European Cruise Questions

[Melozone]

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

 

I'm on the Allure with you it appears.

[Beardface]

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

 

Anytime, and don't get the feeling that I'm telling you not to cruise. I absolutely love cruising, but I saw the amount of time people were in these cities firsthand when ships were in port and.... I'll just say this... for Rome, the Colosseum/Roman Forum or Vatican City... Going to either is a full day experience (unless you book a skip the line tour, and even then its a half day tour). You cannot do both through a cruise, especially considering the port is an hour outside the city. For Florence, you might be able to get to Il Duomo and the Accademia (where David is) in the same day. If your goal is to really take in the experience of being in those cities, bag the cruise and stay in hotels. Its a much, much more rewarding experience. Even with Cinque Terre, you will really only have enough time to train hop a little bit between towns (forget going on one of the phenomenal walking trails) before you head back. Really, you need at least 48 hours in that place to really appreciate it.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Anytime, and don't get the feeling that I'm telling you not to cruise. I absolutely love cruising, but I saw the amount of time people were in these cities firsthand when ships were in port and.... I'll just say this... for Rome, the Colosseum/Roman Forum or Vatican City... Going to either is a full day experience (unless you book a skip the line tour, and even then its a half day tour). You cannot do both through a cruise, especially considering the port is an hour outside the city. For Florence, you might be able to get to Il Duomo and the Accademia (where David is) in the same day. If your goal is to really take in the experience of being in those cities, bag the cruise and stay in hotels. Its a much, much more rewarding experience. Even with Cinque Terre, you will really only have enough time to train hop a little bit between towns (forget going on one of the phenomenal walking trails) before you head back. Really, you need at least 48 hours in that place to really appreciate it.

 

I totally get your point of view here, but I think I'm going to save a land trip in Europe for a later vacation, when I have more time and can spend as much time as I want in each city. :)

[kitkat343]

LT -

 

RealNorwegianCruiser has a very good point. I booked my cruise last August at the last minute, and one of the reasons we held off on booking ahead of time was that there was a lot of concern about whether or not the St. Petersburg stop would be cancelled. The Baltic boards were quite active last summer with people who were really worried, since St. Petersburg could be cancelled at the last minute and all cruisers would be entitled to was a refund of their port fees. This would be quite disappointing since many people had chosen a Baltic cruise specifically because they wanted to see St. Petersburg. Since it sounds like you like both the Med and Baltic itineraries, it is probably a much less stressful choice to go to the Med and that way you won't be supporting the current government in St. Petersburg or have to worry about the stop being cancelled.

Edited February 21, 2015 by kitkat343

[tidygirl]

While on a port stop we managed going to Rome on our own did the Vatican, Colosseum saw Trevi Fountain, and Spanish steps it was a busy rushed day but we saw enough to satisfy our family.

@Offtheseascruisers- Have you checked out "Our families viewpoint of our Med cruise?" It has details and pictures to give you ideas.

[tidygirl]

We did our first cruise in Sept from Barcelona the reason I chose this itinerary was it was the cheapest, flights were cheaper to Barcelona than Rome or Venice and the dates worked for us! We also wanted only 1 sea day and figured any port we stopped at was new to us and we could see more of the country!

Edited February 21, 2015 by tidygirl

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

What's everyone's opinions of Royal's 7N Greek Isles and Turkey Cruises? (Splendor is doing them in 2016, but I've been scanning the deployment thread and it seems Vision will be doing the itineraries in 2016.)

 

Such as this itinerary...

 

Venice

Dubrovnik 11:30am-6:30pm

At Sea

Kusadasi 9am-7pm

Santorini 7am-5pm

Katakolon 10am-5pm

At Sea

Venice

 

Or this one...

 

Venice

Kotor 2-8pm

Corfu 9-3pm

Athens 12-8:30pm

Mykonos 7-4pm

Argostoli 12-7pm

At Sea

Venice

 

It appears the port times are very short? Are these places really must-sees?

[steveru621]

What's everyone's opinions of Royal's 7N Greek Isles and Turkey Cruises? (Splendor is doing them in 2016, but I've been scanning the deployment thread and it seems Vision will be doing the itineraries in 2016.)

 

Such as this itinerary...

 

Venice

Dubrovnik 11:30am-6:30pm

At Sea

Kusadasi 9am-7pm

Santorini 7am-5pm

Katakolon 10am-5pm

At Sea

Venice

 

Or this one...

 

Venice

Kotor 2-8pm

Corfu 9-3pm

Athens 12-8:30pm

Mykonos 7-4pm

Argostoli 12-7pm

At Sea

Venice

 

It appears the port times are very short? Are these places really must-sees?

 

Very difficult choice. I would lean towards the second option.

 

Dubrovnik and Kusadasi are just OK and not very special. (my opinion)

Santorini is great, but if the weather is bad, it is a very difficult tender port.

 

When all is said and done the differences are not all that great. Spend time in Venice before or after your cruise.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Very difficult choice. I would lean towards the second option.

 

Dubrovnik and Kusadasi are just OK and not very special. (my opinion)

Santorini is great, but if the weather is bad, it is a very difficult tender port.

 

When all is said and done the differences are not all that great. Spend time in Venice before or after your cruise.

 

Thanks. Choosing the perfect European itinerary is so difficult!

[tidygirl]

We are booked on the second one in Oct so we shall see. I was disappointed in some of the short port days, but I guess I can't change that though I do wonder why?

[nekzaadvakil]

OP - I know you've asked this Q on a Royal thread, but have you considered Celebrity. Like you I love Royal and I doubt I would cruise any other cruiseline, even with these outrageous prices. But Celebrity is the same family and after our 2 cruises (both European) in the last 2 years, we honestly feel that Celebrity has better European Itineraries.

 

There are many Celebrity itineraries which cover multiple amazing ports like Rome, Santorini, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Istanbul, Malta and more in one 11/12/13 night cruise. Their S class ships are absolutely brilliant and around the same size as the Voyager class ships (I dont think i'd sail on smaller ship than Voyager class/ S class on Celebrity)

 

We've seen some amazing ports in the Med thanks to Celebrity and we're tentatively booked for the Baltic in 3 months time - again on Celebrity. We felt Celebrity has the same laid back atmosphere as Royal, with better food. I suggest you have a quick glance at Celebrity's European Itineraries (they are out already) and you won't be disappointed.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

OP - I know you've asked this Q on a Royal thread, but have you considered Celebrity. Like you I love Royal and I doubt I would cruise any other cruiseline, even with these outrageous prices. But Celebrity is the same family and after our 2 cruises (both European) in the last 2 years, we honestly feel that Celebrity has better European Itineraries.

 

There are many Celebrity itineraries which cover multiple amazing ports like Rome, Santorini, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Istanbul, Malta and more in one 11/12/13 night cruise. Their S class ships are absolutely brilliant and around the same size as the Voyager class ships (I dont think i'd sail on smaller ship than Voyager class/ S class on Celebrity)

 

We've seen some amazing ports in the Med thanks to Celebrity and we're tentatively booked for the Baltic in 3 months time - again on Celebrity. We felt Celebrity has the same laid back atmosphere as Royal, with better food. I suggest you have a quick glance at Celebrity's European Itineraries (they are out already) and you won't be disappointed.

 

Yes, I have been looking at Celebrity. In fact, there is one cruise that really interests me (7night Venice to Barcelona). The only problem is that the price is about $1000 over our budget right now. But we'll see, maybe I can swing it or maybe the price will drop!

[griffy116]

We weren't interested in Kusadasi and loved it. We used a private tour company and specifically mentioned "no carpet demo" when booking. Ehphesus was amazing and our guide was the best. It was the best surprise of our trip. Everyone's opinion is different.

[mjldvlks]

What's everyone's opinions of Royal's 7N Greek Isles and Turkey Cruises? (Splendor is doing them in 2016, but I've been scanning the deployment thread and it seems Vision will be doing the itineraries in 2016.)

 

Such as this itinerary...

 

Venice

Dubrovnik 11:30am-6:30pm

At Sea

Kusadasi 9am-7pm

Santorini 7am-5pm

Katakolon 10am-5pm

At Sea

Venice

 

Or this one...

 

Venice

Kotor 2-8pm

Corfu 9-3pm

Athens 12-8:30pm

Mykonos 7-4pm

Argostoli 12-7pm

At Sea

Venice

 

It appears the port times are very short? Are these places really must-sees?

It's hard to beat sailing out of Venice. Our first RCI cruise was very similar to the first itinerary you mention. The only difference is we stopped in Corfu instead of Katakolon. We thought it was great and would highly recommend it. Dubrovnik was one of those ports i never would have visited except that is was on the itinererary -- and we loved it. We spent the day in the old city -- walked the wall, ate pizza outside, had a great day. Kusadasi/Ephasis was one of the reasons we picked the itinerary, we were interested in the Biblical history, others may not be. We were not disappointed. As rookie cruisers, we took the ships tour, an 8 hour excursion that stopped at Ephesus, Didyma, and Miletus. Our guide was knowledgeable and a good speaker. We had friends with us and the other people on the excursion were good company as well. Santorini was not that special to me, but keep in mind we were later in the fall and it was a little cool and breezy. And having been lulled into overconfidence by the warmth in Turkey the day before, I left my jacket on the ship. Anyway, I highly recommend this itinereary.

 

At the same time, have nothing negative to say about the second itinerary. We enjoyed Corfu [rented a car and drove to Paleokastritsa] but haven't been to the other ports of call. But I repeat, it's hard to beat Venice.

 

The bottom line for any European cruise [and pretty much any cruise] is pick a few things you absolutely don't want to miss and don't fret over the other things. You can never do it all so enjoy the things you get to do.

[Hoopster95]

What's everyone's opinions of Royal's 7N Greek Isles and Turkey Cruises? (Splendor is doing them in 2016, but I've been scanning the deployment thread and it seems Vision will be doing the itineraries in 2016.)

 

Such as this itinerary...

 

Venice

Dubrovnik 11:30am-6:30pm

At Sea

Kusadasi 9am-7pm

Santorini 7am-5pm

Katakolon 10am-5pm

At Sea

Venice

 

Or this one...

 

Venice

Kotor 2-8pm

Corfu 9-3pm

Athens 12-8:30pm

Mykonos 7-4pm

Argostoli 12-7pm

At Sea

Venice

 

It appears the port times are very short? Are these places really must-sees?

 

You're still at this thread???? :p

 

Imo option #1 by far and away better than #2. Dubrovnik & Santorini are 2 of the top five ports of call you can visit in all of the Med, bucket list cities. An excursion to Ephesus from Khusadasi is in the top 10.