Mediterranean with Kids

[ckp19]

Hi, we have a 7 year old DD, and a 11 year old DS, We have always wanted to do a Mediterranean Cruise, however thought we would wait until the kiddies were older. That being said my boss just returned from a 7 day

Mediterranean Cruises and loved it so much, that it got me thinking about that instead of Caribean for our next cruise.

my question is, with so many ports that involve site seeing more so than beaches, do younger kids enjoy these ports?

 

Any imput from someone who's been there and done that with kids under 12 would be really helpfull.

 

Thanks

 

Michelle

[Onessa]

We've done several land and sea trips with our DD to the Med area over the years - the first when she was 4YO.

 

Dependent upon the itinerary and the time of year, there are some really nice beaches (Barcelona, Monaco, Corfu, Mykonos come to mind). We are not much of a "beach" family, so I primarly speak second hand on that aspect.

 

But there are really cool markets to wander through, some nice national parks and the ruins are really interesting (walking THROUGH the Colusium and the Roman Forum, running a race at the Original Olympic Site, touring the Acropolis, Pompeii, Hurculeum, the Pyrmids, etc.). Venice defies all description - it's nice to see as a port for a cruise, but an amazing place to wander and get lost if you stay there (on the island) for a day or two pre or post-cruise.

 

It is interesting to try new foods (Gelatto, tapas, etc.).

 

There are great museums and art, which my DD has always liked (artwork in particular) - your kids may or may not be into that. My DD (now 13YO) has always been a bit of a fashion setter type and LOVES people watching other kids her age for ideas and then of course shopping!

 

For the smaller one, do some pre-trip research to get some ideas as far as stuff you can see and stories you can tell that will make it more interesting to him/her.

 

If you have not already done so, you may want to consider posting this on the Family formum as well -- it may get a bit more action there.

[CruisingSarah]

Hi, we did 2 Med cruises last year with our DS who was 3 and have one coming up this year when he will be 4. Being from the UK it's easier for us to take a Med Cruise due to the long flights to go to the Caribbean.

 

Were there any particular itineraries you had in mind? Some of the ports which come to mind from our cruises are Barcelona, great beach, aquarium close to port, open-top sightseeing bus, castle on top of hill accessed by cable car, other cable car ride, easy strolling around Las Ramblas watching street performers, eating tapas; Mykonos great beaches, quaint town to wander around; Santorini exciting donkey ride up the cliff! views from the top; Crete & corfu good beach stops and nice places to wander around in town.

 

Many of the European ports are just really nice places to be, just strolling, sitting at a cafe and watching just soaking in the atmosphere if you know what I mean! I guess some of the Italian ports are more 'culture intense' with multiple very famous galleries, museums and churches to see. We have Italy coming up this October so I can't say how that is with a child yet!

 

Alexandria would be a difficult port as the sights (Pyramids, Sphinx) are a long bus ride away.

 

On the whole I would say go for it! Your kids are at a great age to be curious and really get something out of the new experiences! :)

[my2monsters]

I was 11 when I made my first trip to Europe and it wasn't always smooth sailing. I would only eat roast chicken and I hated going into museums. My parents actually left me in St. Mark's Square in Venice by myself while they toured the Doge's Palace. (Different era) I'm going on the Brilliance of the Seas in July around the Mediterranean. My kids are 16 and 12. Both of them studied either European History or Classics in the past year. I think that that makes a big difference because now they will be seeing things "in the flesh" that they've only studied about. If you're kids love walking alot and their interest can be held by the passing scenery then go for it. If they get tired easily and you end up dragging along the street (my kids were definitely like that), you may want to wait another year or two. Good luck!

[bay guy]

Personally, unless your 7 year old is patient and likes to do anything you want to do, I'd say that's too young. These tend to be very port intensive trips and, depending on the itinerary, there may not be that much to keep their interest all day long for several days in a row.

I think the 11 year old would be fine.

We did this several years ago with our 4 grandchildren, the youngest being 10 at the time and it was hard to keep her interested all day and there were days when she just wanted to stay on board while we toured. We wouldn't allow that so we sometimes had a very sulky young lady to drag with us all day long. The older kids 13-17 were great and wanted to see everything they could because they'd had some exposure in school to the history of the countries we visited, as another poster mentioned.

[DNLs_mum]

Hi, we have a 7 year old DD, and a 11 year old DS, We have always wanted to do a Mediterranean Cruise, however thought we would wait until the kiddies were older. That being said my boss just returned from a 7 day

Mediterranean Cruises and loved it so much, that it got me thinking about that instead of Caribean for our next cruise.

 

my question is, with so many ports that involve site seeing more so than beaches, do younger kids enjoy these ports?

 

Any imput from someone who's been there and done that with kids under 12 would be really helpfull.

 

Thanks

 

 

Michelle

 

I used to think like you. We wanted to wait for our kids to be older to do such trips. But then no. 3 comes along. Now that our 2 boys are 10 and 12, we have a 3yr old girl! We decided not to wait any more and just bite the bullet and book our med cruise for this Dec. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! If you are not planning to go before Dec, I'll tell you how the trip goes when I get back.

[marci22]

We took our 3 kids last year, the youngest was 11. He did enjoy himself, but the older two appreciated it more (14 & 16 at the time).

 

The days start early, and are very long. If your 7yo enjoys that, it would make a difference. There is a LOT of walking involved. I limited museum time, did not overbook our days, and had them each write a short report on 3 of the ports we would be visiting so that they would have some background. We did a lot of 'strolling' as well, so they could just look around.

 

I think 10yo and up is optimal, since it involves ambitious touring and is a bit expensive if you are coming from U.S. or Canada.

[iluvbkk]

My husband and I took our 9 yr old grandson on the Carnival Freedom to the Mediterranean for 12 nights, I believe, and he LOVED it! He didn't spend any time in the children's programs but just enjoyed the ship and all the ports. Our belief is that you never know where tomorrow might lead you so it's best to just enjoy life and take the trips you want. You will be making cherished memories.

[Happy ks]

You know your children better than anyone else and know what they will tolerate best. I happen to think a trip like this would be a wonderful family vacation...with a lot of pre-planning. I'd have the kids study a bit of the culture of where they will be visiting. I'd also plan a couple of fun, offbeat excursions rather than one museum after the other. My husband and I loved Venice, a port like that would be perfect for kids, just get lost walking through all the narrow alleys and crossing all the bridges.

 

There will be at least one sea day, probably 2, so it's not like the kids will be dragged around every day on a tour.

 

I'd also arrive to the destination port at the very least one day in advance, two would be better, to acclimate to a new time zone.

 

Involve them in the planning and research, it will pay off in the long run.

 

Have a great time!

[RichYak]

My kids were 6, 10 and 12 when we cruised the Med. Things that worked for us:

 

• Fly in at least 1 day before the cruise to acclimate to the time difference
  
• Choose a cruise that has a sea day as the first day to further acclimate
  
• Research and book private excursions to go at your own pace
  
• Choose a mix of museums and fun things to keep them energized
  
• Make plenty of ice cream/gelato stops
  
• My kids would use the long van rides to nap
  

 

Bottom line, they loved it. It's fun for them to learn about places in school and can say "I've been there!" It worked out so well that we even decided to take them to London and a British Isles cruise the following year.

[grand isle joe]

We did the Med cruise with our then 6yr. old daughter a couple years ago and just returned off the Splendour repo cruise fron Lisbon to Venice again with our 8yr. old and are returning to cruise this coming spring with her. She loved it and was spoiled rotten by everyone on the ships(because of the # of fewer kids than the Carr.) as well as the excursion guides. Most of the excursions you are given a head set reciever that monitors the guide and helps my daughter get the feel and knowledge of the trip while being able to go at her pace. She loves to travel and learn new things and meet people so this is right up her alley. I would say that you would have to decide if your children like change and a place where alot of the peoples speak differently and eat some different foods. But our daughter has French and Spanish in school so it gives her a chance to get some real world experience in speaking and understanding.

One thing we do is take into the interest and duration of the shore excurtions we book to make sure something would interest her as well as us. Our daughter does well on long days the longest being Rome while we toured St. Peters as well as the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel that was about 9 hrs. and she was fine. But also remember the onboard experience (pool, kids club, smaller #s of kids for more attention)that is offered to the kids help balance off some of the adult focus shore excursions on land

The biggest thing that we feel is that the more our daughter travels outside the U.S. the more she realizes we are more the same than different. It would be one of the greatest gifts you can give to your kids in our estimation.:D

[ubdkjrb]

Couple of thoughts. First, as someone said above, the med is very port intensive and at least on the western, most of the cities you want to visit are far from the port (Rome, Florence, Pompei). Of your "day" about 2-3 hours are spent getting to and from the actual excursion. If you leave promptly at 7:00-7:30 and return by 4:00 that's 25-30% of your "day". This is true whether you go by train, private car or ship's tour bus. My seven-year-old would have had a hard time with this amount of traveling five port days. Second, I don't think a seven-year-old really knows the difference between Rome, Charlotte-Amalie and Chicago. All they really know at that age is that they aren't at home where their toys and and they're spending the whole week with both of their parents 24-7. I would wait until they have a little more patience and interest. My guess is early teens. Of course, then you run the risk that they don't want to be seen with their parents at all.

 

Peter