a wonderful new town, even if it is only for a few hours. Doing the towns on our own and doing our own research actually sounds like a lot of fun. Our cruise of Greece is RT out of Venice. We have rented an apartment in Venice for 5 days post cruise. We missed Venice on our trip to Italy last summer. I'll have the kids do a little research on Greece and maybe pick one or two locations for a tour. Maybe they can be my tour guide at some ports!

 

Venice....my children love Venice!!! Basilica Di San Mrco watch out for the pigeons they have lice. My youngest son had one land on his head and he got them.

[Aussys]

Hi Kestral

We are going to Europe in June and leaving from Venice on the Royal Princess. Just wondering were you stayed in Venice - difficult finding family rooms?

Thanks

[mpb43]

Venice....my children love Venice!!! Basilica Di San Mrco watch out for the pigeons they have lice. My youngest son had one land on his head and he got them.

 

Yikes! Thanks for the heads up.:)

[kestrel]

Hi Kestral

We are going to Europe in June and leaving from Venice on the Royal Princess. Just wondering were you stayed in Venice - difficult finding family rooms?

Thanks

 

We stayed at San Marco Palace in Venice. The hotel is almost right next to the San Marco Square. It is very conveniently located.

 

We had a suite with a queen bed in the bedroom (for the parents), an alcove with 2 small beds (for the 2 boys), and a sofa-bed in the living room (for daughter). We all enjoyed the hotel very much.

 

However, it was expensive (close to $400 a night). That explained why we only stayed for one night in Venice. :o

[I&MsMom]

Hello, everyone. This is a great thread! Thanks to everyone who has contributed.

 

Kestrel: I really appreciate you posting your experiences with largely going it on your own. It makes me feel more confident in doing the same thing!

 

patl95: JMHO, but I would definitely go with doing your research from home. There are so many great resources on line (not the least of which is the Europe port of call board right here). I prepare a separate page in a document for each port, and carry that one page along with us on the relevant day. I find that reasoning it all out at home is fun, plus, in the heat of the moment, I have something concrete to refer to. I don't hesitate about whether I need to turn right or left after exiting the port to get to the train station, etc. (To that end, check out PortReviews dot com) I also have a list of recommended restaurants, the hours of the places we might like to visit, hydrofoil and/or train schedules, etc.

 

We're on the Carnival Freedom. I'm still looking into the train to Venice. It's about 4.5 hours for the express. You can't get tickets outside of 60 days, so I feel like I'm dealing with dodgy info. Plus, there is apparently a family discount, but I haven't had a lot of success sorting it out on line (trenitalia dot com - English button in upper right hand corner). DH speaks Italian fluently, so the plan is to wait until about Feb. 16, and have him call. I'll let you know how it works out, and how much it ends up costing. From what I understand, you can sometimes fly (RyanAir and the like) for less, but they have very strict check-in luggage restrictions, and when you consider the time needed to arrive pre-flight, time to get to/from the airports, the train is actually less time...

 

As for hotels, TripAdvisor dot com and Venere dot com are both great planning tools. Real reviews by real travelers in real time. Plus, the "forums" on TripAdvisor are also useful.

 

Lov2sailtoo: Gosh, thank you, thank you, for the warning. We'll stay well clear of the pigeons!

 

Aussys: We booked our room in Venice last spring. We went with the well recommended (by TripAdvisor) Hotel al Ponte Mocenigo, where we were able to book a quad (the red room in the photos) for 190 euros per night. We have NEVER booked so far in advance before, so this was quite an anomaly! As a matter of fact, I just booked our hotel for the Rome portion of the trip this week!

 

HTH, and I'm anxious to hear about other's experiences of traveling in the Med. with kids!

[mpb43]

Great information everyone. Another site that I really like as I've been doing my research on cruising is cruisecal.com It let's you see how many ships are expected to be in port on any given day. It has helped me to plan how busy a port might be for the kids. Luckily, the day we are in Santorini, a tender port, there are only 2 ships at the same time. Some days, there are 5 ships in port simultaneously!