Disney European cruise with 9 & 7 year-olds?

[ngl]

Wanted to get feedback regarding European cruises for children that are 9 & 7. (Actually would be 10 & 8 when we cruise).

2 Disney Cruises (both on Dream Concierge). Loved it. Looking for different itinerary. Contemplating European ones but looking at the excursions not sure my kids are old enough yet to enjoy the tours, etc. (Would personally love to see Northern Europe!) The Bahamas/Caribbean cruises are "easy" in the sense of having all the beach related excursions to keep them active and busy. Just was not clear on the European ones based on the excursions I could see for those ports.

Would like any input if anyone has taken kids of this age on these cruises and if so, what were your overall thoughts? Thank you!

 

[Shanti]

Wanted to get feedback regarding European cruises for children that are 9 & 7. (Actually would be 10 & 8 when we cruise).

2 Disney Cruises (both on Dream Concierge). Loved it. Looking for different itinerary. Contemplating European ones but looking at the excursions not sure my kids are old enough yet to enjoy the tours, etc. (Would personally love to see Northern Europe!) The Bahamas/Caribbean cruises are "easy" in the sense of having all the beach related excursions to keep them active and busy. Just was not clear on the European ones based on the excursions I could see for those ports.

Would like any input if anyone has taken kids of this age on these cruises and if so, what were your overall thoughts? Thank you!

I've not done a European cruise, but will put in my 2 cents as a mom and teacher that I personally would wait until the kids are in their teens to take them to Europe. Maybe try Alaska if you want a different yet kid-friendly itinerary? But it's your vacation. If you really want to cruise to Europe now, go for it.

 

[o&smom]

Go for it! We have taken our kids on European Disney cruises since our son had just turned 7 and our daughter was only three months old. It is a great way to give them a taste of European cities and history without being too overwhelming. They always get to return to the ship and have kid time. We do look at port adventures differently than if it were just my husband and myself. We try to research some things that would be more interesting for them. We also alternate a really long day like Rome with something less intense for the next day. Cosmo Caixa in Barcelona was a big hit with them and they keep talking about going back. They had a great time at the maritime museum in Estonia. They never wanted to leave Junibakken in Stockholm, but also enjoyed time at Skansen. Our youngest still talks about our time in Scotland where we visited ancient standing stones. She remembers the sheep with blue paint on them that kept doing what sheep do in fields. Watch your step! Kids will remember your overall experiences in slightly different ways, but they will be great memories for your whole family.

 

[aggiedog]

It's like the age old discussion of how old kids should be before going to WDW. When will they be old enough to "appreciate" it? There is never a single right answer.

We travel extensively, and have since our kids were relatively young. They don't remember everything, and they can certainly synthesize certain things better as they get older. After AP World History in HS, my teens were teaching me things on our Baltic Cruise. That said, I think even young kids still come back with at the very least an understanding that the world is a big place, full of lots of different people, much of it just as nice as at home even if it is different. The Baltic probably offers a bit more on the activities side, whereas the Med is more history/architecture. The Med is also hot, and the port days are long. If you want to go to enjoy the ship, I wouldn't do DCL Med without making the conscious decision not to fully use your port days.

When we travel, we try to include activities for everyone. Youngest ds is not a museum fan, but he tolerates them, knowing his turn will come.

 

[Kate_45]

I personally would wait until the kids are in their teens to take them to Europe.

Ooops. Took my first to mainland Europe aged 10 weeks. Had an amazing time sightseeing.
(My second was older on his first European holiday, but only because we took him to Africa and Asia first)

I don't think any places can be ruled out for kids of any age. It's all about what you do there. You know what sort of activities and pace suit your kids and you can find them wherever you go in the world. Some countries may be culturally more welcoming to children than others but if anything Italy is right there at the top of kid friendly cultures.​

 

[Kate_45]

Sorry, only just noticed you said northern Europe, not med.
There's a really nice trip report I read on here I think about a Norway cruise with a little girl. They went to oil museums right by the port and climbed hills to go on troll slides. It might be worth having a flick through for inspiration. I think the Baltic would be even better as the boat moors right by the cities of interest so can just head on in off your own back and go to whatever kid friendly venue appeals to you before roaming the cobbled streets at your own pace holding an ice cream. (Except in St Petersburg)

You'll find links like this for most places the ship stops at so just have a read through and get excited at the potential. https://www.familywithkids.com/en/e...-kids-things-do-whole-family-vacation-estonia

 

[deanimal]

We did a non Disney Northern Europe cruise with our 7 and 8 year old this summer and had a wonderful time. It was their 5th trip to Europe in the past four years and we've enjoyed every one of them. Scandinavia felt especially kid friendly with clean cities, English on all the signs and great kids activities at pretty much every sight. We actually only did a cruise excursion once, in St Petersburg where it was required. In all the other cities we just went into town and explored on our own. Oslo has a great viking ship museum, a fun harbour front area and a huge pedestrian shopping street leading up to a palace with beautiful gardens. Talinn Estonia was like a fairytale village and was great fun to just poke around. Stockholm had a huge folk village with a zoo and English speaking guides to teach kids how to churn butter, card wool, use a slate in a traditional school, etc. There was also an amazing 17th century galleon with a museum built around it and the national museum had a kids' Viking settlement in the courtyard with games, dress up clothes and armour, all kinds of things. Helsinki was maybe the least interesting stop for the kids but even there the small city museum had a fun, hands on kids area. And Copenhagen had more than we could do in the four days we were there: the aquarium, harbour boats, zoo, children's museum, rides at Tivoli Gardens (not Disneyland in any sense, but very quaint and lots of fun), and of course a huge Lego store!

We felt perfectly comfortable doing all these things on our own, but I'm sure you could do an excursion to most of them if you're more comfortable with that. Overall, we felt that 7 and 8 was the perfect age to visit Northern Europe; young enough to still enjoy all the hands on stuff like trying on armour and raising the rigging on the Viking ship, but old enough to understand a bit about the history of the area and able to walk a bit and try new things. Reading Pippi Longstocking and Horrible Histories and stuff before the trip helped a lot with this. The one thing my kids didn't appreciate in Northern Europe, though, was the scenery. We took a Silja Lines mini cruise from Olso to Copenhagen and passed some of the loveliest views I've ever seen. The kids couldn't care less. I'm very glad we did the Baltic itinerary for our main cruise instead of the Norwegian Fjords. Cities win over scenery for my family at this age for sure. I would tell anyone who had the chance to take their kids to Scandinavia to go for it!

 

[PHamrick]

We are doing your exact itinerary! My boy will be 9 and the girl 7 when we sail on the Magic this summer in Northern Europe. We are adding on Amsterdam to the beginning and extending Copenhagen at the back end. We took them to London and Edinburgh over Thanksgiving and the jet lag took a day or two to adjust, but they were great! Only you can really know if your kids are good travelers or not. I, personally, wouldn't wait. Here's why: the more the travel, the more they will be good travelers. They will be able to navigate airports, deal with delays, be understanding of the vagaries of travel. All of that flexibility and experience will be invaluable to them.

I'll put my two cents in as a mom and a teacher too. Travel is about more than just remembering it later. It's about building shared experiences with your family. It's about playing cards on a long layover and being bored together. It's getting on each other's nerves and laughing your heads off together. It's about the wonder you all share in seeing something amazing and new...and the hilarity of trying new foods that turn out to be horrible. In short, waiting until a kid is old enough to "remember" the trip reduces travel to being a scrapbook. It is way more than that. And that is coming from someone who takes upwards of 2000 pictures on a one-week trip. I say go. Go as often as you can afford. Go while they still like hanging out with you before they become surly teenagers (which is whom I teach). Go before you can't go anymore.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

We took our 4 year old on the Northern Europe cruise this past May (our first Disney cruise and her first time in Europe). We had a great time! We didn’t do excursions because we are comfortable touring cities on our own (but we booked a private car tour in St. Petersburg), and she actually stayed on the boat while my husband and I went to Helsinki. We LOVED Copenhagen, but we also were blessed with great weather during our five days there.

We had fun; she had fun; it was a blast - and now we have two more cruises booked and plan to take a (non-cruise) trip to England with her next year.

 

[SDJEL]

I would echo what other posters have said about making sure that you include some activities that are only for them. We went to a Lego exhibit in London this past summer. We also did a cruise on a canal in Bath so we could tea on a boat that shared a name with my daughter. Our strategy on these trips is to make sure that everybody gets to pick at least one thing they really want to do. Not everybody is happy with all the activities, but I am often surprised at how much fun we have. It ends up being a great experience for the kids as well. Instead of art museums, we have gone to science museums in other countries.

I think the key thing is to make sure that everybody gets to do something that they like. You never know what you’ll like and you will learn something. I was surprised when my son was reading signs in Latin at Hadrian’s Wall.

If it’s something you want to do, do it. I have learned the hard way that you never know if you actually have another chance.

 

[laceltris3]

We did Northern Europe last summer with kids 11, 8 and 6. We had an incredible time and Russia and Estonia were amazing. In Estonia we did an excursion that they had Disney Youth Actitivities staff come along and the adults and kids separated. The kids got a kid focused tour of the museums and did some art activities and the adults enjoyed their time as well. I’m happy to answer any questions.

 

[ngl]

We did Northern Europe last summer with kids 11, 8 and 6. We had an incredible time and Russia and Estonia were amazing. In Estonia we did an excursion that they had Disney Youth Actitivities staff come along and the adults and kids separated. The kids got a kid focused tour of the museums and did some art activities and the adults enjoyed their time as well. I’m happy to answer any questions.

Thanks so much for all these replies! I agree - a trip is what you make of it. We took our daughter to WDW at 9 months the first time and heard people say she was too young to enjoy it. We disagreed. However, we live 1 hr from WDW, FL resident annual passholders and DVC members so a trip there is not the investment as the cruise to Northern Europe would be (and not sure when we would do it again) so I guess we are thinking about it a little more than we typically do with other trips.

laceltris3 - SO happy to hear about your experience. Did you do excursions daily? Of course, a lot seemed to focus on museums and walking tours and was not sure if that would hold their attention but it is Disney so figured they would find a way to make it work! Any further input about the trip would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[msmama]

Did Norway/Iceland last year with my 9 year old and it was awesome. I personally liked that it was mostly outdoor adventures which is why I chose it over Northern Europe.
I would love to do the Med but I didn’t think he’d appreciate it at that age (plus it was a lot of long days). I feel like there were a lot of kids between 7-12 on that trip.

 

[KalamityJane]

We did the EBTA with our then 4, 6 and 8yo kids (stopped in the UK twice, Amsterdam and Copenhagen). I loved it. It was our first cruise with DCL, kid's first cruise ever, and I wish we had slept more on the TA portion so we could really enjoy Europe, but other than that, it was amazing <3

 

[laceltris3]

We did excursions win every port,but tried to balance museums with more fun options. In a Stockholm we spit up and the younger did the Vasa museum and I did the Ice Bar with the oldes. Finland we did the reindeer excursion. Russia was Catherine’s palace and the Hermitage, a long day but amazing. And we did the Art & Architecture for families. Honestly, Finland was kind of dull and we had a terrible tour guide who literally talked for half an hour about saunas, so if I were going to skip an excursion I would do it there or Stockholm.

 

[jlferg69]

We took our young daughter twice to Europe. First trip was the north Baltic 12 night out of Dover she was 5, then this past summer we did the 11 night British Isle and she was 7. She did great. Took her on all the excursions with us. One of the cool excursions that we did was the Vasa ship. This has a great kids hands on experience. Only you know your children and what they can handle. Our daughter did want to spend more time in Kids club. Good luck with your decisions.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

I haven't taken my kids to Europe, but we do travel with them a lot, as my parents did with me. We took our children to Hawaii when they were 2 and 3.5. Do they remember it? Just a few images plus the pictures they have, but they remember when they used to remember it. Plus, it changes the way they think of themselves as people. "We are lifelong travelers!" "We went to Hawaii when were were toddlers!" Each trip builds on that self-image, and re-reinforces the idea that they can handle anything and that new experiences are good. Next summer (at 16 and 17) we are sending them on a two-week school trip to Europe without us, and we know they will be ready for it because of the preparation they have had. So for us, it doesn't matter if they can "fully appreciate" it. They still get a lot out of it. Having said that, Shanti has a point too, you could do other trips now and save Europe until they are older/have more stamina.

Have fun! Sounds like you have a great attitude towards it and that is 99% of it already.

 

[Macprincess]

As a Mom with older children 19, 17 and 14 I say go now while you are able. I wish I had done more traveling with my children when they were younger. As they got older school and sports have consumed our lives. It seems like every school break and all of our summers are spent at someones games or sports tournaments these days. A good portion of our fun money goes to sports too. I love sitting in the stands and watching them play. I wouldn't miss it for anything. Yet, I do wish I had known then what life would be like now. I would have traveled more with them while the opportunities presented its self instead of thinking it would be best to wait until they were older and would appreciate it. My eldest is away at college now and my middle child leaves next August. It really does go by super fast. It feels like yesterday that they were babies. You will not regret making these memories with your children.

 

[ngl]

As a Mom with older children 19, 17 and 14 I say go now while you are able. I wish I had done more traveling with my children when they were younger. As they got older school and sports have consumed our lives. It seems like every school break and all of our summers are spent at someones games or sports tournaments these days. A good portion of our fun money goes to sports too. I love sitting in the stands and watching them play. I wouldn't miss it for anything. Yet, I do wish I had known then what life would be like now. I would have traveled more with them while the opportunities presented its self instead of thinking it would be best to wait until they were older and would appreciate it. My eldest is away at college now and my middle child leaves next August. It really does go by super fast. It feels like yesterday that they were babies. You will not regret making these memories with your children.

Thank you Macprincess! Completely agree and mine are only 9 and 7 but know the clock is ticking. We take big vacations for Spring Break, Summer, and Thanksgiving every year (along with various long weekends to Disney!) and people always ask why we are on the go so much but I keep telling them that those days are numbered so we are doing all we can now before we can't. We like to try new things so always interested in learning about others' experiences.

 

[anjuan]

I agree with Macprincess that it gets harder to find the time to go as they get older. We're going on a Med cruise in June and with my daughter in middle school it was hard to find a good time during the summer since she's a swimmer. I know it's only going to get harder once she is in high school and even wants to be doing more during breaks and the summer with her friends.