Mediterranean 2017 - Can't Decide!!!

[travelingirl70]

Decisions, decisions... I'm planning a family cruise next summer to celebrate our kids' graduations (High School and College). I know I won't get EXACTLY what I'm looking for, but I just can't decide.

 

Here are my top factors/considerations:

 

CRUISE LINE

 

We aren't huge fans of cruising. There, I said it. We've done Carnival (NEVER AGAIN) and Disney (not for us). We tried Celebrity a few years ago and have actually sailed with them 3 times (7 day Xmas cruise to Caribbean on Silhouette for all 4 of us; 5 day Western Caribbean on Constellation just DH, DD and myself; and 7 day Bermuda anniversary cruise on Summit just DH and me). If we are going to cruise, we would pick X all day long.

 

CABIN CLASS

 

Our last cruise was Aqua Class and we determined that was definitely for us! We loved Blu and never set foot in the main dining room. Aqua Class is a must.

 

SHIP CLASS

 

We've sailed on both S class and M class and while we liked both, we prefer the S class. Our favorite was The Lawn Club Grill, but alas, that is only on the Silhouette and the Reflection, which don't match our itinerary needs for next year. Our choices are basically the Constellation or the Equinox.

 

ITINERARY

 

This is a first time trip to the Med for DH, DS and DD. I spent 5 weeks in Europe back in high school and fell in love Cannes and Venice (also visited Rome, Florence). For me, if I had to pick just one port, it would be Venice.

My daughter's top pick is Barcelona and my son and husband are more easy going.

 

We prefer more port days than sea days, although a sea day or 2 would be fine to recover from the long days of sightseeing. Absolutely no back-to-back sea days, however. DH starts to go stir crazy.

 

PRICE

 

Price is a factor, but not a show stopper. I'm surprised to see the Constellation is generally more expensive than the Equinox.

 

DATES/LENGTH

 

We have to sail between mid-June 2017 and late July 2017. In a perfect world, I would travel over the 4th of July because it is a slower time at work for DH and me. We would consider anything from 7-12 days and would add extensions based on how long the cruise itself is. (We will, of course, fly in a day (probably 2) early so as not to miss the ship!

 

OPTIONS

 

So, here are my best options as far as I can tell:

 

Equinox (7 nights) departing July 1 from Barcelona with stops at Cannes, Florence, Rome, Amalfi Coast, Messina and Athens (AQ starts at $2299 pp) Pro: Celebrity, Aqua Class, S Class

 

Constellation (10 nights) departing July 3 from Barcelona with stops at Valencia, Florence, Rome, Kotor, Split, Venice (AQ starts at $3299 pp) Pro: Celebrity, Aqua Class, Venice

 

HAL Oosterdam (12 nights) departing June 28 from Venice with stops in Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Naples, Rome, Florence, Monte Carlo, Provence and Barcelona (Veranda starts at $2699) Pro: Love all the ports...VENICE!!!!

 

Writing this out is a first step. Opinions welcome. :)

Edited July 10, 2016 by travelingirl70

[realnice46]

Decisions, decisions... I'm planning a family cruise next summer to celebrate our kids' graduations (High School and College). I know I won't get EXACTLY what I'm looking for, but I just can't decide.

 

Here are my top factors/considerations:

 

CRUISE LINE

 

We aren't huge fans of cruising. There, I said it. We've done Carnival (NEVER AGAIN) and Disney (not for us). We tried Celebrity a few years ago and have actually sailed with them 3 times (7 day Xmas cruise to Caribbean on Silhouette for all 4 of us; 5 day Western Caribbean on Constellation just DH, DD and myself; and 7 day Bermuda anniversary cruise on Summit just DH and me). If we are going to cruise, we would pick X all day long.

 

CABIN CLASS

 

Our last cruise was Aqua Class and we determined that was definitely for us! We loved Blu and never set foot in the main dining room. Aqua Class is a must.

 

SHIP CLASS

 

We've sailed on both S class and M class and while we liked both, we prefer the S class. Our favorite was The Lawn Club Grill, but alas, that is only on the Silhouette and the Reflection, which don't match our itinerary needs for next year. Our choices are basically the Constellation or the Equinox.

 

ITINERARY

 

This is a first time trip to the Med for DH, DS and DD. I spent 5 weeks in Europe back in high school and fell in love Cannes and Venice (also visited Rome, Florence). For me, if I had to pick just one port, it would be Venice.

My daughter's top pick is Barcelona and my son and husband are more easy going.

 

We prefer more port days than sea days, although a sea day or 2 would be fine to recover from the long days of sightseeing. Absolutely no back-to-back sea days, however. DH starts to go stir crazy.

 

PRICE

 

Price is a factor, but not a show stopper. I'm surprised to see the Constellation is generally more expensive than the Equinox.

 

DATES/LENGTH

 

We have to sail between mid-June 2017 and late July 2017. In a perfect world, I would travel over the 4th of July because it is a slower time at work for DH and me. We would consider anything from 7-12 days and would add extensions based on how long the cruise itself is. (We will, of course, fly in a day (probably 2) early so as not to miss the ship!

 

OPTIONS

 

So, here are my best options as far as I can tell:

 

Equinox (7 nights) departing July 1 from Barcelona with stops at Cannes, Florence, Rome, Amalfi Coast, Messina and Athens (AQ starts at $2299 pp) Pro: Celebrity, Aqua Class, S Class

 

Constellation (10 nights) departing July 3 from Barcelona with stops at Valencia, Florence, Rome, Kotor, Split, Venice (AQ starts at $3299 pp) Pro: Celebrity, Aqua Class, Venice

 

HAL Oosterdam (12 nights) departing June 28 from Barcelona with stops at Provence, Monte Carlo, Florence, Rome, Naples, Corfu, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Venice (Veranda starts at $2699) Pro: Love all the ports...VENICE!!!!

 

Writing this out is a first step. Opinions welcome. :)

 

Alas my choice of ship would be S Class Equinox , but 7 days is just too short, you lose a day at each end and just barely get settled. I guess it would be okay if you were going to add time at either end of cruise. The HAl itinerary sounds great, we love all those ports especially Naples and Dubrovnik. If you can spend a few days in Venice or Barcelona, wonderful cities.

[travelingirl70]

Alas my choice of ship would be S Class Equinox , but 7 days is just too short, you lose a day at each end and just barely get settled. I guess it would be okay if you were going to add time at either end of cruise. The HAl itinerary sounds great, we love all those ports especially Naples and Dubrovnik. If you can spend a few days in Venice or Barcelona, wonderful cities.

 

I know, right? If I could take the HAL itinerary on the Equinox in AQ, I would book today!!!!!! If we did the 7 day, I would add time on each end, but probably not in Athens. I would fly to Venice and spend a couple of days there.

[Wine-O]

I wouldn't go all that way to do a 7-night cruise.

 

Check out Reflection 10 July or 21 July itineraries. I really like the ports for both of these.

[travelingirl70]

I wouldn't go all that way to do a 7-night cruise.

 

Check out Reflection 10 July or 21 July itineraries. I really like the ports for both of these.

 

How did I miss that? We don't want the Greek Isles, but the July 10 round trip from Rome is a definite possibility. Plus, I like that we could see Rome pre-cruise, and not try to cram it in to a 10 hour port day.

 

Thanks! Adding that to the list. Now, off to check out some of the lesser known ports!

[villauk]

How did I miss that? We don't want the Greek Isles, but the July 10 round trip from Rome is a definite possibility. Plus, I like that we could see Rome pre-cruise, and not try to cram it in to a 10 hour port day.

 

Thanks! Adding that to the list. Now, off to check out some of the lesser known ports!

 

I'd rather you didn't consider the Reflection sailings as I'm hoping for big price drops as was the case this year - supply and demand :D :p. I say take the HAL cruise :D.

[jelayne]

The Constellation gives you Barcelona for DD and Venice for you:)

[travelingirl70]

I'd rather you didn't consider the Reflection sailings as I'm hoping for big price drops as was the case this year - supply and demand :D :p. I say take the HAL cruise :D.

 

Haha! Let's both hope for big price drops. Is there a typical time of year when the Europe sailings go on sale?

[villauk]

Haha! Let's both hope for big price drops. Is there a typical time of year when the Europe sailings go on sale?

 

Lots of the European sailings (Med) had large discounts this year because many pax were concerned about travelling over here. About three months ago, our cruise prices plummeted on our Connie sailing, the suites were going for a bargain. The prices practically halved from the initial opening amounts.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I've been on all the ships you mention (or sisters to them). I would vote for the Oosterdam because it's longer, you can do a pre-cruise stay in Venice, it hits both VCE and BCN and the itinerary gives you a little more variety.

 

Second choice: Constellation.

 

Have fun deciding! JMHO. ;)

[travelingirl70]

So, I think itinerary is going to win out here. I think we are going to make the big leap and try HAL. Fair to say I am nervous. We found a product in X we really love. But, you never know if you don't try, AND it's a port intensive cruise so it is probably the best way to try a new line.

 

Thanks for all of your help!

[KatTomcruise]

Based on what you said your wants are-I would say HAL the price is better and since it is such a port intensive cruise you really won't be on the ship that much. My first cruise 13 years ago was on HAL Zuiderdam and I loved it-that being said we had out honeymoon was on Celebrity Infinity and have not looked back. Celebrity is always our first choice but we have strayed when the $$ or the itinerary make sense (Except for carnival-that was a one and done...lol). Enjoy!!

[zoncom]

Way too early, remember this years low Euro pricing? I feel similar deals will come for 2017. Only early sucker rates now. Also remember itin changes on Celebrity? ISIS is not over yet. I would not consider HAL with teens. Boring.

[Higgy64]

Equinox is not in Europe next year. Celebrity have announced that it will be in the Carribean all year, however, many TA websites and brochures are yet to catch up.

[Trainer]

Last year I did Venice to Rome on the Constellation. Very interesting itinerary with stops in Croatia, unusual ports like Montenegro and Dubrovnik. No Spanish ports. But we had overnight in Venice which was great as it gave two full days in this fascinating city.

Connie was a terrific ship, I've been on her before and since and it remains one of my favorite ships. So I would choose any itinerary on her.