12 Day Grand Med (Venice) vs 14 Day Grand Med (Barcelona)

[cyae1]

We are a family of 6 planning our first Med cruise. We are debating between the 2 itineraries. Both cruises are on the Spirit. The only difference is that Kotor and Dubrovnik are added ports in the 14 day cruise. In terms of price difference, it will be $300 more per person. So that's an extra $1800 more than the 12 day. We have a split decision within the family. Some would rather spend the $1800 for extra days pre and post cruise. Any advice would help. About us - Middle age parents with 4 kids age range 13-22yrs.

 

 

 

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[littlelulu01]

We are a family of 6 planning our first Med cruise. We are debating between the 2 itineraries. Both cruises are on the Spirit. The only difference is that Kotor and Dubrovnik are added ports in the 14 day cruise. In terms of price difference, it will be $300 more per person. So that's an extra $1800 more than the 12 day. We have a split decision within the family. Some would rather spend the $1800 for extra days pre and post cruise. Any advice would help. About us - Middle age parents with 4 kids age range 13-22yrs.

 

 

 

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Have you priced out airfare, hotel and airport transfers? That may make a big difference in costs. Also convenience factors pre/post cruise with the flights you need and your interest level in Venice vs. Barcelona.

 

I ended up booking the Jade 14nt over the other options and the big deciding factor for us was the airfare and connection times for flights I wanted. Nothing worse than terrible connections with flights post or pre cruise. Of course ports visited was also a deciding factor. Really wanted to sail on the Epic but the ports were not as interesting for us despite ease of access with flights and less expensive costs of the actual cruise.

[cyae1]

Littlelulu1 - wow I'm so behind in planning. Haven't even considered to look at flight options yet. I was also looking at the Jade 14N but the kids vetoed that bc 3 kids wanted to go to Barcelona. 12N starts in Venice and ends in Barcelona. The 14N is the opposite. Starts in Barcelona and ends in Venice. I also wanted to cruise as early in July as possible. Hopefully less busy. Back to the computer for more research.

 

 

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[bluesea777]

When?

 

Remember July/Aug are soooo hot ... I'd go on cruise that is off season.

[cyae1]

When?

 

 

 

Remember July/Aug are soooo hot ... I'd go on cruise that is off season.

 

 

This is for next year (Jun/July 2015). 12N starts Jun24 and 14n July 6. 2 of the 4 kids are still in school till 3rd week of June. If we didn't take the kids, we would definitely be doing the cruise in May.

 

 

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[Sauer-kraut]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...but with cruises starting in Barcelona you'll pay the Spanish VAT on all on board purchases including your drinks (if not doing UBP) that might make your decision easier.

 

HOWEVER, Dubrovnik !! great and the beaches used to be voted in the top 10 in the world. Can't say anything about Kotor.

[cyae1]

OMG! Spanish tax! These are things I haven't considered or didn't even know about. Please keep the advice/ tips coming. This is a big investment for our family.

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

The VAT issue only applies on cruises that don't leave the EU. The stop in Istanbul deals with that, so you are OK on all of these options.

[kecher]

We are also a family of 6 who's just returned from the 12-day Grand Med (Venice to Barcelona), and it was just the right length; in fact, my 13-year-old was ready to go home (not because she didn't have a fabulous time, but because she was starting to miss her dog, friends, etc. after what seemed "so long" to her). I personally love this itinerary because you get 2 days at sea heading out of Venice, so it's wonderful to ease out of jet lag and be refreshed for the first big adventure in Athens! Then the hits just keep rolling, and by Rome, I felt saturated with history, and art, and beauty--I didn't know how I could soak any more in! Overwhelming!

 

When we arrived in Barcelona, we took the train straight up to Paris and spent the final days of our vacation there, which the entire family LOVED.

 

The ship is so relaxing and fun, you really can't go wrong with a couple extra days on it. But it would be also be fun to use the money to concentrate on a couple of days in one city that you'd really like to explore. Good luck with your decision!

[cyae1]

We are also a family of 6 who's just returned from the 12-day Grand Med (Venice to Barcelona), and it was just the right length; in fact, my 13-year-old was ready to go home (not because she didn't have a fabulous time, but because she was starting to miss her dog, friends, etc. after what seemed "so long" to her). I personally love this itinerary because you get 2 days at sea heading out of Venice, so it's wonderful to ease out of jet lag and be refreshed for the first big adventure in Athens! Then the hits just keep rolling, and by Rome, I felt saturated with history, and art, and beauty--I didn't know how I could soak any more in! Overwhelming!

 

 

 

When we arrived in Barcelona, we took the train straight up to Paris and spent the final days of our vacation there, which the entire family LOVED.

 

 

 

The ship is so relaxing and fun, you really can't go wrong with a couple extra days on it. But it would be also be fun to use the money to concentrate on a couple of days in one city that you'd really like to explore. Good luck with your decision!

 

 

Thanks Kecher, can I ask what staterooms you stayed in? Were the rooms connected? I'm most worried about my 13yr old. He got a little green on our last cruise. On average was the seas calm at this time of year? Oh and thanks about the idea of taking the train to Paris.

 

 

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[kecher]

Thanks Kecher, can I ask what staterooms you stayed in? Were the rooms connected? I'm most worried about my 13yr old. He got a little green on our last cruise. On average was the seas calm at this time of year? Oh and thanks about the idea of taking the train to Paris.

 

We stayed on the 11th deck (rooms 11050 and 11052, to be exact)--they were balcony rooms with a connecting door. My husband and I slept in one room, and in the connecting cabin, our 2 teenagers shared the bed while our 8-year-old twins shared the pullout sofa bed.

 

If your older kids don't want a connecting room, you might consider the less expensive option of an interior stateroom directly across the hall from your balcony room. (The balcony for you and spouse would be soooo worth the money, in my opinion, for the views and privacy, plus your son could always sit out on your balcony in the fresh air if he was feeling queasy.)

 

The seas were fine; there were a few moments over the 12 days when we felt a slight rocking, but most of the time you forget you're even on a ship! One night there was a storm, with rain and heavy waves, that woke up my husband, but I slept through it(!) A couple times, the wind was CRAZY and they closed the promenade deck to walkers, but even then, I never felt it in the ship's movement--no extreme rocking or anything like that. The vast majority of the time, the weather was fab and the sea was flat calm and beautiful.

 

The only one who ever felt seasick was our 13-year-old daughter on the first or second day . . . she wanted to get in bed and try to sleep through it. After she napped for awhile, I made her get up and go to the pool with us, and then she felt better—she needed to be outdoors, breathing fresh air, and seeing the horizon, I think—and she was fine after that. But next cruise, I will remember to bring a nausea patch for her so she doesn't have to go through the initial seasickness, poor thing!

[BermudaBound2014]

I had a similar decision to make 2 years ago. I ended up doing a 12 night cruise with 3 days pre-cruise in Barcelona and 4 nights at the end in Venice. Trip was insanely terrific and Venice was the highlight. If given a choice between a shorter cruise and staying in Venice, I'd take Venice for a few days. It really is that awesome imho.

[SteveH2508]

A minor consideration - the sailaway from Venice is spectacular - not to be missed. Ending in Venice would mean a 'sail-into' at stupid o'clock in the morning - not quite the same experience.

[KeithJenner]

A minor consideration - the sailaway from Venice is spectacular - not to be missed. Ending in Venice would mean a 'sail-into' at stupid o'clock in the morning - not quite the same experience.

 

 

Is that still going to be the case next year? To be honest, I've lost track of the situation in Venice.

 

 

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[SteveH2508]

Is that still going to be the case next year? To be honest, I've lost track of the situation in Venice.

 

 

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You've lost track - so have the Venetians apparently!

 

The situation was that ships over 96,000 gross tonnes would not be able to sail down the route past San Marco. I think both the Jade and the Spirit come in just under that tonnage. However this does seem to be a constantly moving target.

[BermudaBound2014]

A minor consideration - the sailaway from Venice is spectacular - not to be missed. Ending in Venice would mean a 'sail-into' at stupid o'clock in the morning - not quite the same experience.

 

Oh man, bummer NCL does that. I agree, sail-in or sail-away out of Venice is spectacular. I cried the entire time, as did several people standing with me along the balcony. We sailed into Venice at 2:00 p.m. (Princess). We actually had an overnight in Venice (using cruise as hotel) then added additional days.

[SteveH2508]

Oh man, bummer NCL does that. I agree, sail-in or sail-away out of Venice is spectacular. I cried the entire time, as did several people standing with me along the balcony. We sailed into Venice at 2:00 p.m. (Princess). We actually had an overnight in Venice (using cruise as hotel) then added additional days.

 

We were actually up for a sail into Venice at 'stupid o'clock'. The sun coming up over the city and the different light made it quite magical (no drinkies in hand though:()

[duckfan80]

We did the 12-night Venice to Barcelona on the Spirit last July. It was great. We'd also done the Jade 14-night Venice to Venice. Thankfully, that Jade cruise allowed us to experience the Venice sailaway because the Spirit left Venice at 1:00 am. Unless they've changed the departure time since last year, you will have a rather odd sailaway time. I'm sure you'd see lights, but don't make a decision based on that sailaway.

 

Dubrovnik, which we went to on the Jade, was spectacular, but wicked hot.

 

So, not sure I've helped in any way whatsoever, but either cruise will be amazing!

[Shawnino]

+1 to duckfan80 on two counts:

 

--Dubrovnik is wonderful

 

--Best of all, I don't think you can lose either way. Sure, think carefully. Plan. But always remember you have the luxury of never being "wrong", no matter what you do!

[cyae1]

Thank you everyone for your replies. We will definitely need to have a few more family discussion/debates. There is so much to consider. I've checked the Roll Call for both cruises and the 14N Roll Call already has over 120 posts and the cruise is a year away. People are already planning their excursions. I feel so far behind in this planning.

 

Can anyone give me an idea of the cost/night for hotels in Barcelona and Venice? Just a rough estimate. It's still far out that I can't get an exact airfare or hotel cost. Any suggestion for hotels that are good for a family of 6?

 

kecher - my son is exactly like your daughter. The first 2 days were really hard on him. Will definitely get a balcony this time around.

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

I'm pretty sure you will be able to find hotel accommodation cheaper in Barcelona than Venice. You can pay a lot in both, but there are a number of options around €100 in Barcelona (don't know what they are like), whereas you have to go to the mainland to get that sort of price in Venice, as far as I can see.

 

Better quality hotels are relatively expensive in both, but I believe more so in Venice.

 

 

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[littlelulu01]

You will probably need at least two hotel rooms. You may want to look at vrbo for an apartment stay. Have not stayed in Venice or Barcelona but a few years ago rented an apartment for a couple weeks in Florence. Much less in cost because we could do laundry, go to the market and not have multiple hotel rooms. We had a fabulous three bedroom flat on the Arno river just across from ponte vecchico for less than half the cost of a hotel. Of course renting an apartment is a whole other research project. Trip advisor and vrbo are good places to look to get an idea. We used a broker but they were Tuscany specific. If really on the cheap, there are some convents that rent rooms but they have strict rules.

 

If you have rewards points for hotel chains such as marriott they can be very valuable in Europe. We've stayed in London on points and there is no tax on the rooms with rewards points which is a huge savings when talking about conversion rates to GPB or Euro. You have to book way ahead when using points. It's such a good deal that they don't allow many rooms to go for points only reservations.

[deanomeano]

We are doing the 12 day Venice to Barcelona 9/2/2014, but are flying into Barcelona 8/27 then over to Venice 8/30. So the week will be split between the two cities before boarding the Spirit. Don't know if this helps a lot because we haven't done it yet:)

[cyae1]

littlelulu01 - Thanks for the tip regarding renting an apartment instead of a hotel. I did find some that would take 6 of us for a reasonable price

 

 

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[nevarez]

I've been pricing hotels in Barcelona for a 12 night on the Spirit sailing November. We have two nights in Barcelona prior to sailing. I looked into apartments as I like the idea of having a kitchen for my DH and I plus another couple. The apartments had an 8 night minimum and required a $250 refundable cleaning deposit. Make sure you read all the fine print before booking an apartment.