Adriatic Sea or Eastern Med & Greek Isles

[rdt10]

Looking at a Celebrity med cruise for next year and debating between theses two. Both look great. We did a Barcelona to Istanbul cruise on the Constellation last year so we've been to some of the ports on both. I've put the new ports for us in bold. I've looked at the ports of call but its hard to get a comparison. I know it is all subjective, but any comments and opinions are appreciated. Thanks. Rick

 

The ports are:

 

12 night Adriatic Sea - Venice, Italy; Koper, Slovenia; Ravenna, Italy; Zadar, Croatia; Split, Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Valletta, Malta; Catania, Sicily,Italy; Naples, Italy; Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

 

12 night Eastern Med & Greek Isles - Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; Naples, Italy; Valletta, Malta; Athens (Piraeus), Greece; Santorini, Greece; Rhodes, Greece; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; Mykonos, Greece; Chania (Souda),Crete, Greece; Venice, Italy

[4774Papa]

Both cruises have great ports, but I would first go with the Eastern Med.

[PSU]

We did the Adriatic last May and it was the best cruise I have ever taken. The ports were out of this world.

[dln929]

No one should miss the opportunity to sail out of Venice or sail into Koper. Go for the Adriatic itinerary. It's stunning.

[reilly1]

We did the Adriatic last May and it was the best cruise I have ever taken. The ports were out of this world.

 

Totally agree!

[RickT]

To me you are trying to choose between two excellent cruises (I've done both). IMHO you can't go wrong with either.

 

If you can't decide between the two it may be as simple as pricing out the total cost of each and going with the one that is least expensive, and putting the money you save towards the one you didn't do. :D

 

The only other thing to consider is that I found the Greek Isles cruise a little more relaxing than the Adriatic. I found when I did the Greek cruise I was content to soak in the scenery and relaxing way of life. When I did the Adriatic I found I was a little more focused on touring and seeing the sights.

[Bruin Steve]

Looking at a Celebrity med cruise for next year and debating between theses two. Both look great. We did a Barcelona to Istanbul cruise on the Constellation last year so we've been to some of the ports on both. I've put the new ports for us in bold. I've looked at the ports of call but its hard to get a comparison. I know it is all subjective, but any comments and opinions are appreciated. Thanks. Rick

 

The ports are:

 

12 night Adriatic Sea - Venice, Italy; Koper, Slovenia; Ravenna, Italy; Zadar, Croatia; Split, Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Valletta, Malta; Catania, Sicily,Italy; Naples, Italy; Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

 

12 night Eastern Med & Greek Isles - Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; Naples, Italy; Valletta, Malta; Athens (Piraeus), Greece; Santorini, Greece; Rhodes, Greece; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; Mykonos, Greece; Chania (Souda),Crete, Greece; Venice, Italy

 

Both great cruises...BUT...in looking at where you HAVEN'T been, I would clearly take the Adriatic cruise...

 

On that Greek cruise, Santorini is an absolute must...and you have to get there some day on some cruise...Mykonos and Crete, though interesting and ports with a bit to offer, are not, in my mind, the most exciting. Mykonos is a popular little resort-type island--beaches and shops...oh, and those windmills. In Crete, we visited the Palace of Knossos--a very good archaeological site, but, other than that there wasn't much...

 

OTOH, we LOVE those Adriatic ports. We just did a variation of this cruise this past June/July...These ports give you a bigger variety of interesting sites and some incredible experiences...Here is my quick take on each of your "new" ports:

 

Koper, Slovenia: We'd never been there before and formed a small group and did a private tour to the capital, Ljubliana and to some rather voluminous caverns...Added one more country to our list and had a very nice time. Found Ljubljiana surprisingly charming.

 

Ravenna, Italy: Though most use this port to visit Bologna, we opted for a ship's shorex to San Marino...and so glad we did. San MArino was spectacularly picturesque and well worth the visit...plus, it added yet another new country to our "list".

 

Zadar, Croatia: Our cruise didn't stop there, going to Bari and to Corfu instead.

 

Split, Croatia: Took a private tour here to Diocletian's Palace and Trogir. Interesting, though not my favorite port on this route.

 

Kotor, Montenegro: This was our second visit and I absolutely loved it both times. First visit, we did a tour to Sveti Stefan and Budva. Really loved Budva, a Medeival walled city and beach resort. Incredibly quaint. This last time, we concentrated on Kotor itself...a Medeival walled city on an incredibly scenic "fjord". We joined a group that chartered a boat for a tour around the fjord.

 

Dubrovnik, Croatia: One of my wife's favorites. We've been a few times. Absolutely strikingly scenic Medeival , pedestrian only walled city. Walk the walls for incredible views at every turn. A Medeival "Disneyland".

 

Valletta, Malta: One of the world's most incredibly beautiful sail in/sail outs...And the islands are incredibly rich with history. The old crusader church with the elaborate marble gravestones making up the floor is worth the visit in and of itself. We've been twice now and actually hired the same private guide for the same small group private tour both times. So much to visit on this island...Aside from the crusader church and beautiful Valetta, there's old Mdina and there's Hagar Qim--the Maltese Stonehenge...Lot's more...Absolutely fascinating...

 

Come to think of it, even if I'd been to all of these ports before, I would still pick this route...and that's not to say the other one is bad...it's pretty good as well...But this one is one of the best cruise itineraries ever.

 

Add: I forgot to mention, on that first one, Rhodes is pretty cool as well--I love old Medeival walled cities...and Rhodes Town has a bit of charm. But it still can't outweigh the ports on that Adriatic cruise...

Edited March 4, 2014 by Bruin Steve

[Essiesmom]

Which ships are they? With the regulations Venice is trying to put in place after Nov. 2014, ships larger than 96,000 tons will not be allowed to sail into or out of Venice but must port in Marghera and shuttle passengers to Venice until a new channel is dredged from Marghera to Marittima. so Solstice class would not have that wonderful sailaway. EM

[drarill]

No one should miss the opportunity to sail out of Venice or sail into Koper. Go for the Adriatic itinerary. It's stunning.

 

I agree. We did this itinerary on the Silhouette two years ago and it was amazing!!!

[rdt10]

Thanks to everyone for the comments and to Bruin Steve for the port summaries. This was very helpful. Looks like the consensus is the Adriatic has more impressive sights. We like to get out and about in ports so the Adriatic seems a better fit.

 

Any recommendations for port or starboard? Port would seem better for sailing out of Venice. What about the other ports?

 

Thanks. Rick

[Little Nell]

I just have to pit my tuppence worth in here too. I agree Santorini is a must and Athens and Ephesus are wonderful too but for me I would do that Adriatic itinerary in a heartbeat. The Adriatic is the best cruise we have done.

[Bruin Steve]

Thanks to everyone for the comments and to Bruin Steve for the port summaries. This was very helpful. Looks like the consensus is the Adriatic has more impressive sights. We like to get out and about in ports so the Adriatic seems a better fit.

 

Any recommendations for port or starboard? Port would seem better for sailing out of Venice. What about the other ports?

 

Thanks. Rick

 

Sailaway from Venice, the main part of Venice is on the port side...

 

In Malta, sailing in, both sides are pretty impressive, but the Starrboard has the main part of Valetta...Of course, sailing back out, it is reversed...

 

For Kotor, both sides are pretty impressive...and, again, the sailaway is reversed...

 

On our Adriatic cruise, we booked 2106 on Silhouette--which is on the Starboard side...mostly because we love the cabin location (right next to the Aft elevators on the pool deck) and the balcony--which is almost three times the size of the standard balcony. We picked the Starboard because the smoking area is on the pool deck right outside the doors near these cabins on the port side and last time we cruised on Eclipse, we had a cabin on that side and I kept walking out into the gauntlet of smokers...

 

It all didn't matter much to me for the Venice Sailaway since I'd rather go out onto the open deck and take photos with far fewer obstructions and the highest vantage point...

 

For the sail in to Malta, I also left the cabin and headed to the very fore of the ship...

 

See below thumbnails from sail in to Kotor...

[Bruin Steve]

And here are thumbnails from sail in to Malta...

[ptrpanpens]

Sailaway from Venice, the main part of Venice is on the port side...

 

In Malta, sailing in, both sides are pretty impressive, but the Starrboard has the main part of Valetta...Of course, sailing back out, it is reversed...

 

For Kotor, both sides are pretty impressive...and, again, the sailaway is reversed...

 

On our Adriatic cruise, we booked 2106 on Silhouette--which is on the Starboard side...mostly because we love the cabin location (right next to the Aft elevators on the pool deck) and the balcony--which is almost three times the size of the standard balcony. We picked the Starboard because the smoking area is on the pool deck right outside the doors near these cabins on the port side and last time we cruised on Eclipse, we had a cabin on that side and I kept walking out into the gauntlet of smokers...

 

It all didn't matter much to me for the Venice Sailaway since I'd rather go out onto the open deck and take photos with far fewer obstructions and the highest vantage point...

 

For the sail in to Malta, I also left the cabin and headed to the very fore of the ship...

 

See below thumbnails from sail in to Kotor...

 

On the adriatic cruise last November I had a starboard cabin. It was a good thing, too as we entered venice earlier than announced and i had to rush out on my balcony very early AM with my nightgown on to not miss the full sail in. I dont think they would have appreciated me up on deck in that attire. Lol:D

 

From an itinerary standpoint that was my favorite cruise. Venice at daybreak is unbelievable and I would have been devastated to miss out on even one moment of it. But I have done Greece and Turkey four times and loved that itinerary too.

[bigbenboys]

We had done both. If I had to do only one it would be. 12 night Eastern Med & Greek Isles - Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; Naples, Italy; Valletta, Malta; Athens (Piraeus), Greece; Santorini, Greece; Rhodes, Greece; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; Mykonos, Greece; Chania (Souda),Crete, Greece; Venice, Italy. We are thinking of doing this cruise again. Richard