Honeymoon Cruise- Eastern Mediterranean in 2015-Any which fit the bill/port of calls?

[pathoman]

So I am hunting for a number of ideas for a cruise for my fiance and I. We are getting married this year but want a chance to save up and earn leave time to make sure we do the honeymoon right. She wants a cruise and I love the history of the region so it should work out nicely. I have been looking through sites trying to find info for May-June months of 2015 but from what I can see it isn't fully routed yet by all the cruise lines. I looked at 2014 but there are so many and I am finding only a few options. I am hoping people here with more experience/knowledge can help out.

 

As a baseline, we are looking to fly out of Seattle WA. I am not against buying cruise+flight (friend said they got a 12 day Mediterranean cruise + flight for $1500 taxes included each person 2 years ago which sounds very reasonable). We also have a number of flier miles on United and AA it is not a requirement to purchase together, I just want the best deal.

 

Cruise wise we are not worried about returning to the same port, doesn't matter if we do (if it is Rome, Athens, or Istanbul) but our goal is to see as much as possible. We are looking for a 10-14 day cruise. We do want to hit Rome/Venice (if we end in one I know we can get to the other easily as I have done this my last time in Italy but this would only work on 10 or 11 day cruises), Santorini, Athens(prefer 2 days here or Istanbul), Istanbul (prefer two days here or Athens), and Kotor/Dubrovnik. Other Greek Islands would of course be nice but we don't have them as specifics. Are there any cruises which hit all of these ports? Any that come close to it? We are hoping to spend around 1500-2000 for the cruise + flight, will definitely upgrade to a better cabin if it isn't too much as this is our honeymoon but we prefer to spend money on excursions and food.

 

Any thoughts and recommendations are always welcome along with answers for the above questions. Thank you.

[TMLAalum]

Are you interested in nightlife and partying?

 

Do you want a port-intensive cruise where there are few sea days and time in port between 8-12 hours?

 

Do you enjoy dining that offers menus beyond everyday food?

[pathoman]

Are you interested in nightlife and partying?

 

Do you want a port-intensive cruise where there are few sea days and time in port between 8-12 hours?

 

Do you enjoy dining that offers menus beyond everyday food?

 

We prefer long days off the ship with recovery on the cruise. Not too interested in a partying cruise night life. May have one or two evenings but we want the history and culture. We definitely want a port intensive cruise, no interest being at sea. As the fiance said the ship is food, bed, and storage primarily for us. Food wise we are foodies, I plan on eating off the ship as much as possible. On the ship we would prefer quality over quantity but I suspect that may be difficult. I have cruised once before and was not amazed at all by the constant buffet foods, the formal dinner food was acceptable.

 

Thanks for the questions, good to confirm it with the fiance :)

Edited February 9, 2014 by pathoman

[sueajp]

Hi Pathoman,

This past Sept/Oct we cruised on the Ruby Princess for 14 days that began in Venice, went to Dubrovnik,Istanbul, Corfu, Rhodes, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Kusadasi Turkey, Naples and then to Civitevechia the port for Rome. It was AWESOME! It was two weeks of a 3 week cruise. The ship went on as far as Spain. Some people were on the whole three weeks, some for two and a few for one. Santorini was on my all time bucket list and it did not disappoint. We loved Dubrovnik too. I cannot say enough about this trip. It was very port intensive and we did have a couple of recovery days but mostly up and on the go! Things were well organized and presented. The food was great to good. We never lacked for something to eat. We mixed it up with eating in the MDR and the buffet and pizza and burger cafe. We did a mix of ship sponsored excursions and private tours and then explored on our own. There is lots to experience.... a wonderful buffet in Kusadasi, Kumquat liquors, all kinds of roasted nuts and BAKLAVA to die for! We had Neopolotan style pizza in Sorrento with a nice glass of Proseco. Limoncello everywhere! I hope this has been some help.

[skandls]

You might look at Oceania's smaller ships. They can stop at a lot more ports than the larger ships. They will be more expensive - but they do have deals with air included. Sometimes there are added perks. Food is good - better than the mass market ships. With a port intensive cruise its nice not to have a fixed dinner time. We did a cruise from Athens to Istanbul with stops in the Greek Isles. Egypt (I would not go now) and Israel - ending in Istanbul.

 

There are very well travelled people on these cruises - think about joining private tours to save money. If the tour price is close to the cruiseline tour on a private tour you will see a lot more of the area.

[LHT28]

For your budget it may be difficult to get all you want

Check out prices for the cruise this year & it will give you an idea of what lines will fit you price range (not the sale prices)

 

I have heard Princess & Celebrity are good

Price range look at Norwegian

Could you go in the fall like Sept to Nov you may find some deals

 

Enjoy

[buggins0402]

Agree with LHT - look for a online cruise travel agency with a robust search (where you can put in ports you want to see and desired embarkation city) just to get an idea of what is being offered this year. 2015 itineraries will be out in a few months.

 

To get the price your friend did - you will need the stars and moon to align. Going under $100 p/p per day (with taxes included) is tough for even the cruise alone - particularly if you are fussy about itinerary and months. Not that it can't be done, but usually it's a case of finding the deal and then saying the it fits the needs. Agree with LHT - November is usually the time you can find such deals - cruised three times in November in the Med for under $90 a day p/p. It should also be noted that for 2014 the cruise lines are running far few ships into November.

 

Unless you can find a deal, I would count on using FF miles for at least one of the flights. Those are usually easier to use for round trips out of same city. Or, if you have hotel points consider doing a 7 day with time spent in a city using those points (reducing the trip cost another way).

 

You might ask your friend where he found his deal - and get on their e-mail list.

[6rugrats]

It is not my experience that FF tickets are more easily booked if you leave and return to the same city. Why would it make a difference? I am not an AA flyer, but UA allows one way award bookings, or you can simply choose the multi destination option.

 

OP, I think your budget is too low for what you want, even if you manage to get award tickets for the flights. Prices seem to have gone up since your friend cruised. Four years ago we got a great deal on Windstar, Athens to Venice, for $900 a person, but I haven't seen anything that low, on that line, since.

Edited February 9, 2014 by 6rugrats

[busmech]

You should be able to find someone who will be going to ports you want. If you do Santorini check to see how many ships are there as the wait for the cable car can be long. Was there and we were the only ship and it was nice. Get Rick Steves Med. Cruise ports, lots of info. Went in October and had nice weather.

Enjoy and have fun

[buggins0402]

It is not my experience that FF tickets are more easily booked if you leave and return to the same city. Why would it make a difference? I am not an AA flyer, but UA allows one way award bookings, or you can simply choose the multi destination option.

 

OP, I think your budget is too low for what you want, even if you manage to get award tickets for the flights. Prices seem to have gone up since your friend cruised. Four years ago we got a great deal on Windstar, Athens to Venice, for $900 a person, but I haven't seen anything that low, on that line, since.

 

Yes, you're right - forgot OP mentioned UA and AA and they are still allowing one way rewards (was in my skypeso mind set :D).

 

Searches for FF multi destination tickets using Delta is enough to cause someone to jump off a 10 story building. For that matter, finding any low miles Delta FF ticket to Europe in high season is not an easy feat.

[pathoman]

Thanks for the replies will definitely be looking into Ruby and Oceania (had already done a little investigating on the small ships as I liked the idea). $1500 each is the goal but that is just because I like to get what I want for the right price. If what we want is not possible at that price we are definitely willing to spend more, this is our honeymoon afterall. One reason I am still liking the idea of booking our own flights is b/c we can use miles and, if the cruise is only 10 days or something, we may be able to get a day connection in a different city just to get one more place in but that is in no way critical. Sadly we are stuck with those months as I expect we both may be changing jobs right around there which would give us the time off we need to make it happen, otherwise we will both be burning all of our vacation. THe one time I cruised before I used C compete (not sure if C critic allows posting of other sites so wont), would they be viable for this type of option? Do they also do flights? Would the flights be guaranteed arrival as if we booked through the cruise company or would we be on our own with delays? Finally, what would you guys expect to spend on this? Cruise+flight+taxes? i always worry about taxes, especially as seattle to europe on AA redemption is so annoyingly difficult to avoid the LHS tax.

 

thanks

[TMLAalum]

Celebrity's Europe itineraries for 2015 won't be out for a couple of months, so it might be good to wait until they're published before you decide.

 

Celebrity offers a classy experience for far less than Oceania. You might be able to take advantage of their 1-2-3 promotion which includes choices of a classic alcoholic beverage package, prepaid gratuities and/or Onboard Credit. Times in port vary with most between 10-12 hours.

 

Your description of your interests suggests to me that you might like Celebrity.

 

Regardless of which cruise you choose, join the roll call for your sailing. You can join in, or organize, private tours with other roll call members for less than the cost of a ship excursion that will provide an up-close & personal experience.

 

Re: FF miles- we split our flights by booking one-ways, depending how much mileage we have in our accounts. Our last trip we flew AA to Florence and UA from Rome and for our upcoming it's UA economy to Hong Kong and AA 1st class from Shanghai!

[buggins0402]

Was also my first thought - Celebrity is the best fit, frequently has some nice pricing and does itineraries with the wish list ports on some very nice ships. Budget will only work with FF miles however.

 

Oceania is sometimes a value with the included airfare - however, it is never cheap. 12 day late June 2014 cruise that meets OP wish list starts at $5,000 per person (including air, taxes, gratuities, $400 OBC, and internet). It also does include some things that aren't included on Celebrity - specialty restaurants, shuttles, specialty coffees.

[pathoman]

Was also my first thought - Celebrity is the best fit, frequently has some nice pricing and does itineraries with the wish list ports on some very nice ships. Budget will only work with FF miles however.

 

Oceania is sometimes a value with the included airfare - however, it is never cheap. 12 day late June 2014 cruise that meets OP wish list starts at $5,000 per person (including air, taxes, gratuities, $400 OBC, and internet). It also does include some things that aren't included on Celebrity - specialty restaurants, shuttles, specialty coffees.

 

Hmm yea 5k is probably more than we would want pp. And yea I need to remember to include tip, are Mediterranean cruises the same $10 a day which Caribbean was 5 years ago? We really aren't too interested in OBC, I know they wont have beer I want and I can't afford the prices of scotch I like. Fiance will bring on wine she wants I am sure. Random spending will probably be mixed drinks for her. Internet would be nice as I have no desire to hunt down an internet cafe every few ports to check the outside world but I also will not pay $10 a night, will just wait for port and utilize my international tmobile account. Would you guys recommend I utilize miles for flights and book cruise on C complete or see if a travel agent can work magic? Never actually used a TA outside of work travel as I prefer to plan my own stuff.

 

thanks

[LHT28]

Hmm yea 5k is probably more than we would want pp. And yea I need to remember to include tip, are Mediterranean cruises the same $10 a day which Caribbean was 5 years ago? We really aren't too interested in OBC, I know they wont have beer I want and I can't afford the prices of scotch I like.

thanks

 

seriously :confused:

That is like free money to spend ..maybe you could buy your favourite scotch ;)

[pathoman]

seriously :confused:

That is like free money to spend ..maybe you could buy your favourite scotch ;)

 

No we wont say no to it, but we rather have the value put elsewhere, such as upgrade or cheaper cruise :). If it is the only value we can get we will take but why get 300 OBC when we can get a better room or some such? Not sure how easily comparable they would be but just my thoughts.

[LHT28]

No we wont say no to it, but we rather have the value put elsewhere, such as upgrade or cheaper cruise :). If it is the only value we can get we will take but why get 300 OBC when we can get a better room or some such? Not sure how easily comparable they would be but just my thoughts.

 

I am not sure of your point

We get an OBC from out TA plus sometimes an upgrade

 

Enjoy whatever you choose

 

Lyn

[skandls]

Most OBC's can be used for gratuities. Also Oceania allows bringing your own liquor on the ship - incase you want your own brand.

 

Celebrity' newer ships are quite nice. I like AQ - because of Blu and its open seating policy. When you have long busy days in port it is nice to wander into dinner without a schedule.

[cruisemom42]

Keep in mind that OBC can be used to pay for things like gratuities or tours. And usually it's not an either/or proposition (e.g., it's not like you're offered the chance to upgrade OR you get OBC....)

 

And speaking of tours, if you are not planning to do most ports on your own, be prepared to budget a significant chunk of money for either ship-sponsored or private tours.

[buggins0402]

Celebrity frequently runs the 1-2-3, (drink package, OBC or gratuities) with a choice of two for the European cruises. Usually one can find a TA that will offer additional OBC.

 

Oceania does give air credit - but how much depends on the cruise. And, it certainly wouldn't match the value of the OP's FF miles.

 

Does Celebrity still allow cruisers to "cash out" unused OBC in the Casino, minus a small charge?

 

And didn't Michael's switch to a "brew pub" format on at least some of the ships?

[Spoons64]

We just booked a 14 day Grand Mediterranean out of Venice for July 2015. We will visit Santorini, Athens, Kudasasi, Rome, Florence/Pisa, Valetta, Messina and Cannes with 4 sea days.