Anyone take Med cuise with young kids and regret?

[Griffith6]

We booked for next summer & I'm personally excited but now concerned it will be to much for my younger 2 kids (ages 8,9,12 & 13) - long flight & 12 days on ship plus couple days on front end. The port days will be long and busy - worried kids can't keep up with pace & don't want to regret spending money if kids can't appreciate/enjoy (or whine). They love DCL & kids club but Med will be more time off ships & sightseeing. Thoughts?

 

[tajz90]

My kids were 7 and 13 and they loved it. Learned a lot. Had a ton of fun. The kids matched us step for step. I planned excursions on my own that they would like. It's our top favorite cruise (tied with Alaska).

We visited Pompeii and the Herculeum. We climbed the stairs in Leaning Tower. We visited the Colosseum and the Vatican where we not only saw the Sistine Chapel, but also the Popes tomb area. We took the kids to the catacombs in Palermo. Sure, they frowned a bit about all the church's, but had fun tossing coins into the fountains. We took them to eat at the McDs in Rome. It was great.

We ended up bringing them to the Baltic in 10 and they had a great time again.

 

[lizzyb]

I didn't go on a disney cruise nor did I take my kids but having been I would not take them. Long days and something my kids would not be interested in.

 

[abayaflowers]

In August 2010, my DDs were 10 and 7.

We also went with a family who had a 10, 8, and 4 DDs.

They all loved Europe. We made it into an adventure.

We are going again in June 2013

It just depends on the level of activity which your children are accustomed.

It's alot of walking, but it's walking into living history.

I made my DDs look into each country we visited prior to the trip.

It was great!

 

[Four Swampers]

We took our daughters ages 10 and 12. They loved it. They loved it so much that we are going back this year!

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

We took our DS (7 at the time) and DD (9 at the time) and they really enjoyed it. Sure, we had some long days, we just set it up so that we didn't do 8 days of walking tours, there was some bus riding, then walking, etc. We didn't take a day off, we were sight seeing in all of the ports, but we had a great time and the kids loved it. I will admit, there were many times that we all sacked out on the bus/train back to the ship

 

[LovesToRun]

We are going on a 12-day Med cruise in July (with Disney) and taking our two boys (10 & 12), so I can't speak from experience yet, but we have involved our boys with all of our port planning, and we had both of them pick out something they really want to see/do at each port so we are making sure we are incorporating the things they both have picked out that they want to see/do. Now, they are really excited about each port because they can't wait to see/do the things they both personally picked out.

Also, we are pacing out our port days hours. Some ports, we have long days (9 - 10 hour days), and other ports where we could have easily had 9 - 10 hour long days, we chose to see/do thing that would make our day only 4 - 5 hours in port (just means we won't see everything, but we are seeing/doing the things that are most significant to our family). Pacing the ports like this has made it so we have no back-to-back 9 - 10 hour days. This will give a little "breather" for the kids between the LONG days, but we still get to see the sights, and experience the history.

Then, the sea days (we have 4 sea days total), we have told our boys that these will be "lazy" days and they can use these days to just relax and spend as much time as they want in the kids clubs, or in our stateroom just watching movies, etc. They are pretty excited about this.

Based off of their excitement about our upcoming trip, given how port intensive it is, I'm optimistic that bringing them with us is a great idea! Also, just the history they will absorb in invaluable... actually visiting, walking through and seeing & experiencing first-hand these historical sights is education that they can't learn from textbooks in school.

Also, we are arriving to Europe early so our kids will be fully adjusted to the time zone and over jet-lag before we get on the ship. This will help the kids (and both of us) enjoy the cruise even more so we won't be falling asleep from jet-lag at 2 PM each day.

I say, if you can afford it, go for it! But, involve the kids in your planning/researching each port and let them help pick out what to see/do.

We also are doing private tours for our LONG days (the 9 - 10 hour days). I think the private tour will help keep our boy's interest better than a Disney tour where we are on a bus with 70 other people. And, this way, we can go at our own pace, or customize things better for the kids, rather than a large tour where you can't customize anything.

Good luck!

 

[Lisa Lisa]

We took our DS (7 at the time) and DD (9 at the time) and they really enjoyed it. Sure, we had some long days, we just set it up so that we didn't do 8 days of walking tours, there was some bus riding, then walking, etc. We didn't take a day off, we were sight seeing in all of the ports, but we had a great time and the kids loved it. I will admit, there were many times that we all sacked out on the bus/train back to the ship

I just have to say, what a priceless photo!!

 

[Lisa Lisa]

We also are doing private tours for our LONG days (the 9 - 10 hour days). I think the private tour will help keep our boy's interest better than a Disney tour where we are on a bus with 70 other people. And, this way, we can go at our own pace, or customize things better for the kids, rather than a large tour where you can't customize anything.

Good luck!

These are all great suggestions. We've booked one of the 9-night itineraries for next June with our DD, who will have just turned 11 at the time. May I ask who you are using for your private tours? I'd like to do that in at least one of the ports for our cruise, maybe Athens.

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

I took my 3.5, 6 and 7 year olds and they loved it. No regrets! And surprisingly they all remember a good portion of it! We wanted to go again this year, but decided to save for next instead.

Edit to add: We did every port on our own with no issues what so ever. My husband and I are seasoned travelers, however, as are our children, so this helped.

 

[jgura]

We cruised Disney Europe twice w/ our twin girls at 7, 8, and soon at 10. These are the best experiences for us all. And now I love that my kids can relate things they learn in school to places we have been. Getting to know children from other countries is very fun for the kids. Just do not try and plan your sight seeing as if it was just for you. Keep your days shorter and private excursions are the way to go.

 

[LovesToRun]

These are all great suggestions. We've booked one of the 9-night itineraries for next June with our DD, who will have just turned 11 at the time. May I ask who you are using for your private tours? I'd like to do that in at least one of the ports for our cruise, maybe Athens.

We actually booked a Disney excursion for our Athens stop (however we did look quite a bit into a private tour for Athens). The main reason we chose the Disney excursion for Athens is because all of the private tours were long all-day tours that really appealed to DH and me, but we thought it would be too long for our boys because we are doing a 10 hour private tour in Ephesus, which is the day after Athens. We didn't want two 10 hour days in a row. For us, we chose the longer day for Ephesus as that appealed more to our family's interests than the long day in Athens.

So, for Athens, we are doing the Acropolis and Sightseeing tour with Disney that is just 4.5 hours long. This really was a tough one, because there is so much history in Athens, and one could easily spend a full day there. But, like I said, we had to pace our ports and we are choosing to not do two LONG days in a row.

And, we know we can always go back one day.

If you are going to Ephesus, we booked our private tour with Melitour. Highly recommended and excellent reviews & really reasonably priced for all you get (air conditioned car, you own guide, etc): http://www.melitour.com/Ephesus.php

Then, we booked a non-Disney tour for Rome. We went with: Can't Be Missed Tours: http://cantbemissedtours.com/

They are highly recommended in the Rick Steve's Mediterranean Ports guide (and I highly trust Rick Steve's recommendations). It's actually a walking tour of Rome, which is what we wanted (and this appealed more to our kids than a car). Also, you can't beat the price. They have been so nice with all my communications, and I talked with the Rick Steve's store and they told me more about this company. It is a very small family owned company that is fairly new (which is why there aren't tons of reviews online yet), but very good, very trustworthy, and does great with kids. You take the train (which sounded fun to our boys) into Rome with your guide. And, they leave Rome at 3:30 PM (gives 3 hours as a buffer to get back to port, even though it only takes 90 minutes if all goes well), so there is no concern with missing the ship.

I did research (and email) several private tours for Rome with cars, and my top two (if we had booked a private car instead of a walking tour) were: Rudy's Touring Service: http://www.rome-car-tours.com/ and Rome in Limo: http://www.romeinlimo.com/

As for our other ports, we are doing a Disney excursion for Malta (we are doing the Historical Hunt excursion, which is basically like a scavenger hunt around all of the historical sites, so a great, fun and creative way for the kids to see the sites and make it into a game), and the other ports, we are doing them on our own.

 

[gotomu212]

I'd like to add that with kids a cruise is an amazing way to see Europe. We did the Baltic with our son (12 days, longgggg port days, lots of museums, walking, and "another learning thing ugh" moments).

Knowing that we were headed back on board at the end of the day was a great motivator. We didn't have to keep packing and unpacking which I think is super annoying when you're doing it for yourself plus kids, we could sweetly deposit him in the Kids Club to get a break after spending all day touring together, and we knew we would have a kid friendly dinner and didn't have to try to figure out where we should eat, etc which I find a little hard when traveling with kiddos.

I'll echo the PP who said there were several times that everyone crashed out on the bus/train ride back which honestly double bonus cause who likes a car ride with kids asking are we there yet?, how much longer?, do you have batteries this thing is dying?, I'm hungry? Are we there yet, still no?

 

[Griffith6]

This is just the feedback I wanted-I know it would be great experience "after" just hoping my kids can appreciate it all. And I agree comforts of Disney ship is why I think it would work. I will e asking more questions.

Our alternative is to do Alaskan DCL itinerary next summer & save Europe.

 

[tajz90]

This is just the feedback I wanted-I know it would be great experience "after" just hoping my kids can appreciate it all. And I agree comforts of Disney ship is why I think it would work. I will e asking more questions.

Our alternative is to do Alaskan DCL itinerary next summer & save Europe.

Our top two Disney cruises have been Med and Alaska. Loved them both so much that they are tied for 1st. Good (hard)
choices

Our second fav was the Baltic.

 

[ldo]

we took kids 9.10,13 on 10days land and then 7 day baltic cruise. cruise was good idea--land was tiring and kids got tired of trains, luggage, in/out hotels, weird food for dinner. unpacking 1X and having familiar place, foods, pool, kids club was great. I strongly suggest alternating long and short days and even letting them stay onboard in the kids club sometimes. For ex, my kids stayed in kids club while we went to Estonia for a few hours, the next day was 11 hr tour of Russia, then the next day, kids club for 4 hrs while older child and us went on bike ride in Finland.
we liked riding around on HO-HO buses. Also, Athens is easy to DIY with the HO-HO bus, or as other PP suggested, a short 1/2 day tour---really just the Acropolis and the Museum make a fine day for kids, esp. in the heat.
For kids your ages, I would make sure to do iconic things--leaning tower of pisa, coliseum, pompeii---things they have heard of and can having "bragging"rights back home---and will remember all their lives--3 years later, that's really what my 9 yr old remembers---they can't recall anything about Florence or the Duomo there. biggest thing they liked--climbing towers--almost every church has them--that was a big hit for us!
we are gong back again this year on NCL Epic---for the Med we are:
climbing pisa tower and mabye Lucca
biking in Barcelona
ho-ho bus around Palma, then kids get option to get back on ship
kids staying on ship in S. France
pompeii and amalfi coast.
have fun. Elaine

 

[MikeAndNick]

I am a Single Father of a 16 year old boy that I have him 100% of the time. I could not imagine not taking him on a vacation. One time he had lunch with his school principal and afterwords she asked me if we travel a lot. She said he told her about his travels and it did not sound truthfully to her. I did not realize until that time he has seen almost every state in the united states, every country north of Columbia and did a Disney Transatlantic Cruise and got to see Spain, Gibraltar and Portugal. He has seen what most kids would never dream of seeing.

Why I am telling you this, give your children memories every chance you get. Some of the time it is hard on them, but I guarantee they will be telling your grandchildren about all their adventures growing up.

 

[Lisa Lisa]

We actually booked a Disney excursion for our Athens stop (however we did look quite a bit into a private tour for Athens). The main reason we chose the Disney excursion for Athens is because all of the private tours were long all-day tours that really appealed to DH and me, but we thought it would be too long for our boys because we are doing a 10 hour private tour in Ephesus, which is the day after Athens. We didn't want two 10 hour days in a row. For us, we chose the longer day for Ephesus as that appealed more to our family's interests than the long day in Athens.

So, for Athens, we are doing the Acropolis and Sightseeing tour with Disney that is just 4.5 hours long. This really was a tough one, because there is so much history in Athens, and one could easily spend a full day there. But, like I said, we had to pace our ports and we are choosing to not do two LONG days in a row.

And, we know we can always go back one day.

If you are going to Ephesus, we booked our private tour with Melitour. Highly recommended and excellent reviews & really reasonably priced for all you get (air conditioned car, you own guide, etc): http://www.melitour.com/Ephesus.php

Then, we booked a non-Disney tour for Rome. We went with: Can't Be Missed Tours: http://cantbemissedtours.com/

They are highly recommended in the Rick Steve's Mediterranean Ports guide (and I highly trust Rick Steve's recommendations). It's actually a walking tour of Rome, which is what we wanted (and this appealed more to our kids than a car). Also, you can't beat the price. They have been so nice with all my communications, and I talked with the Rick Steve's store and they told me more about this company. It is a very small family owned company that is fairly new (which is why there aren't tons of reviews online yet), but very good, very trustworthy, and does great with kids. You take the train (which sounded fun to our boys) into Rome with your guide. And, they leave Rome at 3:30 PM (gives 3 hours as a buffer to get back to port, even though it only takes 90 minutes if all goes well), so there is no concern with missing the ship.

I did research (and email) several private tours for Rome with cars, and my top two (if we had booked a private car instead of a walking tour) were: Rudy's Touring Service: http://www.rome-car-tours.com/ and Rome in Limo: http://www.romeinlimo.com/

As for our other ports, we are doing a Disney excursion for Malta (we are doing the Historical Hunt excursion, which is basically like a scavenger hunt around all of the historical sites, so a great, fun and creative way for the kids to see the sites and make it into a game), and the other ports, we are doing them on our own.

Thanks so much for all the great information! We're in the very early stages of planning, but this is very helpful.

 

[Lisa Lisa]

I am a Single Father of a 16 year old boy that I have him 100% of the time. I could not imagine not taking him on a vacation. One time he had lunch with his school principal and afterwords she asked me if we travel a lot. She said he told her about his travels and it did not sound truthfully to her. I did not realize until that time he has seen almost every state in the united states, every country north of Columbia and did a Disney Transatlantic Cruise and got to see Spain, Gibraltar and Portugal. He has seen what most kids would never dream of seeing.

Why I am telling you this, give your children memories every chance you get. Some of the time it is hard on them, but I guarantee they will be telling your grandchildren about all their adventures growing up.

Love this. You are so right!

 

[Griffith6]

I am a Single Father of a 16 year old boy that I have him 100% of the time. I could not imagine not taking him on a vacation. One time he had lunch with his school principal and afterwords she asked me if we travel a lot. She said he told her about his travels and it did not sound truthfully to her. I did not realize until that time he has seen almost every state in the united states, every country north of Columbia and did a Disney Transatlantic Cruise and got to see Spain, Gibraltar and Portugal. He has seen what most kids would never dream of seeing.

Why I am telling you this, give your children memories every chance you get. Some of the time it is hard on them, but I guarantee they will be telling your grandchildren about all their adventures growing up.

Love this!!!