- I’m the oldest daughter, so every year I plan our family vacation.
- These trips left us with some success but also some trauma due to the different interests of each person.
- A Mediterranean cruise appeals to everyone.
Family vacation are one of those things I plan every year that spark excitement and nausea.
As the eldest daughter of my family with aging parents who, after a life of hustle, finally have the excess free time and assets necessary to go on vacation, I can play travel agent. The good news is that I don’t have a strict budget other than the desire, long instilled by my Asian parents, to score a good deal that won’t dent my eventual inheritance. The bad news? I have children whose ability to hold on and not completely fall apart depends on secret forces that even I, as a mother and psychologist, have yet to understand.
The trick, of course, is to go on vacation it only leaves behind lifelong memories (plus Instagrammable evidence, in case my kids tend to forget and start complaining about their lives again) but no estrangement or therapy.
To further complicate this 3D puzzle, my mother is an Anglophile who only wants to go to Europe and wander the cobblestone streets. My youngest son is a little kid who seems allergic to walking and only likes Asian food, while my oldest son is a teenager who thinks any of the above would interfere with his rizz (or his aura, or whatever what Zoomers call gravitas these days). My father, on the other hand, has no preference, except that we don’t spend more money than necessary.
We all enjoyed a cruise
Historically, this involved traveling – with varying levels of success/trauma – by train, plane and car, but our best multi-generational family trip to date happened during a week-long Mediterranean cruise last summer.
The Celebrity Edge ship we started sailing in Barcelona and finished in Rome. In seven days, he single-handedly convinced everyone in my family ages 6 to 68 that cruising was the perfect way to travel when there were both young children and elderly people.
Barcelona enchanted us as our port of departure for almost a week before boarding our ship. Any residual jet lag or weariness of older or younger family members by the time we dropped off at the cruise port evaporated as soon as we boarded. Much to everyone’s surprise and delight, the speed and lack of lines when boarding made airports and train stations seem like the DMV in comparison.
Once we got to our rooms, we were ready to sell our souls to become one of those permanent cruise lines that have their own monogrammed badges and dedicated lounges, although for different reasons: the adults marveled at the windows with ocean view (with a lounge area). in the larger of our two cabins) while the kids competed for the collectible necklace (with special colorful pendants to collect each day on board) that awaited them on the bed.
We all loved the food
A quick perusal of our dining options turned into Sophie’s Choice, albeit in the best possible way because instead of just one main dining spot, we were able to choose from four specialty restaurants that my parents couldn’t pronouncing the names exactly but whose ambiance screamed European with a hint of Vegas: Tuscany, Cyprus, Normandy, cosmopolitan.
The author’s 6-year-old son had a blast alongside his grandparents and brother or sister. Courtesy of the author
We spent the rest of the week trying each one. On our last day at sea, we couldn’t exactly tell them apart, but it didn’t matter: between the lobster party and the endless iterations of surf and turf, not one adult left the dining room unhappy, and what my kids couldn’t consume burgers or chicken tenders, so they made up for it with after-dinner excursions to the Oceanview Cafe buffet. Even my parents, whose aging appetites seem to diminish with each passing year, couldn’t resist a second helping of dessert at the ice cream counter or in the form of a fruit plate.
There were activities for everyone
When we weren’t eating, our multi-generational group was busy doing each other’s favorite things: my 6-year-old spent his evenings and most days at sea playing Camp at Sea, while my 13-year-old spent quickly found his own multinational team at Teen Camp. I took my mother to a watercolor workshop and my father to the nightly entertainment at the theater we called The Club.
Once docked, we walked the walkway at our own pace to explore the markets and museums of Valencia before spending long days by the water in Ibiza and Corsica. Portofino and Cinque Terre required shore excursions, but disembarking in Rome allowed us to explore another timeless city the old-fashioned way, on foot.
When we boarded our plane home, we all vowed to cruise again as soon as possible. Considering that was last year and we’ve taken two other cruises since then, I think the evidence speaks for itself: Cruising might just be our favorite multi-generational way to travel.