Mediterranean cruise choices (recommendations)

[ce_cruise]

Looking at cruising the Meiterranean in May or June of 2016. Hoping that Carnival Vista comes out with an interesting itinerary. In case they don't I would love to here other peoples Mediterranean recommendations. What cruise line did you cruise on, what was your itinerary and what recommendations about cruising in the Mediterranean would you give. Thanks in advance. :)

[paul929207]

We sail with Princess have have loved their Med cruises.

 

Another benefit is, if you own shares of Carnival Corp, you will get the same Shareholder OBC as you get on Carnival.

[SPacificbound]

I have some very interesting cruises booked with Celebrity for 2016.

[dolittle]

Every cruise in Europe is great this part of the world is made for cruising. We have done mostly X but a few others also, the cruise line does not matter as much as the ports you want to see. I would go for at least a 12 day and go inside cabin (unless you can afford better).In Europe the costs of excursions can add up to big money fast .Book your trip then study each port on this site and you will have a better(and less costly trip) .I don't know which part of Europe you are looking at but few will have everything you might want ,so book the one that is best for you and hope you can come back for the others. You will be off the ship for long days and tired at nights so the ship and line will not matter as much as other cruises.

[Hlitner]

Interesting. We have done an awful lot of cruising around the world (6 continents and nearly 4 years on cruise ships) and never start out by looking at a particular ship or even cruise line. We normally look at all the options (on many cruise lines) and try to find interesting itineraries that get our attention. If there is more then 1 ship doing a similar itinerary then we will compare various factors including cost, time (and day of the week) in ports, size of the ship, etc. We then make our choice. And I would add that Carnival (upon which we cruised several times) would be one of our last choices for cruises in the Med. Not that there is anything wrong with Carnival, but they have a relatively limited repertoire of European cruises. Lines such as Celebrity, HAL, Princess, Cunard, etc. all have more options.

 

Hank

[morbihan]

We went in June 2014 from Civitavecchia to Venice with Celebrity. Fabulous.

 

Have to admit we don't go out visiting. Not interested in old stones. Anyway, we live in France so if we are struck suddenly with culture, we haven't far to travel. I quite understand people who travel thousands of miles want to see it all though. We like to wander around and go and look in supermarkets!

 

Anyway, beware of the weather. Last June was scorching hot and day trips for me would have been a nightmare. As it was, we were out and about and back before other travellers had left the ship. Early risers!

 

This year we are going again in May so perhaps cooler. Will be getting off the ship more and exploring.

Edited January 5, 2015 by morbihan

[Karysa]

Interesting. We have done an awful lot of cruising around the world (6 continents and nearly 4 years on cruise ships) and never start out by looking at a particular ship or even cruise line. We normally look at all the options (on many cruise lines) and try to find interesting itineraries that get our attention. If there is more then 1 ship doing a similar itinerary then we will compare various factors including cost, time (and day of the week) in ports, size of the ship, etc. We then make our choice. And I would add that Carnival (upon which we cruised several times) would be one of our last choices for cruises in the Med. Not that there is anything wrong with Carnival, but they have a relatively limited repertoire of European cruises. Lines such as Celebrity, HAL, Princess, Cunard, etc. all have more options.

 

Hank

 

Looks like the OP's 5 and only cruises are with Carnival. Some people like to stick to what they know and like and by sticking with one line you can eventually get perks. Personally that has never been my motivator but different strokes for different folks as the saying goes.:)

[SuiteTraveler]

I would recommend NCL since they offer many low cost Med cruises on very nice ships. The true expense of a Med cruise is the touring - it is better to get on your roll call and setup private tours with others. Not only can you see more this way, your tour, being in a small van, can drop you closer to where you want to go than the big tour buses in Europe, so you will save a great deal of walking.

[ce_cruise]

Looks like the OP's 5 and only cruises are with Carnival. Some people like to stick to what they know and like and by sticking with one line you can eventually get perks. Personally that has never been my motivator but different strokes for different folks as the saying goes.:)

 

It is true that I do like to stick with what I know, however, I am more than willing to try another cruise line. The reason we have cruised with Carnival is that it fit perfectly for our family of 4. (Children now 18 & 7). The kids club is what they lived for. Another benefit that we had with Carnival was their Early saver program, which over the 5 cruises saved us approximately $2,800 in total from when we first booked.

For this cruise it is the ports that are important to us, that is why I am asking other peoples experience in the Mediterranean and what cruise line they used. I have not been able to gleem a lot of information about the different itineraries yet but through this site and posts like this I will learn!! Thanks everyone for your experiences!!

[buggins0402]

How long of a trip are you planning? If you have enough time to allocate to the trip, pick an itinerary that starts and ends in two different cities and spend a few days before and after the cruise to see them in more depth. If you don't have a lot of time....pick the one city you really want to see and choose an itinerary that round trips from there. For example if we only had 10 or 11 days, I would do a 7 day that starts and ends in Rome. With a bit over 2 weeks, we would choose one of the 10 day itineraries that start and end in two different cities and spend some time in each.

[freanesi]

Have only done 1 cruise in the Mediterranean so far with NCL Athens to Istanbul. Excellent cruise but like most Med cruises very port intensive. We are booked this year on a HAL cruise which we chose due to the itinerary and ports visited. My limited experience suggests that you look at what ports or sites you want to visit then choose the cruise that matches. As others have also mentioned excursions can be very expensive. Some ports are easily DIY but others due to the distance from the port can be costly due to transport there and back. This is when you can hook up with others via roll calls and join up for tours. Hope this helps.:)

[Flatbush Flyer]

How long of a trip are you planning? If you have enough time to allocate to the trip, pick an itinerary that starts and ends in two different cities and spend a few days before and after the cruise to see them in more depth. If you don't have a lot of time....pick the one city you really want to see and choose an itinerary that round trips from there. For example if we only had 10 or 11 days, I would do a 7 day that starts and ends in Rome. With a bit over 2 weeks, we would choose one of the 10 day itineraries that start and end in two different cities and spend some time in each.

 

Yes- best way to do it.

 

 

 

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[ce_cruise]

How long of a trip are you planning? If you have enough time to allocate to the trip, pick an itinerary that starts and ends in two different cities and spend a few days before and after the cruise to see them in more depth. If you don't have a lot of time....pick the one city you really want to see and choose an itinerary that round trips from there. For example if we only had 10 or 11 days, I would do a 7 day that starts and ends in Rome. With a bit over 2 weeks, we would choose one of the 10 day itineraries that start and end in two different cities and spend some time in each.

 

Love the idea of doing extra days in 2 cities. We were really wanting to do Rome so had been really looking at the cruises that started and finished there. Do you know if it is difficult to find flights flying into one city and then departing out of a different city without paying a healthy premium?

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just plug in "multi-city" when searching. Then compare to RT for each city. Difference is more based on which cities rather than RT vs multi-city.

We just used united miles for business class outbound to Lisbon and return from Rome this summer. Coach tix would've cost about $1300 each and RT to Rome was about the same when I looked them up.

 

 

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[buggins0402]

Love the idea of doing extra days in 2 cities. We were really wanting to do Rome so had been really looking at the cruises that started and finished there. Do you know if it is difficult to find flights flying into one city and then departing out of a different city without paying a healthy premium?

 

Flatbush has it right...plug in the multicity, sometimes they are cheaper. Look at the cruise as a base travel vehicle to see some areas that you don't need a lot of time....but the embarkation and disembarkation cities are key.

 

Note...a 7 day starting in one city and ending in another is a rare bird. Usually, those are 10 days and up. You might find an above mass market that has an interesting 7 day that starts and ends in two different ports. With included air and deviation fees the price might not be too much different from a mass market.

 

Find an online TA website that has a good flexible search....put in your months, how much time you want to spend on the cruise and Rome as an embarkation port and see what happens. As everyone has said, Med cruises (particularly Western Med) are more about itinerary....not the cruise line or ship. You'll be too tired to enjoy the ship that much.

 

JMHO but Rome is the hardest city to do as just a port stop...Barcelona on the other hand...someone can do that in a day and at least get a sense of the city.

Edited January 7, 2015 by buggins0402

[Scubadoobie2]

Before you decide, check out RCCL's European cruises. I cannot "recommend" them to you because I know nothing about your likes and dislikes and preferences. What I can tell you is that my wife and my two "children" (now ages 26 and 22) did a 7 night Eastern Mediterranean cruise in 2013 (late May) on the Navigator of the Seas. It was a round trip from Rome (actually, the port city of Civitavecchia) that stopped at, among other places, Athens and Kusadasi, Turkey (which gives you access to the absolutely AMAZING Roman ruins at Ephesus).

 

We flew into Milan, Italy a few days ahead of our cruise and rode a very high speed train to Rome. We loved that. Then, spent a few days enjoying Rome before the cruise.

 

If this sounds at all intriguing, and if you want to get a feel for what it involved and how we used the Roll Call here at Cruisecritic to arrange our tours, look up my posts (find all posts by Scubadoobie2) and then look for the Roll Call thread for our 2013 Mediterranean cruise. We were able to arrange amazing and small private tour groups for Athens and Turkey excursions, complete with our own guides. This was so much nicer than being part of a huge group if you opt for the tour through the cruise line.

 

A well-planned trip will probably require that you do several hours of research and reading in these boards/forums, but it will be well worth it. Heck, the reading may get you even more excited about the cruise.

 

Happy hunting. I hope you have an unforgettable cruise vacation.

 

P.S. My wife and I did that very same cruise in 2012. Loved it so much we then took our kids the following year. :D

[SuiteTraveler]

As long as you are planning in advance - several months at least, it is easy to get reasonably priced airfare into one city and out of another for a Med cruise. Also, the hotel rooms are cheaper the further out you book. As you get closer to your sail date, the prices rise. We have done this 4 times so far and it worked out great!

[buggins0402]

BTW don't rule out Rome and Paris as your cities...particularly if this is you big shot at Europe for a while. A Rome R/T, and a cheap one way flight to Paris for a transatlantic flight back....the world ( or in this case Europe) is your oyster! All you have to do is be creative when searching. :)

Edited January 7, 2015 by buggins0402

[JMorris271]

Love the idea of doing extra days in 2 cities. We were really wanting to do Rome so had been really looking at the cruises that started and finished there. Do you know if it is difficult to find flights flying into one city and then departing out of a different city without paying a healthy premium?

 

Trains are a good deal in Italy and are a great way to hotfoot it back to your departure airport. Gives you so much more flexibility.

[Essiesmom]

You have lots of time. Get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise ports, and if you are considering Northern Europe, his Rick Steves' Northern Europe Cruise Ports. Read about the ports. If you are taking your children, and them read the books - at least, the oldest. Discuss which ones you really want to visit. Then go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com, and choose those ports from the second list (destinations), and then the time you want to cruise. This will show you who is calling there, and their itineraries. chances are you won't find a cruise with every port you want, unless you can do back to back cruises...But it is a place to start.

On his website, Rick Steves has free downloadable audio tours for ipod and mp3, and you can print out maps to go with them. It might save you taking expensive tours once there. EM

[marco]

If you're going to do a lot of Greek Islands, look at Louis Cruise line. It's Greek. A lot of the Greek Islands you have to tender and as the Louis Lines ships are smaller, you're on the islands in 10-15 minutes. We've been on larger ships and it took HOURS to get off when doing by tender. Food is OK, but not outstanding as is entertainment. SHips are smaller and older (but not old) former US cruise liners. We did one a couple of years ago and were very satisfied with it as we were more interested in the itinerary and time in ports then we were in the ships and onboard amenities. Price was right, too! Check it out. When we went it was part of a cruise/tour.

Edited March 6, 2015 by marco

[wassup4565]

Two Med cruises done, and I would say the ship and the line matter less with these cruises. All the ports are interesting, with many things to see and do, and it's usually a port every day because they're not far apart. This means you will usually be off the ship during the day, and tired when you get back. All you need is a good meal, a shower, and a comfy bed when you're onboard. Because you have to get up and back at it the next day for the next port.

 

Top of my list both times was Venice, a real gem. Two days is better than one, but it's not big, and even if you only see part, it's amazing. I wouldn't miss Athens - love it. The Parthenon and the Parthenon museum are good for half a day, then lunch and some shopping in the Plaka, wonderful. Same with Kusadasi - great historic site at Ephesus and afterward, a fun Turkish market with excellent food, near the ship. I found Rome gargantuan, with things very spread out. One day won't get you very far in Rome. Other places we really loved: Crete, Mykonos and Corfu.

 

There is lots of accurate, reliable info on the Ports thread about all these places, and on Trip Advisor as well. It is a wonderful gift to show your children these old places - you'll have a great time.