Need help choosing Mediterranean Cruise

[azzy73]

I am wanting to take my 22 year old daughter on a Mediterranean cruise next May 2018 for a graduation trip. I have no idea where to begin. I have never taken a cruise and never traveled to Europe. I am OK with either Western or Eastern Mediterranean, however initial embarking city will come down to price and ease of flying in and out of Europe from US. We want to do a mix of sight seeing and relaxation. I have no idea what cruise line to choose, how long of a cruise to take and what ports to see. Please help!

[Cruising Golfer]

You will get thousands of different answers.

Find a travel agent. Look at the websites. :cool:

[Keith1010]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

You have the right approach.

 

A couple of things about the embarkation city.

 

Find one that is easy to get to and has good pricing.

 

I would arrive to that city two to three days prior to the cruise so that you can spend time touring around, get over jet lag and if something should go wrong with your luggage there is time for it to possibly be recovered and gotten to you or the ship.

 

The challenge of Mediterranean cruise is that they are port intensive but you can still do what you want by not doing full day tours all the time and also not structuring tours for each day.

 

If you can do a 12 days cruise that is a good length to give you more ports but often on a 12 day cruise you can pick up a sea day or two.

 

Likewise look for a disembarkation city that has ease of getting home.

 

I would look a a few cruise lines to see what you can find that meets your requirements including the price point.

 

Consider for starters the following cruise lines and see if you can find something that works. If not there are lots of other possibilities.

 

Princess

 

Royal Caribbean

 

Celebrity

 

You may also want to get a travel agent who specializes in cruises to help you.

 

We are not allowed to give recommendations on Cruise Critic so I would ask friends who cruise if they would recommend a TA.

 

Keith

[DaKa2002]

Are you particularly interested in ancient history - Greek, Roman, Phoenician, etc? Maybe early religious history? Two years ago we did Istanbul to Athens; it was a fantastic cruise, very busy with a port day every day. Istanbul is a fantastic international city but pretty much a no-go location for many cruise lines today, so you might enjoy some of the same from Athens to Venice, or for a longer cruise add cruising around Italy to Rome.

Personally, we have not yet cruised the western Med yet - it is slowly coming up toward the top of the bucket list.

Recommend the longest cruise you can afford as it takes a fair amount of money and time to travel to Europe and back. (but not near as bad as going down-under!)

[Aulanis]

Something must have made you choose europe.

List the Places you feel are a "must see" then see if there are

any cruises that match your list. Work out a budget.

Will you have enough time to get from the port to the city and see what you want? After the groundwork see a TA and see if they can put it together for you.

[jocap]

See what flights from your nearest airport are going to actual ports, such as Barcelona, Athens, Venice, Genoa. This means not having to worry about transport to the ship. Cruises from Rome and London actually go from an hour's drive away- if you sail from Barcelona, then you're a short hop from the airport. Fine if you want to spend a few days on land first, but it's probably easier for your first time in Europe to go straight to the port.

[sanger727]

I agree with daka2002. It really depends on what your interests are. If you cruise out if England you can visit castles, if you cruise Italy/Greece you can see churches/art/ancient ruins; there are also cruises that are more for scenery. I've only done a cruise of the Greek islands and loved it, but I'm a huge fan of Ancient Greek/roman history.

 

 

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[paul929207]

As has been said time and again, the decision will revolve around your preferences. My wife and I were history majors, and she taught for years. So we have loved visiting places we studied and she taught.

[marco]

Work with a TA, but I'd first decide which countries/ports you want to visit.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We loved the Eastern Med, but we like history, ruins, etc.

 

As stated before, most Med cruises are very port intensive with often only one day at sea. But of course you don't always have to do a long excursion. I'd spend a few days at the beginning or end, if possible.

[CPT Trips]

Just to confuse the issue for you, have you considered a river cruise? On almost all lines city tours are included, in almost all itineraries you dock right in the city or have a free shuttle, and wine or beer or soft drinks are included with dinner.

 

If you do go for the Med, I'd look at a disembarkation port that is convenient to the airport, less stress at the end of the trip. Also get on the roll call so you have a opportunity to connect with some independent tours.

[azzy73]

I booked a 7 day Western Mediterranean cruise on the Norwegian Epic out of Rome, really want to see Italy and a lot of the ports are in Italy. Also we can spend a few days in Rome before and after. I booked the Mini suite with balcony. I really hope I made a good choice.