Aagh! Quick..Mediterranean or Caribbean??

[lmhall2000]

I've been looking at cruises and had decided on going on a last minute cruise in September (our first ever cruise)...well, I'm in Alabama and my tax refund which will cover more than 80% of the cruise is approved but the state tells me they don't know when I'll get it..could be in a month or in 6 months...AARGH!!! So, as I was checking..I found kids sail free for Mediterranean cruises next May...I played with the numbers and we could sail for all 5 of us in a cat 4 for 8k or go in September for around 5-6k either booking two rooms or one cat 4....that sounds like a steal...the Mediterranean is 10 days and our airfare would be covered (many many skymiles...we did this to England 3 years ago and had no trouble getting all our tickets on the same flight)....I have just not read many reports of families doing the Mediterranean on Disney...I'm off to check but would love opinions of those who have done both....we LOVE history and going to Italy sounds awesome, just not so sure about safety and such with Tunisia and other areas??

Thanks!!

 

[ontariomonkey]

IMHO it depends on what kind of vacation you are looking for. We travel without children by the way. We found the carribean cruise very relaxing. Beach and leasurely sightseeing type of vacation. The med is like 'wow! We're in Europe, when is the next time we're gonna be in Italy, lets go see this palace and that ruin and this church and on and on and on".

Please note that neither of our cruises were on Disney and that we did the Med 'on our own' so to speak, taking public transport instead of ship organized excursions. We felt pretty safe in all the Med ports (except when trying to cross the street in Italy), but we had been to Tunisia before and knew what to expect.

Hope that helped a bit, I am sure the experience with little ones would be different in many ways, I am sure that others will chip in.

 

[mousemom11]

As PP said, the Caribbean is a more relaxed cruise, while the Med is much more port intensive. You'll be up and gone just about all day every port day. The comments that I've read from previous Disney Med cruisers was that they did not get much of a Disney ship experience because they were off the ship so much.

As to your concern about kids on a Med cruise, I had the same concerns that you did and posted this question over on the Med boards on Cruise Critic. The response was overwhelmingly supportive about taking your kids on a Med cruise (ours will be 11 and 9). Many previous cruisers had done just that and said that there was plenty for kids to do other than museums. As a result, we are doing a Med cruise next July, just not with Disney (cost was less on RCL, plus we liked the itinerary better).

 

[Piggy and Bear]

We did the Med cruise in 2007 with DD then aged 10. The itinery is different but the majority of ports are still the same. There were plenty of excursions that were child friendly. Even if not, children find their own amusement. DD spent the tour of Rome with the headset tuning into other guides in different languages and making up her own commentry! Needless to say she enjoyed the wows of the colliseum, posing with the Disney supplied gladiators and staring in general amazement when she realised how old the buildings were and how they were built. She also commented loudly about how unfair it was that women had to sit in the top tier! And I thought she wasn't listening!!!!!
We were talking aout Rome the other day and she said how she would have liked to have spent more time in the Church of St Peter (Vatican) because she loved the paintings on the walls. We travelled into Rome by train which was lovely because there were special visitors on board it. Disney does its little touches very very well. DH needs a feather for his hat for our next trip or a certain Peter Pan might be cross with him!!!

It looks like it is very port intensive but we found that there were plenty of half day excursions eg: Monte Carlo and the little Train, which suited us well. I would recomend this as the guide was excellent. You saw everything you needed to see in Monte Carlo and had the afternoon spare to chill back on board ship. You may even find a port that doesn't appeal to you and a quick wander round may be all you want to do or you might not get off the ship. We did that at one port and almost had the Magic all to ourselves.

With regard to Tunisia, there will be tours to sites, probably where they did some of the filming for Star Wars. However at most ports Disney also organised beach trips. They are very good at advising you that sunbathing in Europe can be topless! But it is a minority of ladies who do this now, with all the publicity about skin cancer. Your children might not even notice!

From DD point of view, they gave out special books almost like a child's version of a journal or scrapbook. She collected stamps and her autographs in it. Some of the activities in the clubs were geared to where they were going such as mosaic making, painting plaster of paris landmarks etc. She insited on bringing it ALL back with her. The lava flow science activity took on a greater significance for her when we went to Pompeii.

Malta is a lovely island and the people there are very friendly! They adore children and will cater well for them. English is widely spoken and Valetta is a beautiful port.

In summary; the Med is child friendly, Disney will make it very special and if you don't feel like looking at a port......enjoy the MAGIC!
piggy

 

[stlkeeler]

As the PP said, I'm sure Disney will make the trip special for all ages. That said, have you thought about the transatlantic? That way you get a little of both. It is 2 weeks vs one, but if you could swing it, I think it will be a very relaxing trip along with getting to see some of the sights in Europe. I went to the Baltic 9 yrs ago on HAL. It was very interesting but I was sooo tired because there were no sea days. Every day was packed with excursions, sometimes 2 per day because you have to try to see all you can while you're there. You'd have to pay for the kids on the TA but they're cheaper to begin with.

You'll have a great trip, whatever you decide!

 

[NancyIL]

Based purely on destination - Europe blows the Caribbean out of the water! If you can swing that, especially with the FF miles for airfare - I'd do a Med cruise.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

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Ok you get the point, for places of interest, a 'real' cruise, one thats educational for the kids, and great for adults .

And you cant do it on DCL every year but can do the Carribean every year.

 

[woody73]

. . . I found kids sail free for Mediterranean cruises next May...I played with the numbers and we could sail for all 5 of us in a cat 4 for 8k or go in September for around 5-6k either booking two rooms or one cat 4....that sounds like a steal...the Mediterranean is 10 days and our airfare would be covered (many many skymiles...we did this to England 3 years ago and had no trouble getting all our tickets on the same flight).

I recommend the Mediterranean if you could swing it.

Woody

 

[ciao_gina]

In my opinion the meditteranean needs to be seen by land and beach, not by sea. You need to experience the culture, restaurants, museums, etc and not in a hurry- a day here and there.

 

[Mineu]

I just read another post about having to wear flats to dinner because the water in the Med. can get bumpy. Is there really that much of a difference between the Med. and Carib.?

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Mediterranean Mediterranean Mediterranean Mediterranean Mediterranean
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Ok you get the point, for places of interest, a 'real' cruise, one thats educational for the kids, and great for adults .

And you cant do it on DCL every year but can do the Carribean every year.

I agree. I've done DCL W. Caribbean, and the Innagural Magical Med, it was fantastic. We had kids with our group 6, 11, 12, 13, 15. This was not our first trip to Europe, but it was our first cruise to the Med. I have to agree with Andrew. You still have sea days and you don't have to go far, and frankly there will be days that you will have to relax. Consider this though.....airfare. The rates are good now, but consider that in your final costs. Also, go early to Barcelona, the jet lag is not fun, and you don't want that to detract from your cruise. If my sister would have not flown in two days prior, she would have missed the cruise, or been really tired. Her flight on US Air was delay 16 hours or so. It pushed her into the evening, slept the next day and did a little sight-seeing, and we boarded the next day. Just a beware. Also, if you have a large family, (more than 3 in Barcelona standards) finding a hotel can be difficult. (We had a family of 6, family of 3, and family of 2.)

Also, pp mentioned transatlantic. Wouldn't be my favorite, just because I get sea sick. I don't know anyone that hasn't gotten sick on the TA.

Andrew, what's with the small hotel rooms in Europe? Any insight? Nobody in Europe has big families?

 

[Scooby3x1y]

BTW....We prepped our kids, watched lots of History Channel, movies, etc. that would teach them about the history of the things we were going to see. They appreciated them so much more than they would have otherwise.

Just my advice.....If you really want to learn about things, get a private tour guide, it can be expensive, but you only go once, right? We did one DCL tour in Sicily, big mistake for us. With 11 of us, we had our own private tour, car/van, etc. We paid a little less (tipping aside) than what it would have cost through DCL, and we learned so much more. We didn't feel like a cattle call.

That really is a whole other thread, but if you'd like to know, I can fill you in...just pm me.

 

[sabrecmc]

We're doing the May 5th Med cruise...with my 4 year old and mobility-challenged aunt. Honestly, a Disney cruise may be the only way for us all to experience Europe together. My 4 year old and I can stay on the ship while my mom and aunt take a Disney tour of the port...I've lived in Europe, so I'm fine with skipping a lot of sites that I've already seen. I've heard wonderful things about the Med cruises and they are only as hectic as you decide to make them. The Med cruise just seems so much more "once in a lifetime" (though, I'm sure we'll return, lol). I guess this is partly because we live in Florida, so taking the regular cruises is no big deal.

I don't know though...is it really a tough call between Pompeii or Grand Cayman? Seriously? Maybe its just me, but that seems easy enough of a choice if you can swing Europe.

 

[lmhall2000]

Thank you all!! I would consider TransAtlantic but they don't offer kids free..getting 3 kids free (mine are 11, 12, 14) is a great deal!! The airfare will be covered by ff miles...just need to priceline a hotel and I think we'd be set...I really don't have money for tourguides but we toured England on our own (I'm a HUGE planner) and with driving around England we discovered so much more than we would have found with a tourguide...we still hit all the spots...but had a great adventure!

My question is with all the days on shore..are those tours included in the price of the cruise or am I looking at $150 each shore stop for transportation and stuff? We just want to see the historical buildings and do on our own sight seeing...any pointers on cheap excursions??

Thanks!!
Tara

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Thank you all!! I would consider TransAtlantic but they don't offer kids free..getting 3 kids free (mine are 11, 12, 14) is a great deal!! The airfare will be covered by ff miles...just need to priceline a hotel and I think we'd be set...I really don't have money for tourguides but we toured England on our own (I'm a HUGE planner) and with driving around England we discovered so much more than we would have found with a tourguide...we still hit all the spots...but had a great adventure!

My question is with all the days on shore..are those tours included in the price of the cruise or am I looking at $150 each shore stop for transportation and stuff? We just want to see the historical buildings and do on our own sight seeing...any pointers on cheap excursions??

Thanks!!
Tara

Tara,

Some of the issues you will run into is that many of the ports are not close to where you want to go. Civitavecchia, Italy (Rome), you dock an hour away. Getting there will be your battle. Once you're there you can public transit. Here's where a guide is nice (if you only do it for one stop), he can have tickets in hand, and drop you off right at the door. We saw way more than we could have otherwise. When back on ship, and comparing to the two DCL excursions, we saw more than both of them put together (both of DCL overlapped some). The La Spezia stop (Florence and Pisa), both of those cities are about an hour away too. Villefranche, France (Monte Carlo, Cannes, Nice) These are closer, and a short walk to the bus or train station can easily get you there. Naples, both Pompeii and Herculaneum and Vesuvius are not close to the dock. You would have to transit there by taxi. Capri is an island, I'm not sure how long it takes to get there.

I hope this gives you an idea. We had a great time, and would do it again, however, I think we're going to hit the Baltic Capitals. My dad did this on Costa Cruises and loved it.

 

[NancyIL]

My question is with all the days on shore..are those tours included in the price of the cruise or am I looking at $150 each shore stop for transportation and stuff? We just want to see the historical buildings and do on our own sight seeing...any pointers on cheap excursions??

Thanks!!
Tara

Shore excursions are NOT included in the price of the cruise, and they do add up.

I hope this gives you an idea. We had a great time, and would do it again, however, I think we're going to hit the Baltic Capitals. My dad did this on Costa Cruises and loved it.

We loved our Baltic cruise on Royal Caribbean a few years ago. DCL has a very nice itinerary, but an exorbitant price when compared with any other cruise line doing Baltic cruises next summer. You can get a balcony cabin on next year's 14-night Celebrity Eclipse for less than an inside on DCL!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1032847

 

[walloon]

I was wondering this too, just how much extra all the excursions and guides might cost. We have never been to Europe, but this is probably the only/best way to go with the kids, age 7 and 10. They will be happy on the boat if they don't want to tour. I don't know if they would be as happy or I would feel as comfortable leaving them on any other cruiseline.

I am excited for the trip!!

 

[NancyIL]

I was wondering this too, just how much extra all the excursions and guides might cost. We have never been to Europe, but this is probably the only/best way to go with the kids, age 7 and 10. They will be happy on the boat if they don't want to tour. I don't know if they would be as happy or I would feel as comfortable leaving them on any other cruiseline.

I am excited for the trip!!

Although you can't see what excursions DCL will offer, you can go to other cruise lines' web sites to see their shore excursions, as they will be similar to DCL's. I would guess you'll average $100/pp/day - with some days costing less and other days more.

 

[scottishwee35]

Hello

We went to Med 07 with Disney Cruise as it turned out that it was AWESOME...

My kids loved it and our in law thought it was fabulous times...

The cruise was excellent and bring all spanish dancing, France etc...

I would love go back again but my husband want go different place next year to Spain, Portugal etc...

Med... is so beautiful and I looked up my photos and these place are so beautiful... Of course, Europe is quite expensive but worthing to see...

Go for it Med.....

Scottishwee35

 

[scottishwee35]

I was wondering this too, just how much extra all the excursions and guides might cost. We have never been to Europe, but this is probably the only/best way to go with the kids, age 7 and 10. They will be happy on the boat if they don't want to tour. I don't know if they would be as happy or I would feel as comfortable leaving them on any other cruiseline.

I am excited for the trip!!

I did that leave kids at the club if they don't want come along to different place... but they came to Rome and they loved it but only problem that the weather was far too hot for them...

We did half/half take them to see the place and leave them at the club but they enjoyed at the club while we went to tours...

Scottishwee35