Picking an Italian Cruise

[George C]

Would not miss Florence really loved it seeing David was amazing, would never pick ncl over celebrity or most other lines. 

[Cruzaholic41]

This one isn’t even close. A Celebrity cruise out of Venice bests a cruise on Epic any day. Epic was one of the worst cruise ships ever built. I will never set foot on that disaster again. 

Edited February 20, 2019 by Cruzaholic41

[Markanddonna]

Consider MSC. I was recently on the Divine and really liked the entire experience. Don't do the Epic.

[Hllb]

I think I'm definitely going to cancel the Norwegian one.  The Celebrity one is looking pretty good, but I need a backup for July in case they change the date school starts that year (right now, school starts the day after Labor Day, but districts can petition the state to start earlier.  With all the snow days this year, they are talking about starting the week before Labor Day instead.)

 

So, let me add a new comparison:

 

Celebrity: Itinerary is 7 days, hitting Venice, Siciliy, Naples, Rome, La Spezia, Provence, Barcelona. Includes free gratuities and $300 OBC. With potential open-jaw flights, this might add up expense wise.

 

MSC: A couple of options here, all 7 days.   I can hit Rome and La Spezia, but not Naples and Venice, or Naples and Livorno, but not Rome.  They also include stops in France and Spain, but I'm not concerned about which stops those are. Includes a 12 drink package but no OBC.  However, this cruise is about $1200 less expensive. There's one that goes round trip out of Livorno so would make it pretty easy to tour Florence ahead of time, and if we flew into Rome, could tour that city as well.  The cheaper rate would make it more easily affordable to do those two cities before the cruise. We wouldn't be able to hit Venice.  Venice is on my bucket list, but not my daughter's so I can visit there on another trip if it works better for everything else. This could be a round trip out of Rome which would be easier.  

 

Carnival: An interesting option here.  We've only been on one cruise and it was Carnival and enjoyed it.  So, we won't feel like we're missing out on extra luxury. This is a 9 day option that goes from Barcelona to Venice and includes Livorno, Rome, and Naples (also Marseille, Corfu, and Kotor). This one is about $600 less than the Celebrity cruise, and includes a better stop for Florence.  However, we would have less time on land before/after the cruise as I, unfortunately, don't have unlimited vacation time. With potential open-jaw flights, this might add up expense wise.

 

Obviously you guys can't make a decision for me, but you've been very helpful with ideas and info, so thanks!

 

 

[Markanddonna]

FYI- Royal and Celebrity have the Air2Sea program which can offer some pretty nice prices.

[Hllb]

4 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

FYI- Royal and Celebrity have the Air2Sea program which can offer some pretty nice prices.

Thanks for that info.  I plan to look into that but it's too early for my cruise.  Maybe I'll see what I can see for similar cruises this year.

[cruisemom42]

Before ruling out any cruises, I urge you to look at flight options. As I mentioned above, open-jaw tickets are not necessarily more expensive. And ships that have different ports for embarkation and disembarkation are generally more desireable as they tend to be the bigger cities that require more time to see -- hence the suggestion to spend a few days pre-cruise and post-cruise.

[capriccio]

Based on itinerary alone (we've only cruised on Princess), I would definitely pick the Carnival option.  First, 9 days is better than 7 days!  Second, you get to visit the 4 main Italian ports.  The additional ports also look great:

 

Barcelona - while not on your wish list, this is a wonderful city.  It is definitely on our list for a longer visit after spending a port day there in October 2017.

 

Marseille - haven't ported there but have in Toulon and love Provence.

 

Corfu - easy to DIY.  If you chose this cruise, you might enjoy watching The Durrells in Corfu on PBS.  While it is based on the actual experiences of an English family in Corfu in the 1930s, it is filmed entirely on the island.

 

Kotor - has one of the most beautiful sail in/sail out in the world plus the medieval walled city is very easy to DIY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[George C]

If you do Florence we had a great tour company, papillon guide driver was great, prebought tickets and skipped line for David we had 8 and cost was about 100 per person including Pisa and wine tasting at a vineyard.