Cruising the Med... with kids!

[DrmnOfMaui]

We have registered on the Ruby Princess to cruise the Med next June and our whole family is so excited we can hardly stand it!! We are a family of 4: Mom, Dad, son (13) and daughter (10).

 

I've got my husband trying to figure out the airfare/hotel in Rome and I've started researching ports so that we can try to figure out what to see in the time that we have. (I think my job is WAY more fun that his!!:D). We are very excited to show Europe to our kids and felt that the cruise was a nice way to see hi-lights in a fairly short amount of time. I know that we can not see all that we would like to see, so that is why I would like to really research and try to figure out what would be a satisfying but not exhausting trip for us all. The kids are good travelers, but they are still young.

 

For those of you who have traveled with kids (or anyone else who has a tip or idea!!), what were some of your kids favorite things? What did they bring away from the trip that they have always remembered? What did not work so well? What would you change if you did it over again? We have been cautioned that this trip is very port intensive and that a number of the ports may be all day excursions and several may be back to back. On the other hand, others have also said that they erred on the side of not exhausting everyone that they ended up not seeing all that they could and would liked to have. We really want to try to expose them (and us!) to all the wonderful sights and history in this area that is the root of Western Civilization without making it an endless parade of statues, monuments, museums, churches, etc. etc. etc. !! :) In other words, we want to make this educational but keep it a "vacation" too.

 

Here is our itinerary. As first time cruisers it has been recommended that we stick mainly to Princess Shore Excursions, but we are not opposed to doing things on our own as well and would look forward to exploring the cities and ports. I would love to hear about the excursions that you did with your kids and their thoughts on them!

 

Arrive Rome 3 days before the cruise.

Monte Carlo, Monaco (thinking on our own?)

Florence/Pisa, Italy

Naples/Capri (Pompeii is a must see for my daughter!)

Cruising

Santorini, Greece

Kusadasi, Turkey (for Ephesus)

Mykonos, Greece

Athens, Greece (Piraeus)

Katakolon, Greece (for Olympia) (daughter again is VERY excited as she just studied all about this place last year in school)

Corfu, Greece

Cruising

Disembark Venice (is Venice worth staying for a day or two?)

 

I always remember when I was little that my dad put tons of research and planning into a cross country trip for us. One of our stops was Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park and we had to wait for 30 minutes or so to see the geyser spray. My dad was SO excited! After it stopped my 7 year old sister said (very loudly so the whole crowd could hear...) "We drove 2 days just to see that???"

 

In any case, any cruise/port/travel tips are really appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Kim & Cruising Family

[I&MsMom]

Hi! We did a similar itinerary last April with a 4 and 8 year old. You are going to have an amazing trip! :D

 

We also sailed out of Rome, and we visited Livorno (Pisa/Florence), Naples, Izmir (Ephesus), Athens and Katakolon. We spent a few days in Venice and Rome pre-cruise. Yes, Venice is definitely worth a couple of days, but then it's probably my favorite place in the world, so maybe you'd better not just take my word for it! :p

 

We'd been to Italy before, but this was our first time to Greece or Turkey. We did all the ports on our own, except for Turkey. There I pre-arranged with a tour guide to meet us at the ship and take us to Ephesus. But, my husband is fluent in Italian.

 

We were with those who erred on the side of caution, and we didn't try to do/see it all. IMHO, you can't anyway, and trying just makes you stressed. For example, we didn't set foot in a single actual museum. We did go to the Acropolis and Olympia, but not into the museums. But, that said, our kids were younger - yours might really enjoy them.

 

If I have any real advice to offer it would be: take frequent gelato breaks! Seriously. Again IMHO, often the most memorable moments are those that just happen while you're enjoying a glass of wine or cup of coffee in a piazza. Just "being" there can be the best part!

 

Actually, I just thought of something else (but again my kids were younger) - I was pretty rigid about everybody getting a good night's sleep every night. You are right, the trip is very port-intensive, and I find with my kids, if they get tired, really tired, they are miserable. So there were no late nights in the camp.

 

We had a really, really great trip. I'm happy to share any of our experiences with you, just ask away! :)

 

Happy planning!!!

[Essiesmom]

Santorini is a wonderful place to avoid the tour and just wander around on your own. For a family experience to laugh about later, you might take the donkeys up to the town, and come back down on the funicular (cable car). You could also walk, but you would have to dodge the donkeys and donkey doo-doo. I only did the funicular. Mykonos is another port you might do on your own, wander around in town or maybe do a beach. It is another tender port. Piraeus...If you are not experienced European travelers, I would take the ships tour...But I agree with a previous poster about early nights...Because you definitely want to be up and on deck when you come into port, particularly in Santorini and Piraeus! Piraeus is a busy port, and there might be other cruise ships there...son might be fascinated...But there are lots of huge cruise ferries that ply the Med, especially among the Greek islands...I couldn't take enough pictures! Venice is definitely worth another day or two, but I think with the aid of a guidebook, such as Rick Steves, you could do it on your own. It is very compact, picturesque, and you certainly have to take a gondola and a vaporetto...EM

[junglejane]

I just wanted to add that you might consider private tours for some ports. For Piraeus/Athens, we used Spiros' taxi service. It cost us 230 Euros (plus admission costs) for a tour that lasted from 7:45 am until 4 pm. Our driver (Dimitris) was excellent and we beat all the tour buses to the Acropolis. We were heading back down from the Acropolis at the same time as all the tour buses from the cruiselines were unloading. You can also customize a private tour to focus on the stops you want. There's lots of info available on the Mediterranean ports of call board about private tours, and you can use your Roll Call to team up with others to make it economical to have a minivan.

 

We relied heavily on private tours but another person on our Roll Call, Candymanjim, did everything on his own with his family. His review discusses what they did in each port: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=43846.

 

--Junglejane

[CeleBrat]

We are heading to the Med in one week (YAHOO!!!!!!!)

 

We are staying on the West side (Italy/France/Malta, etc), so will not be able to share tips about Greece. Like some of the previous posters said, check out the Europe boards for Greece info. We have booked several private tours in Naples, Rome, and Florence.

 

So--I'll provide a full detailed review when we return.

 

CeleBrat

[onthelake]

We just did a number of these ports in April and my son is 14. I agree with what the other folks have already told you. Mykonos and Santorini on your own - just walk around and enjoy. For Pompeii, the Acropolis and Katakolon, take in to account how much walking will be involved. You all may be much more tired than you expect - don't over plan. We also just walked around Corfu since my son had just read the book "My Family and Other Animals" by Durrell for school and he wanted to see the city. There is an old fortress there on the water which we enjoyed. Also, remember - kids are free at many of the sites. Venice is truly lovely and we got vaparetto passes and spent a lot of time just 'riding around' since we were overnight there. It really is a fabulous trip - be prepared for euro shock.

 

I would also suggest talking about what each person wants to bring back from the trip - before we left my son decided he really wanted a model of the Eiffel Tower (we spent a week in Paris first) and I wanted a cartouche from Egypt, my husband wanted some of the Greek shirts. That really helps cut down on the time spent with someone wanting to go into each shop you pass.