New to Med cruises

[KnoxvilleSam]

Although we have done Carribean cruises (on Celebrity, Princess, and Carnival), we are thinking about a Mediterranean cruise next year and would appreciate any advice/reviews of particular ships/itineraries/cabin types. There would be four of us (2 cabins), 21 year-old daughter demands Athens on the itinerary, and my wife and I (in mid-fifties) love Venice (were there on a non-cruise trip 15 years ago). My sister, a 62-year old artist loves Venice as well. I'm thinking we need more than a 7-day cruise, but that's obvious to everything except the bankroll.

 

Our previous accommodations have included balcony staterooms and a Sky Suite on the Mercury a couple of years ago. We loved the attention, but not so much the cost.

 

Are any of the "less expensive" cruise lines worth our attention (e.g., Costa)? BTW, only my wife went on Carnival, and she decided it's just not our style.

 

Thanks for any help you can give us.

 

Knoxville Sam

[roysmith99]

Hi there,

 

My father-in-law, has just re-booked a small but it seems excellent ship, the Arion from Venice around the Greek islands. Its a classic trip, but with the service you get in a high class family hotel, so he says. He is 83, and his companion is a simlar age.

 

Last year he did Venice to Nice, the Images of the Med.

 

http://www.cruisedirect.co.uk/classic-international-cruises/arion/

 

There may be something in it, I'd not do it myself, I love the big ships.

[wwinfl91]

We have done a Costa cruise in the Caribbean and found the ship, the Atlantica, to be both beautiful and a good value. I would not hestitate to book another cruise on her again. The recommendation above provided you another interesting option to consider. I would suggest checking out the Costa board on CC and see what others who have sailed on Costa more often than I have say.

 

I have to admit that my wife and I also loved Venice when we ended our Golden cruise there two years ago. We stayed an extra 4 days and still didn't get everything done and seen that we had wanted to do. The only good thing about that was it will make it necessary for us to return to the Med and to Venice again someday in the future.

 

Another European cruise line that you might check out is MSC. They do a lot of Med cruises and the prices seem a little more reasonable than Princess, HAL or Celebrity. They also have a seperate board on CC for you to check out.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[shoshona2]

Hi,

 

Check out Oceania also. They are continuing to run early booking discounts as well as free airfare. http://www.oceaniacruises.com

[Captain Canuck]

We did a cruise out of Venice last year....ship was fabulous..food was not what we are used to on cruises but it was ok. sailing back down the grand canal was one of the highlights of the trip. so, for the med I would suggest picking the itinerary you want....ships vary in size and food etc but the med should be the destination and the ship is more transportation. have a great time.