Need help finding Med. cruise for Summer 2006

[FONToKNOW]

My wife and I honeymooned on X's Galaxy cruise through the Eastern Mediterranean last summer, and in no small part to all of the wonderful advice we were able to find here had truly fantastic time. Thanks again.

 

Recently my wife and I have been having conversations with her parents about seeing Rome together and a few other cities in Italy (as well as Florence and Venice, to a lesser degree). After a friend of my mother-in-law recently returned from a Mediterranean cruise aboard RC, they have begun to consider a family vacation through the Mediterranean via a cruise.

 

You can imagine my level of excitement at the thought of a second cruise, since thinking of my first cruise is one of my happiest thoughts, even though it is only a possibility and more than a year away! :rolleyes:

 

I am seeking some input from you extremely knowledgeable CruiseCritics in order to find the best options that meet the following preferences:

 

--mid-priced cruiseline

--Rome as port of origin and/or final port

--a nice variety of the following ports of call (Florence, Venice, Nice, Barcelona, Monte Carlo)

--around 10 nights in length

 

So far, we have identified Celebrity's "Best of the Mediterranean" cruise (although there is some concern on the part of the in-laws that there is too much overlap with the honeymoon I just took with my wife) and Holland America's "Mediterranean Enchantment" Any other possibilities?

 

While we made our honeymoon arrangements less than six months out, we have come to learn this is not necessarily the best way to go about booking a cruise. Ideally, we would like to make a pitch in the coming weeks so that we can get cracking on using frequent flier mile awards, etc. if this is a go.

 

Many thanks, and happy cruising.

FoK

[Frankiesmom]

How about checking out RCCL's Brilliance of the Seas itin? sounds like it might be what you're looking for. i wish we could do more than a 7 nite-but we have little ones and a week is all my mom can take!;) Hope this helps

[Past it]

I'm deciding whether to book a Med cruise next year too.I wanted to go on the Adventure of the Seas but it only does the Caribbean and then I found out its sister ship the Voyager of the Seas is doing the Med next year from Barcelona,so as it seems the same kind of ship it has the promenade of shops.I will go on this one and visit relatives after in England.It does Cannes,Nice Florence Rome Naples don't think you would see Venice from it.Check this one out. Can't help with prices as I haven't looked at others as THIS is the only ship I want to see.I will probably go in Sept as it is not as hot then and prices are down a bit :)

[FONToKNOW]

Did a ship as large as Voyager/Adventure seem intimidating? If I am reading the reviews correctly these ships carry almost 2000 more passengers than Galaxy.

 

Thanks.

[kitticat]

how about the new Carnival Liberty..it is doing the Med in 2006.

[muse_clio]

Recently my wife and I have been having conversations with her parents about seeing Rome together and a few other cities in Italy (as well as Florence and Venice, to a lesser degree). ......preferences:

--mid-priced cruiseline

--Rome as port of origin and/or final port

--a nice variety of the following ports of call (Florence, Venice, Nice, Barcelona, Monte Carlo)

--around 10 nights in length

Cruise: Greek Isles - Rome to Venice

Ship: Grand Princess

Embarkation Port: Civitavecchia

Number of Nights: 12

Departures:

2006: May 4

 

Cruise: Greek Isles - Venice to Rome

Ship: Golden Princess

Embarkation Port: Venice

Number of Nights: 12

Departures:

2006: May 22, Jun 15, Oct 5, Oct 29

 

Cruise: Greek Isles/Mediterranean - Rome to Venice

Ship: Golden Princess

Embarkation Port: Civitavecchia

Number of Nights: 12

Departures:

2006: Jun 3, Sep 23, Oct 17

 

That's what i could find with Princess. But if you'd consider a departure of Venice, we've got a CC group cruising 16 May from Venice to Barcelona. I believe an overnight overland in Rome can be taken during our cruise (wonder of wonder!) Check out the itineraries in Princess dot com for the grand med cruise 16 may.

 

Whichever cruise you end up with, i'm sure you'll enjoy!

[OhJinkies]

how about the new Carnival Liberty..it is doing the Med in 2006.

 

I'm booked on the October 2005 Liberty sailing to the Med, and the itinerary is terrific. The price was quite reasonable, as well. The first sailing isn't until July, though, so you might want to wait and see the reviews. Ship embarks from Civitavecchia (Rome) and ports include Naples, Dubrovnik (Croatia), Venice (overnight), Messina (Sicily), Barcelona (Spain), Cannes (France), and Livorno (for access to Florence). It's a 12-night cruise.

[kitticat]

Ohjinkies..we are also booked on the liberty cruise to the Med next May 19, 2006. it will be our first trip overseas and we are really looking forward to it. you will have to write a review when you come back from your cruise in October. Yes the prices were good when we booked also..we considered other lines and itineraries..but this seemed the best for us. We haven't been on Carnival for 4 or 5 years now. This should be a beautiful ship from what I have read on it. Did you book your own air? we did not..we want to see if we can get it cheaper than what the cruise line has. we are also going a day earlier to be able to spend some time in Rome..and get over our jet lag before we sail.

toodles

[OhJinkies]

Ohjinkies..we are also booked on the liberty cruise to the Med next May 19, 2006. it will be our first trip overseas and we are really looking forward to it. you will have to write a review when you come back from your cruise in October. Yes the prices were good when we booked also..we considered other lines and itineraries..but this seemed the best for us. We haven't been on Carnival for 4 or 5 years now. This should be a beautiful ship from what I have read on it. Did you book your own air? we did not..we want to see if we can get it cheaper than what the cruise line has. we are also going a day earlier to be able to spend some time in Rome..and get over our jet lag before we sail.

toodles

 

Kitticat,

 

I did book my own airfare on Orbitz. RT from Orlando (Via JFK) was $854.64 on Delta/Alitalia codeshare. Not exactly cheap, but certainly less than Carnival was offering.

I'll post a full report when I return... I may not get it posted until November, though! I'm looking forward to reading reviews from those sailing in July!!