European Cruise Questions

[londongal796]

Alright, so I'm becoming obsessed! :D:rolleyes:

 

I was just looking at the Celebrity website again... I found another cruise, still on the Constellation, but dates work better for us, but I'd like to hear some opinions:

 

Itinerary:

 

Venice

Zadar

Kotor

Rome

Livorno(Florence)

Toulon(Provence)

Barcelona

 

I liked the overnight in Venice on the other cruise, but as I said above, these dates are more convenient... I'd still be able to arrive in Venice a day or two early, and stay in Barcelona post-cruise. But is Dubrovnik really a not-to-be missed port? How's it compare to Zadar and Kotor?

 

The other cruise is not out because I can make the dates work if necessary, but I just want to hear opinions on this one.

 

Itinerary looks fine still, I have not been to the three ports in particular mentioned but I have been to Split which was a lovely place to visit. I don't know if you will be able to contain your excitement long enough but as you wouldn't be able to book your flights out yet, it may be worth waiting to book and see if anything better pops up with RC. (Though that seems like a perfectly fine itinerary to me!)

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Itinerary looks fine still, I have not been to the three ports in particular mentioned but I have been to Split which was a lovely place to visit. I don't know if you will be able to contain your excitement long enough but as you wouldn't be able to book your flights out yet, it may be worth waiting to book and see if anything better pops up with RC. (Though that seems like a perfectly fine itinerary to me!)

 

Thanks! And yes, I'm not booking anytime soon, probably not for several months, but I like to plan ahead! ;) I'll definitely be checking out the Royal itineraries when they're released, and hoping I can find a similar itinerary with them, however, I haven't seen a similar itinerary to this from Royal in a while.

[dani negreanu]

I've travelled extensively on land in Europe and lived in Brussels for 5 years.

Zadar, Kotor and Toulon wouldn't be on the "first priority" list when pondering an ideal itinerary for a first visit.

Venice, Barcelona, Firenze, Napoli -- for the amazing Amalfi coast or even Capri -- Rome (if you can squeeze at least another 2 days for it), Santorini, Corfu, Kusadasi/Istanbul -- first choice.

We've done the X Equinox out of Venice last summer in July -- it was HOT, port intensive, BUT AMAZING :)

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Hey everyone, I'm back with another question! :D

 

I was just scanning through the Royal website (once again...lol), and I came across this itinerary, obviously it's in 2015, but just curious what everyone's opinions are if this was an option in 2016...

 

Southampton

Zeebrugge (Brussels), Belgium

At Sea

Oslo, Norway

At Sea

Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Cherbourg, France

Le Havre (Paris) France

 

As I've mentioned before, I'm totally unfamiliar with the best ports of Europe, so bear with me. But is an itinerary like this desirable at all? I'm just not sure!

[nelblu]

I've done 3 12 niters out of Barcelona and includes Venice on the Serenade and Brilliance. IMHO, it is the best itinerary. Hoping for the '16 schedule that hopefully will be a Brilliance class instead of the Vision.

[ritraveler]

I would definitely encourage you to cruise out of Venice if you can. It is a spectacular sight. We sailed a 12 night Venice to Barcelona on the Celebrity Summit back in 2009 which was fabulous...did Venice, Split, Athens, Santorini, Rome, Naples ( Positano and Ravello) Livorno( did Cinque Terre), Villefranche (did Nice, Eze, Monaco), Barcelona. Stayed an extra night in Barcelona and arrived a day early in Venice to get a little extra time there ( we had been before on a Rick Steve's tour). In 2011 we did an 11 night on Celebrity Equinox.. round trip from Rome (Civitavecchia) that included Naples (Capri), Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Kusadasi and and Istanbul overnight...again a great itinerary...we had booked a Rome to Barcelona for October 2015 on the Allure but ended up cancelling because we had been to most of the ports and were really just wanting to sail on Allure....ended up booking Oasis for Caribbean this April for much less of course. I feel European cruises are so port intensive you don't have alot of time to enjoy the ships entertainment. Especially for someone that really wants to check out the ship for the first time like we did. I am also looking at Celebrity out of Venice next year. Would love to sail out of Venice again and really want to see Dobrovnik. If you've never done a European cruise, I would pick Venice, Santorini, Naples/ Amalfi Coast as must see ports...have fun whatever you decide!!

[HappyCampers3]

Any one know the exact date for the release/announcement of the 2016 itineraries, more specific the transatlantic itineraries? Also, do they open up for booking to some before others, by C&A level?

[Clarea]

Any one know the exact date for the release/announcement of the 2016 itineraries, more specific the transatlantic itineraries? Also, do they open up for booking to some before others, by C&A level?

Royal has not yet published their schedule of itinerary release dates.

[steveru621]

Please go to the Med, save northern Europe for your 4th cruise. No one can say what the proper # of days are, but you will spend an enormous amount of money just for the flight. If you have 10 days, spend the max amount of days to offset your flight costs.

 

Do not be concerned about the ship! Pick your itinerary FIRST. The longer the cruise will be the best. Venice is the best, but just going to the Med is the most important port on your trip. We enjoyed Venice, but Rome or Barcelona is absolutely fantastic.

 

Spend as many days as you can, and you will have a wonderful cruise.

[Iluvcruising2]

Cruising in the Med is usually very port intensive.

 

We sailed on the NCL Jade last Dec to ports in Greece and Turkey - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2139138

 

The year before, we sailed on the Celebrity Silhouette to ports in Italy and the Adriatic seas - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1952065

 

Fantastic experience.

 

You don't need to restrict yourself to Royal Caribbean when looking at Med cruises.

[peteukmcr]

Hey everyone, I'm back with another question! :D

 

I was just scanning through the Royal website (once again...lol), and I came across this itinerary, obviously it's in 2015, but just curious what everyone's opinions are if this was an option in 2016...

 

Southampton

Zeebrugge (Brussels), Belgium

At Sea

Oslo, Norway

At Sea

Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Cherbourg, France

Le Havre (Paris) France

 

As I've mentioned before, I'm totally unfamiliar with the best ports of Europe, so bear with me. But is an itinerary like this desirable at all? I'm just not sure!

IMHO the above itinerary, although good, would not be my first choice for a European cruise. Why? Well here's my view on the the ports.

Southampton - easy to board, but quite a way from the 'big' sights of the UK.

Zeebrugge - handy for Bruges

Oslo - depending on ship should dock close to city centre, but Norway is outrageously expensive - try around $75 for a meal at TGI Fridays and that was a few years ago!

Rotterdam- huge port so will need a long transfer to town and then long drive to Amsterdam

Cherbourg - no experience of this port

Le Harve - small town, long, long way from Paris. Main stop for World War II battle fields, but again you need a long transfer and therefore a good length of time in port.

 

In comparison, the Mediterranean ports, although maybe a large port (Livorno or Valencia for example) sightseeing is possible for short transfers (except for Rome or Pisa for example).

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Alright, thanks everyone! I'm just so unfamiliar with Europe, so I'm trying figure out the must-do destinations!

 

Now just waiting on that deployment schedule! C'mon Royal!

[Biker19]

When planning a European cruise don't ignore transatlantics. They offer great value (both for the cruise and flight savings) and you avoid jet lag. :cool:

[Beardface]

I only have one suggestion... If you're someone who is looking to actually see the cities in a Med cruise (especially the non-Venice cities in Italy) I highly recommend against going on a Med cruise, and to book hotels through your TA and take the train from spot to spot. Especially with Rome and Florence, the ports are so far from the cities, by the time you get there, you only have enough time to physically see a small fraction of the city itself before you have to start making your way back. My wife and I spent 4 days in Rome, 4 days in Florence, 2 days in Cinque Terre, and another 3 days in Venice on our Honeymoon, and even then, there were some major things we missed making us want to go back.

 

Now, if you've already visited those places and just want a quick refresher, then by all means, go on the cruise. Just... if this will be your first time experiencing those places, and they are absolutely on your bucket list, do it right the first time. And its actually not as expensive to do as you would think.

[kitkat343]

LT -

 

It is a very personal decision as to whether you would prefer a Baltic or Med cruise. We greatly enjoyed both our Mediterranean (mostly Greek islands) and Baltic cruises.

 

The highlights of the Mediterranean cruise for me were: Santorini, which is a spectacularly gorgeous area. Malta is a wonderfully well preserved medieval town. The city walls of Dubrovnik were fascinating.

 

On the Baltic cruise, the highlights for me were: St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Tallinn (which is an amazingly preserved medieval city) and Copenhagen.

 

I think it is really hard to compare the two trips, since different people will have different interests. You can choose an itinerary on the Mediterranean that will have more beaches than culture, or a mixture of both. I loved the museums in the Baltics, but a different Mediterranean itinerary could have led me to more museums and culture (the Med cruise was a family one so I had limited input into the itinerary chosen).

 

On the Baltic itinerary I really liked how close you were to so many interesting cities - with the exception of Helsinki (which was nice but not spectacular), I was really glad I had a chance to visit all of those cities and they would all have been worth a land tour or return visit.

 

I'd look at each of the destinations and see what excursions you think you wold most enjoy. In Stockholm, people generally love the Vassa, the sail through the archipelago, and Gamla Stan. In St. Petersburg, the highlights are generally the Hermitage, Catherine's Palace, Peter and Paul palace, the fountains at Peterhof and the Church of the Spilled Blood. In Tallinn, the old city is beautiful. In Copenhagen, people love to see Nyhvan, the Stroget, and Amalienborg Palace. In Germany, you can travel to Berlin (4 hours away) or there are lovely castles nearby where you dock.

 

But there are also a ton of amazing destinations along the Med coast, so it really is a question of which excursions you think you would most enjoy.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

When planning a European cruise don't ignore transatlantics. They offer great value (both for the cruise and flight savings) and you avoid jet lag. :cool:

 

Unfortunately, the TA's are too long for us to be away. :(

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I only have one suggestion... If you're someone who is looking to actually see the cities in a Med cruise (especially the non-Venice cities in Italy) I highly recommend against going on a Med cruise, and to book hotels through your TA and take the train from spot to spot. Especially with Rome and Florence, the ports are so far from the cities, by the time you get there, you only have enough time to physically see a small fraction of the city itself before you have to start making your way back. My wife and I spent 4 days in Rome, 4 days in Florence, 2 days in Cinque Terre, and another 3 days in Venice on our Honeymoon, and even then, there were some major things we missed making us want to go back.

 

Now, if you've already visited those places and just want a quick refresher, then by all means, go on the cruise. Just... if this will be your first time experiencing those places, and they are absolutely on your bucket list, do it right the first time. And its actually not as expensive to do as you would think.

 

Thanks for this suggestion. At this point, we like cruises and were hoping to do one in Europe, but we'll see.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

LT -

 

It is a very personal decision as to whether you would prefer a Baltic or Med cruise. We greatly enjoyed both our Mediterranean (mostly Greek islands) and Baltic cruises.

 

The highlights of the Mediterranean cruise for me were: Santorini, which is a spectacularly gorgeous area. Malta is a wonderfully well preserved medieval town. The city walls of Dubrovnik were fascinating.

 

On the Baltic cruise, the highlights for me were: St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Tallinn (which is an amazingly preserved medieval city) and Copenhagen.

 

I think it is really hard to compare the two trips, since different people will have different interests. You can choose an itinerary on the Mediterranean that will have more beaches than culture, or a mixture of both. I loved the museums in the Baltics, but a different Mediterranean itinerary could have led me to more museums and culture (the Med cruise was a family one so I had limited input into the itinerary chosen).

 

On the Baltic itinerary I really liked how close you were to so many interesting cities - with the exception of Helsinki (which was nice but not spectacular), I was really glad I had a chance to visit all of those cities and they would all have been worth a land tour or return visit.

 

I'd look at each of the destinations and see what excursions you think you wold most enjoy. In Stockholm, people generally love the Vassa, the sail through the archipelago, and Gamla Stan. In St. Petersburg, the highlights are generally the Hermitage, Catherine's Palace, Peter and Paul palace, the fountains at Peterhof and the Church of the Spilled Blood. In Tallinn, the old city is beautiful. In Copenhagen, people love to see Nyhvan, the Stroget, and Amalienborg Palace. In Germany, you can travel to Berlin (4 hours away) or there are lovely castles nearby where you dock.

 

But there are also a ton of amazing destinations along the Med coast, so it really is a question of which excursions you think you would most enjoy.

 

Thanks so much for all of this info!

 

After a lot of research, I'm starting to find which cities are really my must-sees. So far, I'm liking Venice, Dubrovnik, Santorini, Rome, Barcelona, Naples and Cinque Terre (even though its a distance from the port), or Florence. I know it'll be almost impossible to see all these in once cruise, but we'll see what kind of itineraries Royal comes out with this year. I'm hoping for something unique.

 

However, with that said, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, and Helsinki all look like awesome places too! Such a hard decision, but I know I'll go back more times in the future to see what I missed the first time.

 

Any opinions of the Norwegian Fjords? They look neat, but are they really worth it?

Edited February 20, 2015 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[dani negreanu]

YES, but .... after Rome, Venice & Barcelona :)

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

YES, but .... after Rome, Venice & Barcelona :)

 

Haha, gotcha! I've got lots of planning in my future! :D

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

Thanks so much for all of this info!

 

 

However, with that said, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, Helsinki, and St. Petersburg all look like awesome places too! Such a hard decision, but I know I'll go back more times in the future to see what I missed the first time.

 

Any opinions of the Norwegian Fjords? They look neat, but are they really worth it?

 

You dont want to visit St. Petersburg these days. No one wants to put their hard earned cash into Russia with the situation with Ukraine (and potentially growing unrest in the Baltics..

 

Fjords? I am Norwegian, so I should probably not be lobbying for my own country -

: Edited February 20, 2015 by RealNorwegianCruiser

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

You dont want to visit St. Petersburg these days. No one wants to put their hard earned cash into Russia with the situation with Ukraine (and potentially growing unrest in the Baltics..

 

Fjords? I am Norwegian, so I should probably not be lobbying for my own country -

:

 

Good point, and I just edited my post. I wasn't really thinking, and just writing down which ports looked interesting. ;)

 

Thanks for the video. They look amazing.

Edited February 20, 2015 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Looking through cruises from Venice...Is Athens nice to visit, or is not really a must-see?

[Havingfun2010]

Thanks for this. I should have explained a little more, but I could probably pull off 10 days total. I know you might not agree, but I honestly don't think my limited time is going to stop me from going. I'll wait and see itineraries before I decide, but after hearing what you've said, I think i'll try and shoot for a 10 day trip.

 

10 days is very doable, and you won't regret it. Remember to flight to Europe is usually overnight, so you would arrive in the early morning. You can have one entire day of seeing the departure city. By the time you hit your bed, you will sleep soundly and get on the ship the next morning. One day to go back with some time to rest before work.

[peteukmcr]

Looking through cruises from Venice...Is Athens nice to visit, or is not really a must-see?

IMHO Athens is a must see