Marseille in hours with kids

We will be in Marseille at the end of march as 2 families with 8 and 2 years old children. MSC Splendid stops for 8 hours. We would like to have a budget self guided excursion as this itinerary:

a- Old port

b- Panier

c- Palais Longchamp (without any museum visit)

d- Basilique Notre-Dame

e- Vallon des Auffes

Now, I need some advices that they help us to have a pleasant holiday:

1- Has MSC any free shuttle from cruise terminal to old port?

2- Is it possible to visit all 5 sites within 8 hours?

3- Is itinerary order correct?

4- Could we carry baby stroller easily in city (Specially I am worry about a,b,d,e)

Thanks

Well that is a very ambitious plan. It is my opinion that the best option would be the old port area, then the train up to Notre Dame. The port is a large and it takes about 40 minutes from ship to outside port gate. Most cruise lines do not have a free shuttle to the gate. The train is a tourist train and easy to spot from old port area. IIRC 5€ each.

I need any more advice please. We will travel with children and we are worry on some parts.

Thank you

We may get flamed for this comment, but many parents take their children along on trips...and then organize an adult-based itinerary. For example, when we took our. then. 9 year old daughter to Europe (years ago on a Eurorail trip) we put together an itinerary suited for her. This meant frequent ice cream or Orangina (she loved that drink) stops, doing the Louvre in 45 min (just a glance at a few highlights), letting her shop for shoes in Paris, etc.

So you are taking children to Europe and dragging them to many things they will find boring (especially true for an 8 year old). Nothing much you can do for the 2 year old but keep them comfy (not easy if its very hot) but the 8 year old is old enough to have some input (give them a project to do some of their own research). In Marseille you might want to consider the boat ride over the Chateau d'if where the 8 year old might enjoy climbing around the ruined Chateau/fortress. We also learned (the hard way) that frequent rest breaks (especially with gelato or ice cream) can really be helpful. As to 2 year olds, it can be a real challenge depending on the child. We took our daughter on many cruises (she was Diamond on RCCL (now RCI) before age 14) but did not consider starting her cruising life until age 5. At age 2, when we cruised our DD stayed with her Grandparents (which she loved). She is now in her thirties, but still has amazing childhood memories of those "vacations with Gramps).

Hank