21 day Mediterranean with kids?

Hi!

We are a family of 6, with kids ages 11,9,7, and 5. We were looking at a 21 day western Mediterranean cruise as a family. Is that too long? If we're paying for the airfare, I'd rather be there awhile. There are 14 days in port, and 8 days at sea. I'd use the 8 days at sea to homeschool, and the other days for exploring, so I think that would work. Have other families traveled this long? How did it go?

Thanks!!

I don't think it's too long, but you will have to do plenty of research, so you can get the most from your ports! I agree...if you're gonna be there...BE THERE!!!

We did a 14 day cruise plus a week on land, so our trip ended up being about the same length as yours although our actual cruise portion was a little shorter. We absolutely loved the trip. We only had one child then - our son was 5 at the time.

What I learned from traveling with him at that age is that booking tours that include outdoor time was almost essential. He enjoyed tours that stopped in parks, where he could run around and play, and even brief park stops could help him get through days of long bus rides. The Parque de Guell in Barcelona was a huge treat for the whole family. He enjoyed tours that included small boat trips or river cruises, since those were novel for him. He enjoyed interesting cave sytems, since we don't do that at home, in both Gibraltar and Majorca. He enjoyed tours that went to traditional "kiddie" places, like aquariums and sea life park, and although that wasn't what we'd have done if we weren't traveling with a child, it was worth it to toss a couple of those into the mix. He enjoyed tours that included animals, such the apes on Gibraltar and the Andalucian Horses in Jerez, Spain. and the animals on a preserved historic estate in Majorca.

We didn't push museums, but we made it to a couple. We made it to two cathedrals, and that was probably all the he could manage. I know a lot of people think you should be loading your Europe trip with the famous museums and cathedrals, but you just can't do that easily with young children. Our friends teased us a little about going to Europe and going to Majorca's Marineland and the London Aquarium, but it really helped make him feel like we thought about his needs and wants when planning the trip.

Did we go to many of the famous destinations? Sure. But we also spent a day in a seaside French village, where we had crepes and hot chocolate, played on the beach, and let him ride a couple of rides at a visiting carnival.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't take my daughter (4 years old right now) to Europe yet. Our son is a great traveler. He flies on planes well, as long as you give him books and an iPad. Our daughter is HORRIBLE on planes. Ok, she was the last time we let her fly with us, last year to California and Hawaii (Disneyland and Aulani.) We said it would be at least a year before we let her fly with us again, and it has been a year, and we haven't flown again. We are going to try letting her fly again this summer to Seattle

I did heavily research our stops beforehand. I was balancing activities for 3 generations, and I did ALL the planning. I let our son help me pick some of the excursions. I decided to do the 2 week Celebrity Mediterranean trip out of Southampton because we could fly directly to London from Houston, and I wanted to make the getting there as simple as I could. I didn't want to be trying to make connecting flights with an overtired child. We did several days before and after the cruise touring London and southern England, and we had an amazing time. Of course, 5 years later, all that my son remembers is that we went to Stonehenge (because he's seen the picture many times) and that one of the famous Barbary Apes stole his ice cream cone in Gibraltar!

Our family of 5 is getting ready for our fifth cruise in Europe (we're fortunate to be living in Europe for a several-year job assignment, so we're trying to see as much as we can while we're here!) We started with a 7-night cruise, and each subsequent one has been a little longer--our upcoming cruise will be our first 14-nighter. None has been too long yet! :)

I completely understand wanting to make the most of a long flight. However, if I were doing the planning, I would consider a shorter cruise and a land-based stay, like GoldenRose described. While each port has new and interesting things to discover, there's a limit to how much new and interesting stuff we (adults as well as kids!) can absorb in three weeks. And with a land-based stay, you can have a completely different experience. Renting a house, apartment, or condo gives you a chance to "live like a local" much more than a cruise port visit. Things like going to the grocery store or doing laundry in another country can be fun and interesting (and less like chores than they are at home), and can give us a little insight into how people in other countries live.

For cruise port visits, I would definitely suggest getting the kids involved in the planning. Two of ours are a little older than yours, and I let them each be our tour guide for a day. They got to pick which port they wanted, and planned what we were going to see, how we would get around, and provided commentary on the sights. For our younger child, I gave her a few options and let her choose a few of the things we were going to see.

Happy planning, and have a wonderful trip! There is lots of great advice here...read up and don't hesitate to ask lots of questions.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and this will be a very special time for your family.

Take lots of photos.

I would pace yourselves when in port.

Even if it is just the two of you I would be advise the same and when this involved children I just like to highlight it. In other words, don't plan full days tours in each port because after awhile it will seem like work.

Prioritize the ports and excursions. In some ports you may want to do a full day excursion but in other ports try to do half day excursions in some and in others just walk around on your own.

Keith

Lucky kids! I think that would be awesome to take the kids on a trip like that.

We have also rented a house in a small village in France and that was great also just "living like a local."

We did a 28 Day South Pacific/Hawaii (we also homeschool). It was amazing! 19 days at sea, 9 in port. At the time we had three kids, ages 10, 8, and 2. Would not hesitate to do an itinerary that long again.

You didn't mention the cruise line you'd be taking. If it's Holland- I'd say no. This is going to attract older people and will not be particularly lively. If it's NCL- then yes- go!

I took a 24 day Med cruise on HAL with my 3 kids, aged 16, 13, 6. There were plenty of families. Over 300 kids under 18. It was plenty lively. There were 4 of us in an inside. We had a great time and would do it again.

Our cruise was in the middle of the public school year, so there were only about a dozen kids under the age of 18 (including my three), but they still had an amazing time! We were on Princess.

We took our kids out of school last year for a Mediterranean trip. We spent some time in England before flying to Venice for our cruise. We did B2B cruises with RCI totalling 14 days and then spent a few days in Barcelona before flying home via Singapore. All up it was just over 3 weeks. There were not many kids on board but there were enough to make a few friends in Adventure Ocean (maybe 40 kids all up). Visiting all those ports will be an education in itself. Try to rest up on the sea days as you will be very tired from being on the go.

I researched for months to plan this trip and to make sure our activities would be tailored for us parents and the kids (aged 10). We did quite a few private tours and made sure they were flexible so if the kids were over it we could change them on the fly. We never had to do that though. We scored the best guides that kept the kids fully engaged.

We gave our kids a new digital camera each for the trip. They took their own photos and created a powerpoint slide of their trip. Each port they would email the new slides back to their class. When we returned to school they were excited to see their slides pinned up on the walls. The class were also learning from their experience.

Enjoy your trip!

I'm interested in these replies as we will be going on our very first cruise in a month with our nearly 4 year-old daughter and the cruise will be 16 nights around the Med. We aren't planning to do a lot of site seeing on port days as it'll become hard work with our daughter. It'll be mostly going to the beech, soaking up the atmosphere and eating nice food. We usually only holiday for a week so it is going to feel like a long time but I'm hoping we'll relax and settle into the new routine.

I hope you have a great time.

I enjoyed the info you gave. Loved the idea of the digital cameras and the PP presentations. This October we are taking two 10 yr old girls (our granddaughter and her best friend) on a 14 day cruise with time before and after in Barcelona. I am especially interested in what to do with them on Mykonos (they would love the Jeep tour, but at 76 my husband might not enjoy it so much), Malta, and Salerno. I booked a private tour for just us 4 in Rome, Athen and Ephesus as I know the girls want to see these sites but would not be interested in the group tours which are long and crowded. If you or anyone on this thread has ideas or specifics, I would appreciate hearing them. Thanks! Carole (NVSkier)

We took our kids out of school last year for a Mediterranean trip. We spent some time in England before flying to Venice for our cruise. We did B2B cruises with RCI totalling 14 days and then spent a few days in Barcelona before flying home via Singapore. All up it was just over 3 weeks. There were not many kids on board but there were enough to make a few friends in Adventure Ocean (maybe 40 kids all up). Visiting all those ports will be an education in itself. Try to rest up on the sea days as you will be very tired from being on the go.

 

I researched for months to plan this trip and to make sure our activities would be tailored for us parents and the kids (aged 10). We did quite a few private tours and made sure they were flexible so if the kids were over it we could change them on the fly. We never had to do that though. We scored the best guides that kept the kids fully engaged.

 

We gave our kids a new digital camera each for the trip. They took their own photos and created a powerpoint slide of their trip. Each port they would email the new slides back to their class. When we returned to school they were excited to see their slides pinned up on the walls. The class were also learning from their experience.

 

Enjoy your trip!

~ We did a 7 Day Mediterranean Cruise ~ An when you added in the day's before an after on the Cruise it was 14 Day's ! ~ We explored Rome for a few days ! ~ :)

Our daughter ended up doing a report for school , with the timeline of event's , ports , historic value ~ :)

As far as the post of traveling with your 4 Year Old ! ~ We take / took our daughter's everywhere with us , granted now 2 of the 3 have families of their own !

However our youngest still travel's everywhere with us ! Just realize they have kid camp services on the cruises for a reason ~ lol ~ :cool:

Have A Nice Day

J.L. & Bree

We took our kids out of school last year for a Mediterranean trip. We spent some time in England before flying to Venice for our cruise. We did B2B cruises with RCI totalling 14 days and then spent a few days in Barcelona before flying home via Singapore. All up it was just over 3 weeks. There were not many kids on board but there were enough to make a few friends in Adventure Ocean (maybe 40 kids all up). Visiting all those ports will be an education in itself. Try to rest up on the sea days as you will be very tired from being on the go.

 

I researched for months to plan this trip and to make sure our activities would be tailored for us parents and the kids (aged 10). We did quite a few private tours and made sure they were flexible so if the kids were over it we could change them on the fly. We never had to do that though. We scored the best guides that kept the kids fully engaged.

 

We gave our kids a new digital camera each for the trip. They took their own photos and created a powerpoint slide of their trip. Each port they would email the new slides back to their class. When we returned to school they were excited to see their slides pinned up on the walls. The class were also learning from their experience.

 

Enjoy your trip!

Did you have a private tour in Rome? We need one for us and two 10 year old girls. Don't think they can take more than 4 hours touring and then the ride to Rome and back from port. What tour or guide did you use? You can reach me easily at talan

amphersand sbcglobal dot then net