Disney cruise or anywhere in world, family of 4 with two young boys

[MeridaMerida]

We want to take two big trips with our sons in the next two years, before my older son is in elementary school and we can't travel as easily. We have enough miles to go anywhere in the world, business class which means an international trip isn't quite as high as it would be for a family of 4.

I need some ideas! We have done Costa Rica and Hawaii before, as well as a good part of California. We have also done some of the East Coast Cities and Idaho/Oregon/Washington State. We have also done Disneyland and the whole experience of Disneyland Hotel.

There is a Northern Europe Disney cruise that is 8 nights that goes to Finland, Estonia, Russia, Sweden, Denmark. Those are places in Europe my husband and I have not been before. (we have traveled most of Western Europe). We were thinking it might be a nice mix of culture and getting to experience new countries but a lot easier with kids being on a cruise and not having to deal with trains or packing. I think our kids would love the shows and characters and activities, dinner experiences and kids center or nursery. I understand for my younger son we would have to pay for his nursery care. They are really on the go kids and need to be busy or entertained at pretty much every moment, so that is a consideration for any trip. We are not really into cruising though, so I don't know if that is something that may make this trip not as great as we are thinking. We haven't ever done a cruise together though and think some of the things we don't love wouldn't bother us as much. I love being in a city in the evening and going out but we have young kids so we wouldn't be doing that anyways and probably won't be bothered by getting back on the boat by a certain time. I love Disney and my husband likes it fine but not a big fan. He would much prefer a cruise to the actual parks I think. Thoughts on this trip idea or any other suggestions?

 

[AngelDisney]

I will be sailing on that cruise next August. I like the ports of call because the ports are all in the key cities with sights unlike the Med cruise whose ports are a train or coach ride away. We are planning to tour each port on our own except in St. Petersburg. We will be visiting Oslo and Bergen pre-cruise (from Copenhagen), doing a DIY Norway in a Nutshell with an overnight stay in Flåm then Copenhagen post-cruise with a trip to Malmo. I am very excited about this upcoming trip!

DD was 7 when she first sailed with DCL and we were just hooked right away. DD did spend some time in the kid’s club that time, but preferred to be with us most of the time. So we didn’t really take good advantage of it. Now she is 22 and she only wants to cruise with Disney. If you like Disney, you would love the Disney Cruise. The good thing about cruising is you don’t need to pack and unpack like on a land vacation. Be warned that Disney Cruises can be extremely addictive!

Have fun planning!

 

[Ladybugx87]

I would absolutely take the Northern Europe cruise. We did this one when our girls were 2 and 7 and loved it. Lots of great places to explore and Disney cruises are amazing with kids! We are addicted for sure.

We’ve also recently returned from Disney Norway/Iceland if that’s of interest for a second big trip.

Have fun planning!!

 

[EllieBride]

We are also taking that same 8-night cruise and are bringing our son and daughter who will be 8 years old by then. We already know that they love cruises - they’ve done two. On this last one (Alaska), they toured with us during the day, but spent every spare minute they could in the kids’ club. I’m considering checking them in so that we can enjoy the extra evening in St. Petersburg.

My husband had never cruised before trying DCL and he was totally hooked. He goes to WDW to humor me, but doesn’t love it. Completely different experiences, IMHO.

 

[fredandkell]

I think a cruise is the best way to do Europe with kids that age. Go for it!

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

We just did a 10 night Europe cruise (NCL) with our girls and it was awesome. The perfect way to do Europe with kids as others have said. It was very port intensive so not a lot of time was spent on the ship if you aren't really into cruising and sea days. For kids your boys ages I would probably do Disney if the price wasn't ridiculous, our girls loved it at that age.

 

[lorimay]

Do the cruise! You will not be sorry. The entertainment for the kids alone makes it worth it.
AS another poster said, DCL is addictive!!

 

[aggiedog]

How old are the kids? Before elementary means the oldest is 5? If they are good travelers, even a land trip at that age can be fun.

We did the DCL Baltic as our first DCL cruise, but our kids were 8-14. We loved the Baltic. We also did 2 days in Iceland and 3 days in Copenhagen before the cruise. While I love the fact that you don't move hotels frequently, I missed the ability to out to a cafe in the local area, sip my wine, and people watch. Or poke around little parks with the kids, or stop for random street food, etc.

The cruise also offers the chance for minimal planning, which can be nice. You don't need to figure out where to eat dinner every night, and how to find it. You don't need to arrange things to do in town if you just pick from the DCL excursions (though arranging your own is usually cheaper, more nimble, and allows max use of port time.)

There are companies that do family travel trips. See the Adventure by Disney board here, under the Other Options thread, for all the choices. Depending on the age of the kids, (as some have lower limits on age) you would get all the advantages of having someone else do the work, but still get to be more immersed in the local culture.

Really, though, you can't go wrong either way.

 

[deanimal]

How long do you have for the trip? We went to Scandinavia with our kids in 2017 when they were 7 and 8 and found that combining a land trip with a cruise was the perfect mix. We spent 3 days each in Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm and found each of these cities to be extremely family friendly and easy to explore independently. Even the smallest, most mundane museums had kids sections with dress up areas and hands on activities. We combined our ten days on land with a 7 day cruise that stopped in Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallinn and Northern Germany. (We went with another cruise line because Disney didn't work with our dates).

This itinerary was perfect for our kids' ages, but Scandinavia was so pleasant to travel around that we felt we could have easily done it with preschoolers as well. We booked an overnight ferry with simple but pleasant cabins and a fantastic dinner and breakfast buffet for the trip from Oslo to Copenhagen and a comfortable 5 1/2 hour train from Copenhagen to Stockholm but there are lots of flights and other plane and ferry options between cities in the region. I highly recommend this region for families, no matter how you do it.

 

[fredandkell]

You don't need to figure out where to eat dinner every night, and how to find it.

THIS!!! This is one of the things that most wears me out on trips, finding something everyone will like, that's near the hotel, and not too expensive, and kid-friendly, etc. That was one of the best things about our Med cruise was I knew the kids could, at least 2 meals a day, have food that they like without all the drama!! We are planning a land-based Europe trip next year and this is the one thing I'm worried about the most.

 

[MeridaMerida]

See what you guys are mentioning is what we think will really take the stress out of the trip, knowing they will have the routine of the restaurants with food they like and will eat.. servers that are trained to work with kids and super nice about it.. I think they will love visiting cities. It will be a novelty for them. We live in a medium sized city, but in suburbs 10 min outside so they don't often get the experience of public transportation or walking around which will be fun for them. I think each city has some great options. It's not disney but copenhagen, where the cruise starts has Tivoli Gardens (which is what Disney was modeled after?) so it may be fun to do that for a day or two and maybe the countryside for a few days. We could probably make the trip a 14-17 day trip if we needed.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

In addition to Northern Europe, I wonder if an Alaska cruise could be an option?

 

[Dug720]

If it were JUST Scandinavia I would be all in. I will NEVER go to Russia and refuse to take a cruise there where I have to pay a fee even if I do not get off the ship.

 

[Quellman]

I'll say this, a cruise that doesn't have sea days is cruise feeling. You'll spend most of your days off ship doing and seeing and using the ship as a hotel that moves, enjoying dinner and shows. Sounds like an easy way to see a lot. Do be aware that the mouse charges a premium for non-caribbean cruises when compared to other lines.

 

[MomOTwins]

If I could go anywhere in the world, business class, I would do Japan and visit Tokyo DisneySea, plus just spend a bunch of time exploring Japan.

 

[NancyIL]

If it were JUST Scandinavia I would be all in. I will NEVER go to Russia and refuse to take a cruise there where I have to pay a fee even if I do not get off the ship.

What fee are you referring to? I have done 2 Baltic cruises, and the days in St. Petersburg were my favorite part.

 

[MomOTwins]

What fee are you referring to? I have done 2 Baltic cruises, and the days in St. Petersburg were my favorite part.

Port fees and taxes are included as a mandatory line item in the price of your cruise, but are paid by Disney to the foreign port authorities. I would assume pp objects to paying fees to the Russian government, rather than objecting to the quality of the port experience.

 

[Philharmagicfamily]

We did a family trip to Paris and absolutely loved it for kids. Fantastic parks, lovely food, and an overall kid-friendly atmosphere. We spent less time at art museums than we would have pre-kids, but otherwise we were still able to see lots of the main attractions.

 

[mmmears]

Take a peek at the Norway/Iceland/Scotland itinerary as well as the Baltic. Not large cities, but beautiful nature - we went on this one last summer and the kids on the ship seemed to love the ports.

 

[Rob1872]

Speaking from experience, it is not hard at all to take your kids out of elementary school. If they are in advanced classes, then junior high/middle school is a bit more challenging. Our oldest is now in 9th grade and he does not want to fall behind by missing a week or more of school.
My kids would not have appreciated significant foreign travel when they were in kindergarten or younger. We waited until the youngest was 10 before we started taking them to Germany/England/etc. I think they got a lot more out of it and appreciated the history and culture than if they were 5 and 3. When they were 5 they were star-struck by meeting Donald Duck at EPCOT. They would not have understood the significance of the German Science Museum, etc.

My two cents is to save your frequent flier miles until they are older. OR if you think that you and your husband would enjoy the ports associated with the Northern Europe cruise in 2 years, then do it because YOU will enjoy it and it is easier to move from city to city with small kids when the hotel room moves with you. HOWEVER, if you've never done a DCL cruise together, then do a 3 or 4 night Dream cruise now to see how you like it. Then if you think that you would enjoy doing the Northern Europe cruise, you can book that cruise within 24 months of your 'test' cruise and get 10% off the price of the very expensive Europe cruise (+$200 on board credit).