Med. cruise with a 7 yo boy

[quanmama]

We are planning our summer 2009 cruise and would like some opinions here--

 

Our DS will be 7 next summer. He is the only child and is quite mature for his age (based on many people's comments including his teachers). Both DH and I would love to go on a Med. cruise but are concerned about how suitable it is for him. We know there will be many museums and ruins and stuff and it is definitely on the fast paced side....Had anyone done this with a young child?

 

We had booked a Med.cruise this summer but had canceled due to a few other reasons and we are going to Alaska this year instead. After reading some of the posts here, it makes me rethink if Med.cruise is a good option for a child this age. We are also willing to do a Baltic cruise which seems to be a bit more relaxing?

 

Please post your experience if you had done either a Med.cruise or Baltic cruise with a child around this age. Thank you so much!!

[quanmama]

Hmm,just saw another post that talks about traveling to Med.with young children. I will certainly read that. Anyone had done Baltic with a young child?

[PrincessYoga]

My little cousin went on our Noordam Western Med cruise at 6. The cruise veteran he is with 6 under his belt deemed this one this best. He had a camera and made a book as we went along. We also taught him a few words in each language as we encountered. His favourite was "Prego". He got loads of attention and compliments as we travelled especially as he used his new words with the locals.

[Eclipsepearl]

My son turned 8 on our Med cruise. He hardly wanted to leave Celebrity's Fun Factory, made a ton of friends, had a great time...and hardly left the ship! He didn't want to. I wasn't keen either. Everywhere was crowded and hot. We already live in Europe so we weren't pressed to see everything.

 

I'd weigh up the Baltic (been there pre-procreating but not by a cruise) and the weather can be iffy, even in summer. The pluses might outweight that drawback.

 

Little boys that age, even mature ones, have their limit of museums and ruins. I would recommend it a bit older and maybe not in summer. Or...do what we did and just let him stay or get off as he wants. You also might want to tone down your off shore excusions.

 

It was a physically tiring trip and getting off and on the ship wasn't so easy.

 

hth!

[rebeccalouise]

Yes- been there done that.

 

Last July my son (age 6, almost 7) and I did the Med. He only got off the ship to tour Pompeii and Dubrovnik. He never set foot in Villefranche, Livorno, Rome, Athens or Santorini! He was in the Celebrity Fun Factory. In fact, we rarely saw him the entire trip.

 

This year we are doing a 12 night to Greece and Turkey on Holland America and then a 12 night on Celebrity Century to Norway and the Arctic Circle. He will be getting off the ship to do some excursions but I may wander around some of the ports solo and leave him onboard.

 

A vacation to the med with kids is very fun don't worry. Celebrity is the best cruise line IMO.

[I&MsMom]

We did an Eastern Med. route last year in late April, with a 4 and 8 year old. It was warm enough even then, and I thought often about how much more physically taxing the trip would have been had it been hot. We're contemplating a late June-into early July Western Med. for 2009, but I have some serious reservations...

 

We're doing a Baltic cruise out of Dover this summer. The kids will be 5 and 9 - I'll post a review when we get back! :)

[WineDown17]

Based on my research (we are doing a 12 night med next May) there are many choices availabel for you in the Med-

 

As others have written, you can leave him in the kids club - if that is amenable to you. There are tours in each port that are suitable for children- but that you may not enjoy - such as amusement parks. Or, you can do a combo- Kids club when in ports where a suitable "family" excursion is not available... and together when there is.

 

It is really all up to you and what you want to get out of the trip. I think it is wonderful to give children a birds eye view of other cultures and languages etc while they are still open to new ideas and forming their perception of the world.. So I think it is great that you are considering it.

 

Regardless of your ultimate decision, have a great time no matter what you choose to do!

[quanmama]

Thank you so much for all the feedback! I am not sure if I would be 100% comfortable leaving my son on the ship so Med.cruise may not be a very good option. I think that it would be hard for him to get into every single town with us.

[JsMom2]

I took my DD on a Costa cruise to Greece, Italy, and Croatia when she was 8. She loved Dubrovnik and Olympia. I left her onboard for some of the ports, and she was fine in the club. Just remember, if there's a real emergency and you have a cell phone then they can contact you. Also, the ship will not leave with out you if you have a child in the club.

 

Six months later we went on a Disney Med cruise, and had a great time. She loved Pompeii, and Pisa. But we had fun at all the ports. (Yes the days are long and busy, so definitely pace yourselves! Also, look for an itinerary with as many sea days as possible between ports.) There's a chance Disney will be back in the Med in 2010, and we are anxiously awaiting the announcement.

 

But in the meantime we're going to try out the Navigator of the Seas this summer. We're also doing the Baltics on Crown Princess. DD is looking forward to it, as we've been learning about the Russian Tsars and I've bought her a book of Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales. But she's almost 10 now.

 

In my opinion, your son would be fine in the Med, but I think I'd wait a few years to take him to the Baltics.

[whale-watcher]

We were initially booked on a Med cruise for this summer, but also re-booked to do Alaska instead...partly because we felt the intense heat and long days of touring would be too much for my 9yo son and my elderly mother. I would not want to bring my child all the way to Europe (at nearly 2k pp for a coach ticket) for them to stay on board ship, so we will wait until he is a little older, and travel when it is not so hot (our itinerary included Egypt, with average high temp close to 100F in late June).

 

Our 9yo is VERY excited about Alaska, however...even though we have been there before. We did land-based touring in Europe in '07 and '05, and he did enjoy that (but we took time for fun kids activities such as water parks and hiking, and limited the number of museums we visited).

[quanmama]

I took my DD on a Costa cruise to Greece, Italy, and Croatia when she was 8. She loved Dubrovnik and Olympia. I left her onboard for some of the ports, and she was fine in the club. Just remember, if there's a real emergency and you have a cell phone then they can contact you. Also, the ship will not leave with out you if you have a child in the club.

 

Six months later we went on a Disney Med cruise, and had a great time. She loved Pompeii, and Pisa. But we had fun at all the ports. (Yes the days are long and busy, so definitely pace yourselves! Also, look for an itinerary with as many sea days as possible between ports.) There's a chance Disney will be back in the Med in 2010, and we are anxiously awaiting the announcement.

 

But in the meantime we're going to try out the Navigator of the Seas this summer. We're also doing the Baltics on Crown Princess. DD is looking forward to it, as we've been learning about the Russian Tsars and I've bought her a book of Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales. But she's almost 10 now.

 

In my opinion, your son would be fine in the Med, but I think I'd wait a few years to take him to the Baltics.

 

Hi Jsmom2,

 

Can you explain why you think we should wait a few years to take him to the Baltics? Some people say it is a bit more relaxing to go to the Baltics. What is your opinion?