<p>My husband and I are thinking of taking our two children ( ages 18 and 24) on a cruise in early June. We have never been on a cruise. Currently, we are thinking of going on a 10-12 night Mediterranean cruise on the Celebrity line and staying in adjoining cabins.</p>
<p>I would love to hear from anyone who has taken this type of trip as a family. My concerns are that it will be exhausting and crowded. What have your experiences been like taking the family on a cruise in June?</p>
<p>We have never done a summer cruise, but [Cruise</a> Reviews, Cruise Deals and Cruises - Cruise Critic](<a href=“http://www.cruisecritic.com%5DCruise”>http://www.cruisecritic.com) is a great source of information. It’s the college confidential of the cruise world.</p>
<p>I was also contemplating a Mediterranean cruise and the very end of May on either Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. As far as the crowds go, it really depends on how late in June you are planning to go. I’m sure there will be crowds but I don’t really think it would be a problem. If you do your research and maybe even schedule private tours at some of the more popular destinations it should be fine. I believe on the 12 night cruise you will have 2 sea days, so you would be able to relax from all the sightseeing.</p>
<p>Good Luck with you planning!</p>
<p>“My concerns are that it will be exhausting and crowded.”</p>
<p>This is going to depend on the line, the particular ship, and your own tolerance/taste. In general, the more you pay, the more space per person you will get throughout the ship. Smaller ships may feel less crowded, especially if they follow an itinerary where the bigger ships don’t go. Going to a smallish port with 2-5000 fellow passengers is likely to feel crowded. Family-related exhaustion aside, you can usually find a quiet place to read a book if that’s how you prefer to spend your day.</p>
<p>We took a Mediteranean cruise the first 2 weeks in July last summer on the Celebrity Solstice with our college age kids. We all loved it.</p>
<p>The ship holds around 2600 people and we were amazed that we NEVER felt crowded. It’s a beautiful ship - we also had adjoining rooms and it’s designed that each cabin has a door and there’s a small “lobby” area and then another set of doors to the hallway so we were able to shut the doors to the hallway but have our room doors open when we wanted to visit back and forth (and close them at night when we wanted privacy). Very good sound control too - we never heard our kids or the other neighbors. We were also able to open the divider on the balcony between our rooms so we could go back and forth that way as well.</p>
<p>The only downside was it was very hot in Europe last summer (yes, the US too!) and there were crowds to deal with especially in Venice. I’d rather have gone in September but no one in our family can do that so we “suffered”!!</p>
<p>Feel free to ask questions.</p>
<p>We took a Baltic Sea cruise in early June a few years ago. Early June tends to be more of a ‘shoulder season’ - meaning crowds are starting to pick up but don’t hit full season into late June. </p>
<p>We were on a Holland America cruise. The only time it felt crowded was in the cafe in the mornings when we were in port because everyone was trying to grab breakfast before they left the ship. And, of course, the dining room at night.</p>
<p>Exhausting, yes. Have never taken a trip abroad that didn’t leave us exhausted but that’s because we try to see as much as possible knowing it’s not likely we will be back. Having said that we are never afraid to say ’ enough is enough for today’ and head back to the ship or hotel. You just have to prioritize and when you get tired, call it quits. On sea days, you can relax and do as little or as much as you want. Cruising gives you a nice balance, IMO.</p>
<p>This will be very hot. I went on vacation in June one time, never again. I would pay more, I cannot enjoy outside when it is that hot. Cruise was fun one time we went.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input! We are planning our cruise for early June so it will hopefully be less crowded and not terribly hot. Keeping my fingers crossed !</p>
<p>I might choose a shorter itinerary for my first cruise. I always have a good time, but it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. You might start out with a 7-night, rather than a 10-12 night, run to see if you like it.</p>
<p>I would also choose a 6 to 8 day cruise for your first time out. Holland America would have fewer kids on board than say Carnival or Royal Caribbean. Last June, we cruised the Mexican Riviera on Carnival with our two kids, ages 21 and 18, and they loved it. We had to book our two cabins in my wife’s and my name but once on the ship your two kids can share a cabin so they can come and go as they please. The year before that, we went on an Alaskan cruise with the family. Since we live on the West Coast, Mexico and Alaska are easy destination points. The cabins also tend to be smaller on Royal Caribbean compared to Carnival and Holland America, the only other cruise lines I’ve been on. From my kid’s perspective, they prefer Carnival over RCCL and HAL. From an adult perspecitve, I prefer HAL over the other two, with Carnival as the runner-up to HAL.</p>
<p>I love cruising because it’s low stress. I unpack once and I don’t have to lift a finger. We look for itineraries where the ship moves at night and then stops for an entire day at least and we always get a balcony. These days you can eat when you want, pretty much dress how you want depending on the line and they are very much like very nice floating hotels. Neither H nor I like crowds but we’ve never been on a cruise where we didn’t find plenty of noncrowded paces to hang out, eat or catch sun.</p>
<p>Look for itineraries; some of the places are not really good opportunities to see cities as much as one would like - getting to Rome from the port city is a hassle; Athens from Pireaus is doable; Venice is easy, and so on. </p>
<p>See what is available and where they stop and decide from there. Also the weather may be way too hot depending how far south you go and how used you are :-)</p>
<p>My Sister and her family did a Disney Cruise to Alaska in mid-June a few years ago. I’m sure it’s a lot cooler than Europe in June. The scenery was spectacular according to all, and they had a great time.</p>
<p>I have been on about 5 cruises - I’m not a huge fan, but my husband is. I strongly urge you not to do a 10-12 day as your first time out. We did one that long and it was all retirees – those are the people who have the time to take more than a week’s worth of vacation. You’ll want to stick with 7 days to get a less geriatric crowd. Having said that, I doubt you want a party boat either. I have been on Princess and Royal Caribbean - RC had more of a party boat atmosphere. I’ve heard good things about Holland America. Cruises are a specific taste - you’ll either become a real fan or chalk it up to “ok, tried that.” I hope you have a pleasant time!</p>
<p>Oh - if budget permits, have one room be some kind of suite or large balcony so that all 4 of you can hang out there if you need a break from the rest of the ship. We stuck our kids in an indoor room, but you won’t want both rooms to be indoor facing.</p>