Is a 12 day cruise too long for preteens/kids

[ariannasstuff]

Hoping to get some good advice. I am planning on taking my family on a European cruise next summer. Most itineries are 12 days. My husband thinks that is too long and would prefer a 7 day and just add on days to Rome(that is where we would sail out of). My kids will be 12, 12, & 13.

 

Any suggestions to those that have travelled in Europe with kids this age. I know it comes down to the temperment of the kids, but in general, what do you all think?

[junglejane]

We have done two European cruises with our kids and have a third planned for June -- all of them 12 day cruises with additional days for pre-cruise visits. The kids were 7 and 11 for the first one, 8 and 12 for the second, and will be 10 and 14 this time around.

 

I don't think 12 days is too long. But try to pick a 12 day cruise with 2-3 sea days -- or at least schedule a day or two with only a half day shore excursion. Our kids liked some down time. On the other hand, it's so expensive and such an effort (time, money, jet lag) to get there, that we feel that you should stay long enough to make it worthwhile.

[Kerry's Girls]

In my opinion, being on a ship with kids is much easier than being in a foriegn hotel with kids. The food is familiar and free, and it's easy to step out of the room and find entertainment and amusement without a lot of effort - and also a place for the kids/parents to each be on their own instead of with each other 24/7. It is nice to spend a few days in one city before the cruise though. I've done a 14 day cruise with 4 year olds, so clearly you know which way I would go.

 

Best,

Mia

[cb at sea]

As long as the parents are happy, so will be the kids.....it's up to YOU to set the tone!

[Scrapchick]

We've done several 10-12 day cruises and many longer than that with our DD, who is currently 9 and quite well cruised. To us, it's a great length of trip. Jungle Jane make a god point about days off... the problem is the ports are all close together in the Med and so you typically get a lot of ports and few sea days. It's great for touring but not so great for relaxing and you have to learn to pace yourself or you'll come home needing a vacation from your vacation...

 

I think it will be very hard to find a 7 day trip in that area.... Most are 10-12 days. Personally, a 14 cruise is perfect for me!

 

Our DD has never had a problem with a longer cruise and gets more settled in as the time goes by. Your kids are a perfect age for touring some of the old cities and historical sites. I would go for it and soak it all up...

[chipmaster]

12 days was way too short :D When you factor in flight and time change we did it as 16 days with a couple days before and after and it was still to short.

 

Of those 12 days what is it, 9-10 port days and two sea days? If you plan things and have busy port days you'll be plenty busy and the two days on ship will be way to short.

 

My kids, 8, 12, 14 had a great time. In some ports they did get "bored" as it seemed like as the comedian on the ship said more rocks and churchs but two years later I think they really look back at it as a great vacation!

 

Hoping to get some good advice. I am planning on taking my family on a European cruise next summer. Most itineries are 12 days. My husband thinks that is too long and would prefer a 7 day and just add on days to Rome(that is where we would sail out of). My kids will be 12, 12, & 13.

 

Any suggestions to those that have travelled in Europe with kids this age. I know it comes down to the temperment of the kids, but in general, what do you all think?

[onthelake]

12 days is definately not too long. On a Med cruise, there really aren't many sea days so not much down time. The whole family will really have a lot of time together seeing/doing new things. The last time we went was two years ago and DS was 14. We did two 12D B2B and still weren't ready to come home.

 

We first did the Med when DS was 2 and did the Baltic at 6. These are amazing experiences and we have always tried to balance 'indoor' with 'outdoor' sightseeing. Most ports, it is easy to 'do your own thing' with public transportation and adjust your day to everyone's energy level and the weather.

 

When you factor in the airfare, you really want to make the most of your trip and that really does mean staying longer than if you were closer to home. Cruising really makes travel easy and we appreciate the consistency of the clean cabin, great food and evening entertainment on the ship with new sites to see every day.

[RoadTripFanatic]

In my opinion' date=' being on a ship with kids is much easier than being in a foriegn hotel with kids. The food is familiar and free, and it's easy to step out of the room and find entertainment and amusement without a lot of effort - and also a place for the kids/parents to each be on their own instead of with each other 24/7. It is nice to spend a few days in one city before the cruise though. I've done a 14 day cruise with 4 year olds, so clearly you know which way I would go.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

 

I agree with this completely!! :)

DD was 9 when we took her on a 12 day cruise to Europe. She did great!! We also spent an additional 4 days in Italy after the cruise. It was a wonderful experience. (2 nights in Florence and 2 nights in Rome)

[dijid]

You know your kids best. (And your husband - if he isn't happy, well it might be hard for anyone else to be happy LOL) We just did a 12 day Med sailing on the Norwegian Jade with kids 7, 9 & 11. The itinerary had been changed because we couldn't go to Egypt, and we ended up with 6 days at sea.

 

I'll be honest, my 11yo got bored on the ship. I think 11-12 (she's technically over 11 1/2) is a tough age for the Kids Clubs. On our sailing, there were so few children that they combined all kids 6-12 (And during free play they even included the 2-5yos). It can also be a grueling schedule, as you're trying to cram as much in to a port day as possible and on our 4th day in a row of ports, the kids were spent and we returned to the boat at 4pm even though we still had hours left.

 

It is a great way to see lots of different cities, and we found it to be economical for our family (we stayed in cheap cabins). However, we have decided next time we are going to stay on land and explore one area (we've already chosen Italy) more in-depth and at our own pace.

[junglejane]

Dijid, I think that if the OP goes during the summer, there will be plenty of other kids on the ship. But I totally agree about 11 being a difficult age. They feel too old to hang out with 8 year olds in the kids program (8-12 seems a popular grouping) but may not qualify for a teen program. The OP says she has two 12 year olds. She might want to pick a cruise line where her 12 year olds can participate in a teen program, like RCI, which groups 12-14 together. I know from experience that Princess is very strict on age groupings. On our last Princess cruise, my older DD was turning 13 on the day after disembarkation, and she wasn't allowed to participate in the teen program.

[brazilgirl]

I have done 3 long cruise with my kids ( one 12 day and two 14 day). The kids loved them ( my daughter was a preteen on our last one). On our Antarctica/Sa cruise , we had 7 straight days at sea due to weather conditions and the kids had no problems.

 

On longer cruise , you are able to settle into a nice routine. You get to really explore the ship and know the crew and other passengers. In all instances , my kids made some great friends , with whom they still maintain contact.

 

Honestly , when we go on 7 day cruises , we feel rushed!

 

The kids took books (DD read last "twilight " book on cruise) and some movies. They enjoyed going to the movie sessions and played board games.

 

On our European cruise , there were so many ports that they didn´t have a lot of down time . The Med ports are fantastic for kids.

 

We always do pre and post land tours when we go to Europe. It would be nice for you alll to see more of Rome by staying there a bit before embarking. The kids love the hotel stays as well.

 

Kim

[graceinmelbourne]

No way! We went on a 12 night Mediterranean cruise with our 10 and 13 year olds and they would have happily have kept going for another week. They loved every minute of it and their only complaint was it wasn't long enough.

[dj_spud]

No way! We went on a 12 night Mediterranean cruise with our 10 and 13 year olds and they would have happily have kept going for another week. They loved every minute of it and their only complaint was it wasn't long enough.

 

Totaly agree! We prefer to do a minimum of 12 nights now. Looking at a 16 night cruise for 2012. Kids Always moaing about getting off on the last day...