The Caribbean vs Europe

[mm824]

Hi. I'm hopping on here in hope of finding clarity

We were given a 50% discount on our FCC from the canceled Wish sailing that we need to use this year. We have the option of taking a Caribbean/Bahamas Cruise this March for spring break - either 4-nights on the new Wish to the Bahamas (we did this for our first cruise on the Dream) or 7-nights on the Fantasy to the Western Caribbean (luke warm on Cozumel/Falmouth but don't know much about them).

Our third option would be to do a Mediterranean or Norway cruise this July, but I'm concerned even for the cost savings, our very young/sweet 8-year-old DD won't be old enough to appreciate it or be unable to partake in some of the excursions. We asked a travel agent and she said she'd wait to do the longer cruises as our DD is still "young".

We took a cruise to Alaska in 2019; it was great for us (not so sure about the 5-year-old who only remembers the pool on the deck).

Can anyone shed light on these options? Have you taken one with your littles? Is there anything you can think of that would be helpful in making a decision?

Thank you very much in advance for any feedback -

 

[Marc D]

My son has been traveling to Europe since he was 6mo and is now, at 12, a seasoned traveler. The sooner you start, the easier it will be in the long run. We did the 12 nights British Isles when he was 7 - he loved everything about that cruise and still talks about it, including seeing the Magna Carta, the book of Kells, the Beatles museum and even a cheese factory in France - Norway when he was 6 and, looking back at the pictures from that cruise, he enjoyed everything but a badly picked excursion that was even boring for us. He built a sword and fought a real Viking, petted cheese-making goats and walked a trail to a massive waterfall.

The beauty of a DCL cruise in Europe is that you remove many of the pitfalls of traveling on your own - bad restaurants, driving or taking public transportation to move cities - and can concentrate on the good parts, like visiting the highlights and then coming back to a familiar setting every afternoon. There are plenty of kid-friendly excursions in each port. Kids can enjoy anything at any age as long as you include their needs and tastes in planning your trip, instead of just having them tag along while you enjoy your own personal choices.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi. I'm hopping on here in hope of finding clarity

We were given a 50% discount on our FCC from the canceled Wish sailing that we need to use this year. We have the option of taking a Caribbean/Bahamas Cruise this March for spring break - either 4-nights on the new Wish to the Bahamas (we did this for our first cruise on the Dream) or 7-nights on the Fantasy to the Western Caribbean (luke warm on Cozumel/Falmouth but don't know much about them).

Our third option would be to do a Mediterranean or Norway cruise this July, but I'm concerned even for the cost savings, our very young/sweet 8-year-old DD won't be old enough to appreciate it or be unable to partake in some of the excursions. We asked a travel agent and she said she'd wait to do the longer cruises as our DD is still "young".

We took a cruise to Alaska in 2019; it was great for us (not so sure about the 5-year-old who only remembers the pool on the deck).

Can anyone shed light on these options? Have you taken one with your littles? Is there anything you can think of that would be helpful in making a decision?

Thank you very much in advance for any feedback -

Naturally, this is just my opinion. With those choices I'd do either the Med or Norway cruise. Third choice (but still in the running) would be the Wish cruise. That one is in there only because we've not been on the Wish yet, and we've done the Western cruise before. Typically I would take a longer cruise over a shorter one.

 

[gotomu212]

Everyone varies, but I think 8 is definitely old enough to enjoy and remember Europe. You Want to be smart with the excursion choices (but even the Caribbean has some excursions that are more geared to adults or kids).

We started my oldest world traveling at 6 monthes and while the memories from 5 and younger arent really there, he has always had a great time and 8-11 were our prime travel years where he was up for everything and self sufficient enough to enjoy similar activities (once they hit the teens it’s still fun but there’s more eye rolling and more wondering are you not having fun or just too cool to show it?)

 

[lilsonicfan]

I think cruising is a great way to see Europe with kids. You don't have to worry about where your'e going to stay or what you're going to have for dinner. We went 3 years ago when my kids were 10, 7 and 6 and we had an excellent time. Sure, the younger two may have some fuzzier memories, but I thought it was such a cool way to see a much older part of the world than where we are from. We didn't do any excursions through the cruise lines but booked everything on our own - great way to tailor an excursion to what your family likes.

 

[sethschroeder]

Norway or Med

What are you going to do that your child would be too young for? Have you even looked at the ports and the excursions?

Flip side waiting would mean no 50% discount but that can be made up for by simply going on another cruise line to that part of the world instead when the child doesn't benefit as much from the Disney Entertainment vs what is on other ship options out there.

Final note has that travel agent actually went on trips to Norway or Med? or even a single time?

People also say small kids are too young for Alaska as well but we had a great trip with a 3 and 4 year old last summer.

We simply haven't done Europe because honestly I don't trust them with the ever changing policies regarding health requirements in addition to Russia currently. That being said we are not locked in to DCL where they don't really have much for options regarding exciting ports. Just got off NCL out of the Haven where we stopped in Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, St Lucia, St Kitts, San Juan all in 7 days which Disney doesn't essentially ever visit half those ports.

 

[o&smom]

Europe all the way! You can’t go wrong with either one. We first cruised with DCL in Europe when our kids were barely 7 and 3 months.

 

[lilmc]

I would vote a longer Caribbean cruise. 8 is the perfect age imo to enjoy the cruise itself for the disney cruise experience with all the activities. To me Europe is not worth it on DCL because the ship itself is my destination and if we were too tired from a day exploring a european port, I’m going to miss out on some of the activities on the ship.

 

[kiford]

Our friend has taken his kids to Europe twice. Not a cruise, but time spent in both London and Paris and Lyon. First time kids were 6 and 3 and then 7 and 4. They are nearly 9 and 6 now and still talk about parts of it. Maybe the parents didn't get to some of the things they did before they had kids when they went but as a family they all loved it and had a great time. Don't expect your kids to necessarily want to spend hours in the British Museum (at that age, I would have loved it, but my sister would have hated it) but they had a mix of shopping, historic sites, walking around, parks, etc. You know what your kids like best and I'm sure there are options that could work for your family if you wanted to do Europe.

 

[ldo]

We took our 9 yr olds to Switzerland, Italy, London, and on a Baltic cruise (18 days). We found fun things for them to do at their pace. I made secret agent dossiers (got the idea from when DCL did it) and they had a bit of a scavenger hunt in each place. Such as: climb the XXX tower, count how many watches are in the window of the jeweler shop, try 2 gelatos and see which you like better. Count how many gelato shops you see. At the end of the hunt, I had a little prize for completing the mission. They loved it. They also enjoyed the Tower of London, walking by Buckingham Palace, seeing Big Ben, and riding on the double-decker red buses. I had reasonable expectations--like when DS wanted to just go to kids club instead of an excursion--we let him.
DCL is esp good for kids in Europe as you can do a 1/2 day tour or explore on your own and then kids can come back and see a movie, go to kids club, etc. July is hot, but I think there's more to do in the Med for kids that age. Norway is a lot of scenery, but it's also very easy to be active with easy hikes, etc.
However, if airfare makes the trip too $$$, then I'd save Europe for a bit older.

 

[WorldCruiser]

I always vote the longer cruises. Another option is a 10 night southern Caribbean cruise this July. If you want to worry about traveling to Europe

 

[Marthasor]

We took our, then, DS7 on the Disney Magic inaugural Norway cruise. We all enjoyed it so much, we booked the very next sailing and stayed on the ship (ended up in Iceland and Scotland!). Our 7-year old LOVED it. It was the perfect way to see Europe with a younger child who needed a place to chill after a day exploring. We had done an Adventures by Disney Europe trip the year before the cruise and that was a bit much for him at the time, but the cruise was perfect. We also got 50% off from a canceled Wish sailing - I booked a 2023 Europe cruise the day bookings opened. IMHO, the European ports are far more interesting than anything you will find in the Caribbean. I would not hesitate to do one of the Europe cruises with your 8-year old.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Flossbolna]

I would suggest looking at port adventures for the two European cruises to get a feel for what you might want to do in those ports and what your kid might enjoy. I think especially the classic Med cruise has too many ports where the real highlights are far from the port. Rome: 1 hour bus ride, Florence: 2 hour bus ride. 9 hour excursions touring a city. On my Norway cruise we loved it that we more or less docked in town, could just explore directly off the ship. Also they offered quite a few more active excursions there than in the Med. I think Norway ports have changed quite a bit since my cruise, but I think most are similar in that character.

Someone else mentioned July being hot in Med and that might be something to think about. Walking around a city in 100 degree weather is miserable (that’s why haven’t been back to Rome since 1991 despite living in Europe) because my main memory is that it’s unbearably hot.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Kate_45]

8 years old is a great time to travel and a cruise is an easy way to see a lot of different destinations in the Mediterranean. I'm not quite sure why a long cruise would be harder on kids than a short one, surely they settle in to their base and do things at their own pace, feeling more comfortable than with just a couple of nights in this big new space.

We did the med cruise when our kids were 3 & 4. They did a full day in pompeii, ditto tarquinia (didn't go into Rome as living in europe a cruise isn't the best way to visit rome), we left them in the kids club to have a date in Florence and we all played on the beach in cannes. Also had fun exploring Barcelona before and after. An 8 year old will have more stamina and concentration though I'd imagine may still fall asleep on coaches back to the ship (but then so might I).

We're currently travelling the world (3mths Europe, 2 mths Africa completed, about to head to Central America) with kids aged 7&9 and I really would take your travel agents advice with a pinch of salt. Its a great age to travel. You will know whether they will enjoy seeing what you want to see, and what a day out will look like. Take them to a nearby art gallery to gauge interest, you know your child best and how day trips tend to pan out. What excursions do you want to do? Why does the age limit exist? Is there another way of doing the same thing with them?

 

[holula]

I would also look air airfare cost, rather than just the 50% discount. Airfare at the moment to fly transatlantic is so much more than it used to be.

 

[mm824]

Wow. I didn't expect so many replies and such a depth of information. Thank you all so very much for all of this insight!

 

[mm824]

I would suggest looking at port adventures for the two European cruises to get a feel for what you might want to do in those ports and what your kid might enjoy. I think especially the classic Med cruise has too many ports where the real highlights are far from the port. Rome: 1 hour bus ride, Florence: 2 hour bus ride. 9 hour excursions touring a city. On my Norway cruise we loved it that we more or less docked in town, could just explore directly off the ship. Also they offered quite a few more active excursions there than in the Med. I think Norway ports have changed quite a bit since my cruise, but I think most are similar in that character.

Someone else mentioned July being hot in Med and that might be something to think about. Walking around a city in 100 degree weather is miserable (that’s why haven’t been back to Rome since 1991 despite living in Europe) because my main memory is that it’s unbearably hot.

Such great points - I didn't even think about the weather!

 

[Littled7287]

We did our first Europe cruise last May and LOVED it!!! Our boys were 10 and 7(about to be 8 three weeks later). They still talk about it and all the amazing things we got to see and do. We arrived a few days prior to embarkation in Barcelona to adjust to the time change so we were starting the cruise fresh and ready to go - highly recommend if you can do that! Helped with overall attitudes to not be grumpy and tired lol. There were definitely long bus rides for the tours but the boys slept on them so it worked for us. We are doing the British Isles cruise this September and the boys are so excited to go again. It’s a good age to start introducing the world! We have done a few Caribbean cruises with them and they talk more about the Med then any of those for what it’s worth