A couple of summers ago, my wife and I cruised with our kids on the Baltic Sea. We experienced wonderful ports and long summer days, with the sky never getting completely dark. Watching the sun set (at midnight!) from our veranda, it seemed that summer would never end.For nearly 10 years, a Baltic cruise had been on our list of “must-do” travel.
We debated whether our kids, ages 8 and 10, were too young for their first trip to Europe but decided that the Baltic was kid-friendly and had enough amusement parks to provide relief from the cultural and educational aspects of the trip (Copenhagen’s Tivoli; Legoland, on a shore tour from Arhus; and Junibacken, the Pippi Longstocking amusement in Stockholm.)
It turned out that we were not alone in bringing our children. Our ship was carrying 150 kids, and up to 300 on cruises in the following weeks.
The fact that there were so many kids on board was no coincidence. Increasingly, cruise lines are making more of a play for families looking to explore the Continent’s cultural centers. And the coming summer is no exception as the cruise lines are deploying record numbers of ships in Europe.
European cruising is appealing for families and extended families, as cruises provide plenty of fun at sea as well as in port.
Today, dedicated youth and teen rooms are priorities on cruise ships. Not only are they spacious, but they are outfitted with all the toys that kids love at home — computer games and PlayStation as well as some unique features that will be new to the even most well-equipped tykes. Having lots to do on board is particularly important for some of those younger travelers who are still learning some of the finer points of being a tourist.
But perhaps more than any destination, a cruise to Europe is all about the port visits, which provide access to great cities, historic places and marvelous museums to be found on itineraries in Northern Europe, the eastern and western Mediterranean, and the Baltic Sea.
A cruise to any of these regions is sure to create lifetime memories. What do our kids remember most about our Baltic cruise?
“The Ice Bar,” says my daughter. The Absolut Ice Bar, situated in Stockholm’s Nordic Sea Hotel, is made of mostly of ice imported from the Torne River in northern Sweden.
We donned thermal capes, gloves and shoes (provided with the cost of admission) before entering a set of air-lock doors that led into the icy realms of what must be one of the world’s most unusual bars. Once inside, I sipped Absolut vodka from a glass made of ice.
“Tallinn [Estonia],” says my son. “I like the Old Town and the church.”
Tallinn’s Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The church was St. Olav’s, the world’s tallest building until the late 1800s. We climbed the circular staircase for spectacular views of the Old Town below.
Lucky kids. They saw a part of the world that I had only dreamed of when I was their age. - Ralph Grizzle
