Any advice on cruises in the mediterranean?

[morbihan]

This is so true about cruise stops.

 

You need to be there alone in the peace and quiet when they have gone onboard and cleared off!:D

 

Especially true for Venice.

[iancal]

And even more so for Dubrovnik! It is a vastly different city before 8AM and after 4/5 PM.

 

This is exactly why our upcoming trip to Greece will be a cruise....a cruise on ferries with several day stops at various islands. If we end up on Santorini or Mykonos we will check the cruise line port schedules and pick days where they have the least amount or zero cruise ships booked for the days that we plan to be there.

Edited July 12, 2015 by iancal

[wassup4565]

But let's not be critical. For many people, the only way they will see anything of these ports is a one-day stop on a cruise. It's still worth it, and still possible to get a flavour of and enjoy the place and its people.

 

The one thing I try to avoid is the day-long bus trip that tries to hit all the highlights. It turns out to be just riding on a bus a lot, with short pauses for photos and toilets. Far better to walk around, look at everything you see, eat some local food, and watch how life goes on in these places.

[pris993]

Lots of good advice here, we have done many Mediterranean cruises over the years, did first one in l989. Then we did a 12 day from Venice to London, got off in LaHarve and returned from Paris. We have done both western and eastern Mediterranean. On Princess, Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America, Crystal, and NCL most recently. We have gone out of Rome, Venice, Istanbul, Athens and Barcelona and ended cruises in these ports along with LaHavre France.

 

For your first trip, the options are almost overwhelming.

 

My best advice is don't plan to see it all, assume you will return. All the ports are amazing, you can't go wrong, just pick a cruise that excites you, go and enjoy yourself.

[iancal]

A cruise is a great way to get an overview, see what it is really like, and to decide where you would like to revisit. Cruise prices for us are higher now because our currency is weak. Yet the Euro for us is still a good value so we are doing those land trips. We very much prefer one way cruises vs returning to the embarkation port.

 

If you possibly can, try to spend some a few days of pre and post cruise time in a city/area. One thing we now do is cherry pick for multicity air fares. For instance fly into one city and home from another. If your cruise is not one way then look into an inexpensive European flight from your disembarkation port to a your departure city.

 

We are going to Athens in late August. Oddly enough we saved over $300 each by booking a flight to Athens and a flight home from Paris vs. a return ticket to Athens. Then we booked a separate, low cost flight from Crete to Paris for $100. The savings of $400. will help offset the cost of a weekend in Paris.

Edited July 13, 2015 by iancal

[agabbymama]

We are going to Athens in late August. Oddly enough we saved over $300 each by booking a flight to Athens and a flight home from Paris vs. a return ticket to Athens. Then we booked a separate, low cost flight from Crete to Paris for $100. The savings of $400. will help offset the cost of a weekend in Paris.

 

Be careful of the flight from Crete to Paris. While the price may be very good, the luggage allowance could vary greatly. We were allowed 2 suitcases of 50 lbs each from LAX to Paris. But only 1 suitcase of 40 lbs from Paris to Rome and Venice back to Paris on the return. So we had to keep our luggage for the whole trip to 1 suitcase of 40 lbs. It was very tight returning, we had to discard all the travel guides and even a couple of outfits at the last hotel to make that 40 lb limit coming home with additional purchases. The cost of additional luggage could add significant amount to the total.

Edited July 13, 2015 by agabbymama

[navybankerteacher]

A great (and highly economical) option would be to book a west-bound trans-Atlantic repositioning cruise; perhaps from Rome back to the U.S. in October or early November. Flight over, booked through the cruise line, would come to about $500 per, and a 15 or so day crossing less than $2,000 per. If you flew over a few days early you could get a great taste of Rome - or possibly several Italian cities. Then possibly have port calls in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and possibly Atlantic islands

 

The weather in the Mediterranean is at its best in October, the Atlantic is still warm, and TA fares are much less that pure Mediterranean cruises.

[agabbymama]

A great (and highly economical) option would be to book a west-bound trans-Atlantic repositioning cruise; perhaps from Rome back to the U.S. in October or early November. Flight over, booked through the cruise line, would come to about $500 per, and a 15 or so day crossing less than $2,000 per. If you flew over a few days early you could get a great taste of Rome - or possibly several Italian cities. Then possibly have port calls in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and possibly Atlantic islands

 

The weather in the Mediterranean is at its best in October, the Atlantic is still warm, and TA fares are much less that pure Mediterranean cruises.

 

Oh but all those days at sea??? I have a problem with 2 days in a row at sea, On a TA like your suggesting, I would be climbing the walls. Sea days aren't for everyone.

[iancal]

Thanks for the heads up re luggage. We only do carry on and will be within the guidelines for Aegean Air. We switched to carry on a few years ago.

 

You certainly do have to be aware of baggage charges on some of the airlines. In some instances we have found better fares, with no baggage fees on BA, TAP, etc European airlines vs some of the discount carriers.

Edited July 13, 2015 by iancal

[iancal]

We did one TA and that was one too many for us.

 

We were ready to jump off the ship by the third day at sea. Two sea days is about our max.

Edited July 13, 2015 by iancal

[navybankerteacher]

Oh but all those days at sea??? I have a problem with 2 days in a row at sea, On a TA like your suggesting, I would be climbing the walls. Sea days aren't for everyone.

 

I would far rather have several sea days on a ship I enjoyed than have to fly both ways across the Atlantic. Many people book two crossings on Cunard (7 sea days each way) just to get those sea days while avoiding the air travel. To each his own.