Traveling with Kids

[jbiz]

We are thinking of taking a transatlantic cruise with 2 kids. a 3 year old and a 9month old. Its the NCL- Jewel Miami-London (Dover actually)

 

The ports are Miami; Ponta Delgada, Portugal; Lisbon, Portugal; Vigo, Spain; La Coruna, Spain; Waterford, Ireland; Guernsey Channel Islands, England; London (Dover), England

 

We would like to see the some of the sites but I dont want to impose the kids on others by taking the excursions. I will need to bring a stroller so I think subways/trains may be out. Any suggestions as to where we could head to see some of the sites? What is it like where we dock/tender? Can we walk around there? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I know some places like Spain and Portugal there are private tours we can do. Any thought?

[2theship]

I'm not familiar with most of your ports but I did travel extensively with my kids when they were tiny. I would avoid ship excursions and look for some private tours recommended by other Cruise Critic folks. With luck, you can find someone who will develop a local tour around your needs. A stroller will big your biggest problem - you will find steps everywhere that will be very hard to navigate. Can one of you take the baby in a carrier on your back? That would be the easiest way to deal with the obstacles. If you find a local guide who is taking you around by car, you might be able to have the stroller in the car with you for times when it's practical and have the carrier for the rest of the time.

 

It will be a challenge. You have to travel with the knowledge that the kids won't remember the trip for the most part and your touring will be limited by their needs. You'll have to have realistic expectations when making your plans.

[Hlitner]

We take two transatlantics a year and have seen very few children on those cruises. These cruises tend to attract an older (many retired) very well-traveled crowd who loves the many days at sea (we fall into that categoy). Trying to travel in Europe with two little-ones will be a challenge. In fact, if you did want to book ships tours you will find it gets quite expensive when you pay for 4. Personally, I cannot imagine doing this kind of trip with a 3 year old (the 9 month old would be less of a problem). Keep in mind that health regulations prohibit any toddler from using any pool unless they are potty trained. As the last poster said, using a stroller can be a problem in many ports with uneven walkways, hills, etc. and most 3 year olds have no problem telling you when they are unhappy. As to subways, you will not find anything like that except in London. If you use public transit it would be mostly buses.

 

Hank

[NeoJava]

We did the Mediterranian last year with our then-3yr-old son and it was AWESOME! He did sleep through much of the first part of the day early in the trip since we're from Hawaii and there was an 11 hour difference in times between Europe and Hawaii. So the stroller worked well. We did a mixture of cruise tours and tours on our own and had no problems at all either way. My son slept through most of the bus rides to and from locations and he fell asleep during some of the day trips as well. Since you'll be doing a trans-Atlantic you're kids should have that adjustment period on the ship while crossing the Atlantic so it will probably be better for you. Best thing is that over the next 15 years he'll be looking at pictures of himself in front of the Colisseum and Vatican and he'll have that connection when he starts studying Europe in school.

 

Depending on how well behaved your children are, you should not have a problem with cruise planned tours. They will sleep on much of the tour and many are free for the kids that young. You should chose the tours well, don't pick anything too strenuous, and you'll want to make sure you can use your stroller on all tours. We took the stroller on our own on the subway and train in Rome and Villefranche-sur-Mer to Monaco with no problems.

 

We will be doing a trans-Atlantic in April with my now-4yr-old son and he will get to see Paris and London. Should be nice.

[jbiz]

Thanks for the advice. My 3 year old has been on 2 cruises already and he has been great and is well behaved. I thought about the pool thing but he should be potty trained by than but even if he isnt the weather will not be swimming weather which is why we chose this trip. I was thinking about taking the baby in a baby carrier and i can either use the stroller or the older one can walk (attached to a harrness to me). I am hoping the ports arent going to be to crazy but we like cruising more for the ship so we are not looking to tour all day anyway.

 

Thanks again

[Missus Makkem]

as long as you do not mind walking you should be fine with your stroller.

 

In the UK every public area must have disabled access so a buggy should be no problem even the kerbs have a dropped part every so often.

[NeoJava]

One thing about the trains and subways, you will be required to go up and down stairs to get to the trains and it can be difficult with a stroller. I simply picked up stroller and offspring and carried all up and down stairs when needed without having my son come out of the stroller. This worked best for us since he was sometimes asleep when I did this and we didn't need to wake him. I wheeled the stroller right onto the metros but of course, the trains you do need to fold up the stroller. Don't know if my method would work for you with two kids in a stroller but it is something for you to consider. We did get on a few very crowded metros and on these we did fold up the stroller and I carried my son. But during less crowded hours we just wheeled my son on the metro. (this was in Rome)

[Vigoboy]

We are thinking of taking a transatlantic cruise with 2 kids. a 3 year old and a 9month old. Its the NCL- Jewel Miami-London (Dover actually)

 

The ports are Miami; Ponta Delgada, Portugal; Lisbon, Portugal; Vigo, Spain; La Coruna, Spain; Waterford, Ireland; Guernsey Channel Islands, England; London (Dover), England

 

We would like to see the some of the sites but I dont want to impose the kids on others by taking the excursions. I will need to bring a stroller so I think subways/trains may be out. Any suggestions as to where we could head to see some of the sites? What is it like where we dock/tender? Can we walk around there? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I know some places like Spain and Portugal there are private tours we can do. Any thought?

 

I live in Vigo with my wife and two small boys. I reguarly take strolls along and around the old town and marina, there's also new shopping complex by the port if thats your thing. If not you can take a bus to playa Samil, takes about 20-30min, there's a 2km long promenade and with play parks for the kids, there's cafes, restaurants and bars. One of my favorite places there is sitting ouside at Camaleon Cafe taking in the beautiful views out towards the islands. One thing you can be sure of is that in Spain your treated much better in cafes and restaurants if you have kids than without!

 

If you'd like to know more you can have a look at my blog, it's just a personal bog about Vigo and what you can do here :)

 

If you have any questions just ask!

 

www.viewonvigo.blogspot.com

 

Saludos

Brendan