Mediterranean cruise for Sept 2016

[little sisu]

My husband and I are interested in taking a cruise in the Mediterranean in Sept 2016 (or October 2016). When would be the best time to buy tickets? It seems pretty early now to book tickets but since it's the first time we're doing this, I'm not sure. Are the cruises for Sept 2016 that are offered now the only ones that will be available next year? In other words, will they create more cruises at a later date or is their schedule already set? I ask because I can't find my ideal cruise! I'm interested in going to Venice, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Mykonos, Santorini and Istanbul. I can't find any cruise offering all of these ports- most are just a few but not all of these cities. Viking does offer one but is too expensive for us. I am looking into Celebrity, Princess, NCL and Royal Caribbean cruise lines, as others are too expensive and I've heard mixed reviews of Costa and MSC.

 

We would like a cruise that is more port-heavy as we'd like to see a variety of cities. We enjoy good food, so a cruise line with excellent restaurants would be nice. We are in our early 40's, no children and not interested in a "party" cruise. In addition, we're looking for a cruise that is 7-10 nights ideally.

 

After much research, I've been focusing on a 11 night Celebrity cruise with ports in Rome, Naples, Sicily, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Kotor, Zadar, Koper, Venice.

 

My questions now are: Should I wait for other cruise itineraries to be released or is what's out there now what will be available next Sept? When should I purchase tickets? And, any suggestions re travel insurance companies?

 

Thank you for all of your help! I have lots of questions as it's our first time planning a cruise!

[Essiesmom]

Unfortunately, you are finding that you cannot customize a cruise to suit you, you have to take what is out there. No, they will not be adding more cruises for fall 2016. Go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com and choose your ports to visit from the second list. It will tell you who is calling there, and their itineraries. Or choose your departure port. from the first list. I think you should be looking at departing from either Venice or Istanbul. If you are willing to move outside your comfort zone as far as cruise lines go, Costa neoRiviera has an October cruise from Istanbul to Venice that hits all of your ports but Kotor. Her previous cruise (both are 8 days) starting in Venice would get you a couple more ports, plus a second visit to Santorini. Still no Kotor, though. EM

[CruiserBruce]

There won't be added cruises for September or October 2016. The schedule is what it is.

 

The most important point, commonly discussed here, is that most cruise lines will honor prices if your fare goes down, up to final payment date. So booking now is fine, many people do.

Edited August 2, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[chipmaster]

Med cruises are all about the ports and everyone has their favorites. For better or worse the major lines already have some pretty set schedules/ports that you often have to do some tradeoffs as when I was doing research a few years ago none had my ideal lineup.

 

The ports/lines and schedules don't change too much, so looking at this years should give you a good feeling of what next years offering is like. Then I think its about settling on the few weeks that work for you and watching the combo of airline ticket prices and cruise promos to decide when to leap.

 

As to length, I'd suggest you look for the longest you can afford and take off. After factoring in tickets to cross the atlantic for only a week is not the best value.

 

Happy planning

[pris993]

My husband and I are interested in taking a cruise in the Mediterranean in Sept 2016 (or October 2016). When would be the best time to buy tickets? It seems pretty early now to book tickets but since it's the first time we're doing this, I'm not sure. Are the cruises for Sept 2016 that are offered now the only ones that will be available next year? In other words, will they create more cruises at a later date or is their schedule already set? I ask because I can't find my ideal cruise! I'm interested in going to Venice, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Mykonos, Santorini and Istanbul. I can't find any cruise offering all of these ports- most are just a few but not all of these cities. Viking does offer one but is too expensive for us. I am looking into Celebrity, Princess, NCL and Royal Caribbean cruise lines, as others are too expensive and I've heard mixed reviews of Costa and MSC.

 

We would like a cruise that is more port-heavy as we'd like to see a variety of cities. We enjoy good food, so a cruise line with excellent restaurants would be nice. We are in our early 40's, no children and not interested in a "party" cruise. In addition, we're looking for a cruise that is 7-10 nights ideally.

 

After much research, I've been focusing on a 11 night Celebrity cruise with ports in Rome, Naples, Sicily, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Kotor, Zadar, Koper, Venice.

 

My questions now are: Should I wait for other cruise itineraries to be released or is what's out there now what will be available next Sept? When should I purchase tickets? And, any suggestions re travel insurance companies?

 

Thank you for all of your help! I have lots of questions as it's our first time planning a cruise!

 

Ref your primary question, is what available now pretty much what will be offered later, I would say yes. Most cruise lines have cruises posted about a year in advance.

 

When to buy, really depends on how important it is to you to get a cabin that you want. Early on you have first pick. In some cases the early pricing is lower than later on, this varies. Some cruise lines will give you a lower price if the cruise price drops later (namely Princess, Holland America from my experience, provided your initial price is not linked to some perks you might lose if you change the to a lower fare later). Sometimes you don't lose the perks if you make a change to a lower price, really depends on the line and the rules of booking at the time. Sometimes we have had to cancel and rebook to get a better deal.

 

All Mediterranean cruises are port intensive. It sounds like you have found a cruise that you like, if the price is right for you, go for it.

 

We have cruised many times in the Mediterranean over the past 25+ years/on various lines including: Princess, Holland America, Celebrity, Crystal, Cunard, NCL, and Royal Cruise line which is no longer around. Have never been on Costa or MSC, even so would not recommend them. Simply feel these other lines are better. RCCL we did may years ago only in the Carribbean, once they started to build bigger and bigger ships we passed on this line.

 

My favorite lines in terms of overall service Cunard, Princess, Holland America, I rate Celebrity last in this list, but may feel Celebrity is better, so I am in the minority. Cunard is the most formal and traditional, for that reason we rank them first, plus found them most consistent in service, food and entertainment. Princess, Holland American and Celebrity are all pretty similar in style and service.

 

Hope you have a great cruise. When you book you can ask questions, like, if the price drops will they honor the new price. If you decide to cancel, because you have seen another cruise you like better is there any penalty. Cruise lines don't charge a cancellation fee but some Travel Agents do, before final payment.

 

Ref travel insurance if you are simply trying to insure the costs of your trip, you can purchase through the cruise line. We are seniors so we don't try to insure our trip, we simply want health insurance and emergency evacuation insurance... that I buy through Travel Guard directly. I purchase business traveler's insurance on an annual basis.

 

I also purchase cruises directly from a cruise line vs through a Travel Agent now. Do my own air as well, then I am in control of my bookings and don't need to go through a TA to make changes. I also do not pay cancellation fees to a TA if we want to change a cruise which we do from time to time, before final payment.

 

When you select your cabin - look to see what is on the floor above and below your cabin, ie., stay away from being under the pool deck or above or below an entertainment - to avoid noise. Pool decks are often cleaned around 4 am in the morning and it can sound like someone is rolling a canon across the deck above you if you have a cabin under the pool deck.

 

Recommend that you fly to Europe at least one day in advance, even better two days, that give you time to rest before boarding and for any luggage delays to catch up with you. Also today's flights are very full, so this give you flexibility for any flight delays as well. Try to book the most direct flights you can, again to avoid lost luggage issues, stay on the same carrier all the way through too, vs code share flights which puts you on multiple air lines. The only time we have had luggage delays is when we changed carriers along the way - so I avoid this if at all possible. l

 

Happy cruising.

[SPacificbound]

Don't wait for more cruises because there won't be more, and if you want a certain class cabin they may sell out, and they will certainly go up in price.

 

Celebrity released it's Med Fall 2016 in November 2014.

Edited August 3, 2015 by SPacificbound

[t_car]

You seem to have decided on the cruise you want, so go for it.

As others have said, prices will most likely go up and cabin selection will be less.

Book your flights and hotels as soon as you can too.

 

As per cruise line reviews, you have been looking at primarily mass market cruise lines that cater mostly to a north american clientele.

Reviews for European based cruise lines will be mixed. People may not like the food as much, or understand the predominant language spoken on board.

MSC, Costa, Please&Our, Oceania, Aida, Pullmantour and even Thomson are very popular cruise lines in Europe.

It is just not what the north american expects. Once you give them a chance, you will see that they are good cruise lines also, or they would not be around for long.

JMHO

 

September or October is a better time to go as it is not as hot as the summer months.

If you are embarking in Rome and disembarking in Venice, do plan to stay in those two cities a few days before and after your cruise. Both are absolutely beautiful cities.

 

Enjoy your Med cruise.

[KW_Cruisers]

Make sure to book your flight through your cruise line if possible if the itinerary begins or ends in Turkey, as some flights would be non refundable, even if your itinerary changed to not include ports in Turkey.

 

Enjoy your cruise and all the friends from cruise critic.

My husband and I are interested in taking a cruise in the Mediterranean in Sept 2016 (or October 2016). When would be the best time to buy tickets? It seems pretty early now to book tickets but since it's the first time we're doing this, I'm not sure. Are the cruises for Sept 2016 that are offered now the only ones that will be available next year? In other words, will they create more cruises at a later date or is their schedule already set? I ask because I can't find my ideal cruise! I'm interested in going to Venice, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Mykonos, Santorini and Istanbul. I can't find any cruise offering all of these ports- most are just a few but not all of these cities. Viking does offer one but is too expensive for us. I am looking into Celebrity, Princess, NCL and Royal Caribbean cruise lines, as others are too expensive and I've heard mixed reviews of Costa and MSC.

 

We would like a cruise that is more port-heavy as we'd like to see a variety of cities. We enjoy good food, so a cruise line with excellent restaurants would be nice. We are in our early 40's, no children and not interested in a "party" cruise. In addition, we're looking for a cruise that is 7-10 nights ideally.

 

After much research, I've been focusing on a 11 night Celebrity cruise with ports in Rome, Naples, Sicily, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Kotor, Zadar, Koper, Venice.

 

My questions now are: Should I wait for other cruise itineraries to be released or is what's out there now what will be available next Sept? When should I purchase tickets? And, any suggestions re travel insurance companies?

 

Thank you for all of your help! I have lots of questions as it's our first time planning a cruise!

[Karysa]

Sometimes a 7 night back to back cruise is a good way to go to be able to get all the ports that you are wanting to visit.

[Floridiana]

You seem to have decided on the cruise you want, so go for it.

 

Reviews for European based cruise lines will be mixed. People may not like the food as much, or understand the predominant language spoken on board.

MSC, Costa, Please&Our, Oceania, Aida, Pullmantour and even Thomson are very popular cruise lines in Europe.

 

Oceania is a North American cruise line. Their predominant language is English. On our cruises with them, English was the only language. The line is known for its excellent food.

 

Aida ships are marketed to a young German speaking clientele who likes to have fun deck parties. I haven't been on an Aida ship but that's the promotional material says.

[pseudoware]

We've been on two Med cruises, both on RCI. We booked over 12-mos in advance and monitored prices almost daily. The first time, we had multiple adjustments and a room upgrade due to promos, price changes, etc. The 2nd time, we initially booked a kid-free promo and could never find a better price up to final pymt. Each time, we ended up w/the category of our choice at what we felt were very good prices.

 

I used Travel Guard insurance, based mostly on reviews from others and finding coverage meeting our needs. Never had to make a claim.

 

Small sample size, but this is what worked for us. Enjoy your trip.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[zoncom]

Just be aware that Istanbul and perhaps other ports may be cancelled and/or changed. Doing ship air an excellent idea.They will be responsible for any necessary plane changes.