Which Cruise to Take Next??

We are wondering where to go next summer.

Here are my choices:

Fjord cruise. This one leaves from Copenhagen. We can see family in Denmark before or after.

Baltic.

Med

We have done 2 caribbean and one Bahamas on Disney so we don't want to do those again.

Our kids ages will be:

2, 4, 4, 10, 13, 15, 18, 19

I'm a little nervous to take my younger 3 on a Med cruise because it's so port intensive and so many sites to see. The flip side is that my older kids would love to see the sites.

Leaving the younger 3 at home is not a option.

Any thoughts? Which would you pick and what have you done?

Thanks,

Janelle

The heat in the Med in summer, especially with little ones, would make me absolutely opt for one of the Northern itineraries.

Best,

Mia

I agree with Mia - the Med is very, very warm in summer. Baltic and/or fjords are both great. Baltic itineraries ports may appeal a bit more to your older kids if they are in to history

The Baltics have lots of excursions that would appropriate for the older kids but I think the Fjords would be better for the little ones. Lots of clean air and places for them to roam on land. I did the Norwegian Fjords with my then 9 year old and he really enjoyed it. If you like scenery- you'll love it. It's really relaxing.

I absolutely LOVED our Greek/Turkey cruise that went to Istanbul though. Yes it will be hot but there were lots of relaxing days where we could enjoy the pool and watch the world go by. That one was on Holland America and it was a 10 night Venice roundtrip. It's probably the best cruise experience I have ever had and it was in July. The ports you visit don't require you to travel far from the ship- making it easy to do 1/2 day MORNING tours with a little one in tow. Don't do afternoon tours with this age because they still nap.

Regardless of what itinerary you choice- pick a cruise line that has some childcare for the 2 year old. I know that Royal Caribbean does and Celebrity has in cabin babysitting at night. Cunard also has a nursery. If you don't plan to use any daycare then all the lines will be fine for the kids.

When my son was 6, we did a Baltic cruise that he says is a real highlight in his memory. Tivoli Garden, the Viking Ship Museum, a ferry to the northernmost zoo in the world - all great for the younger ones and interesting for the older as well. Add St. Petersburg with the Hermitage and you really have a wonderful cruise. Also, we all appreciated that the ships dock right in/at the cities, not miles away. We were there late May/early June and the weather was perfect.

Also, we returned from London in May and used Icelandair. They allow a layover in Reykiavik (Keflavik) and we stay for a couple of days - wonderful! We were so impressed with the people and the country. Really a worthwhile side trip.

Thanks for the help! I'm really leaning towards the Fjords trip with a stay in Denmark after. Now to just find a ship I know Disney is sailing there but they are $$$ so I need to figure out who else sails there.

Thanks again!

Janelle

Brilliance of the Seas, Royal Caribbean and the Caribbean Princess are both sailing to the Fjords in 2015. I would choose one of these vessels because they have outdoor movie theaters, plenty of lounges and places where the younger kids can play during the day. They both have good entertainment and the ships are large enough- with things that all the kids will enjoy. You also have the added bonus of babycare on Brilliance of the Seas. Food is very good on Royal and the buffets are excellent. Brilliance does Geiranger Fjord, which was my favorite. Caribbean Princess has great swimming pools but a crappy buffet.

Holland America also does some interesting itineraries. The problem with Holland is that the ships are smaller and more intimate- which means quieter. A large group might make large noise and the passengers tend to be older. Having said that- Holland staterooms have bath tubs and are roomier than Royal and Princess. The food is consistently good. The buffet is really good.

I am taking my 6 and 8 yr olds on a Baltic Cruise in 2 weeks with NCL. I like the overnight in St Petersburg.

You may also want to consider other options like MSC and Costa. You can at least get your 3/4 passengers kids free on MSC to save some $ because Norway is extremely expensive!!!

We only do "northern" cooler weather cruises because the kids and Daddy are pale red heads. Our last 2 cruises have been Alaska and Canada/New England to avoid the heat :)

My 6 year old sees pics of the Onion Top church on posters etc...and tells me all the time--I wanna go there! She is going to be SHOCKED when she sees it in person. We have only told the kids we are taking the train to Copenhagen :)

Well we took a vote and the Fjord cruise lost and the Baltic cruise won.

My older kids want to see cities and not nature:p.

They said if they want nature they will go outside:cool:

So any suggestions on a Baltic cruise?

Thanks

Janelle

Well we took a vote and the Fjord cruise lost and the Baltic cruise won.

My older kids want to see cities and not nature:p.

They said if they want nature they will go outside:cool:

 

So any suggestions on a Baltic cruise?

Thanks

Janelle

Yup, Wisconsin's got plenty of outside and nature so they should not go wanting!

Copenhagen - Tivoli Gardens (amusement park in the middle of the city), shopping (if any of the teens are girls), changing of the guards.

Stockholm - old city (Nobel museum is interesting, my DD had just finished AP Euro History and was fascinated by ALL of the historical stuff). The Vasu (well preserved remains of an old ship) was very cool. Helskinki we just did the "walking around", ate some of Rudolph (reindeer meat) -- can't help much there. St. Petersburg we did a 2-day private tour with a small group we had pulled together from our roll-call. No other teens or kids, but she really liked Peterhof, Catherinhof and the Hermitage. A boat tour of the canals is interesting. There are lots of churches, but the kids would probably like the church of the spilt blood with is the traditional Russian Orthodox church with the colorful onion domes. Be sure to do a subway ride - it is a lesson in Soviet society. In Estonia, Tallin's old town is a great place to explore, the little ones will find spaces to run and play and the older ones can poke and prod.

All of the city areas have grassy park type areas for some running around. If you are doing two days in Petersburg, you may want to have the littlest ones stay on-board for the first day. And Petersburg is where you want to spring for a small-group tour or private tour.

We did a Baltic cruise on Celebrity Eclipse last year with our 2 year old daughter and had a blast!!

We stopped at Bruges, was gorgeous and so easy to just stroll around and explore on your own, go for a horse drawn carriage ride through the town and have some waffles (delicious!)

Warnemunde, if you aren't going to go to Berlin, Warnemunde is nice but a little boring and your older kids probably wouldn't enjoy it to much. Again we just strolled around, played on the sand at the beach and took our daughter to a park then walked along the water front and ate ice creams.

We loved Estonia the old town walls are great to see, and there is a hotel that has a KGB museum in some 'secret' rooms at the top of the hotel that the KGB use to occupy, they are small but it is very interesting if you enjoy that kind of thing. There is an awesome authentic restaurant in the main food area that is great to visit, my husband got bear and elk sausages lol.

There is some nice shopping in Stockholm and a visit to the Vasa is a must, it is an old boat that was brought up from the bottom of the ocean, it is still in tact and so cool to see.

Helsinki there is some lovely markets on the water front in town which are nice to stroll through and there is a beautiful church near by as well.

St Petersburg is of course the highlight, a private tour is a must, then you can tweak it how you like. We saw all the major sites over 2 days Church of the Spilled blood was a favourite

We went end of May early June and it was perfect weather.

I hope you have a great time!