Best embarkation port?

[ActiveTraveler]

When I read the lists of future cruises scheduled, I always see several that start and/or end in either Venice or Rome. Many are Rome to Venice or vice versa. How can a first-time solo cruiser decide which of these cruises is the best to book? I know I want to be in Rome a few days before or after the cruise, but nothing else. The only other country I have been to is Canada, so anything related to Europe travel is uncharted water for me. Does anyone have experience with this on a luxury cruise line?

[chipmaster]

Not sure what your definition of "luxury" is, but there are many other ports of embarkation/dismberkation. Beside Rome, Venice we have Barcelona, Athens and others. IMHO Rome/Venice are very historical cities worthy of extra days but so almost all the other major European Cities. The embarkation/dismbarkation is only one element, the other is the ports on the cruise schedule. To start and end in Rome/Venice but possibley miss out on other ports is something only you can decide after making your list of favorite or must see ports. For me when I was planning the choices and list of cites was very confusing. This was one nice site for starts ( http://www.europeportreviews.com/ ) for me to start figuring out which were the ones with attractions I just had to have and which were less so. From this list I figured out which cruise ship/lines visited the most ports. I think all cruise are tradeoffs as they simply don't spend enough time in the ports, just get a taste before you have to sail. One nice thing about many cruises you can select from one with different embarkation/disembarkation to get a few extra days in two ports, or extend your stay with a short train ride from your last port or to your first port.

 

 

Happy planning,

 

When I read the lists of future cruises scheduled, I always see several that start and/or end in either Venice or Rome. Many are Rome to Venice or vice versa. How can a first-time solo cruiser decide which of these cruises is the best to book? I know I want to be in Rome a few days before or after the cruise, but nothing else. The only other country I have been to is Canada, so anything related to Europe travel is uncharted water for me. Does anyone have experience with this on a luxury cruise line?

[kazganymede]

When I read the lists of future cruises scheduled, I always see several that start and/or end in either Venice or Rome. Many are Rome to Venice or vice versa. How can a first-time solo cruiser decide which of these cruises is the best to book? I know I want to be in Rome a few days before or after the cruise, but nothing else. The only other country I have been to is Canada, so anything related to Europe travel is uncharted water for me. Does anyone have experience with this on a luxury cruise line?

 

I've cruised from Civit (Rome) and seen where the ships dock in Venice. Civit is 75 km from Rome, driving is a pain and there is quite a walk to the station with luggage. There wasn't even a terminal in Civit- just a huge tent for embarkation.

Venice is just out of town and seems to be easier to negotiate, although you'd need a water taxi to your hotel.

 

We are leaving from Barcelona on our next trip and it appears to be a much easier option.

[maryann ns]

It is quite a distance from Rome to Civitavecchia (port) for sure. However Rome is a major city, full of history, culture and atmosphere.

 

The train to Civi costs as little as 4.5 Euros, so if you can walk a few blocks with your bags it is not a problem. Barcelona, Venice, Athens and Istanbul are other major cities which should not be missed. Istanbul's port is very handy for getting into the city.

[CathyCruises]

My feeling is that you should begin and end your journey in a city where you want to spend more time pre and post cruise. They are all wonderful, but Rome, Venice and Barcelona would be my choice for either embarking or disembarking. Rome is a little more of a hassle but totally worth it.

Barcelona is probably the easiest with excellent port facilities. But it's the overall itinerary that should be driving your decision, not just the port of embarkation.

 

Cathy

[Susan-M]

Hi Andrea,

I would suggest spending some time reading about the various ports before deciding on your cruise itinerary. Cruise Critic has good info: http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/area.cfm?area=16

 

Rome placed first in Cruise Critic Editors top 10 list of European cities to visit from port: http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/article.cfm?ID=43

I agree with their pick, and with your choice to do a pre or post cruise stay there as I have to rate it as my favorite!

 

I'm not sure if your question meant the easiest port for embarkation, or the best in terms of most interesting. Rome fits into the latter, and is more than worth the effort to get to the port Civitavecchia.

 

Another suggestion for initial research: http://www.amazon.com/Mediterranean-Cruise-Ship-Complete-Cruising/dp/0968838936

[ActiveTraveler]

Thanks for all the help. It looks to me like people are suggesting Barcelona-Venice, not Rome-Venice, because of how ports are set up. in Barcelona and Civiteveccia.

 

Cathy: I certainly am not going to ignore all the other ports and base my cruise on only the embarkation port. My question was about embarking vs. disembarking in a specific port city. Is one way better in Venice than the other or does it not matter?

Susan, you have to love Amazon.com with the Look Inside features for some books. Of course I had already planned to buy a few books on the site about European port cities but did not know any specific titles. Yes, I will read the reviews of various Europe ports.

[maryann ns]

There is a problem with Barcelona to Venice, because Civitavecchia (for Rome), if the ship stops there, would just be a port day. You need at least three hours for the round trip into Rome and back and that leaves little time for touring.

 

That is why Rome is a great starting or ending point. My cruise last year started in Rome (so we went there three days early), went as far east as Cyprus, and ended in Athens (where we spent four more days.) We had an overnight in Istanbul which gave some time, but we would have loved more.

 

It is all a matter of preferences of course and you will have to weigh the plusses and minuses.

[moyaroo]

The imporatant thing for a Venice ending cruise is that you overnight in Venice, because the experience of sailing through Venice in the daylight is not to be missed. Some cruises end in Venice but sail in at night and you miss out.

 

Rome is good. If I were picking I would go Venice to Rome as it guarantees a daylihgt passage through Venice. (That said I would rather end with a daylight entrance to the city)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I haven't done either port, but have been to both cities, and have read lots of posts about embarking/disembarking. Sounds like Venice is a bit of a pain, but worth it, and Rome is just a slog by bus or train to the port, but definitely worth it. When we do this, we will definitely spend time in Rome first, and if we have to, disembark in Venice. I agree about the overnight in Venice, it is a magical city to see, I would imagine especially nice from a cruise ship.

 

Bear in mind that Italy is horribly crowded in summer. If you can manage even slightly off-season (like June), you will find fewer hordes of tourists.

[CathyCruises]

We were supposed to arrive in Venice at 6AM and set our alarm so we wouldn't miss the sail in. Thank goodness DH got up to use the facilities at 4AM and glanced out the window and said, "we're here"! We raced up onto deck and it was amazing. We were on Deck 12, and most buildings are only 6 stories, so it looked like we were towering over a make-believe village, all lit up. One other couple ondeck! We will never forget it.

 

Cathy

[eastexascruiser]

When I read the lists of future cruises scheduled, I always see several that start and/or end in either Venice or Rome. Many are Rome to Venice or vice versa. How can a first-time solo cruiser decide which of these cruises is the best to book? I know I want to be in Rome a few days before or after the cruise, but nothing else. The only other country I have been to is Canada, so anything related to Europe travel is uncharted water for me. Does anyone have experience with this on a luxury cruise line?

 

I feel your pain. It is really a tough decision trying to pick an itinerary for a first time sailing! We ended up choosing the 12 night Venice-Venice HAL sailing. Reason being is that we are strapped with time and simply cannot do pre & post port visits. Just gives us another reason to plan a future trip :D

 

If you know for sure you want to either start or end with Rome, that will help narrow your choices. Now you just need to decide which other ports are of most interest and take it from there.

 

Happy Sailing!

[Susan-M]

Thanks for all the help. It looks to me like people are suggesting Barcelona-Venice, not Rome-Venice, because of how ports are set up. in Barcelona and Civiteveccia.

 

 

We've been to Rome both on a port day (Barcelona-Venice cruise) and 3 days pre-cruise (Rome-Athens cruise). Both were great itineraries, but 3 days pre-cruise in Rome was such a plus. We loved the city on our port day, and grew even fonder of it on our next visit during our pre-cruise stay. If Rome is a priority for you, I would highly recommend a cruise that begins or ends there so that you can have more than 1 day to spend in Rome.

[ActiveTraveler]

Bear in mind that Italy is horribly crowded in summer. If you can manage even slightly off-season (like June), you will find fewer hordes of tourists.

 

I was thinking about sailing in May when kids are in school and flowers are blooming. If necessary, I could go in April, but that would be risky because sometimes April is cold in northern latitudes.

[daryleann]

All this advice - and only one person said that you can always do another cruise... which is my solution for any dilemma on choosing which port to leave or start from... try them all ;)!

This time we are going in Nov so there will be even fewer people/tourists, I hope! Next time... who knows...?:D

[ActiveTraveler]

All this advice - and only one person said that you can always do another cruise, which is my solution for any dilemma on choosing which port to leave or start from. Try them all!

This time we are going in Nov so there will be even fewer people/tourists, I hope! Next time, who knows?

 

The problem with that idea is money. It would be too expensive to go on two cruises if I go to Europe alone on a luxury line both times. If I stay on the ship while it is in port all that money is wasted.

[Keith1010]

The problem with that idea is money. It would be too expensive to go on two cruises if I go to Europe alone on a luxury line both times. If I stay on the ship while it is in port all that money is wasted.

 

I nice time to go is in April or late September or early October. It wil be less crowded than the summer months.

 

I would highly recommend trying to start your journey in Rome. It is always a good idea to fly a few days early to get over the jet lag, to ensure that your bags get there and to ensure that you don't miss the ship if there are major delays with the flights.

 

Plan to arrive to Rome at least three days prior to the cruise which will provide a nice opportunity to see the major sites. I would spend a good portion of one day at the Vatican Museum. There is so much to see there and you can do a tour. Then there is the Colloseum and many other sites to see.

 

If your ship ends in Venice that is quite nice and many have overnights there. Then you can spend an additional day or two there. I will warn you that Venice is quite expensive; much more so than many other European cities. You don't need as long there because you can really see the sites over two day. So, that is as much time as I would plan there.

 

If your itinerary includes Livorno that is nice not because of the port but the fact that it is the gateway port to see Florence.

 

Likewise, Naples is a good port as from there you can get over to Pompeii.

 

Keith