MSC East Med. Itinerary

[RammsteinNicCage]

I'm looking at a solo cruise on MSC in the eastern Med. It'll be my first cruise. The main reasons why I'm eying this cruise right now is that it's originating from Venice and it'll make a stop in Istanbul and it's affordable when I want to go. But, I'm looking at the itinerary and the times in port seem very short (only five hours for some). This doesn't seem like a heck of a lot of time if you're also taking into account the time it takes to get off the ship and get back on (I'm guessing to reserve about an hour combined for that?). Has anyone here taken this itinerary or something similar and felt like they had enough time to see a few sights?

 

1 Sun Aug 30 Venice .... 16:30 Docked

2 Mon Aug 31 Brindisi 13:00 18:00 Docked

3 Tue Sep 01 Katakolon 08:00 13:00 Docked

4 Wed Sep 02 Izmir 09:00 15:00 Docked

5 Thu Sep 03 Istanbul 07:30 16:30 Docked

6 Fri Sep 04 At Sea .... .... ....

7 Sat Sep 05 Dubrovnik 11:30 16:30 Docked

8 Sun Sep 06 Venice 09:00 .... Docked

 

Also, it looks like their cancellation policy is that you can get a FULL refund if you cancel before 76 days, no other fees will be charged, right? And what do they mean by the notification needs to be in writing - something placed in snail mail or would an email work?

 

And of course I'd be willing to hear any other advice regarding this particular cruise or cruise line. :)

[anniegb]

I'm looking at a solo cruise on MSC in the eastern Med. It'll be my first cruise. The main reasons why I'm eying this cruise right now is that it's originating from Venice and it'll make a stop in Istanbul and it's affordable when I want to go. But, I'm looking at the itinerary and the times in port seem very short (only five hours for some). This doesn't seem like a heck of a lot of time if you're also taking into account the time it takes to get off the ship and get back on (I'm guessing to reserve about an hour combined for that?). Has anyone here taken this itinerary or something similar and felt like they had enough time to see a few sights?

 

1 Sun Aug 30 Venice .... 16:30 Docked

2 Mon Aug 31 Brindisi 13:00 18:00 Docked

3 Tue Sep 01 Katakolon 08:00 13:00 Docked

4 Wed Sep 02 Izmir 09:00 15:00 Docked

5 Thu Sep 03 Istanbul 07:30 16:30 Docked

6 Fri Sep 04 At Sea .... .... ....

7 Sat Sep 05 Dubrovnik 11:30 16:30 Docked

8 Sun Sep 06 Venice 09:00 .... Docked

 

Also, it looks like their cancellation policy is that you can get a FULL refund if you cancel before 76 days, no other fees will be charged, right? And what do they mean by the notification needs to be in writing - something placed in snail mail or would an email work?

 

And of course I'd be willing to hear any other advice regarding this particular cruise or cruise line. :)

 

To answer your question re time in port - far too short esp Dubrovnik.

 

On that basis, I would give this cruise a miss - JMO.

 

Annie

[Skier52]

I'm looking at a solo cruise on MSC in the eastern Med. It'll be my first cruise. The main reasons why I'm eying this cruise right now is that it's originating from Venice and it'll make a stop in Istanbul and it's affordable when I want to go. But, I'm looking at the itinerary and the times in port seem very short (only five hours for some). This doesn't seem like a heck of a lot of time if you're also taking into account the time it takes to get off the ship and get back on (I'm guessing to reserve about an hour combined for that?). Has anyone here taken this itinerary or something similar and felt like they had enough time to see a few sights?

 

1 Sun Aug 30 Venice .... 16:30 Docked

2 Mon Aug 31 Brindisi 13:00 18:00 Docked

3 Tue Sep 01 Katakolon 08:00 13:00 Docked

4 Wed Sep 02 Izmir 09:00 15:00 Docked

5 Thu Sep 03 Istanbul 07:30 16:30 Docked

6 Fri Sep 04 At Sea .... .... ....

7 Sat Sep 05 Dubrovnik 11:30 16:30 Docked

8 Sun Sep 06 Venice 09:00 .... Docked

 

Also, it looks like their cancellation policy is that you can get a FULL refund if you cancel before 76 days, no other fees will be charged, right? And what do they mean by the notification needs to be in writing - something placed in snail mail or would an email work?

 

And of course I'd be willing to hear any other advice regarding this particular cruise or cruise line. :)

 

 

MSC like the Venice Istanbul route, with different in between stops, but they do try and squeeze it into 7 days which is too short.

 

They do 11 night cruises from Genoa to Istanbul with an overnight stop in istanbul, which IMHO is the star port of call.

 

I did this itinerary last November on Sinfonia

 

If you have the time you might like to consider a similar itineary

 

Day 1 - Genoa dept 17:00

Day 2 - Civitavecchia (Rome) 07:00 - 17:00 (10hrs)

Day 3 - At sea

Day 4 - Heraklion (Crete) 14:00 - 19:00 (only 5 hours)

Day 5 - Pireaus (Athens) 07:30 - 14:30 (7 hrs)

Day 6 - Istanbul arr 13:00

Day 7 - Istanbul dept 16:00

Day 8 - At sea

Day 9 - Valletta 14:00 - 20:00 (6 hrs)

Day 10 - Messina (Sicily) 08:00 - 18:00 (10hrs)

Day 11 - At sea

Day 12 - Genoa arr 09:00

 

 

Here is a link to my review

 

 

http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=270&t=9372

 

Pete

Edited April 5, 2015 by Skier52

[Babyeddiedog]

This should be an 11 night itinerary, the time in port just doesn't do it justice. Having said that, I'm doing the first 4 nights next week in what MSC call a 'Holiday Break' finishing in Istanbul. This is because I need a break and I can spend a couple of days exploring the city before flying home. I'm banking on this not being the only time I will take this route, so 5 hours in Izmir for Ephesus will just about be okay, but if this was the one and only time that I may try this route I would choose a company that spent longer in port.

[AnnMR]

Well I hope it's not so short as to be disappointing as it's the cruise I'll be on this time next week.

I think of cruising as just giving a taster of places, so don't think it'll bother me too much. I travel with my 13 year old son and those times on port are probably the limit of his interest in being touristy.

[Babyeddiedog]

Hi Ann

 

We're on the same cruise, only we're disembarking in Istanbul! I'm sure it will be great, and with a 13 year old it will be enough to get him interested rather than bored stiff. We're certainly looking forward to it; see you onboard :D

[RammsteinNicCage]

Thanks for the help everyone and the review, Pete.

 

I think I am going to pass on this one - timing is great, price is great, locations are great, but the time in port is just too short. I'm thinking of this cruise as basically being a floating hotel/bus (with some entertainment) to get me to various destinations that I may not want to travel to by land, but if I'm going to be worrying about making it back to the boat in time at each destination, I don't think I would enjoy it much.

 

But, for those of you that are about to take the trip, please let me know how it went and maybe I'll reconsider. :)

[LP Dad]

We were on the same itinerary last August (stopping at Bari instead of Brindisi). I didn't make a trip report because it had been just done so well in the thread KatGoesOnHoliday.

 

I agree that some of the times in port were too short, but no one already booked should fret. Here are some quick observations:

 

Bari must surely be Italy's least-attractive city. (Apologies to the C. of C.) But we had flown from Canada, landing an hour prior to embarkation in Venice. So a leisurely day without too much pressure was just fine.

 

Katakalon, of course, only exists because of its proximity to Olympia. We went on the excursion to the site --- I suppose it is nice to say you've been, but I found it a bit of a bore. To be fair, I'm not much of an Olympics fan, so take my view with a large grain of salt. I could have done without the tour group's visit to a sketchy jewelry store in town.

 

Izmir was terrific. As you exit the dock, you'll be hounded by dozens of taxi drivers offering you their services. We resisted and resisted, until a nice man (named Hossman, or Ossman?) convinced us. It was a great stroke of luck because he was kind and informative, and took us to places we never would have found otherwise.

 

Istanbul - well, what's to say? Is there any place like it, anywhere? Again, we took a tour, to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, museum, etc. The group also stopped at a carpet store, but the sell was soft and very informative. One warning: the trip to the Blue Mosque tends to begin just as morning prayers are underway. The crowds are a bit overwhelming, but you'll get in faster than you think.

 

After a sea day, you'll get to Dubrovnik; no question that this stop is way too short. Between the disembarkation, busses to the city centre, and a safe return time, you'll blink and be done. It's nothing more than a taste of a city you might or might not to return to.

 

If I was in charge of MSC, I'd scratch Bari/Brindisi and Katakolon and head straight for Turkey - spending a full day in Izmir and two full days in Istanbul. However, I'm well aware that there are many factors that go into stops, like food & beverage loading and picking up additional passengers.

 

There's no question that this 7-day itinerary covers a vast number of nautical miles. It's a different pace from the Barcelona-Provence-Livorno-Civitavecchia-Naples run.

 

My recommendation? First or second European cruise: Med.

 

Thereafter: Adriatic.

[CruiseIreland]

We did this itinerary last September, except we stopped at Bari instead of Brindisi. We found Bari quite charming and many like to visit the Trulli houses of Puglia or the seaside village of Polignano a Mare.[we did neither but visited the churches and wandered the old town]

 

Anyway, port stops are a real weak spot for MSC. Katakolon and Dubrovnik are definitely too short for decent visits. I think short port stops are aimed at deterring DIY port visits.

Edited April 6, 2015 by CruiseIreland

[Elmartellama]

MSC does short stops on purpose, this way you have to buy their excursions. Just as simple as that.

 

it works the same way in our upcoming Norway cruise, we have 2 sea days, and yet they squeeze the time in port in Bergen and Stavanger (first port after a sea day and last port before a sea day). They have the possibility to allow more time in port just because the same itinerary was made years ago by Costa by my parents with a stop in Oslo that we are not making. In Stavanger, they even leave that early so you cannot take the Lysefjord excursion on your own so you have to pay more for the very same thing with them in order to play it safe and not lose the ship.

 

I'm a bit tired of this stupid scheme, so looking for alternatives to cruising in the near future, starting next year.