Mediterranean Cruise Recommendations

I'm looking for some advice on which cruise companies to look into that sail around the Mediterranean (e.g Venice, Athens, Greeks Islands).

We're planning to go in September (or thereabouts) next year and are looking for a small ship luxury cruise.

Does anyone have any recommendations or advice on where to start looking?

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If you are looking at the smaller ships and the luxury end of the market , look for itineraries that visit the smaller ports as well as the main ones.

Most Med cruises from the big companies are port intensive and your ship is a hotel that floats from one port to the next. Ideal for sightseeing but if you want a luxury cruise experience , look for one with several sea days.

You have a great range to choose from and it will really come down to your budget .

Heres a few to check out ...Seabourn , SilverSeas, Regent , Crystal , Oceania ,Azamara .

Cruise Critic also has a board devoted to luxury cruises You might find more info there..

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=444

Wind star and Star Clippers also offer cruises in the Medittteranean. They are smaller ships with real sails. One day we would like to cruise on one of these as my husband has been a sailer from childhood.

I would also see a cruise of this type as an opportunity to visit those small ports that the larger ships cannot get in to.

We have done several Mediterranean cruises (with Royal, Princess and Costa). There is such a thing as being too port intensive. Most recent cruise had 5 port days n a row. By the fifth day, we were tired and didn't use our time all that well. My ideal Mediterranean cruise would be 2 port days followed by a sea day I think.

Hi Blue Elephant, good to see you are still travelling. We are off again early September for 10 weeks.

Tanlee, Oceania and Azamara are my first thoughts, both great cruise lines, Oceania offers two size ships, 1250 and just under 700, Azamara just under 700 pax. But if your budget allows check out Crystal, Seaborne. Not sure what price bracket you are looking at. These may give you an idea and somewhere to start looking....cheers V

We cruised on the Crystal Symphony last year around the Mediterranean. It was simply amazing.

Hi Blue Elephant, good to see you are still travelling. We are off again early September for 10 weeks.

We have just returned from seven weeks in Europe. We went around the coast of Spain and Portugal to Amsterdam on the Costa Magica, then did a Baltic cruise on Vision of the Seas, then visited Torbole on Lake Garda in Italy.

As I remember, your next trip involves a river cruise with Gate1. I will be interested to read an review you write as we would like to do a river cruise, but are reluctant to pay the high prices of the brands that are heavily advertised in Australia.

We sailed on Oceania and it was wonderful - one suggestion is to make sure you look at cruises that have long shore time. You want time to get off and do a tour without too much time constraint. The cheaper cruises often have shorter time on shore and you really don't get time to do much at all.

We did a ponant cruise and loved it, maximum 200 people on board, all inclusive alcohol :)

Will let you know blue elephant. We have also added an MSC cruise on Fantasia as we had time to fill in between Malta and the river cruise.

Will let you know blue elephant. We have also added an MSC cruise on Fantasia as we had time to fill in between Malta and the river cruise.

Your thoughts on MSC Fantasia will also be interesting. Our cruise on Costa Magica was very good for the price. Chris thought the food was the best ever (vegetarian). Tap water was awful though and the ship structure complicated (up and down various floors to get from cabin to MDR).

We took Holland America from Venice to Barcelona in 22 days. It's not luxury but we were very happy there.

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Thank you for all the suggestions. My husband and I and both looking for different things so it's hard to find something we're both happy with. At this stage it looks like we'll be doing a Regent SS cruise from Venice to Rome, spend a few days in Rome and then head to Athens for a Silversea cruise around the Greek Islands. Just waiting for a travel agent to get back to me with prices.

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Well, you asked for it...

We have just finished a Western Med cruise on MSC Orchestra and my review, from an Aussie point of view is as follows:

First off, embarkation....what a shock! Arrived at Rome Port at 1pm, expecting the worse....but we were the only ones checking in. About 10 minutes from whoa to go. As the MSC Med cruises are an endless loop...at least for the Orchestra, passengers can get on at virtually any of the ports...and get off on return. The result is small crowds at each port ...and the Europeans get on at sillly oclock anyway...and just wait around till their room is ready. No photos, credit card or ship card at checkin either. The card is waiting in your cabin, the photo is done as you board and you link your credit card go your cruise card at a sort of atm machine, once on board. The only issue with boarding is the hawkers. No I don't want a drink package or a new suit! But, I guess you have to run that gauntlet on most cruises.

The cabin? We had an outside for this trip. Roomy, practical, with a standard type bathroom, safe and tv. No surprises there.

Getting around? Okay, don't get me started! Too late! This was the first ship that I never really worked out how to use. At the lifts, there's a picture of the ship and a red dot showing where you were. BUT...the ship was mounted across the wall....not along the wall. So, it didn't point forward or aft....as most ship signposts do. So you never knew where the pointy end or blunt end was. How frustrating. Kept running into people asking which way are we facing ??? Took my concerns to guest services and asked them what the trick was? No trick....you just get used to it !!!!!

Another issue with getting around....all the open forward decks are closed off to the " riff raff". Only Spa customers were allowed on the forward decks. Not very exciting during sail always or sea days. Had to hang over the side rails or stand on the aft deck. Most of the European passengers didn't seem to mind as they never got out of the pools anyway.

Announcements ? Yes you do get sick of hearing announcements in 37 different languages, but we were expecting that.

Excursions....as there weren't a lot of native English speakers on board, we were booked on multi lingual tours. Annoying, but what can you do .

Entertainment....we usually go to a show every night, but on this cruise we only went once. The in house entertainers perform singing and dancing each night....but no sets or special effects or excitement...just a set of stage stairs they moved around each night. A lot of the singing was mimed too. Not what we have become accustomed to in Australasian cruising.

Meals....Lets start with the important stuff, the buffet! Not a big selection of food. Mostly European tastes (obviously) cold meats, cheese, salad, pizza, breads, pasta . At night, no curries, stews or main type dishes. Sometimes some carved meat. Once again, not up to the standards we get in Australasia. Orange juice only at breakfast. Coffee out of an urn. Water out of an urn. Bottled water in cabin for a fee. No ice cream. "Specialty" coffee for a fee...but not what we are used to. Can't get iced coffee. We were originally assigned late sitting for dinner, but when we found out late sitting was 9.45pm, we opted for the buffet and later on, the early sitting....at which we were assigned a table with two families of Austrians ! Back to the buffet.....

Staff ....as usual, all very friendly and helpful. No complaints.

The ship...although getting a bit long in the teeth, no real obvious signs of wear. No complaints....except for navigation.

Disembarkation....well organised and drama free.

Overall....we knew what to expect, having been on a previous Med Cruise..lots of people, lots of kids, lots of heat, lots of languages. A pleasant cruise with some interesting excursions. Probably our last European cruise though. Miss the good coffee, food and entertainment of an Aussie cruise.

Thanks Vozzie for such a comprehensive review. Never been on a MSC ship, but kept bumping into the Orchestra last month at a few ports, I wonder if you were on board in July. Have to say don't think it is my cup of tea, as I did notice a few people smoking on the balcony when we were docked opposite and that really turned me off, couldn't imagine anything worse than getting a cabin that previously had a smoker, did you notice this?

Yes, it was July.

You have to remember. Europe. Smoking everywhere...even in restaurants.

Smoking on Orchestra is forbidden in all cabins, however, walking down corridors, I could definitely smell smoke coming from some cabins.

It's funny, they take all the safety systems so seriously, yet they appear to tolerate smoking.

....

 

As I remember, your next trip involves a river cruise with Gate1. I will be interested to read an review you write as we would like to do a river cruise, but are reluctant to pay the high prices of the brands that are heavily advertised in Australia.

Just back from a Gate 1 cruise. If you are interested, I have posted a brief review here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/showthread.php?t=2530748

Thank you I will go check your gate 1 review. Thanks also for the MSC review. It is our first MSC cruise and what you have reported is basically what I am expecting from reading other reviews. Think our trip is going to be very tiring as its quite port intensive so I don't mind skipping the night shows as I need my sleep. We have requested early dining, but if we end up on late I will also resort to the buffet.

Did you disembark in Rome too? We are embarking in Genoa and disembarking in Rome. I have booked a private shuttle for the 5 of us from Civit to Rome. We are due to arrive at 9 am which is quite late, the company have suggested 9 - 9.30 pick up saying that the ship will clear quickly. Was that your experience? We plan to walk off with our own luggage. It was a toss up between that or one of the companies that offer transfer and tour but as we would have to get the shuttle from the boat to the pick up place and then a taxi at the other end decided to treat ourselves to the private shuttle.

We did Rome to Rome...with a private transfer at both ends.

Published arrival time in Rome was 8am and we booked a 9am transfer.

The night before, they give independent travellers a coloured tag for their luggage. Each colour has a time. You can't put in a preference, but you can ask for a change after you receive it.

In the end, we received an 8.30am slot, which suited us fine. You wait in the appointed lounge, your time comes and they escort you from the premises. When you get off, your luggage is waiting for you. All very quick and efficient.

I think you're pretty safe with a 9.30am transfer.

Thanks for your help. We will try to get in the first off. Some of our group including myself are black card and in theory it says we have priority disembarking, guess time will tell.