For some reason I thought cruising with the twins (age 4) would be similar to the days when I cruised without children…HA HA. We survived the cruise and even enjoyed some parts. Overall I’d give the experience a 7 out of 10; partly because of my overexpectations and partly because I was underprepared. Here are my tips if you’re considering a similar trip for your family to help you get that 10 out of 10 experience.
Enjoying ice cream in Mykonos
For context, we chose the family-friendly and affordable cruise line MSC.
- 7 day cruise leaving from Venice with stops in Italy, Greece, and Croatia.
- We got the most basic package – which includes all meals plus water, juice, and coffee (but not really – more on that below). 🙄
- We chose MSC specifically because of their free childcare on board; there are kids clubs for all ages, and you can even leave your kids in their care while you go to shore. The twins loved the mini club and we loved having some adult time.
- My budget for the entire trip was €4,000, which included the 7 day cruise for the four of us (me, my husband, and my 4-year-old twins), flights for us to and from Venice, and our hotel in Venice. I believe the final cost ended up just under that amount (flights were more expensive than I had anticipated).
Our cruise itinerary
Quick tips when planning your cruise
- The earlier you book your cruise in the season, the cheaper it is – if we had booked just one week earlier in June the price was €500 cheaper. This is because kids aren’t out of school yet and the weather is less predictable. Keep in mind that June is *usually* a great time to travel, and temperatures get upwards of 30°C (80°F).
- Wait to get your drink packages – in the weeks before the cruise all of the drink packages were discounted. You could purchase drink packages through the website after completing online check-in. Don’t buy anything upfront—you can always add packages later on.
- “Free refreshments” aren’t always free – while water, juice and coffee were included with the buffet, whenever we sat down at the restaurant included on our plan, we were charged for anything we drank including bottled water. While not the end of the world, I was still annoyed because I hadn’t expected to be charged for this (water was €3.50 a bottle).
- Free childcare is a must – I am SO GLAD we had childcare on this ship. There were lots of activities planned for the kids and it gave Javi and I a nice break to enjoy dinner or go ashore by ourselves. There was childcare available from 9:30am – 11pm on days we docked; days at sea offered the same schedule but had a small break midday from 1pm – 3pm for the staff.
- Bunk beds don’t always have bars – in our room we had a double bed for us and two elevated bunk beds for the kids. There wasn’t a proper barrier for the kids’ beds so we made due with towels and pillows…Noa fell on me one night (and scared the shi*t out of me) —so just keep this in mind if you’ve got toddlers.
Our cruise cabin…notice anything missing from the twins’ bunks? 😱
What will I do differently for the next cruise?
- I would try to book earlier in June or at the end of May—the prices are so much cheaper, there’s usually good weather, and it’s not the high season just yet, so there are slightly less tourists at each destination.
- On the last day of the cruise I will have an early flight booked that day and have transport arranged from the boat to the airport directly. We had to wait in Venice until 5pm for our flight; the kids were exhausted, it was in the high 90°Fs, and we were ready to get home.
- I will purchase a basic drink package next time; perhaps the thing we missed most was good coffee and it hurt my heart to pay €7 for one each day on board. 😂
- I’ll book a newer boat; the MSC Sinfonia was fine, but lounges and bars were secluded and cut off from other areas; this made the boat feel a bit deserted at times. I missed being able to sit and people-watch. Also there was a cigarette holder in my bathroom if that gives any indication of the age of the ship (lol).
- I might book a shorter cruise in the future; the 7 day itinerary was quite nice, and the kids enjoyed our time on the ship, but I think I would actually like to go to a destination for a 2 – 3 days, and then take a shorter 3 – 5 day cruise. It will depend on the itinerary and the ship, but this is something I’ll explore for next time.
- I would consider booking MSC again; their staff was outstanding and childcare top-notch.
Trying to get toddlers to look at the camera be like…
Tips for Mediterranean cruise destinations
I had considered bringing a stroller with us…at times I wish I had it (when the kids were having a heat-induced meltdown), but overall it would have been nearly impossible to use the stroller in the destinations listed below; these ancient cities aren’t exactly stroller friendly, and I doubt our double stroller would have fit under the bed in our cabin.
Venice
- The passenger cruise terminal is a 5 minute walk to a ‘people carrier train’ that can take you to and from Piazza de Roma (€1.50 and kids ride free). There are machines where you can buy tickets. I also read there are ferries nearby (although we didn’t use this option). Otherwise take a taxi.
- If you use public transport in Venice (like a tram or bus) make sure to validate your ticket—there are ‘officials’ looking to trap tourists and charge you a ridiculous amount of money for not validating your timestamped ticket that literally says ‘valid for 75 minutes’ on it. 🙄 We told them to mail the ‘fine’ to us in Spain…we’ll see if it ever arrives, from what I read online it’s super unlikely (they’re not actual police officers and it’s not like a traffic violation).
- There is a ‘tourist tax’ collected if you’re visiting Venice during certain days of the year. If you’re staying at a hotel in the city you should be exempt from the tax (your hotel will have a QR code for you). Learn more here. Officials wait at various entrances of the city to scan your QR code, if you haven’t paid, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal—you can pay for it right then and there from your phone if needed.
Not photographed…Noa face-planting off the bridge and getting a black eye
Piraeus (Athens)
- You can take a taxi from the port in Piraeus to the Acropolis directly. It cost us about €15 each way. Book taxis with Uber to make sure you pay a fair amount; there are taxis waiting at the port, but they can charge you whatever they want.
- Like the Alhambra, you need a designated visiting time to see the Acropolis. If you don’t book tickets in advance you risk not having a time slot before your ship leaves. Book your tickets in advance (costs around €30) if possible or book an excursion with the ship.
- Note there are tour guides at the Acropolis who have tickets and take people every hour or so – they charge €20 for the ticket and €30 for the tour. We ended up going with one of these guides because tickets were sold out for the morning.
- Here are some more tips for your visit to Athens; I had visited the Acropolis Museum during a previous trip to the city and would highly recommend it!
Noa was a greek goddess in her past life apparently
Mykonos
- You can take a Seabus boat (€2) from the new port (where ships disembark) to the old port (city center). Keep in mind when returning to your ship lots of other people will have the same idea, so don’t wait until the last minute to return as you might have to wait for the next boat.
- Do not try to walk from the new port to the old port—there is no sidewalk and it’s dangerous with all the traffic. Take a taxi if you don’t want to use the Seabus.
- We did this city with kids; it’s small and walkable albeit super crowded…there were some gorgeous restaurants and bars I wouldn’t take the kids to however (they were precariously close to the water) and lots of nice shops, so if you could do this one without small humans I’d go for it.
*cue the Spider-Man theme song*
Split
- We enjoyed our free walking tour in Split—we learned a lot about the city and I would recommend doing one yourself if possible.
- I’m glad we left the kids on the ship the day we visited Split; it was a very hot 15 minute walk to the center (the tantrums would have begun then and there), there were lots of stairs (forget the stroller), and getting the twins to stay still during the tour would have been impossible.
Moments before dropping them at the kids’ club 😛
Brindisi
- You can walk around this city in an hour or less. It’s pretty, but I’d book an excursion to one of the surrounding areas if you have the option.
- We didn’t take the kids here, but it appeared to be the most stroller-friendly city.
Enjoying adult time while the kids are at the mini-club 🍾
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