Crown Princess - Greek Isles

[luv2travel3]

Thinking about booking on the 12 day Greek Isles Cruise on Crown Princess, maybe Nov 20th- Does anyone have pros or cons why they would or would not reccommend this sailing? Any advice is welcome? We have been on several cruises but mostly in the Caribbean. We have not sailed in the mediterranean. Thanks in advance.

[Chloe1500]

We cruised the Med last Sept-Oct and liked it so much that we are taking the Greek Isles cruise Oct. 3. The weather in early fall is beautiful, usually warm and sunny. There is always a chance of rain, but it's still not cool yet.

 

I think the biggest plus for a November sailing is that there will be fewer tourists in Italy and Greece at that time and easier to see the sights. Another big plus is that the costs of the cruise make it very tempting.

 

The minus side is the weather. In late fall, expect much cooler temps and be prepared for some rain. Most of the Greek Isles are resorts and high season is over in October, so some places may be closed for the season.

[Crown Vic]

Thinking about booking on the 12 day Greek Isles Cruise on Crown Princess, maybe Nov 20th- Does anyone have pros or cons why they would or would not reccommend this sailing? Any advice is welcome? We have been on several cruises but mostly in the Caribbean. We have not sailed in the mediterranean. Thanks in advance.

 

Suggest you look at the following thread for ideas, suggestions, comments etc. Lots of good information posted. Good luck...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1471903

[luv2travel3]

Thanks for your reply. I would hate it if places are closed. This is our first time in the Greek Isles and it would be really disappointing if we could not see places.

[paul929207]

Check the average highs and lows for the ports you will be visiting, especially if you are planning to go to the beach. We are also on the Crown this fall, in October and early November. At the end, it appears that it will often be cool at the beach.

 

On the other hand, if you are planning to sightsee (as we are), the cooler temperatures will be a blessing

[Dorset Cruiser]

We are on Crown at the moment. We have noticed lots of examples of falling standards on this cruise. Shame because we usually like the Princess product. Main bugbear for us and a lot we have spoken to is the cruise director, Lisa Ball. She really grates and the entertainment laid on is very poor. Will do a fuller post of our thoughts when we get back to UK. Tne itinerary however is good although August is certainly not the month to do it! So hot and the ship is full of very noisy Italians:eek:

[luv2travel3]

I thought the same thing when we were on the Southern Caribbean cruise end of April. The Princess Standards have definitely fallen, we thought the shows were average. On prior cruises we always have enjooyed the shows and they were always fabulous.

Also, we are not beach people so cooler water temperatures will not deter us.

[Infi]

We just did this cruise in June and loved the itinerary. I would highly recommend reading the port boards here on CC and looking into private tours or touring sharing with your roll call. You get a far better value versus the ship's tours and you see so much more by not being crowded on a bus with 40 other people. Some of the ports can be easily done DIY (Mykonos, Venice, Croatia), but for others like Ephesus or Olympia, having a private tour with a guide is best. There are many great tour operators in the Med, so read up on recommendations here and on TripAdvisor. I can personally recommend Rome in Limo for Italy, AthensByTaxi for Athens, Taxi Katakolon for Katakolon, Hello Ephesus for Kusadasi, and Corfu Taxi Private Tours in Corfu. We used these companies in June and were very pleased with their services.

 

If you do some ports on your own, Rick Steves' Med Cruise Ports book is an excellent resource that spells out what to see and do, gives walking tours, and directions on transportation. We found it very useful.

[Astro Flyer]

There are many on this cruise who feel like me & prefer to take our chances with the weather than to fight the crowds & heat. Nearly everyone on our roll call is continuing on the Med/TA cruise to Galveston. No one is expecting a beach experience but to explore the ports during a less crowded time realizing that it may also result in some businesses being closed for the season.

 

Whether that's the experience the OP or others desire that's for them to decide if they're like those of us looking forward to this cruise.

[Dorset Cruiser]

This is the only cruise we could fit into our diaries. It is super hot but we are spending more time on board in the Sanctuary and enjoying it very much. Have been to nearly all the ports before on more than one occasion so have seen what they have to offer.

 

We are disappointed with Crown and are somewhat pleased to be getting off tomorrow.

[Dorset Cruiser]

I would add that you can get some great weather in the Med, in October especially, and the sea is still warm. On the transatlantic, you will be heading Back towards warm weather although the Atlantic will be cold at first:). Our itinerary was very good.

[David&Heather]

This is the only cruise we could fit into our diaries. It is super hot but we are spending more time on board in the Sanctuary and enjoying it very much. Have been to nearly all the ports before on more than one occasion so have seen what they have to offer.

 

We are disappointed with Crown and are somewhat pleased to be getting off tomorrow.

 

Maybe time to try something else other than cruising?

 

We will be boarding the Crown tomorrow, looking forwards to it so much and I am sure we will enjoy it.

We are relative newcomers to cruising and were not around in the days of the Titanic, then again we could never have afforded to cruise in those days or even in the 1980's or 90's, maybe it's riff-raff such as ourselves who are lowering the standards?

 

I am sure that we will enjoy the Crown provided we ignore the minority who harp on about how standards are slipping or how much better cruise line xxx is compared to Princess.

 

We work damn hard to pay for our cruises and intend to enjoy every day of our cruise, if you are minded to do so you can find fault with everything, some do so and use it as an excuse to reduce their auto tips or push for 'compensation' - what a waste of your holiday time - our time is too precious to waste.

[Snow cat]

We had a great time on the Crown in April (even though it rained a majority of the time), and didn't notice any slip in service or anything from prior visits.

 

Happy to have another Crown Princess cruise booked for Feb 2013, and considering another one for Feb 2014.

 

Have a great cruise (for everyone just heading out)...

[JimmyVWine]

1. Main bugbear for us and a lot we have spoken to is the cruise director, Lisa Ball. She really grates and the entertainment laid on is very poor.

 

2. Tne itinerary however is good...

 

3. ...and the ship is full of very noisy Italians:eek:

 

As to #1, I personally can't imagine going on such a port intensive cruise and having it ruined by the quality of the entertainment or a grating CD. To me, this is all fluff and window dressing on a cruise with such interesting ports, which is more or less supported by #2. As for #3, not going to touch that.

[Dorset Cruiser]

May be fluff and window dressing to you, but not to us as the entertainment is all part of the cruise experience.

 

In our opinion only, our cruise on Crown Princess was not as enjoyable as some of our other Princess cruises in certain areas. Why is this a reason for us to try some other type of holiday:confused: We like cruising and will continue to do so. As for me thinking anyone is riff raff, what a strange thing to say. We have also worked damned hard to be able to go on some amazing cruises and will continue to do