Which Itinerary?

[LarryF]

For those experiened Med Cruisers...which itinerary would you opt for? The first itinerary is $500 less and money is tight! So the my main question would be is if the second itinerary is worth spending the extra $500?

 

Thanks,

 

Larry

 

Itinerary 1

Barcelona

At Sea

Naples (Salerno)

At Sea

Venice

Venice

Split, Croatia

Dubrovnik, Croatia

At Sea

Rome (Civitavecchia)

Florence

Provence (Toulon)

 

Itinerary 2

Barcelona

Monte Carlo

Florence

Rome (Civitavcchia)

Naples

At Sea

Mykonos

Istanbul

Kusadasi (Ephesus)

Athens (Piraeus)

At Sea

Venice

Venice

[caber]

The only port I haven`t been to is Split. If there was not such a difference in price I would opt for No.2.

 

It depends if you are likely to go back at a later date. Athens and Istanbul are worth seeing. You have an overnight in Venice on both cruises which is great.

 

You have two extra ports on No.2. It`s a difficult decision. Either way you will have some great ports.

[Colo Cruiser]

I would say either one.

[jfv379]

What a dilema!!!

 

 

I would love to do Croatia (DW's heritage) but I think Turkey, Greece and Mykonos would win out.

 

What is the difference in airfare? Is that where the extra $500.00 comes in, or is that just the cruise. Would like to know. It might be the tie breaker.

[LarryF]

What a dilema!!!

 

 

I would love to do Croatia (DW's heritage) but I think Turkey, Greece and Mykonos would win out.

 

What is the difference in airfare? Is that where the extra $500.00 comes in, or is that just the cruise. Would like to know. It might be the tie braker.

 

Using FF miles on delta for air...so airfare is not an issue. The actual cruise price including OBC offers, free internet on Princess, etc. is $500 difference. The second itinerary is on Princess and would get us two cruises away from being Elite. The first itinerary is on Celebrity which we have always wanted to try...but the ship for this trip is not important to us at all as we will mostly just sleep on the ship from all the port activity!

 

Thanks,

 

Larry

[BobT172]

We did Itinerary # 2 but in the reverse oreder...Venice to Barcelona...

it was fantastic...all the ports and tours were great...very exhausting as there is alot to "cram" into a single day (and expensive too) but it was well worth it.... this was a once in a lifetime for us.... don't miss Turkey and Greece and the Isles...

 

Flew into Venice a day early..great to do but expensive .. but we REALLY enjoyed Barcelona..stayed there 4 extra days after disembarkation... if you left from Barcelona, I would highly recommend going several days early...a great city

[SingerEsq]

IMO .... hands down ... No. 2 ... Turkey remains my most favorite of visited countries (been there 2X). And you get to do both Istabul and Ephesus (you must include the Terrace Houses in your tour of Ephesus). Italy is wonderful, and sailing into Venice is not to be missed. Magical.

 

The only thing I would change about this itinerary is Santorini for Mykonos, but it's still an excellent way to experience the Med!

 

Edit: If this is for this coming summer, there may be price reductions. So, if you book, either keep an eye on prices or have your agent do so.. You could make up that $500 price difference rather quickly. And, as the other person stated, Barcelona is a beatiful city. I would try to find a 2-3 star hotel near the Las Ramblas ... it's a great way to start your vacation.

 

Also ... with a bit of planning, you can do all of these ports on your own. No need to spend the extra money for ship's shore excursions. Plan what you want to see and how to get there, and just get off the ship and go. We've used the underground/Metro in Barcelona, Rome, Athens and the vaporetto in Venice. Rented a small Fiat in Monte Carlo and drove to Eza, so we saw two cities for the price of one. Took the train to Florence AND Piza. The only places I would insist on an organized tour is the Amalfi Coast and Ephesus and Istanbul. We did small tours for Amalfi and Ephesus that were organized here on Cruise Critic on our Call Board. Both were excellent with only about 12 people.

 

One last thing, then I'll shut up ... we got a window cabin instead of a balcony to save $$. Never missed the balcony. We booked the Sanctuary instead for the entire cruise (but we would have made it without that b/c we were off the ship early every morning for the entire day).

[jfv379]

Using FF miles on delta for air...so airfare is not an issue. The actual cruise price including OBC offers, free internet on Princess, etc. is $500 difference. The second itinerary is on Princess and would get us two cruises away from being Elite.

Thanks,

 

Larry

 

JMHO Do number 2 and get closer to Elite.

[LarryF]

IMO .... hands down ... No. 2 ... Turkey remains my most favorite of visited countries (been there 2X). And you get to do both Istabul and Ephesus (you must include the Terrace Houses in your tour of Ephesus). Italy is wonderful, and sailing into Venice is not to be missed. Magical.

 

The only thing I would change about this itinerary is Santorini for Mykonos, but it's still an excellent way to experience the Med!

 

Edit: If this is for this coming summer, there may be price reductions. So, if you book, either keep an eye on prices or have your agent do so.. You could make up that $500 price difference rather quickly. And, as the other person stated, Barcelona is a beatiful city. I would try to find a 2-3 star hotel near the Las Ramblas ... it's a great way to start your vacation.

 

Also ... with a bit of planning, you can do all of these ports on your own. No need to spend the extra money for ship's shore excursions. Plan what you want to see and how to get there, and just get off the ship and go. We've used the underground/Metro in Barcelona, Rome, Athens and the vaporetto in Venice. Rented a small Fiat in Monte Carlo and drove to Eza, so we saw two cities for the price of one. Took the train to Florence AND Piza. The only places I would insist on an organized tour is the Amalfi Coast and Ephesus and Istanbul. We did small tours for Amalfi and Ephesus that were organized here on Cruise Critic on our Call Board. Both were excellent with only about 12 people.

 

One last thing, then I'll shut up ... we got a window cabin instead of a balcony to save $$. Never missed the balcony. We booked the Sanctuary instead for the entire cruise (but we would have made it without that b/c we were off the ship early every morning for the entire day).

 

Great information! We are looking at booking an inside cabin. I have been on the Ruby, Emerald and Crowne and booked an inside on the Riviera deck aft. When you come out of your cabn, you're only steps away from the aft pool which I treat as my giant balcony!

 

You seem like you have a wealth of information. Do you have any trip reviews of your Med cruise?

 

Thanks,

 

Larry

[SingerEsq]

Great information! We are looking at booking an inside cabin. I have been on the Ruby, Emerald and Crowne and booked an inside on the Riviera deck aft. When you come out of your cabn, you're only steps away from the aft pool which I treat as my giant balcony!

 

You seem like you have a wealth of information. Do you have any trip reviews of your Med cruise?

 

Thanks,

 

Larry

 

Larry, we like the Emerald Deck. We've been in E703 (partially obstructed), which was great. We did E703 on the Ruby for the Med. Full, unobstructed window was great ... the door on Promenade slamming below ... not so much.

 

Anyway, here's our review of the Med from last year:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=58214

 

If you read the "Live From," there was one Member who added a lot of great information about Monte Carlo that I wish we had known beforehand, but driving to Eza and then touring the Royal grounds was wonderful:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1038569&highlight=live+from+ruby

 

Have fun planning!

[jagoffee]

Mykonos is great, but I would keep looking to find a cruise that stops in Santorini, our favorite stop on our cruise.

[cruisinggranmama]

I vote for #2.

 

Did the Adriatic out of Venice October 2009 on RCL. It did stop in Split which was OK. I would not choose the cruise for that port. It also stopped at Corfu Olympia which I see Princess does not include. Athens and Mykinos also on that one.

 

I agree that you should see Ephesus and Mykinos (Santorini would be better). Venice, Rome, Florence and Athens not to be missed.

 

You can do a Provencal trip and see Provence including Monte Carlo easily by renting a car. We used Avignon and Cannes as our base cities and saw so much. Flew in and out of Nice. One of the easier driving areas in France. We spent 10 days just driving around - no cruise involved that trip.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[CruisingJs]

Just to give you another perspective, we did Barcelona to Venice on Celebrity. We absolutely loved Croatia. It's one of the places I would like to go back to and spend more time. On the other hand, we found Athens to be just another big city with a lot of grafitti. (I know, I probably picked the wrong tour and would love it if I tried something else.) So, don't count out Itinerary 1.

 

I agree with other posters in that your room isn't that important on this itinerary because you won't be in it very much. Also, try to spend a couple of extra days on Barcelona. That was great! It's a beautiful city, amazing architecture and warm, friendly people.

 

Whichever you choose, enjoy your cruise.