Picking an Italian Cruise

[Hllb]

I am planning to take my daughter on a Mediterranean cruise for her 16th birthday in 2020.  I have two currently booked (they both had super low, refundable deposit deals). I've got plenty of time to decide which one we'll actually go on, but figured I'd solicit opinions here. My daughter's request is to see Italy, and more specifically, Florence. She also has a lot of summer camps and such (orchestra, band, Korean culture, etc.) so we were a little limited on timing too.  both are booked for the end of August (one 8/23 and one 8/26 departure). The cost is minimally different, and we're booked in a midship balcony cabin on both. I've never been on either cruise line before (only cruised Carnival once). Please help me add to the pros and cons lists!

 

Norwegian Cruise on the Epic: Rome,  Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Cannes, Palma Majorca, Barcelona, Naples, Rome

 

Celebrity Cruise on Infinity: Venice, Messina, Naples, Rome, La Spezia (Florence/Pisa), Provence, Barcelona

 

Pros of Norwegian: Newer ship, docks at Livorno which is closer to Florence, round trip out of Rome so probably less expensive flights, free specialty dining, $50 OBC per cabin

Cons of Norwegian: Hate the layout of the cabins on that ship, with  no actual bathroom walls, have heard it's very difficult to book specialty dining, doesn't go to Venice (on my bucket list, but not my daughter's), doesn't allow teens in spa

 

Pros of Celebrity: More upscale cruiseline, goes to Venice, prepaid gratuities included, $150 OBC per person, will allow my daughter in the spa, $200 cheaper than NCL

Cons of Celebrity: Older ship (which apparently will be refurbished by November 2020 so right after our cruise), leaves from Venice and disembarks in Barcelona, so probably more expensive flights, La Spezia is farther away from Florence than Livorno

 

 

[Aquahound]

Between those 2, I recommend Infinity by a mile.  Venice is must-see, and is the most beautiful sail-away I've ever seen on a cruise.  I cruised from Venice to Barcelona a few years ago and to date, of 54 cruises, that cruise remains my all-time favorite.  

 

Entertainment will be a little better on Epic but like you already pointed out, I can't get over that awkward cabin design.  It's tolerable as a couple but not as parent and child.  There's a reason NCL only built 1 of those ships.  

[CruiserBruce]

Have to agree with Aquahound. Florence is a bit of a loss, but go to Cinque Terre instead. You could fly into Rome a few days early, train to Florence for a day or two, then continue to Venice to board your ship.

[LHT28]

go  for the itinerary  that ticks more of   the boxes  for you & DD

What ever you decide  fly in a day or more early

[Hllb]

19 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Have to agree with Aquahound. Florence is a bit of a loss, but go to Cinque Terre instead. You could fly into Rome a few days early, train to Florence for a day or two, then continue to Venice to board your ship.

We do hit Florence on both, it’s just longer from La Spezia. We definitely need to hit Florence. 

[Twickenham]

1 minute ago, Hllb said:

We do hit Florence on both, it’s just longer from La Spezia. We definitely need to hit Florence. 

 

Well, the thing is that Florence is a LOT longer from La Spezia, so I agree with CruiserBruce to make it part of your pre-cruise travels.

 

I'm another that votes for the Celebrity cruise - just better overall, despite the whole La Spezia issue. And don't assume airfare will necessarily be more expensive; you have lots of options, from the obvious open-jaw to flying round trip to either VCE or BCN and getting a one-way flight between the 2 or even flying round trip to a 3rd city and taking the train or flying to/from Venice and Barcelona (the easiest for the train option would actually be Paris - you can get a direct high-speed train from there to either Barcelona or Venice).

[Hllb]

10 minutes ago, Twickenham said:

 

Well, the thing is that Florence is a LOT longer from La Spezia, so I agree with CruiserBruce to make it part of your pre-cruise travels.

 

I'm another that votes for the Celebrity cruise - just better overall, despite the whole La Spezia issue. And don't assume airfare will necessarily be more expensive; you have lots of options, from the obvious open-jaw to flying round trip to either VCE or BCN and getting a one-way flight between the 2 or even flying round trip to a 3rd city and taking the train or flying to/from Venice and Barcelona (the easiest for the train option would actually be Paris - you can get a direct high-speed train from there to either Barcelona or Venice).

Thanks I’ll have to do more reading. Never thought about flying into Paris. Lots of flight deals there.

 

How far is La Spezia? I thought I saw about 1.5 hrs but I could be confused there. I’ve looked at a lot of things lol.

[LHT28]

are you looking at 7 day cruises only?

Carnival have a 12 day  Aug 18  hits  Venice  & Livorno

[puppycanducruise]

Love the sail away from Venice.

Spend a few days in Venice before the cruise, it's marvelous.

[Hllb]

8 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

are you looking at 7 day cruises only?

Carnival have a 12 day  Aug 18  hits  Venice  & Livorno

Probably, but open to other ideas. I’ll check that out.

 

ideally, I’d like to hit Venice, Rome, and Livorno, which is hard to come by. Naples is a bonus. I’ve found one that does Venice, Rome, and La Spezia. I’ve found others that do Rome and Livorno and sometimes Naples. 

 

[navybankerteacher]

Celebrity beats NCL on food, cabins and service.  If Florence is a must, consider flying to Rome (most flights) then train to Florence , spend a night or hopefully two there, then continue by train to Venice to board.  You certainly will want at least one (hopefully more) nights after flight before boarding.  Even from Livorno, you would not have enough time in Florence to get more than a frustrating taste.  Sure, it will cost, but how many times will you fly to Italy with your daughter?

[Essiesmom]

Suggest you consider MSC Divina.  She does a 7 day r/t Livorno in august 2020.  You could fly into Florence and spend a couple of days, then travel to Livorno and board the ship.  EM

 

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/fromlivornoflorencepisaitaly-aug2020.html

Edited February 19, 2019 by Essiesmom

[Hllb]

I do plan on doing 2 nights prior to the cruise depending on timing of her orchestra camp. She wants to see Italy and I’m opting for a cruise because it’s easy. Since I’ve never been there, traveling around such a large country essentially on my own is a bit daunting. Second trip I’m sure I’ll be more comfortable in country, as was the case in France and Korea. 

[cruisemom42]

My thoughts:

 

You see more of Italy on the Celebrity cruise. BUT Florence is further from La Spezia (about 2 hours) than from Livorno (just under 90 minutes).

 

Open-jaw flights are not necessarily more expensive. 

 

I'd pick Celebrity over NCL Epic any day, even if the ship may be a bit less than perfect, awaiting a makeover.

 

I would suggest you fly into Venice at least 3 days early and use one of those days to take the train to Florence. It is 2 hours, even by fast train, but you can get an early start and also you can be as late as you like getting back. The trains are quite easy to manage, and once you get off the train in Florence, you are close enough to the center to walk everywhere.

 

This ensures you get to Florence and have enough time for a reasonable visit, while freeing up you day in La Spezia to do something different, i.e., the Cinque Terre.

 

You should also spend a couple of days in Barcelona at the end. 

 

Camps are great, but if you are going to fly to Europe, you really should take advantage of the time there.

Edited February 19, 2019 by cruisemom42

[erby2283]

Have you checked into Royal Caribbean itineraries at all? I also wanted to see Italy and finally booked for Aug 2019! We leave out of Barcelona and have 4 stops in Italy including an overnight in Venice (along with Livorno, Salerno, and Civatavecchia (Rome) - plus Nice, Croatia and Montenegro). We're spending a couple days pre-cruise in Barcelona and 3 days post cruise in Portugal. 

 

If I had MY way, I probably would have done a land tour but seeing as though this may be my one and only trip to Europe, my bf wanted to see as many different countries as we could and we love cruising so we settled on this. 

Edited February 19, 2019 by erby2283

[Hllb]

You guys have given me a lot to think about.  Thanks!  I have looked into some of the MSC cruises. I had eliminated RC because they didn't have a round trip that I liked, but if I do a one way, I'll have to look at those again.

[Hllb]

Do you guys have opinions on best time to do a cruise there? I am planning on last week of August because that's her birthday (and the rest of August is packed with stuff).  But, I could do any of the last 3 weeks of July (and wouldn't have to worry about school deciding to start a week earlier than normal - there's talk of that). Not ideal for her birthday gift, but would be easier to schedule for us.

[erby2283]

8 minutes ago, Hllb said:

Do you guys have opinions on best time to do a cruise there? I am planning on last week of August because that's her birthday (and the rest of August is packed with stuff).  But, I could do any of the last 3 weeks of July (and wouldn't have to worry about school deciding to start a week earlier than normal - there's talk of that). Not ideal for her birthday gift, but would be easier to schedule for us.

 That should be a good time. Many warn against going during the summer months of July and August because of the heat but end of August should be okay. I live in the south and am used to 90+ degree heat and humidity so I'm curious to experience and August in Europe to compare. 

[LHT28]

July &  August  are peak season

hot & a lot of people  😉

 

[Hllb]

Oh good, my two least favorite things LOL.  Oh well. We have to go over the summer as I won't want to pull her out of school for that long in 11th grade. The only other possible time is over Thanksgiving, but I don't think they're doing cruises there in late November.

[Essiesmom]

Oh yes they are.  There are ships sailing in the Med all year round.  Go to www.cruisetimetables.com and plug in the ports you want to see in the Ports of Call list and see what you find.  EM

[cruisemom42]

56 minutes ago, Hllb said:

Oh good, my two least favorite things LOL.  Oh well. We have to go over the summer as I won't want to pull her out of school for that long in 11th grade. The only other possible time is over Thanksgiving, but I don't think they're doing cruises there in late November.

 

While there are cruises, I think you'll be shorting yourself on time if you go in November. You need at least a couple of days in whatever city you depart from (to guard against airline screw-ups, adjust to jet-lag, and have some time to see the city). Plus your (at least) 7-day cruise. Plus hopefully another couple of days at the end in a different city. Unless your daughter gets the entire week off,  I'm guessing you wouldn't want her to miss that much school.

 

July and August are about equally hot, but I would vote for July over August since a very great number of Europeans take their summer vacations in August, and it is probably THE most crowded tourist month, as a result. However, if you go at the very end of the month, that should be fine....

[capriccio]

We lived in Rome for 5 years and all I can do is concur with the comments that it will be crowded (multiple ships in port can add 10,000 tourists a day to the thousands of land based tourists especially in Rome, Venice and Florence) and HOT!

 

Added - many Italians take the last 2 weeks in August off (from the Feast of the Assumption to September 1st) but are probably at the beach, not in the cities.  You may find small stores and businesses closed (including restaurants) but that shouldn't be an issue to cruise passengers.

Edited February 19, 2019 by capriccio

[Hllb]

20 minutes ago, capriccio said:

We lived in Rome for 5 years and all I can do is concur with the comments that it will be crowded (multiple ships in port can add 10,000 tourists a day to the thousands of land based tourists especially in Rome, Venice and Florence) and HOT!

 

Someone from South Florida saying it will be HOT.  I think I'll melt....

[cruising cockroach]

8 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Have to agree with Aquahound. Florence is a bit of a loss, but go to Cinque Terre instead. You could fly into Rome a few days early, train to Florence for a day or two, then continue to Venice to board your ship.

 

My suggestion too.  Although Cinque Terra may be chocabloc with visitors.