ADVICE PLEASE! First-timers with 2 kids - Mediterranean or Caribbean?

[kboo]

Title says it all ... DH (who wanted to "take a break from Disney" after our 2 trips to WDW this year) wants to do a Disney Cruise next summer for his BIG birthday. Our DDs will be almost 6 (she'll have a blast anywhere) and 21 months. Does anyone have any suggestions for which 7-day itinerary would be better? The 21-month old will still be napping, and I wonder if it would make things difficult for the port excursions to have to manage naps. DH and I want to celebrate his big birthday as a family, but we also want to be realistic about the competing needs of everyone in our family.

Also - how do sleeping arrangements work if we're all in 1 cabin? DD2 will be in a pack and play, and where would DD1 sleep? How does that work?

Thanks for any and all advice!

 

[tink1970]

I believe your DD will sleep in the pull out couch (all cabins have room for 3, the ones with 4 are a pull down from the wall); unless of course, she squeezes in your Queen sized bed with you and DH (or kicks one of y'all out altogether and one of you ends up in the pull out couch bed ).

If you want to do a port intensive, "we'll be in Rome for our 30th" birthday with less time spent on the ship, I vote for the Med. When I was looking at cruises for my 40th, I didn't go on the Baltics because I didn't want to spend it in St Petersburg. Why, in retrospect, I have no idea, but sometimes those BIG bdays have big meaning at the time (went to New Mexico on a hot air balloon ride instead-equally cool but different).

If you want a bit more relaxing pace with more time to sit on the deck and enjoy the ship and its elements while still sailing and having fun in ports, then I'd vote for the Caribbean.

There are lots of people with advice regarding DIY tours in both places (which you might want/need to do with a child who is still napping and under the age for a lot of the Disney excursions). Either sounds fun but if I had to choose, I might wait a bit for Med until little one is a bit older (just my opinion, however, lots of folks take toddlers).

 

[Otimon]

7 days is 7 days no matter where you go, Mediterranean or Caribbean. Won't make any difference to the youngsters (they'll be delighted on a Disney ship) so the decision will be whichever you folks prefer to visit and what would make you both happy.

You'll have no problem with accommodations accommodating you folks and your specific needs. Just explore the DCL forum and look for cabins that
sleep 4-5 guests and all will be revealed to you. Bon Voyage.

 

[Dug720]

With those ages, I would think the less port-intensive of the itineraries would be the more relaxing.

 

[wilkeliza]

I'm not sure how the pack in plays work on the cruise but most likely if you get a regular veranda and not one of the much bigger "family suites" in concierge then your 6 year old will probably be on the pull down bed either the berth pull down or the couch pull down. I would assume your stateroom host has to move the storage trunk to put the pack an play up.

 

[hanscarlet]

To be honest, I think Carribean because of the cost. I don't think DCL in the MED is worth the $$ with little kiddos who really don't fully appreciate the ports. If money is not an issue then I'd personally go MED because that's my dream cruise to go on. However I feel like with the ages of your kids I would say you would get a similar experience on both (mostly stick to the ship and not do an awful lot in ports) and when you consider the price difference I think it's just a better value for an almost similar experience. Having said this, I have never been on a MED cruise so I'm sharing my perspective with a bit of limited info and basing my thoughts on what it's like to cruise with a 22 month old and 5 year old (Back in 2013) and cruised with little ones as years go on (they love the ship!).

We had DD2 in a Pack in Play and DD1 just slept on the couch that was turned into a bed.

 

[kboo]

I believe your DD will sleep in the pull out couch (all cabins have room for 3, the ones with 4 are a pull down from the wall); unless of course, she squeezes in your Queen sized bed with you and DH (or kicks one of y'all out altogether and one of you ends up in the pull out couch bed ).

If you want to do a port intensive, "we'll be in Rome for our 30th" birthday with less time spent on the ship, I vote for the Med. When I was looking at cruises for my 40th, I didn't go on the Baltics because I didn't want to spend it in St Petersburg. Why, in retrospect, I have no idea, but sometimes those BIG bdays have big meaning at the time (went to New Mexico on a hot air balloon ride instead-equally cool but different).

If you want a bit more relaxing pace with more time to sit on the deck and enjoy the ship and its elements while still sailing and having fun in ports, then I'd vote for the Caribbean.

There are lots of people with advice regarding DIY tours in both places (which you might want/need to do with a child who is still napping and under the age for a lot of the Disney excursions). Either sounds fun but if I had to choose, I might wait a bit for Med until little one is a bit older (just my opinion, however, lots of folks take toddlers).

HAHA. You nailed my question about the sleeping arrangement. So is there enough room for a pack and play AND the pull out couch bed?

Also, DH thanks you for the "we'll be in Rome for our 30th" birthday" comment - we waited a while to have kids...

 

[PlanoNana]

My vote is for the Caribbean and spend the extra money on a fancier cabin or neat excursion. Unless you live in Europe it's a long plane ride to your embarkation port. Also you don't go to Castaway Cay on the Med cruises. Castaway is fantastic for a beach day since the ship docks at the pier and you can walk off, enjoy some beach time with the kids, the get back on the ship for naps. DD could stay on Castaway with the kids club if you wanted. The little one could be in the nursery and DD in the club is you and hubby wanted some adult beach time. Just a lot more flexibility than if you're on an excursion to a beach. Since we go for the most fun for the least cost, we prefer the Sideways Category 11's. Just seems to be more floor space.

 

[Ofinn]

How does the baby do on flights? That would be my biggest concern that is a long flight.

 

[Love2Cruz]

Caribbean. Unless you live in Europe.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

HAHA. You nailed my question about the sleeping arrangement. So is there enough room for a pack and play AND the pull out couch bed?

It's not a "pull out" couch, like the typical sofa bed. It's a pullman style bed, where the back of the sofa folds down over the seat. It doesn't take any more room than the sofa does.

This is 5 person room, queen bed for 2, and sofa bed, bunk bed, and murphy bed (each for 1). A typically 4 person room will not have the murphy bed.

 

[o&smom]

HAHA. You nailed my question about the sleeping arrangement. So is there enough room for a pack and play AND the pull out couch bed?

Also, DH thanks you for the "we'll be in Rome for our 30th" birthday" comment - we waited a while to have kids...

The pack and play will fit even with the pullout couch. It becomes more of a twin rather than a regular pullout, so it doesn't take up a bunch of floor space. You can also request bedrails for it as well. We had it multiple times in a deluxe oceanview stateroom. I was planning to place my vote for the Med when I read the title of the thread, but after looking at your current situation, I vote for Carribean. We took our first Med cruise when our DS had just turned 7 and our DD was 3 months old. (Before the rule change.) We all had a great time. The kids both travelled well, even all the way from Oregon to Barcelona. It was very port intensive, with very long days. We actually left DD in the nursery for our Naples excursion, as well as our day in Rome. Too many hours out in the hot sun. The Carribean will be a little more mellow with fun times in the sun for you as a family. Your first cruise will feel overwhelming enough on it's own, with so many things to do, and exploring the beautiful ship. Don't get me wrong, the Med is AWESOME, and some day you must go with the kids on Disney. It has been the best way for us to share so much of the world with our kids while making it fun for them as well. I think you will have more time to celebrate your husband's big day, and really put the emphasis on that and wonderful time spent together as a family in an amazing environment in the Carribean. I would recommend dinner at Palo for just the two of you to celebrate his birthday, and maybe even brunch there as well. You can never go wrong with Palo brunch!!! The nursery and kids club staff will take great care of your kids while you get a little alone time.

Happy cruising!

 

[kboo]

Thanks everyone! And now to throw a wrench into things - comparable rooms on the Caribbean cruises are $7000 while the Med is just over $6000!! Is this because the Caribbean cruises have sold more rooms? I was leaning Caribbean for all the reasons you mention above, but now I'm wondering if we may as well go Mediterranean because it costs less, and plan on using the nursery and/or kids club a bit more. ARGGGHHH decisions, decisions.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thanks everyone! And now to throw a wrench into things - comparable rooms on the Caribbean cruises are $7000 while the Med is just over $6000!! Is this because the Caribbean cruises have sold more rooms? I was leaning Caribbean for all the reasons you mention above, but now I'm wondering if we may as well go Mediterranean because it costs less, and plan on using the nursery and/or kids club a bit more. ARGGGHHH decisions, decisions.

Remember to add in air flight costs. Typically flights from US to Europe cost as much as the cruise itself.

 

[PlanoNana]

Thanks everyone! And now to throw a wrench into things - comparable rooms on the Caribbean cruises are $7000 while the Med is just over $6000!! Is this because the Caribbean cruises have sold more rooms? I was leaning Caribbean for all the reasons you mention above, but now I'm wondering if we may as well go Mediterranean because it costs less, and plan on using the nursery and/or kids club a bit more. ARGGGHHH decisions, decisions.

How does the price compare when you throw in airfare. I haven't flown in a while so I'm not up on current airfares. Good Luck,

 

[ktate82]

I would say look at how much airfare would be before totaling it up all the way. With flights, it still may be cheaper to do the Caribbean. I would also stay in the Caribbean with kids that age. You might think about putting your younger DD on the pull out couch and the older DD on the top bunk. You can get bed rails for the pull down couch so she wouldn't fall off. It would also give you more room in the cabin to sneak by to sit on the veranda while they sleep....

 

[tink1970]

Adding in the flight factor (unless you or DH is a pilot!) then that's at least 3 tickets (and a squirmy little one on your lap). Even if you get a good deal, doubt it would be <$333/pp so there's the cabin difference right there. I have flown to Europe twice in the past two or three years and it's not inexpensive. If you live near a major hub that's a benefit but my experience is that summer flights seem to be higher than other times of the year to Europe. Food for thought.

 

[o&smom]

Thanks everyone! And now to throw a wrench into things - comparable rooms on the Caribbean cruises are $7000 while the Med is just over $6000!! Is this because the Caribbean cruises have sold more rooms? I was leaning Caribbean for all the reasons you mention above, but now I'm wondering if we may as well go Mediterranean because it costs less, and plan on using the nursery and/or kids club a bit more. ARGGGHHH decisions, decisions.

Such a bummer to be cheaper for the Med! Definitely check on airfare for your family, but you will not be disappointed with the Med, just a little more tired. We completely lost track of where we had already been on our port intensive Med cruise! Take lots of pictures to remind yourselves of all that you did. I am assuming that your cruise leaves out of Barcelona. It is a wonderful city! My kids can't wait to go back! They talk quite often of Cosmo Caixa, which is a great hands on museum for kids and adults. We had amazing food in Barcelona as well. Be sure to add on a few days if you can.

 

[wilkeliza]

Also just note think about how many sea days each one has. Unless you 2 year old is fully potty trained before your cruise they will not be able to use the pools. So if there are a lot of sea days you might struggle to let the 6 year old have some water time and have the 2 year old not have it. Basically to do water time you and your husband would have to split.

Also which cruise is on which ship. Each class of ship offers different things to consider for the littles like Aquadunk CS Aquaduck and the extra splash zones vs just nemos reef.