Jump to content

European sailing with kids....age?


Rose778

Recommended Posts

We are from the US. Thinking ahead for summer of 2023, we will have a 16 year old and an 8 year old. I feel like it would be the perfect time to take the 16 yo but too soon to take the 8 yo on a European sailing. We don't have much of an option of not taking the little one and I want to take the older one before she finishes high school. Is 8 or 9 too young? Are there any itineraries you would recommend for a younger child? Would you just wait until the younger one is older? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We did the 12 night Mediterranean Venice cuise in 2014 on Serenade. We have 3 boys that ranged in age at that time from 12 - 17 and everyone had a great time. They still remember the cruise very fondly. One thing we did that was recommended to us was to hire an outside tour company. I don't know if this would be possible post-COVID but we used their services at 3 of our stops in Italy and it was wonderful. They pick you up from the ship in a Mercedes van that was air conditioned and more importantly for the kids had wifi! You had a private tour guide for the day and bring you back to the ship at the end of the day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They may not remember every detail like you will but they will remember the trip in general terms and that establishes the basis to travel more later in life.  

I recall highlights of a trip to the UK including being able to touch and climb on Stonehenge or taking a massive hovercraft car ferry across the English Channel among a lot of other highlights but I can't articulate the route we took or every city we visited.

More importantly it established in me the concept that traveling far away from home and seeing the world isn't to be feared but embraced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Definitely not too young. After all, we Europeans take our kids on cruises too! ? That said, you need to be realistic about your younger child's staying power.

How long a trip are you planning? Can you manage two weeks of cruising as well as any pre- or post-cruise stay you might want to do?

If you can, then what I would suggest is to consider booking B2B on Symphony, which is due to be in Europe in 2023. She does the standard 7-night western Med itinerary. If she follows the pattern of recent years, you will have a choice of boarding in either Barcelona or Civitavecchia (Rome). If the flights work in your favour and you can manage a few nights pre- or post-cruise stay, I'd recommend Rome. There's so much to see there that you'll be able to spread it out without exhausting yourselves. If you can't swing that and have a decent option for flights, then Barcelona is much easier logistically because the airport, city centre and cruise port are much closer together.

As for the itinerary, as I said, the Oasis class ships normally do the standard western Med routes - Rome, La Spezia (for Florence), Naples, Marseilles, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona, with a single sea day. If you can do that B2B, it means you don't have to get off the ship in every port in the same week. Instead, you can space your sightseeing out over the course of the two weeks and enjoy downtime on the ship (or do relaxing beach days) in between. I can't stress enough how important this is because six consecutive days of sightseeing is exhausting for fit and healthy adults, let alone an 8-year-old. Plus, the churches and castles all begin to blur after a bit, and you run the risk of having two tired, bored and irritable kids (in my case it was a tired, bored and irritable husband! ?).

Choosing an Oasis class ship means your kids will have plenty of fun stuff to do on board and you will also get the chance for some rest and relaxation, knowing they're having fun.

As for visiting the ports themselves, look for family-friendly excursions and don't be over-ambitious. Much as you might want to, you can't do it all, so forward planning is vital. Consider doing small group or private excursions and look at things that will appeal to your younger child. For example, you might look at arranging a family pizza-making lesson in Naples. Europe also has great beaches. Palma de Mallorca is a good port to do a beach day and Barcelona has a lovely beach right in the city centre not far from the cruise port. There are fun things to do in both Marseilles and La Spezia that would be enjoyable for the whole family (see my post in this thread): 

One last piece of advice for now: if you can possibly avoid August, do so. It is the month when all the schools in Europe are on their summer break, it's boiling hot and everywhere is packed. June is usually nice and not crowded. July can be hot and is starting to get a lot busier. September, when the weather is normally still warm and sunny but most European schools are back in, is a great option but might not fit in with your kids' school vacation time.

Sorry for the length of the post but I'm really excited to be able to help. If there's anything else you'd like to know, just say. If I know the answer, I'll be delighted to help. ?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a 14-night cruise scheduled on the Anthem departing from Southampton in August 2022. It will be myself, my husband (hopefully, if he can get holidays) and my then-9-year-old daughter who is the pickiest of picky eaters (on previous cruises, she ordered "noodles with butter and parmesan cheese, NO GREEN THINGS" every night for dinner). If my husband can't make it then my mother and step-father will come with us which would be awesome too.

I wanted a test cruise before bringing our daughter to Europe so hubby and I did an 8-night on the Brilliance in Sept. 2019 AND IT WAS THE WORST. He lured me to Europe with visions of wine and delicious food and all he wanted to do was go, go, go on self-guided tours of the ports which was basically walking around in traffic-congested port areas. Bleh!

But now I know. When I bring DD9 in Aug. 2022, there will be:

1. Premium airplane seating (I'm a princess and so is DD9)

2. No walking around aimlessly. A few organized tours and that's it.

3. If DD9 won't eat the local cuisine then she can stay on the ship! Haha.

We will be stopping in Gibraltar, Malaga, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, Ibiza and Lisbon (2 days). I intend to bring her to the top of The Rock, the Alcazaba in Malaga and a bit of Las Ramblas in Barcelona.

Any thoughts for the other stops?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My husband and I took our son when he was 13.  We tried to plan some kid friendly experiences.   In Barcelona, we went to Camp Nou because he was really into soccer.   In Palma Majorca, we took an RCL excursion to the Aquarium.  He loved Capri. That was his favorite port.  He wasn't interested in Florence but he did like climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  I say go for it.  We did spend Pre-Cruise time in Rome before the cruise and he still talks about it over 5 years later.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...