Europe first timers - is a cruise a good way to do it?

[Travel60]

European travel excursions usually include a LOT of walking over cobblestone walks, often long bus rides, museums, and a lot of history. I have a 7 yo granddaughter and not sure she would enjoy. Depending on how fit grandmother is, that could be an issue. I'm fine walking for a few hours, DH not so much.

 

[Travel60]

Double post

 

[juxtapose]

For Europe, I really love spending a significant amount of time in a larger city and then the local area to get a feel for the country. I also love trying all the local food which is more difficult to do when dinner/breakfast is on a cruise. For me cruises are best for island destinations and areas difficult to get to by road (Norwegian Fjords and Alaska coast come to mind).

 

[DCLMP]

Another thing to think about is the cost of food and transportation in Europe with energy costs soaring and the current food shortages, but then again DCL cruises aren't cheap. If you were cruising on another cruise line than it would be a no-brainer as what was less money.

 

[Pens Fan]

I think a cruise is a great way to experience Europe for a lot of the reasons expressed above. Just the ability to see so many different places so easily is hard to beat. But I do have to add one big caveat. When we've cruised in Europe, we have added on multiple days pre and post cruise which has added so much to the experience. Yes, it's great to see a lot of different places that you might want to come back to and spend more time. But will you?? Plane tickets to Europe don't come cheap. Make the most of them. Some of our most memorable experiences in Europe were the ones where we were just staying in one place for several days - wandering, exploring, learning.

I think it's a balance of seeing a lot of different places on your cruise, but staying put either pre or post cruise (or both) and just taking in all that a certain city has to offer.

 

[holula]

For me personally, no. I visited Tallinn on a Baltic cruise a couple of years ago and the cruise passengers just completely overwhelmed the old town as it’s so small. I’d visited previously and it was a totally different experience.

However I sometimes travel with my parents who are elderly and have some health issues and it’s getting much easier to do a cruise as there is much less stress/packing etc.

I don’t think it’s a bad way, but I cruise for relaxation and not to see a bunch of stuff and not enjoy the ship. (Partly why I would not do a port heavy DCL itinerary in Europe also.)

 

[nancipants]

I have traveled to Europe three times - once in high school to London and Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, once on a Med cruise with my aunt, and once on a Baltic Cruise with my ex. I loved the first trip but I was with some of my best friends and we had a very strict itinerary, and some days we were performing. If it was just going on my own for two weeks, I'm not sure I would have appreciated it at that age. I loved the Med cruise with my aunt, although it was a lot of traveling to the major ports. The Baltic Cruise was probably my favorite because the ports were easy to do on our own (with the exception of St. Petersburg and Berlin, but we stayed in the port there), but I wish I had taken it with a different person

 

[bobbiwoz]

Our first trip to Europe was a Collette land tour of Greece, and then a Greek Island/Turkey cruise. We also have spent some time on land before or after Transatlantic and Baltic cruises.

So, I do like a combo, but if I only could do the cruise, I would.

 

[MrsScooby]

Hi
2023 is the year that we have planned to go to Europe (initially France/Spain on sight); the travel party is a grandma, a couple, a girl 7 yrs old and me (aunt).

I have been to Europe before but the others haven’t… so I’m curious is the 9 nights cruise (France, Greece, Italy) starting in Barcelona, is a good way to visit the touristic spots in a relaxed way… or would it feel too rushed?

Thanks!

Alot depends on how well you plan the trip, taking into considerations that a grandma and a 7 year old might prefer shorter excursions than the rest of the group. We really loved the Med cruise we took back in 2013 with DCL. Part of that was sharing excursions in Italy with another family using a local tour group which really made those ports the highlights of our trip. We were a bit exhausted towards the end of the trip though as those port days and tons of walking can add up...

I would think as long as you make plans with realistic expectations you should have a blast.

 

[msmama]

I love watching travel videos, documentaries, stuff like that, but in reality, I'm not the greatest traveler. So, for me, cruising and visiting many countries for a short amount of time, works.

There is a LOT of world out there and I have a limited amount of time. I want to see as much of it as possible. If that means a couple of hours in Rome, I'm going to take it. On our upcoming Med cruise, we're doing Florence and Pisa in the same day. I honestly have no idea how that is going to work, but it's two more places I'll get to check off the bucket list I don't actually keep. Sometimes when traveling I go with quantity over quality.

Cruising in Europe is different than spending several days in one place. I've done both, and enjoy both. But if the choices are cruise Europe or don't visit Europe, I'm going to chose cruise every time.

 

[brentm77]

I have little European experience, and our first European cruise is 2 months away. But something to consider is your group size. It surprised me how hard it was to find nice accommodations in Rome for a family of four, that didn't require two rooms or an expensive suite. My understanding is that much of Europe is like that, where the average room sleeps 2. When you factor in two or more rooms compared to one room on the ship (depending on your party's size and comfort sharing a room), plus transportation, plus food, plus evening entertainment, a cruise can be pretty economical. Disney, maybe not as much, but still not terrible, per day, compared to our time in Rome prior to the cruise. But, we travel pretty well, preferring non-budget hotels, restaurants, and transportation. So it may also depend on your travel style.

We picked the Italy/Greece cruise over a land trip because we want to see several of the Greek islands it goes to and I didn't love the idea of catching ferries, checking in an out of hotels for two weeks, and having no down time because we feel compelled to go go go. With the cruise, we get to see Sicily, which isn't too common for U.S. to Italy travelers, the Amalfi coast, which is also high on our list, and have two sea days where we are forced to stop and relax. Plus, following Rome, we unpack once and have evenings with pre-set meals and entertainment. It just fits our energy levels and personalities too. I know the ports will be packed and we will miss the immersive experience after Rome, but the benefits outweigh that for us, at least for this itinerary.

 

[Husker Mike]

I once mentioned to someone about visiting Hawaii. She recommended a cruise because you would be able to see the highlights of the various islands. Then, if you saw something you really enjoyed, you could go there for a longer vacation.

I think the same principle would apply to visiting the various European countries.

I've been to Hawai'i a dozen times, and I can't imagine a worse way to experience the islands. You certainly can get a tiny taste of each island, but not much more. The Big Island stop at Hilo is ridiculously short; you barely have a chance to stop at Volcanoes National Park and certainly won't have the opportunity to see lava after dark if it's erupting. The Kauai stop is probably the most reasonable being two days. My favorite part of Hawai'i is enjoying one of the amazing beaches, but I dare say, few people on a cruise will want to divert from a few hours of sightseeing to find a great beach. (And the cruise ports are using quite a distance from the better beaches anyway. From Hilo, it's about 2 hours each way, which doesn't work with an eight hour stop.)

Now, if you want to enjoy a cruise with a little sample of Hawai'i... or are going to add a cruise to the front or back end of a Hawaiian vacation, go for it. But a Hawaiian cruise by itself literally a drive-by experience.

 

[pjacobi]

There are river cruises that give you a good taste of the Landlocked countries.

London and Paris are both on rivers, but not the *same* river that you could cruise in the same boat.


-Paul

 

[DianaMB333]

Thank you all!
We decided on a mix.. 8-9days land dedicated to Rome and Paris, and then taking the cruise to know the other places..

The arguments of the girl feeling also on vacations, reducing the packing - transfers and knowing that at the end of the excursions we go back to a known happy place won the argument

 

[soniam]

I am going to be the weirdo again. What’s new Depending upon Grandma’s mobility, a land trip could be fine. Depending upon the 7 year old, it could be fine too. I agree that limiting the museums and castles, depending upon the type of museum, could be good for kids. Our son went to Europe 3 times before he was 10, starting at the age of 3. We did limit activities to not tire him out and took his interests in mind. Germany can be good for little kids. So many of their museums are science, technology, or transportation based. He loved the Deutsche Museum in Berlin and the Deutsche Bahn (train) museum in Nuremberg. England also has a lot of kid-friendly museums and attractions too. Some kids may really love castles.

 

[otten]

Hi
2023 is the year that we have planned to go to Europe (initially France/Spain on sight); the travel party is a grandma, a couple, a girl 7 yrs old and me (aunt).

I have been to Europe before but the others haven’t… so I’m curious is the 9 nights cruise (France, Greece, Italy) starting in Barcelona, is a good way to visit the touristic spots in a relaxed way… or would it feel too rushed?

Thanks!

It depends on what you want out of your first trip to Europe. My first Europe trip was a classic 'grand tour' where I spent 2 months backpacking to 11 different countries and 22 cities. I don't actually recommend this because I was travelling on a shoestring and there were so many things I didn't experience because of that.

Seeing several cities on a Europe is great but also exhausting so a cruise can be a great way to do that without having to constantly be on trains and planes and dragging luggage around. If there is one place you really want to see in depth I wouldn't do a cruise for that but for getting more of a survey course of it it's a good option.

 

[Wosmama6]

So, I've been several times but never on a cruise. I took my son when he was 3.5 and we stayed in a central location in Tuscany and then did day trips. Lots of boring driving in a car seat, but for me, Italy requires a lifetime of trips (4 so far and I haven't been south of Rome yet), but we chose the 9n Greek isles itinerary because
1. We now have two kids, one is 3.5 and our son will be 9. Traveling w two kids is wayyyy different imo; hotels are harder and their interests are so different.
2. It visits several Greek isles that would be difficult to get on one land based trip. The kids can stay in the kids club for a couple of the ports, as they aren't tenders and the port town itself is a site worth walking and seeing.
3. My son is very interested in seeing pompeii but gets too carsick to make a visit to the amalfi coast at 9 worth doing. The cruise ports in naples, allowing us to see pompeii but saving amalfi for when we can come solo or he is older.
4. We will have longggggg travel days w the little one. I have always wanted to see Croatia, but the thought of very long flights to take my daughter makes me want to wait. Same w Greek isles. But one trip where I can get a taste of all those, with babysitting included? Yeah, I'll deal w 14 hrs in coach plus airports and cars each way for that.

I would love to linger in one area for a week or two. But I'm also really looking forward to having the perks of dcl to help me w the kids.

 

[Sun_soakin]

Cruise is a great option w/ a 7 y/o. We’ve toured before/after a med cruise and the cruise part was such a nice/familiar break for my kids