Traveling Europe AFTER a Mediterranean Cruise

[chicagolaw]

Hi. I am taking my two boys and myself on the 10 night Mediterranean Cruise next July. I was originally planning on traveling to London and Paris before we left out of Barcelona. Now my kids and ex are giving me backlash about leaving so early in the summer because the boys will miss the end of their baseball season and the playoff games. I am extremely frustrated because this is a once in a lifetime trip. But a way to make everyone happy and still do the traveling would be to travel AFTER the cruise. I have 100% against this because I have done WDW after a cruise and it was miserable. Everyone was tired and compared to the cruise, WDW wasn't as enjoyable. I am worried that after 10 nights on a cruise, where everything is included and you are not paying for every meal, that traveling throughout London and Paris won't be as enjoyable. So my question is, has anyone had any experience traveling after a mediterranean cruise? Would you recommend it? Should I stand my ground and make my kids miss the end of their baseball season? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!

 

[MUN]

Why do you say this is a once in a lifetime trip? So you think your young children will never get to Europe again? At their age, baseball season is probably more important to them than the trip. However, for you it's probably just the opposite. I'm sure a traveling after the cruise will be just fine.

MUN

 

[aggiedog]

I've haven't done that exact type of trip, but we have traveled with teens that have summer activities. We actually pulled our 2 high schoolers out of school 3 days early (missing finals :0 ) so we could get some traveling in before our Baltic Cruise, since they literally had to be at camp 20 hours after we touched down from flying home from Europe. I totally get wanting to cram as much travel in as possible since you're already over there. They were able to come back and make up finals after summer camp, poor kids!

Both my teens are active in groups that frequently advance to the "next level" and/or are expected to participate to the bitter end. My nephew played baseball for our HS team that ultimately won state. They were told at the beginning of the season no spring break plans, no early summer plans, etc. Those were the rules up front. You can't commit to that, you can't play.

So, is their team expected to go to playoffs? How old are the kids? I'd get less worked up about 8 yo's missing the playoffs than teens. If there is a decent chance they'll go to the playoffs, then I think it's reasonable to try not to miss them.

For traveling afterward, the Med cruise, like the Baltic, is port intensive. You will be worn out if you go, go, go at every port. So plan to do some easier/lighter plans in some of the ports, and then I'd probably plan a not too intensive trip for afterwards. Plan a few down days, assume you won't be up and out the door at "rope drop" time for touring Paris. Plan your first day or so somewhere mellow - a cottage in a small town, or someplace with a good pool that you can just hang out at. Allow yourselves some days to sleep in, drink cappuccino on the balcony, and just soak in the sights. Depending on how you do WDW, which is often pretty intensively for folks on this board, you could easily do Europe with less fervor. Seriously consider just Paris OR London, to decrease the stress of unpack, pack, travel, unpack, pack again. There's plenty to do in each city.

 

[chicagolaw]

The boys will be 11/10 at the time. It is not required they be at every game or the playoffs, we are usually short players by the end anyway because go away to sleep away camps. They love playing baseball, it is all they talk about. I guess I will have to really consider traveling afterwards. We will all be so tired and ready for home. It is possible though. And the Mediterranean cruise is port heavy but we will have plenty of rest days where just find a beach somewhere and relax. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I will have to decide soon because I am hoping to book airfare ASAP. The fares are pretty decent and I want to get them while they are cheap.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

I just wanted to encourage you to take advantage of already being Europe to explore more, even if it's after the cruise which I understand was not your first plan. Since you are already paying for airfare and took the time (traveling to Europe is always the worst direction for me lol), go and enjoy it At 10/11 I say your boys will remember it and hopefully one day appreciate it and I know you are balancing it with their love of baseball so hopefully you can work the plans in for after the cruise.

We usually add on before the cruise and for our 7 night Med next August we really do need to add before the cruise as my son will start school shortly after we return since our cruise ends on 8/19. We don't have the school calendar yet but we anticipate it will be about a week later so don't want to push it, just in case.

Have fun,
Heather

 

[aggiedog]

Travel afterwards and readjust your expectations of "European Vacation." My son, who is 11, is much more impressed with hotel pools than museums and history. Plan time and activities for you and them and you'll all have a great trip.

 

[Love2Cruz]

I did it before my cruise....and it was nice to relax on the cruise before heading home....I think a European trip trumps basketball season, so I would stick to your original plan.

 

[AngelDisney]

DD and I visited Paris, Vienna and Barcelona for 2 weeks before our Med cruise in 2013. Wanted to maximize our airfare to Europe and DD wanted to visit Mozard's birth place, so we took a day trip to Salzburg from Vienna as well. We usually do land tour before a cruise which has a more relaxing pace. So, we get to recharge our body and soul before the new school year starts (I am a teacher). We also limit ourselves to one excursion a day. We stayed at WDW/Universal for 11 days before a 4-Night cruise on the Dream and visited Banff/Vancouver for 9 days before an Alaskan cruise on the Wonder. It just makes sense to maximize the airfare.
However, things in life don't always go the way we want and this summer we would visit Universal Studios after a 7-Night cruise on the Fantasy. Hope we won't be too tired for school in the following week.

I think Paris is a better choice than London as a family vacation spot for both kids and adults. If you are a Disney fan, you can spend two days at Disneyland Paris. We spent 3 days there. DD loves Paris. She thinks the Parisians know how to relax and enjoy life. Just walking around the city and admiring its architecture can take you a day. We took a Segway tour in both Paris and Barcelona. It's a great way to tour major sights of the city without killing the legs. Let the kids pick out things they would like to do after the cruise in one or two cities. I would suggest Barcelona and Paris. Barcelona has a lovely beach. The kids may enjoy seeing the Olympic grounds and soccer stadium. It's inexpensive to fly from one country to the next in Europe.

You will have a magical time either way because Europe is just so fasinating and culturally different from US/Canada. Enjoy!

 

[MUN]

I did it before my cruise....and it was nice to relax on the cruise before heading home....I think a European trip trumps basketball season, so I would stick to your original plan.

It was baseball season.

 

[tink1970]

I guess I'm going to be in the minority..it's hard enough to travel with tweens and if they don't want to be traveling (eg missing baseball) then it might not be fun for anyone if y'all go early. If you don't think you'll ever get back to Europe again then I'd probably finish it off with London. Harry Potter world (or whatever it's called) is there, it's easy to find food acceptable to 2 kids (my DD ate pizza every single day) and it's so easy to navigate. Honestly I'd probably just fly home from the cruise, though.

 

[bumbershoot]

Now my kids and ex are giving me backlash about leaving so early in the summer because the boys will miss the end of their baseball season and the playoff games.

Since my son is in dance, and communication with our arts director keeps making him to miss things, and I see how much it messes with his head, I am now firmly in the camp of your kids and your ex.

Just tour after. I cannot imagine being *tired* after a cruise; let alone too tired to enjoy Europe. Would I want to go hitchhiking after? NO. But some simple touring of fun places? Oh definitely.

Tour afterwards. Best of all worlds; they'll get to finish of their season (and not be part of the missing kids problem), take a nice cruise, then get to see some further highlights. Then they can get home and collapse for a week.

 

[AussieNSW]

We travelled after the cruise with our children although they were a little older 13 and 15. We found that the cruise was a great way to ease them into the idea of Europe. Each night after touring they came back to a home base and had a settled evening where everything was planned. They knew each night that dinner would be at this time and knew where they would be eating. We have a child who suffers from anxiety so the cruise was a fantastic start to our trip. At the end of our cruise which finished in Barcelona we caught a plane to Rome for a few days then a train to Venice then a train to Switzerland, train to Amsterdam , train to London and then some touring around England before coming home. We loved the idea of touring after the cruise. I also found that not planning to much each day helped, some park time in each city and early evenings and early starts tended to work for us. We purchased a soccer ball in Rome and the kids had great fun most evenings kicking it around outside. That ball brought a lot of joy and helped the kids meet other children.

 

[Chessie!]

Hi!
I confess I don't have kids but I am a Londoner who cruises with DCL! And I just wanted to reassure you that travelling in Europe is not as stressful as you are making it out to be!!! We have often travelled with Americans on the cruise and they don't particularly call the European cruises relaxing because well they want to see as much of Europe as they can, so when they stretched they're holiday to visit us in London afterwards the only difference was that they weren't sleeping on the boat at night! Sure the cruise has a pool and sea days which are relaxing so travelling more afterwards might seem difficult. But as a English girl who stretches out our Disney World Trips to see America I would recommend making the most of Europe--but then I might be biased . What I would recommend would be flying from Barcelona to Paris and then taking the Eurostar to London and then flying home from London. Taking the train is to Europeans what flying is to Americans -- everyone does it and it is so easy!! If you're looking to stretch your Disney experience Disneyland Paris can easily be done in a day if you are focussing on one park, it is beautiful-- but the Studios are nowhere near as good as its World counterpart. But don't forget that Paris is well Paris and it is magical. Disney in London? not so much except for the Oxford Street Disney Store but HARRY POTTER GALORE! My only warning about London and Paris is the weather -- remember Londoners and Parisians escape to the Mediterranean on holiday too! You might even need 2 sets of clothes-- your cruise ones and your Europe ones! Especially in England coats, especially raincoats, are not uncommon in July. Jumpers and Umbrellas will be your best friends, but equally when we do get summer days they are glorious.
I'm sorry that I can't give you any advice on the children front but I wouldn't put off Europe, you'll already be there and strolling around London can be its own kind of relaxing! If you want any trips on travelling in Paris and London or anywhere else in Europe just ask. I hope that this has helped a little!!

 

[NancyIL]

I have done land trips before or after cruises, and sometimes I've done them before and after. My last Europe cruise was the Disney Transatlantic in May 2015. The cruise ended in Copenhagen, and then my friend and I flew to Paris. We spent 3 nights/2 days at Disneyland Paris, then rented an apt. in Paris for a week.

If your kids will be upset about missing baseball, then they might have a resentful attitude throughout your entire trip. I'd move the land trip so it's after the cruise.

 

[Ofinn]

Im so glad my son is done with little league. So time consuming. We were just in London. My kids loved it. I wouldnt hestitate to do it after the cruise. Its a shorter flt home from London anyway. I wouldnt waste my money going to Disneyland in Paris. That is not what I would want to do in Europe. I cant wrap my brain around flying overseas for DL wen you have one here in the states.

 

[disneyholic family]

10 days is a pretty long cruise - not sure i would add on that much time beyond it....just a few days, not more..
london is pretty easy to do so that's what i would probably visit with kids.......
personally i'd skip paris with kids...how old are your boys?......

 

[ldo]

we prefer to do pre-land, but have done post land 2X and it was fine. I would not "stand my ground" and plan a trip that meant my 10/11 yr olds missed their fav thing if I could rearrange easily. Even if it means not doing everything you want or the timing you want. The one thing that has works for us is to pick a base hotel for a few days and do a 1/2 day trip, and build in flex to just hang out and veg or shorten your agenda. For ex., in London, if you have Tower, Westm, Buckingham P for the day, leave the option to skip Westm, etc. Kids that age will remember a fun time and some iconic landmarks, but don't need to see everything. Same for Paris. At that age, my kids wanted to go to the top of Eiffel T. That was the only thing on the agenda after the cruise for Paris. We did what we felt like the other days. We skipped the Louvre and walked by Notre Dame, but didn't go in (lines too long). That was fine for them. We choose hotels with a buffet breakfast, eat sandwiches for lunch and then a decent sit-dwon dinner, which is about 50-80 euros for 3 persons.
I agree with PP, 10 days is a lot. I would add on London for 3 days and skip Paris. Except for Eiffel Tower and Disneyland Paris, my kids that age didn't really care much about Paris.

 

[bumbershoot]

London thoughts.

FWIW, my son at 10 *loved* (it was his request) going to the Tower of London. He was absolutely insistent on it, and made sure we went to see the crown jewels. We did the free tour (with a yeoman guard) first, which was fabulous and funny and informative, then went to see the jewels and then saw the rooms with the weaponry and armor.

Westminster was good, too.

 

[NancyIL]

Im so glad my son is done with little league. So time consuming. We were just in London. My kids loved it. I wouldnt hestitate to do it after the cruise. Its a shorter flt home from London anyway. I wouldnt waste my money going to Disneyland in Paris. That is not what I would want to do in Europe. I cant wrap my brain around flying overseas for DL wen you have one here in the states.

I wouldn't fly to Paris just to go to Disneyland, nor would I go there in lieu of spending time in Paris itself. However, if you have the time and the desire - it's a great Disney park.

 

[Ofinn]

I wouldn't fly to Paris just to go to Disneyland, nor would I go there in lieu of spending time in Paris itself. However, if you have the time and the desire - it's a great Disney park.

Yeah I guess. Its just with all unique things Europe has to offer it wouldnt be something I would do. Theres a lot of Disney famatics on this board so I could see it being worth it to them. To each their own I guess.