First time European Cruise-NCL 2018

[foofamily]

too many questions :) .....

 

Planning ahead for 2018 Summer... I am curious how most feel about the 12 day Mediterranean out of Venice, NCL Spirit. We have cruised 3 other times -Caribbean only. Our kids 2nd cruise will be the next one...so we will have a 22 yr old, 17 yr old, and 15 yr old. They are all totally into history and I feel would get a lot out of a trip like this.

 

We are looking at flying in 2 days pre-cruise, and probably a night on the end. Researching Airbnb for these nights...is this the way to do this?

 

This next cruise will also need to be on NCL as we've already put $500 down while on board last year.

 

Also, at what point will NCL add the rest of 2018 schedules?

[Jack Staff]

Have you looked on the NCL forum?

 

It may be a good idea to ask on that forum and also look into reviews for the ship/cruise

[foofamily]

I will, thank you!

[lesley_willis1971]

I took and 11 day Mediterranean on NCL Jade out of Civitevecchia (Rome) in 2014. Loved every minute of it. However, these cruises ten to be port intensive and each port typically requires more walking than the Caribbean itineraries. Still worth it though. Do you know what ports you are interested in visiting?

 

 

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[SuiteTraveler]

The truth about a Med cruise is that your ship acts as a floating hotel - so what ship you are on doesn't really matter. All you want from the ship is a comfortable bed, place to shower, and breakfast and dinner. You generally get off the ship by 8:00am and don't come back until around 5:00 or 6:00pm. It is always cheaper to arrange private excursions than do the ship's excursions. Also, on a private excursion, you will get to see about twice as much as those who are on the ship's excursion. Many ports on this itinerary can be done on your own. Rick Steve's books are very helpful for this. There are also aps you can get on your IPhone which are helpful.

[Essiesmom]

I am not seeing any schedule posted beyond March in 2018 for Spirit. Do you know she will be doing the 12 day as in 2016? Or just anticipating that she will... I'm not seeing 12 days in 2017, just 10/11. Anyway, get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports and read up on the ports you think may be in the itinerary. On his website there are free audio tours to download for ipod/mp3, and you can print out maps to go along. Fly in three days early if possible, as the first day will be full of jet lag... and a day after to decompress and see those few places you missed. Get started reading the Donna Leon mystery series with Commisario Guido Brunetti, set in Venice, to get a perspective on the city and the politics of Italy. EM

[foofamily]

I took and 11 day Mediterranean on NCL Jade out of Civitevecchia (Rome) in 2014. Loved every minute of it. However, these cruises ten to be port intensive and each port typically requires more walking than the Caribbean itineraries. Still worth it though. Do you know what ports you are interested in visiting?

 

 

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Hi, we are definitely wanting Naples, Rome, any Greek stop..Venice is also big on my oldest son's list to visit, so were hoping to either embark or disembark there. I think I read though, it's always best to start in Venice, vs BCN...and so another reason we need to think about coming in a few days prior to the cruise. I may need to rethink the entire routing though once the rest of 2018 itineraries are published.

[TruckerDave]

Hi, we are definitely wanting Naples, Rome, any Greek stop..Venice is also big on my oldest son's list to visit, so were hoping to either embark or disembark there. I think I read though, it's always best to start in Venice, vs BCN...and so another reason we need to think about coming in a few days prior to the cruise. I may need to rethink the entire routing though once the rest of 2018 itineraries are published.

 

 

Starting in Barcelona is a piece of cake, not really understanding why you think it would be best to start in Venice.

 

Hotels (and flights for that matter) you won't be able to start pricing them or schedules for at least another year. Airlines don't release schedules until 330 days out and hotels are in that same time frame. (plus or minus a few minutes)

[ExpatBride]

I cruised the Western Med out of Barcelona on the Epic earlier this year and it was ok for me because I live in Europe, and had been to all of the ports before as separate destinations. If I'd come over from the States, I'd have been disappointed.

 

I don't know the itinerary for your cruise, but keep in mind that even though it may say "Rome" "Florence" "Pisa" etc., you dock quite a way away from these places and will only have a few hours in each, which after traveling these destinations extensively I think doesn't do them justice.

 

I can't imagine spending only 8 hours in Rome, for example.

 

I love sailing out of Barcelona because I think it has a great infrastructure. It's easy and inexpensive to get from the airport to the city and from the city to the port. I've spent long weekends in Venice several times, and I wouldn't say it's a convenient place to get around.

[Xmansmom]

DH and I did our first Europe trip on a cruise this past Nov. I opted to do part land and part cruise because as someone else said the cruise ship is just a floating hotel for these cruises. We did a 7 day with 2 days on the front and 3 days on the end. Our cruise was Round trip from Barcelona and went to Rome, Naples, Palma, Florence, and Cannes. Then are flew over to Venice to complete our trip.

 

IMO, Venice is nice and I was glad to have gone however my favorite places were Barcelona (the art and the food) and Naples (can't beat the Amalfi Coast). Flying to Venice from Barcelona was very cheap and flying into one city and out another didn't really cost us that much more.

 

So there are options and you don't have to give up one of your desired stops if you can't find the exact ship itinerary you want. Remember that getting around in Europe is much different and cheaper then here in the US.