Help me decide Mediterranean or Scandanavia Cruise?

[2Gma]

We are looking to do our first cruise as a family (kids will be 11 & 9 then) in Summer 2018. I've been looking at 7-10 day itineraries departing from either Scandanvia or the Mediterranean. Has anyone cruised either of these destinations and have input? We have never been to Europe and this will be the first time our kids have cruised/traveled this far. DH and I have both cruised in the Carribean and Alaska with RCL and enjoyed it but this was prior to kids! What things do I need to consider? We live in the Northern US so perhaps Scandia would be too much like our climate while the Med would be more exotic? We would like to have somewhat of a cultural/ethnic experience and thought cruising would enable us to see many areas while still not being too threatening with language barriers, food choices, etc. Feel free to share your experiences or advice!

 

[trvlgirlmq]

I have cruised in the Med and done several land trips to Europe with kids (England, France, Spain, Italy). It is great fun and my kids love traveling, history, new foods, etc. Have your kids ever talked about places in Europe they might have learned about in school? I like to sit down with everyone and talk over our options; kind of see what the kids would like to do too. Our cruise last summer was 10 days Barcelona to Athens with stops in Marseille, France, Livorno (Florence), Civitavecchia (Rome) & Naples, Italy, Rhodes & Crete, Greece and Kusadasi, Turkey. We broke up museums and historic sites with a day at the beach on Rhodes and horseback riding on Crete.

We are planning another cruise for 2018 and have picked a British Isles itinerary. Both kids really want to visit Scotland and Ireland (lots of castles and Loch Ness!). The cruise begins and ends in Amsterdam and both are very excited to see the Anne Frank House (my 8th grader has been studying the Holocaust this year and we are also Jewish so tend to find places related to this when we travel).

I think the most important factor in taking kids on a trip like this is to make it fun as well as a learning experience. I'm happy to answer more detailed questions if you need.

 

[2Gma]

Have your kids ever talked about places in Europe they might have learned about in school? I like to sit down with everyone and talk over our options; kind of see what the kids would like to do too. Our cruise last summer was 10 days Barcelona to Athens with stops in Marseille, France, Livorno (Florence), Civitavecchia (Rome) & Naples, Italy, Rhodes & Crete, Greece and Kusadasi, Turkey. We broke up museums and historic sites with a day at the beach on Rhodes and horseback riding on Crete.

I think the most important factor in taking kids on a trip like this is to make it fun as well as a learning experience. I'm happy to answer more detailed questions if you need.

Thanks! You're right, we need to combine the educational with the fun by breaking up the historic sites/museum days with more kid-friendly activities. Did your children have a trip they preferred more such as Denmark/Sweden/Germany vs. France/Italy/Greece?

How did your land experience and cruise experience compare as far as immersion in the culture? did you feel the cruise made it less by it being so organized with excursions?

 

[trvlgirlmq]

So far we have not done Northern Europe so I can't compare the two regions. My whole family are history nerds so we love castles, old villages, old paintings! You can find all of that in every country of Europe. My boys and my niece love to try new foods (they don't always like them but they try). I don't think starting with a cruise is a bad thing but we had done 5 land trips before we did the cruise. The cruise was to all new destinations for us though so it was kind of like a first trip.

You have to know your expectations for the trip as you just won't be able to see or do it all in one port stop. We found that we liked to pick 1 big site to visit and then just spend time wandering, having lunch and enjoying hearing and seeing everything around us. We are also not tour people so I do all of our research and we use public transportation and our feet. A lot of the tours just give you a drive by or a photo stop and we are about the experience so just prefer to do our own thing. As we had done the land trips we are also familiar with European trains, taxi, subway systems. A good guide book like Rick Steves will help you navigate if you want to do your own thing.

I really don't think you can go wrong with whatever itinerary you choose. If you have any you are considering I would be happy to weigh in on them and what you and your children might find appealing.

 

[ldo]

Our kids enjoyed both, but they are very different. I would read cruiseciritc.com or other reviews of the ports to decide. N. Europe is more of a city-oriented cruise, Med. is more about iconic monuments/ruins of Roman, early Med. civilizations. Both offer a lot. In summer, Med. will be much hotter. In N. Europe, you can even need a sweater in July. What do you like to do? Is there any port you are especially interested in? For a 1st trip with kids of those ages, I would do Med and go to Pompeii (easy, cheap DIY 1/2 day), Coliseum, and then probably Lucca and Pisa (7 yr old cannot climb) , again, you can DIY (a bit trickier--go to Lucca 1st and work your way back). In Lucca, walk or bike on top of the wall (like a park) and climb the towers. Use one of the France days as a 1/2 day walk around and beach day. If your kids are not too tired, take public bus/train to a medieval hill town.
some ideas for N Europe with kids:
Stockholm: take the HO-HO that picks up right at the pier (get SEK for the Ho-Ho (Swedish $$) before you leave the US--they are not on the euro). Take the Ho-HO to downtown and walk around. You can go into the Palace, etc. but the BEST place was the Livrustkammaren. Founded in 1633, it is also Sweden's oldest museum. Set in the palace vaults, this armory isn't just about weapons but displays some of the world's most magnificent state coaches and coronation robes, even the costume worn by Gustav III at a fatal masked ball. (The king was assassinated at the 1792 ball, and the incident inspired Verdi to write his opera The Masked Ball.) They have a free kit that you can borrow for the kids--it is a box with a fake mouse and you find clues throughout the museum. My kids (9, 13) spent 2 hours doing this--super fun. They also have a good dress up place, as well. We got the combo Ho-HO ticket and also took a boat tour. We did not have time to see the Viking ship (on the HO-HO bus/boat line).
Tallin--easy to walk from pier to town and they have costumed persons selling nuts, sodas, etc.--very festive. Plus, you can do archery outside the fort with Red Riding Hood type costumed workers. Large square in center of town to get food, etc. Tallin looks like a storybook village from a fairy tale.
St P--it's a LONG day even for adults. Book a private tour, and be prepared to let your kids rest the next day. When we went StP was one long day. If 2 days, I might let my kids stay in the kids club the 2nd day.
Although many say a cruise is not the best way to see Europe, with kids, we found it an excellent way--esp with comfy room, pool, and lots of food they recognized and would eat. Esp. in Med, we usually came back, had a quick snack, had a swim and then dinner and a show or just veg and watch some TV--great mix for us. We have done land also and my kids all prefer a cruise.

 

[2Gma]

Our kids enjoyed both, but they are very different. I would read cruiseciritc.com or other reviews of the ports to decide.
Although many say a cruise is not the best way to see Europe, with kids, we found it an excellent way--esp with comfy room, pool, and lots of food they recognized and would eat. Esp. in Med, we usually came back, had a quick snack, had a swim and then dinner and a show or just veg and watch some TV--great mix for us. We have done land also and my kids all prefer a cruise.

Thanks for all the information!! Definitely gives me some direction as far as shore trips and what you're kids enjoyed. I just found cruisecritic a couple days ago and wow, its to cruises like the Dis boards to Disney. I think we are leaning more towards Med now because of the beaches/coastline/historic monuments, etc.

Was wondering were the cruises ships crawling with kids when you went?

 

[KashasMom]

We did a 13 night Baltic with 3 days in St. Petersburg last year with our 7 yr old daughter. We were on the go nonstop with only 1 sea day. We did a lot of walking tours (very small groups with some of our Cruise Critic Roll Call friends) as well as some other cool excursions (all private/on our own). We had a fantastic time. Since your kids are 8 and 10 now(?) I would include them in the decision. What do they like to do? What would interest them? I'd definitely suggest going in at least a day early to acclimate to the time change. There were not a lot of kids on that one. Next year we're doing Norway, Scotland, Iceland on NCL. We're very excited about that one.