Med cruise with 9 yo and almost 4 yo.

[Wosmama6]

Hi there,
We are currently booked on two med cruises for next summer:
Regal princess Athens to Barcelona, stopping in kotor, Santorini, sicily, naples. We have an aft facing premium deluxe balcony room (233 Sq ft w 41 Sq ft balcony), premium economy flights w one layover from our local airport and then business class on the return (would love to flip that but it's a solid 5k). Includes booze and wifi.. The total is 12k for the cruise and flights. Yes, 12k total. Got one of those top 20 travel deals.. 7n. Added costs: excursions, 2n in Athens and 2 in Barcelona and tours for those days, transportation airport to city, city to Port, etc.

The other is the magic, rome to rome 9n w stops in Athens, Santorini, crete, kefalonia, Dubrovnik and naples. We have a gty category 5b (214 Sq ft w 54 Sq ft balcony), but I anticipate that we will be able to snag a 5a or pick a stateroom after pif cancellations. No flights booked. After my commission and agency split (I'm a TA), it'll be 20k if we don't upgrade. Added costs: flights (!!), excursions, dcl buses rt, wifi, booze (but minimal). We have been to rome a few times so will try not to have to spend the night depending on flights.

The answer from a cost perspective seems obvious, but these are the factors that made me book the DCL:
1. Preschool and elementary school aged kids. I have only cruised princess once and it was in Alaska with no kids, but I don't recall seeing kid friendly stuff.
2. We have a travel family "bucket list", and one of those items is a Greek isles cruise. I'm not sure stopping on one island counts? The dcl has 3 islands, plus Croatia and naples, both on the bucket list (naples is a must because my son is all about pompeii). The dcl checks off 3 items, whereas the princess is more of a sampler that would check off the acropolis and pompeii and sicily but not really the Greek isles. Montenegro (princess) is sort of a bonus, but Croatia (dcl) is def on thr list. Arguably pompeii and sicily are better served w a land tour of Southern Italy vs really needing to be on a ship for ease of travel like the Greek isles. The dcl itinerary is perfect.
3. The flight alone will be a challenge w my preschooler, although we took my son to Europe when he was this age and he was fine, she is definitely more... vocal ... when she's tired lol. Adding in 2 nights on either end of the cruise and sleeping in 3 new places (not counting flights) instead of 1 seemed... too ambitious. A 9n cruise is long, but 1 spot to adjust to sleeping, and princesses, and robust kids club offerings for when they are over ancient ruins and we want to spend a solo day on kefalonia, etc.

My only hesitation w dcl is the cost. We have never cruised dcl (I'm the only one who has ever even cruised in the fam), but I know from reading these forums that the onboard experience is the reason for the cost difference... and in the med, I don't expect to be onboard enough for it to matter.

There is also a 10n NCL Escape cruise and an 8n rcl odyssey that would be between the two in terms of cost but have itineraries closer to but not as perfect as dcl. But the only thing I know about NCL is that there are lots of upcharges, and I like RCI but kids club hours aren't as good.

We could get a corner suite on the princess cruise and upgrade to business both ways and STILL come in under the dcl costs, but idk that flight class matters too much w a 3yo. We would also prob book suites if we sailed NCL or RCI.

Would love any thoughts from frequent cruisers. I know DCL will be amazing, but it's looking like 15-20k more than the other options when all is said and done. We CAN afford it, but I could also book a couple more vacations or resurface the driveway lol. But somehow people do it? The princess booking is an AMAZING deal and I would love to see Barcelona too but am tired just thinking about the 2 extra hotels and sleep transitions.
Will the kids club experience on DCL be worth the upcharge? My son will be fine wherever as long as there's a waterslide and video game room.

Thanks for reading and in advance for any experiences you can share on kids clubs in the various ships and the upcharge.

 

[Karin1984]

What is your plan for the ports? Do you plan to be the first family off the ship, last family on? Because then you are looking at only 2 days at sea where the clubs and kid friendly options matter most.
Your youngest is now 9 months away from that cruise, how she will react to flights and sleeping in strange places can change a lot in the mean time.

I would add at least two nights before the cruise. Flying West to East is harder for jetlag, most of the time. Especially if you do not know how your youngest will react to the time change.

 

[Wosmama6]

What is your plan for the ports? Do you plan to be the first family off the ship, last family on? Because then you are looking at only 2 days at sea where the clubs and kid friendly options matter most.
Your youngest is now 9 months away from that cruise, how she will react to flights and sleeping in strange places can change a lot in the mean time.

I would add at least two nights before the cruise. Flying West to East is harder for jetlag, most of the time. Especially if you do not know how your youngest will react to the time change.

So this cruise itinerary, the first day is at sea. Perfect to deal w jet lag I think, have arrival day and the entire next day to adjust.

We plan to see as much as possible but are probably going to leave the 3 yo in the kids club at a couple ports and both of them in 1 port.

Not a clue how she will do in 9m. That's the hardest part!

 

[Marthasor]

We did 2 DCL Northern Europe cruises when DS was 7. I highly recommend, no matter which cruise you choose that you spend at least 2 nights pre-cruise in the embarkation city. It allows you to adjust to the time change and really enjoy the cruise from day one. DCL was the only way we would cruise Europe when he was younger. After some long excursion days, he loved chilling out in the kids club. We’ve sailed NCL as well to Alaska and the kids club was fine, but you are correct about the constant up charging. I’ve investigated Princess for our family and my impression was that it is not terribly kid friendly. RCL may be a good compromise. I also think longer cruises are better in Europe.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

We plan to see as much as possible but are probably going to leave the 3 yo in the kids club at a couple ports and both of them in 1 port.

Subject to change, plus European process may be different... But leaving kids in the club all day would not be possible on the US sailings they are doing now. Kids club is 2-hour intervals, and only one per day can be booked pre-departure. No guarantee of getting back to backs once on board. Child had to check out and back in between sessions even for B2B, and your younger cannot be given check our privs. There is also no food offered in clubs right now - to eat, they must check out and eat elsewhere.

So that may be a factor to consider. We are a long way off from protocols being announced or firm for summer 2022, but the protocols right now would not permit your plan.

 

[Karin1984]

If the plan is to leave the child on board while you are in port, then a good kids club is a must.
Do you have a back up plan, if on day one it turns out your daughter doesn't like the kids club?

 

[Calantha]

If the plan is to leave the child on board while you are in port, then a good kids club is a must.
Do you have a back up plan, if on day one it turns out your daughter doesn't like the kids club?

In the summer of 2019 my DS was 4.5. He wouldn’t stay at the club unless his older cousins were there (and they didn’t always want to go with him), so if the plan is for a full day drop off (assuming protocols change) - that just might not work.

Also, at one point he wanted to leave when I was on St. Thomas…DH missed the text…fortunately MIL saw and went to get him but no one told me, so I ran back only to find out he’d been picked up. /sigh

 

[hrhdhd]

The Regal Princess is a beautiful ship, but it doesn't have a waterslide. That said, I'd save your money and take another trip than spend $8-12K more on a Disney cruise. I am Elite on Princess and have not had a service issue on those cruises.