Med Cruise vs. Quaint, Enchanting Small Towns/Villages
 

We are currently scheduled for a 7 day Mediterranean cruise but are having second thoughts because:
A) expensive excursions
B) either crowded ports in a very short time period (Santorini and Athens) or ports with little interest to us (Brindisis and Katakolon).
C) big crowds on board

Option B is to start searching for quaint, small towns/villages that are full of ambience such as Brugge, Stow-on-the-Wold, Rothenberg and Siena which are all places we've been to in the past. We have 10 to 14 days for the trip and are open to flying into any airport. We do have 2 kids which is why we originally booked the cruise to begin with. Any and all comments and suggestions are welcomed. Your valuable insight is greatly appreciated …. thanks!

What time of year is this for?

If you are not interested in places like Athens, Olympia, Matera or Alberobello, the mentioned cruise might not be the best solution.

summer

None of the places you have mentioned is a small, "quaint" village. They are all major, major tourist draws, which doesn't make them unappealing, but if your expectations really are for "quaint" and "villages" they don't measure up. There will be big crowds in all of those places, too. That said, it is easy enough to plan a visit to all or some of those places without taking a cruise, kids notwithstanding. Thousands upon thousands of people do it every year. It all depends on how much effort you want to put into it.

It's really apples and oranges. How old are the kids? The virtue of the cruise is that it minimizes logistical headaches - unpack once, no car hire or hotel searches required, plenty of food options, even for the pickiest eaters, baby sitting services if desired, kids' programs on most cruise lines (clubhouses, etc.) and generally cruises can be good value for money as long as you watch out for alcohol, the casino, or overpriced shore excursions.

As StCirq says, looking for "quaint" is the maniacal pursuit of millions of tourists, and their very presence can eliminate any "quaint" they came to see in the first place. How quaint is Brugges when you're swept up by a tide of fellow tourists who came for the same thing?

But that's not to say a land-based holiday has to be one where you're in the company of thousands of others. It's entirely possible to, for example, find a house to rent somewhere in rural France or Italy or in Scotland or someplace else, mount day trips to small villages or scenic sites, then return back to your house for the evening, having shopped in local markets or eaten in local bistros, pubs or cafes. You won't see as many places, but you might have greater insight into what small-village life is like. Get a house with a pool and the kids are likely to be happy beyond words.

But it's a choice you have to make following some research and work on your own.

Freedom to come and go as you please vs. trapped on a floating petri dish.

You need to think about that?

For small villages kept quaint consider the Dordogne and near-by areas. It also has castles and caves which might interest to both the adults and the children. Consider investing in the Michelin Green Guide for that area, or browse in a used bookstore for old Green Guides; the historical stuff has not changed much. Michelin produces a map of les plus beaux villages de France Map of the most beautiful villages of France

Les plus beaux villages de France - Site officiel which might be of some help planning a trip.

And here is a list of the villages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Pl...ages_de_France

To whet your appetite: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjpmUgbR

I don't know the ages of the children, but if they're small, and if you want a suggestion for cruise alternatives, the best idea is to find a rental in an area not overrun by tourists, but with interesting activities and sights nearby. Rent a car and take day trips. Michael has suggested the Dordogne region. In Italy, similar uncrowded but beautiful areas would be Umbria, Le Marche, and Abruzzo. The cost of a small villa and a car rental would probably be less than that of the cruise.

One of the main problems with cruises (and organized tours) is that you 'there' when everyone else is - so huge crowds. Santorini is a different place when the cruise ships leave - or if you have sufficient time to go visit some of the smaller (and they ARE truly 'quaint') villages. Which you don't if you only have a few hours off a cruise ship. You mentioned Rothenburg. We got there around 2 pm. It was a zoo. At about 4:30 it was like someone flipped a switch and we had the place to ourselves - till about 10 the next morning when the switch flipped again. Same with Durnstein in the Wachu Valley, Alberobello in Puglia, Stow-on-the-Wold, etc.

Quaint is little odd and I struggle to imagine what one does in such a place.

Still going on a cruise in the Med sound awful so what do I know?

"Summer" is also of little use in Europe as August is packed and yet June is delightful.

I'd look at either rivers, canoing, swimming, walking etc where the Dordogne/Tarn/Loire/Gironde all come into their own along with Mosel in Germany.
or
Secondary cities like York/Trier/Carcassonne/Siena/ or which there are loads. These let you see some old stuff, walk in the hills, cycle etc etc

Having had 1 big passenger ship experience, I now consider the prospect a fate worse than death, while fully aware that there are millions that love them. Hence their popularity with that segment of humanity. Anything/anywhere else would be comparative fun and it seems, from a quick scan of posts above mine, I’m not alone.

I have been on only one cruise, with my husband, and I probably wouldn't go on another until we're too doddery to travel independently. Still, I can see the advantages, especially to people who hate organizing independent travel, or who have traveled very little in their lifetimes. Our cruise included some cities in Italy, Greece, Turkey and Croatia. We saw some places that I almost certainly wouldn't have visited on an independent trip. We often ditched the organized tours and went about on our own, which helped us avoid most of the hordes.

So I wouldn't rule out a cruise, but, if expense is an issue to consider, almost any other type of holiday would have a more reasonable cost. Avoiding crowds is also much easier when traveling independently.

<<Quaint is little odd and I struggle to imagine what one does in such a place.>>

Well, I think where I live is actually what would fit the "quaint" model (it's a very silly word, though). We are in a hamlet of 112 residents, of which we are 2. There is no commerce with the exception of a prehistoric cave, which we live next door to. We are surrounded by farmers and manual laborers and elderly people and a few younger couples with vacation homes.

What do we do? What most other ordinary people do. We take care of our house and property We grow a garden and harvest food. We cook. We read. We stack wood and build fires in our fireplaces to keep ourselves warm in winter. We paint and decorate and fix things. We go into town every few days for supplies and to visit a café. We take regular excursions to other villages and towns in the region to discover new sights. We go to outdoor markets, which is where we buy most things we don't grow or make ourselves. We have doctors' appointments. We visit the butcher and the dry cleaner and the local electrical supply store. We engage workers to help us with projects on our land and in our house. We watch the news on TV most nights. We use the internet most days. We do a bit of consulting work overseas. We travel often.

It works just fine for us. But I doubt most vacationers/tourists would find our "quaintness" terribly appealing. If I were spending money on a European vacation I'd want more out of it than seeing some peasants like us pruning bushes.

Yeah, lots of pro's and con's for cruising: unpacking once, relaxation of cruising on the water, kids clubs. As mentioned, my biggest concern with cruising is being stuck walking around nondescript towns since we don't want to spend too much on excursions and also, as Isabel mentioned, only getting to see Santorini when the throngs are there. We've only been to Europe in the offseason and we've always spent the night so perhaps my perception of the towns mentioned is not what they are like in the summer.
I'm definitely going to check out the regions and websites mentioned, thank you all! More suggestions welcomed.

In England, we loved Durham and the surrounding area. In France, we enjoyed Nîmes and vicinity.

We traveled through France and Germany in August and September - the places we stayed were Mosel River Valley (apartment in Ellenz-Poltserdorf), Alsace (apartment in Kayserberg), and Burgundy (small house in Bligny-sur-Ouche). We made overnights stops in Reims, Strasbourg and Dijon. We had a car, and explored back roads, finding castles, farmhouse fromageries, vineyards, and a lot more. Had plenty of time for long leisurely walks in out-of-the-way villages.

I would recommend any of these places - or all of them - as they offer plenty of opportunities to explore the back roads at one's own pace. I think this kind of travel is much more rewarding than being on a cruise, although I have been on a few cruises and enjoyed them for what they were - more appropriate to the locations - i.e. Amazon River, Caribbean islands, inside passage Alaska. However - in the Caribbean and Alaska we did really feel the discomfort of "crowdedness" when in ports - realizing the days when the cruise ships were not there were likely much different.

Someone mentioned daytrippers, and I really agree with that. A place like Rothenburg is not fun until the tour busses/cruise crowds leave, and if you want to see that sort of thing, a cruise would be the very worst way to see it. I like the idea of the backroads- the most memorable places I saw were the harder to reach places. You could go by bus and train too though.

Have you considered just changing your cruise to one with stops that interest you? I’m not a cruise person in general, but there are routes that appeal more to me than others. Danube/Rhine River cruises, or Norway/Baltic for example. I can see the appeal of the cruise, but I don’t know why you want to go on that one if you don’t want excursions and you’re not excited about the itinerary.

I personally think kids would like sightseeing more flexible than that of a cruise ship but I might be biased as I didn’t like boats when I was little.

As mentioned, the initial allure of the cruise was the ease and relaxation combined with destinations we did want to see, such as Athens, Santorini and Venice but upon further consideration (watching YouTube videos from people who have taken the same cruise) we noticed that the short amount of time in port along with the crowds were more than I envisioned when booking. For instance, I wasn't thinking about loooong lines to get on a funicular and narrow passages in Oia being overrun by hoards of people....suddenly my dream trip started looking more and more line a nightmare:)
The Rhine, Mosel and Alsace region sound intriguing. Also, don't know much about the Loire and plan to look into the Dordogne.

The funicular at Fira is a terrible long and hot experience waiting on lines to board. I can't even imagine putting children through it let alone yourselves. Skip this cruise. Go to Naxos, Paros, Antiparos, Napflion and Crete and enjoy time with the family exploring and discovering Greek life.Athens too, of course