Help choosing 14 day Itinerary please.

[CherylsCaribbeanTravel]

I'm going to post this on a few Europe destination boards since there doesn't appear to be one large Europe forum. If there is a better way to ask these questions, without posting multiple topics, please inform.

 

Background: Two females. Safety is a concern. I'm not new to cruising, but I am new to cruising Europe. Please help us choose a great 10-14 day itinerary. We will do pre & post stays. Late June, all of July, or early August. My travel partner is new to cruising and she feels this will probably be her one time to visit Europe.

 

We would like to go Greece unless there is a reason to avoid this area. We're primarily interested in site seeing. We are beach people, but I don't see us spending a great deal of time on the beach this trip.

 

I've sailed all the mainstream lines (NCL, Princess, HAL, RCL, Carnival, etc...) and have absolutely no preference for line/ship. I am looking for a itinerary first and foremost. Since we have never been to Europe before, we are open to any suggestions.

 

The itinerary that has caught my attention is the 14 day Norwegian Jade which departs from Venice. Any pros/cons to departing from Venice over other ports? Itinerary includes: Venice, Corfu, Sanotorini, Mykonss, Dubrovnik Croatia, Athens, Izmir Turkey, & Split Croatia.

 

I also really like HAL's 12 night on the Neiuw. I feel it is a better variety for a first time trip to Europe. Departs from Venice, but returns from Barcelona. However, the flights are outrageous. Has anyone figured out a way to do reasonable flights if you aren't purchasing round trip from the same port? This itinerary includes: Venice, Dubrovnik, Curfo, ARgostoli, Santorini, straight of Messina, Catania, Naples, Rome, Florance, and Barcelona.

 

I'm open to all others. Which 10-14 day would you choose?

 

Thank you in advance for your thoughts,

 

Cheryl :)

[wantocruisemore]

Of the two you have listed I would choose the HAL simply because of Rome. I also like that HAL starts at one port and ends up at another. Rome is one of my favorite cities, I fell in love with it the first and only time I was there. For our upcoming cruise this summer, we chose it based on wanting to go out of Rome.

 

Have you checked Princess and RCCL? They have some nice itineraries too I remember.

 

You didn't mention your age. Although I am well on up there, I personally would not cruise Cunard or HAL because I would look for a little "younger" clientelle.

[CherylsCaribbeanTravel]

Thank you Wanttocruisemore,

 

I've sailed HAL, RCCL, and Princess multiple times. I don't find one to be significantly older than another, although HAL is a bit more refined. Of the three, Princess and RCCL is probably a better match for us (fun-young 40's), but Itinerary is going to be the deciding factor this trip.

 

I have looked at both Princess and RCCL. Of Princess, the following 2 itineraries look interesting. Do you have a preference of one over the other? I realize the Ruby is a nicer and newer ship than the Star (I've sailed on the Caribbean Princess).

 

The Star Princess has the following itinerary:

Venice (overnight at embarkation)

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Corfu, Greece

Katakolon, Greece

Athens, Greece

Mykonos, Greece

Kusadasi, Turkey

Rhodes, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Naples/Capri, Italy

Rome, Italy

 

 

The Ruby Princess Itinerary:

Venice (overnight at embarkation)

Athens, Greece

Kusadasi, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Mykonos, Greece

Naples/Capri, Italy

Rome, Italy

Florence, Italy

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Barcelona, Spain

 

Are either of these Itineraries significantly better than the other? Star gives us a few days in Rome.

 

Thanks again for your thoughts,

 

Cheryl

[patseacruiser]

If you are not beach people but truly into sight seeing - have you considered Voyages to Antiquity. You can check out their website at voyagestoantiquity.com .

[maryann ns]

There are some good ports in the first one, but the second has Istanbul and Rome. They are great cities. The only problem is that one day is not enough.

[jwds]

Since you expressed an interest in Greece I would recommend an itinerary that includes Istanbul, since you're that close it makes sense to include it

 

Check out the Nieuw Amsterdam round trip from Venice that starts with an overnight in Venice. We are booked on this in September. Celebrity has a round trip from Rome that includes Istanbul. We were on this itinerary a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

 

As of now flights to Italy seem very expensive. For our Sept. cruise we saved a lot of money by flying into Zurich and returning from Munich. We'll have a short pre-cruise in Northern Italy and four nights in Munich (Oktoberfest) post-cruise.

 

I don't like Rome or Florence as port stops, there is just too much travel time for me. If you were to do a round trip from Rome you could easily do both in your pre/post stay.

[caripoo]

Definetly do the Hal. Better line, new ship great ports, you will LOVE this trip!!!:):):)

[wantocruisemore]

Thank you Wanttocruisemore,

 

I've sailed HAL, RCCL, and Princess multiple times. I don't find one to be significantly older than another, although HAL is a bit more refined. Of the three, Princess and RCCL is probably a better match for us (fun-young 40's), but Itinerary is going to be the deciding factor this trip.

 

I have looked at both Princess and RCCL. Of Princess, the following 2 itineraries look interesting. Do you have a preference of one over the other? I realize the Ruby is a nicer and newer ship than the Star (I've sailed on the Caribbean Princess).

 

The Star Princess has the following itinerary:

Venice (overnight at embarkation)

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Corfu, Greece

Katakolon, Greece

Athens, Greece

Mykonos, Greece

Kusadasi, Turkey

Rhodes, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Naples/Capri, Italy

Rome, Italy

 

 

The Ruby Princess Itinerary:

Venice (overnight at embarkation)

Athens, Greece

Kusadasi, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Mykonos, Greece

Naples/Capri, Italy

Rome, Italy

Florence, Italy

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Barcelona, Spain

 

Are either of these Itineraries significantly better than the other? Star gives us a few days in Rome.

 

Thanks again for your thoughts,

 

Cheryl

 

 

For me personally I would choose the Star, simply because of pre-cruise in Venice and post-cruise in Rome. There's so much to see in Rome I can't imagine doing it in a 1 day cruise stop. Although I would love to go to Instanbul, I have never wanted to go to Monte Carlo. If you really wanted to go to Florence, you can take a train from Rome and do an easy day trip (I have done that). I also prefer Dubrovnik, someplace I would like to go.

 

All in all, for me personally I would do the Star. Unfortunately, all we can spare for our upcoming trip is max 2 weeks and we wanted time in Rome pre-cruise, hence only the 7 nt. cruise.

 

Both trips sound great though. Just pick out your must sees, then decide where you don't care if you go. That should tell you the best itinerary.

[agabbymama]

I would suggest you go to your library and get some Europe travel guides (Frommer's, Fodors, Rick Steves, etc) and look at the different ports, to see what really interests you. All we can do, is tell you what our preference was.

 

We are two older ladies with mobility issues, and had a lot of things go awry, but we had a great Med cruise anyway. So have a Plan "A", and a Plan "B" for when Plan A goes awry.

 

When we started looking, we were going to do Italy. Then found Grand Princess that did Italy and Greece, with Kusadasi and Monte Carlo thrown in just for fun. We flew round trip to Paris, 1 quick day sightseeing there before continuing on to Rome. 3 days pre-cruise (purchased a Ho Ho 48 hour pass). It worked well for us. Saved quite a bit of walking.

 

The 12 day cruise left from Civitavecchia (actually about 2 hours from Rome) to Monte Carlo, Livorno (Pisa & Florence), Naples, Santorini, Kusadasi Turkey, Mykonos (cancelled because of high winds), Athens, Katakolon (Olympia), Corfu and ended in Venice. We had 3 post-cruise days in Venice and bought the 72 hour vaporetto pass.

 

Then back to Paris for two days before flying home. We were gone a total of 21 days. Princess does have a laundry on each deck. Pack half the clothes you think you need, and twice the money.

 

Have fun planning, only you know what your preferences are. Start a graph chart with the cruiselines/ships across the top. Your preferences down the side (cabin, ship size, ports, time in ports, cost, length of cruise, etc). As you research, put an "X" in the conjoining box. When you finish your research, one cruise should have more x's than the others.

 

Europe is wonderful, but YOU have to decide what you really want to see.

I've been to Europe 7 times, and could go again and again IF IT WASN'T SO EXPENSIVE! Have a great trip, whatever you decide.

[Cornishpastyman1]

 

The Star Princess has the following itinerary:

Venice (overnight at embarkation)

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Corfu, Greece

Katakolon, Greece

Athens, Greece

Mykonos, Greece

Kusadasi, Turkey

Rhodes, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Naples/Capri, Italy

Rome, Italy

 

 

The Ruby Princess Itinerary:

Venice (overnight at embarkation)

Athens, Greece

Kusadasi, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Mykonos, Greece

Naples/Capri, Italy

Rome, Italy

Florence, Italy

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Barcelona, Spain

 

Are either of these Itineraries significantly better than the other? Star gives us a few days in Rome.

 

Thanks again for your thoughts,

 

Cheryl

 

Hello Cheryl

 

Tough choices ! If it's any help this http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1191713 leads to short videos I made of (out of itineraries above) Dubrovnik, Corfu (town), Olympia, Athens, Ephesus and Santorini.

 

Whatever you decide and whoever it's with, it will be a superb trip.

All the best,

Tony

[CherylsCaribbeanTravel]

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who took time to reply (especially those great videos)!! After much thought, we sacrificed Rome to the lions have decided upon the Ruby Princess, staying 3 nights in Barcelona and 3 nights in Venice. The reverse itinerary worked better in the schedule:

 

 

The Ruby Princess Itinerary:

Barcelona, Spain

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Florence, Italy

Rome, Italy

Napels/Capri, Italy

At Sea

Mykonos, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Kusadasi, Turkey

Athens, Greece

At Sea

Venice

 

I don't think we could go wrong with either, but it boiled down to variety. I'll have to hit up Rome for more than 13 hours another time :)

 

Thanks again!

 

Cheryl :)

[Cornishpastyman1]

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who took time to reply (especially those great videos)!! After much thought, we sacrificed Rome to the lions have decided upon the Ruby Princess, staying 3 nights in Barcelona and 3 nights in Venice. The reverse itinerary worked better in the schedule:

 

 

The Ruby Princess Itinerary:

Barcelona, Spain

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Florence, Italy

Rome, Italy

Napels/Capri, Italy

At Sea

Mykonos, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Kusadasi, Turkey

Athens, Greece

At Sea

Venice

 

I don't think we could go wrong with either, but it boiled down to variety. I'll have to hit up Rome for more than 13 hours another time :)

 

Thanks again!

 

Cheryl :)

Great choice Cheryl. I'm doing a Western Med cruise in July and from your intinerary will hopefully make similar-style videos from Barca, Monte Carlo, Florence, Naples (Pompeii) and Rome. Good luck with yours, it'll be fantastic.

[tom_uk]

They're all excellent itineraries.

 

You describe yourself as a beach person. Of all that itinerary, the best beach place is Mykonos. Lots of people on the forum will immediately exclaim "Delos! You must go to Delos!", and they have a point, but Mykonos is a very seductive place to just chill out and take things easy. With a lot of heavyweight ports behind you (Rome; Florence) and more to come (Istanbul; Kusadasi; Athens) a day on the beach at that point in the cruise might be perfect.

[UKBayern]

They're all excellent itineraries.

 

You describe yourself as a beach person. Of all that itinerary, the best beach place is Mykonos. Lots of people on the forum will immediately exclaim "Delos! You must go to Delos!", and they have a point, but Mykonos is a very seductive place to just chill out and take things easy. With a lot of heavyweight ports behind you (Rome; Florence) and more to come (Istanbul; Kusadasi; Athens) a day on the beach at that point in the cruise might be perfect.

 

I absolutely agree. At one point or another sacrifice one tourist attraction or ruin for a quieter day. You will not keep up with the pace otherwise. We were on the Star in November and had the same order Istanbul-Kusadasi-Athens. We decided not to go to Ephesus after a long day in Istanbul and before a next busy long day in Athens, but had a quiet day in Kusadasi. Great beaches there too by the way.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Cheryl,

 

You have some great sights coming up! One thing I remember when going to Europe is that you can't see it all, and whatever you don't see this time you can go to next time. Rome has been around thousands of years, and next trip you could do Italy by land and really see more of it well!! :D

[CherylsCaribbeanTravel]

Thank you to all who have replied. The Mediterranean forum is extremely helpful! One more question if you don't mind. Is there any particular benefit to port vs. starboard for a balcony cabin?

 

Ruby Princess itinerary listed below:

 

Barcelona, Spain

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Florence, Italy

Rome, Italy

Napels/Capri, Italy

At Sea

Mykonos, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Kusadasi, Turkey

Athens, Greece

At Sea

Venice

 

 

Thank you in advance,

 

Cheryl :)

[tom_uk]

Thank you to all who have replied. The Mediterranean forum is extremely helpful! One more question if you don't mind. Is there any particular benefit to port vs. starboard for a balcony cabin?

 

Ruby Princess itinerary listed below:

 

Barcelona, Spain

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Florence, Italy

Rome, Italy

Napels/Capri, Italy

At Sea

Mykonos, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Kusadasi, Turkey

Athens, Greece

At Sea

Venice

 

Normally I'd have said 'No', because it often ends up as six of one and half-a-dozen of the other. However on that itinerary the main direction is eastwards, so overall the port side will be facing north more often than the starboard side; hence, expect more sun on the starboard side. Of course, that's a gross over-simplification: the ship will not be heading due east terribly often.

 

That said, you need to decide what to do about that. The Med can be very hot in summer - in 2008 we were there in early July with temperatures in the high nineties or above. We didn't have a balcony cabin that cruise, but I remember that the open decks were pretty deserted during the afternoons; I think a balcony in the sun would have been too hot for most. So factor your own liking and tolerance for sunshine into your decision. For me, for example, I might prefer the port side for that itinerary in mid summer - it would get the morning sun at times but be sheltered during the hottest part of the day.

[2pbears]

Thank you to all who have replied. The Mediterranean forum is extremely helpful! One more question if you don't mind. Is there any particular benefit to port vs. starboard for a balcony cabin?

 

Ruby Princess itinerary listed below:

 

Barcelona, Spain

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Florence, Italy

Rome, Italy

Napels/Capri, Italy

At Sea

Mykonos, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Kusadasi, Turkey

Athens, Greece

At Sea

Venice

 

 

Thank you in advance,

 

Cheryl :)

 

 

We recently had to make the same decisions you are making. We decided on the Star (Venice to Rome) and when it came to choosing a cabin someone on these boards mentioned that as we leave Venice, the city will be on the Port side of the ship (so in your case, sailing into Venice the city would be on the Starboard side). This played heavily in our decision between port and starboard as we wanted to have the option of viewing sailaway from Venice (which they say is spectacular) from our balcony. Just one thing to consider. Whatever you decide I am sure you will enjoy this trip.