Since my husband and I are self-employed and my kids get eight weeks off school for summer, we are trying to make sure we get a long vacation in June. This year, we spent three weeks in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland and had a blast. I was thinking up something similar for next year, but also wanted to take the kids to some countries they haven’t visited. As most of you with kids know, the logistics of traveling with a family can be challenging, so I had some trouble figuring out what to do.
For example, we really wanted to go to a few cities in Croatia this year, and we wanted to go to some Greek Islands since our last Greece trip was all over the mainland but we were alone without the kids. We also wanted to spend some time in Italy, because duh, I love Italy.
Eventually, I stumbled onto the idea of booking a Mediterranean cruise, mostly to cover the logistical side of what we wanted to do. Before our cruise, we’ll spend a week in Bologna, San Marino, and Venice. After our cruise, we’re spending a week on the Amalfi Coast in an Airbnb in Praiano. (I booked this condo in case you’re interested!)
Our Cruise Details
While we considered a few different cruise lines, we ultimately chose to go with MSC Cruises because it was so affordable and we really liked a few of their itineraries.
For the cruise we chose, we’ll start in Alcona, Italy before visiting Venice, Split, Santorini, Mykonos for two days, and Dubrovnik. After our cruise, we’ll take a train to Naples then head to the Amalfi Coast from there.
I was really happy that, for this cruise, we were able to find Flying Blue availability into Venice and home from Naples. It cost us 200,000 Flying Blue miles plus around $600 for our flights.
I’m also glad that we were able to pay for some of our cruise with miles from our Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard. While I couldn’t cover all of it, I covered most of the $2,300 expense.
Why I Booked a Mediterranean Cruise
We’ve only been on one cruise in the past, and I did enjoy it. But the real reason I booked this cruise is because I thought it was a financially smart way to go where we wanted without too much hassle or stress.
Our cruise will be eight days and seven nights, and we will get to take the kids to a few beach destinations and cool cities. We will only have to pack and unpack once, however (versus making multiple hotel stops), which is huge when you’re traveling with kids.
The “Fantastica” experience we chose also includes some other perks:
- Upgraded stateroom location
- Free breakfast in bed
- Additional kid’s classes
- Kid’s club
- 12 free drink vouchers per person
- Flexible, inclusive dining
Obviously, we’ll also get a lot of our meals on-board, which will help us save even more. And I love the fact that MSC offers a kid’s club. We probably won’t use it a lot since our cruise is so busy, but it might be nice to drop them off in the club for a few nice dinners.
But the most impressive part was the price. Including all taxes and fees, this cruise was around $2,300. That includes lodging, most meals, and transportation from Italy to Croatia to Greece. Since there are four of us and we tend to rent bigger places, it would be difficult to book hotels for that much if we were doing a land-based trip. With a cruise, on the other hand, so much more is included in the price.
The Bottom Line
Cruising can be an affordable way to travel, but it can also make a lot of sense in terms of planning and minimizing travel time as well. While I wasn’t really looking for a cruise, we wound up booking this one anyway. And now that most of the logistics are planned out for me, I can focus on planning the rest of our trip.
Have you ever been on a Mediterranean Cruise? If so, did you enjoy it?
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