Summer Cruise Around Mediterranean
It was me, Clay, Hayes and my mom. I love traveling and will use any excuse to book a trip. My mom celebrated her 60th birthday in May, it was my first Mother's Day and Clay's first Father's Day... so that was already enough of a reason but then when I went to book the dates and realized the cruise departed exactly on Hayes' 6 month birthday... I was completely invested in making this trip come to life! It's truly so special that everyone is healthy, able-bodied and in a good place where we can create these memories together. Even though traveling abroad with a new baby in the heat of the summer poses a challenge ~ it's so worth it to me.
We set sail in Marseille, France then went to Livorno, Italy then Cagliari, Sardinia then to Palermo and then the island of Malta. A day at sea and it finished in Barcelona, Spain. To begin the the trip, we flew from Amsterdam to Marseille and spent a day there. Marseille is quite a city. It has a very unique international feel with a creative heartbeat. We stayed in a gorgeous old restorated boutique hotel.
Once we boarded the cruise ship, we got settled into our rooms, activated our cruise cards and scoped out the dining halls. The ship was super stroller friendly. We were even able to bring his stroller into the restaurants and dining halls which made meal times easier. I booked us a room with a balcony and I'm super grateful I did because it was nice to have the ocean view during nap times. Plus, with the door open it was the perfect white noise and the fresh air felt amazing.
Then the cruise ship took us to Livorno, Italy. We took a (very expensive) private transfer to Florence. We did a pasta making class in Florence that was super fun and a highlight of the trip. They let us bring Hayes which was really sweet. Of course we had to see the Duomo and do a little vintage shopping as well. That being said, since this was the first day of the cruise ship docking, we were still getting a hang of how to get on and off the boat, how to time everything, what to pack on the day trips, etc. This was the only destination where we had to take a long transfer from the docking area into the city. Truthfully, it was hard to be present as we were worried about making it back in time. The private transfer was $250 roundtrip which was a lot as we only had 4 hours in the city and an hour at a lookout point (but it was very beautiful). If I could redo the cruise, this is the one day I would do differently. I think I would skip going into Florence and just book a separate trip to Florence where I had at least 2-3 days to spend. Live and learn!
The next few days we island hopped. I really enjoyed the vibe on these islands. Part of Sardinia is the blue zone (a specific region in the world where people live remarkably long and healthy lives, with a high number of individuals reaching age 100 or older) so that was a bucklist experience. We had a great time exploring the food stalls in Sicily and wandering the old streets in Malta. Did you know the temples in Malta are older than the pyramids?! Malta was amazing. I would love to go back for a week or two. It's so relaxed, gorgeous and has a lot of options for tourists despite being so tiny.
After our day at sea, we docked in Barcelona. I've been to Barcelona before but this was the first time for my mom and Clay. We were all pretty tired and the heat wave wasn't helping so Clay and my mom explored while I hung with Hayes at the hotel.
To finish the trip, we took an overnight bus from Barcelona back to Marseille. I was shocked how well Hayes did sleeping on a bus from 11pm to 7am. He just slept right on my lap. My body was a little sore the next but I was impressed how all of us handled it. When we got to Marseille, we put our suitcases in luggage lockers at the station, freshened up and got some coffee.
We all really wanted to visit the fishing village of Cassis, which is about an hour by train so we packed a day bag in the stroller. This was another spot that I'd love to return to with more time. The water was stunning. The upscale vibe of the town was really enchanting and the scenery was breathtaking.
All in all, it was a great way to explore multiple countries that would have taken us a decade if we had to plan individual trips to each one. We aren't sure how long we are living in Europe so we wanted to capitalize on seeing a few places as a family. I'm so grateful my mom was able to join. Seeing her with Hayes is such a treat.
We booked with MSC cruise line. I don't have a lot of experiences with cruises so I'm not sure how much I can speak to whether it was a "good" or "bad" cruise company. We were happy with everything and felt like the price matched the experience. Our rooms were kept very clean. There was a wide variety of food at the buffets. The gym was super nice. We loved being on the pool deck for sunrise and sunset. The staff was super kind and helpful with Hayes. I would book with them again.