Help! Wanting to schedule my 1st Mediterranean Cruise

[Draketti]

So far I have only ventured on Caribbean cruises, but a friend and I were talking and we are ready to go book a Mediterranean Cruise.  She told me to scope them out and I was looking and have no idea what ports would be ideal for 1st time cruisers.  

 

So all you veteran cruisers, any advice you can give that you wish you knew before you went on your 1st Mediterranean cruise, please share!  

 

Thanks in advance!

[Tapi]

I was in your shoes last year. After a year and 4 months of planning, we took our first Mediterranean cruise last November and it was absolutely wonderful. More than I could’ve ever hoped for.

 

For me, I started by narrowing things down by date, length of cruise, and most importantly, departure port. We wanted to sail over Thanksgiving week which limited our options since there are less sailings as well as less flights from the US to Europe during that time of year than during the summer. But on the upside, cruise prices were substantially cheaper, and we wouldn’t be dealing with the oppressive summer heat or the larger crowds.  

 

We finally narrowed things down to the MSC Meraviglia departing from Civitavecchia (Rome). We could fly nonstop from our home city to Rome which made that part of the journey very easy and stress free. We spent two nights in Rome and selected a hotel near the Vatican. Having a pre cruise stay was great, first to acclimate to the time change, and also to explore this breathtaking city. We did most of our sightseeing on our own.

 

Our itinerary took us to Palermo (Sicily, IT), Valletta (Malta), Barcelona (Spain), Marseille (France) and Genoa (Italy). To be perfectly honest with you, the only ports of call I was truly interested in were Valletta and Barcelona, but it was the itinerary that met our time constraints. Turned out that all the ports were easy to navigate on our own and each one had something great to offer.

 

Booking a year and 4 months in advance meant that I had A LOT of time to research each port, activities, and how to get places. We visited wonderful places like the Vatican, La Sagrada Familia, the Three Cities, and many more. Every port was great in their own way, even the ones that I didn’t know much about before I started doing my research.

 

We didn’t book a single excursion and did it all on our own, both in Rome and at all the ports of call. I booked admission to everything in advance and directly with each attraction. No middle men. It all worked out beautifully. I would even get on Google maps, pull up the street views, and “virtually walk” where I wanted to go. By the time we sailed, it truly felt as if I had already been there and I walked confidently everywhere we went. It was a great tool to get my bearings before our cruise.

 

In a nutshell, it was an absolutely wonderful experience. Truly worth all the preparations. Read reviews, get on travel sites, and have as much planned in advance as you can. It will make a big difference for your first visit. Hope you have a wonderful time! 

 

Here’s a link with more detailed information about that cruise:

 

 

Edited April 22, 2019 by Tapi

[mapleleaves]

Sorry but there are no shortcuts.  You'll just have do like the rest of us and RESEARCH.  Luckily, it's fun !

 

There are books specific to Mediterranean cruises , ie Ann Vipond's  "Mediterranean by Cruiseship' , and Steves " Mediterranean cruise ports'.   Both books discuss all the ports available on E Med cruises and W Med cruises.  Learning about the ports will help you decide on an itinerary.  When you decide whether you want east or west, look carefully at the itineraries offered by all the cruiselines.   As you study itineraries, pay close attention to port times; make sure you have enough time in port for your planned activities. 

Another thing to consider .... do you want a RT cruise ? depending on where you live it may be more expensive to fly into one port and out of another.

Good luck and have fun with your research and planning !

 

[MeHeartCruising]

I think in picking a Mediterranean Cruise, you can make a couple decisions up front to help narrow it down at the start.  Are you limited to a one-week cruise or can you consider a 2-week cruise?  You'll need to consider cost and time away from work (possibly).  You'll need to add at least 1 to 3 days to the duration to allow for travel to and from the USA.

 

Secondly, prioritize your interests.  Do a little research and decide if you'd rather visit Italian ports or Greek (perhaps islands!) ports.  You can do both, but that would best be done on a 2-week cruise.  For one week cruises, it's common to do the Eastern Med or the Western Med, just like one does the Eastern Caribbean or the Western Caribbean.  There are some that mix the 2, but probably a little less common.  Cruises go to places other than Greece or Italy, but these 2 countries often form the baseline ports that are extended with other locations.

 

Barcelona and Rome (which uses the port of Civitavecchia) are probably the two most common places to start (and end) a cruise from.  Do either of these sound like places you might want to spend 1-3 days before or after a cruise?  Many people do that.  There are cruises that do begin/end in other ports, so give some thought to where you might want to visit in more detail than the 8-10 hours you will have in daily port stops.  Think of Venice, Athens, etc.

 

 

[Draketti]

16 hours ago, Tapi said:

I was in your shoes last year. After a year and 4 months of planning, we took our first Mediterranean cruise last November and it was absolutely wonderful. More than I could’ve ever hoped for.

 

For me, I started by narrowing things down by date, length of cruise, and most importantly, departure port. We wanted to sail over Thanksgiving week which limited our options since there are less sailings as well as less flights from the US to Europe during that time of year than during the summer. But on the upside, cruise prices were substantially cheaper, and we wouldn’t be dealing with the oppressive summer heat or the larger crowds.  

 

We finally narrowed things down to the MSC Meraviglia departing from Civitavecchia (Rome). We could fly nonstop from our home city to Rome which made that part of the journey very easy and stress free. We spent two nights in Rome and selected a hotel near the Vatican. Having a pre cruise stay was great, first to acclimate to the time change, and also to explore this breathtaking city. We did most of our sightseeing on our own.

 

Our itinerary took us to Palermo (Sicily, IT), Valletta (Malta), Barcelona (Spain), Marseille (France) and Genoa (Italy). To be perfectly honest with you, the only ports of call I was truly interested in were Valletta and Barcelona, but it was the itinerary that met our time constraints. Turned out that all the ports were easy to navigate on our own and each one had something great to offer.

 

Booking a year and 4 months in advance meant that I had A LOT of time to research each port, activities, and how to get places. We visited wonderful places like the Vatican, La Sagrada Familia, the Three Cities, and many more. Every port was great in their own way, even the ones that I didn’t know much about before I started doing my research.

 

We didn’t book a single excursion and did it all on our own, both in Rome and at all the ports of call. I booked admission to everything in advance and directly with each attraction. No middle men. It all worked out beautifully. I would even get on Google maps, pull up the street views, and “virtually walk” where I wanted to go. By the time we sailed, it truly felt as if I had already been there and I walked confidently everywhere we went. It was a great tool to get my bearings before our cruise.

 

In a nutshell, it was an absolutely wonderful experience. Truly worth all the preparations. Read reviews, get on travel sites, and have as much planned in advance as you can. It will make a big difference for your first visit. Hope you have a wonderful time! 

Thanks for the info!  Lots of great ideas to get me started!

[Draketti]

15 hours ago, mapleleaves said:

Sorry but there are no shortcuts.  You'll just have do like the rest of us and RESEARCH.  Luckily, it's fun !

 

There are books specific to Mediterranean cruises , ie Ann Vipond's  "Mediterranean by Cruiseship' , and Steves " Mediterranean cruise ports'.   Both books discuss all the ports available on E Med cruises and W Med cruises.  Learning about the ports will help you decide on an itinerary.  When you decide whether you want east or west, look carefully at the itineraries offered by all the cruiselines.   As you study itineraries, pay close attention to port times; make sure you have enough time in port for your planned activities. 

Another thing to consider .... do you want a RT cruise ? depending on where you live it may be more expensive to fly into one port and out of another.

Good luck and have fun with your research and planning !

 

Thanks for the pointers on the books!  I know there aren't shortcuts but even the pointers/tips I have so far will help me get an idea of how to plan more successfully.

[Draketti]

15 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

I think in picking a Mediterranean Cruise, you can make a couple decisions up front to help narrow it down at the start.  Are you limited to a one-week cruise or can you consider a 2-week cruise?  You'll need to consider cost and time away from work (possibly).  You'll need to add at least 1 to 3 days to the duration to allow for travel to and from the USA.

 

Secondly, prioritize your interests.  Do a little research and decide if you'd rather visit Italian ports or Greek (perhaps islands!) ports.  You can do both, but that would best be done on a 2-week cruise.  For one week cruises, it's common to do the Eastern Med or the Western Med, just like one does the Eastern Caribbean or the Western Caribbean.  There are some that mix the 2, but probably a little less common.  Cruises go to places other than Greece or Italy, but these 2 countries often form the baseline ports that are extended with other locations.

 

Barcelona and Rome (which uses the port of Civitavecchia) are probably the two most common places to start (and end) a cruise from.  Do either of these sound like places you might want to spend 1-3 days before or after a cruise?  Many people do that.  There are cruises that do begin/end in other ports, so give some thought to where you might want to visit in more detail than the 8-10 hours you will have in daily port stops.  Think of Venice, Athens, etc.

 

 

I'm actually able to do 2 weeks.  I guess I will need to check with my travel mate on her interests.  I'm pretty simple.    Thanks for your input and tips!  

[erby2283]

Going to Italy has been a dream for me. Finally happening in Aug. One thing I learned - plan on spending more than you think you will. Now, I am booking excursions (not through the ship) - but that's bc this may be my one and only time to make it to Europe and I want the best experience and to learn about the history of the sites and not just see them. You can definitely save money by booking an inside room, not booking excursions and choosing an off-peak time of year.  My one deciding factor was that my bf wanted to see as many different European countries as possible since this may be our one time in Europe. So we choose an Itinerary that visited 4 Italian ports as well as 3 others.  If it was just me, I probably would have taken a land-tour and spent more time in just Italy. 😉

As someone else mentioned, make a list of what countries you want to see and go from there.

 

[wheezedr]

One thing to recognize is that unlike your Caribbean cruises you do not have to book a cruise that starts and ends in the same port.  Thus if you have a great interest in extra time in more than one particular place you could embark in one city and debark in another.   There are multiple places to start and stop but Rome, Barcelona and Athens are among the major points of embarkation.  Also realize that Mediterranean cruises are very port intensive.  Another good reference online is Tom’s Port Guides.  Lots of helpful info.

[slidergirl]

My recommendation is to not try to pack too many places to see/things to do at the ports.  Research every port and pick maybe 2 things you MUST see/do.  Leave the rest of the time for walking and taking in a bit of the local culture and atmosphere.  The poster above who did the walking did things just like I do.  I've come into some surprisingly wonderful things just by walking around a corner!    I always feel a little sorry for those I see coming out of those tour vans (even the private ones), looking around for a little while, getting back in the vans and getting whisked away to the next quick stop.  I don't need to check off every attraction in a place in a single day.  It reminds me of the National Lampoon Vacation movies - where the Griswalds look at the Grand Canyon for 10 seconds and get back in the station wagon or they go through the Louve in 10 minutes...

[cruisemom42]

As a veteran Med cruiser (I am now in double digits, lol), it would take me pages to share my insights, but off the top of my head these are some of the best insights that I learned along the way:

 

1. It's better to plan a cruise that starts in one city and ends in another. Most of the cities that are the terminus points of cruises are large and very interesting and deserve a few days pre- or post-cruise to explore.  These days 'open jaw' flights generally are not any more expensive than flying to and from the same city. (Of course, special fares can change that...)
2. Look at time of year, holidays, and what days the ship will actually be in port (and even what hours).  All of these are important. Nothing is worse than finding out your only day in Rome is a Sunday and the Sistine Chapel is closed. Europeans celebrate some different holidays from the US -- one that always seems to trip people up is the May 1 Labor Day holiday. Most everything is closed on that day.  Also keep in mind that in Europe, Monday is the closing day for many museums. If you are going to Florence, avoid being there on a Monday at all cost!  Finally, some of the non-US cruise lines (Costa, MSC) tend to have shorter hours in port.  If you are only in Athens for one day, believe me it is far better to have 12 hours than 7 hours....  Finally, unless you have to, avoid the summer months. It is unbelievably crowded, and very hot. Look at the 'shoulder seasons' of late spring and mid fall for a better experience.
3. Itinerary trumps cruise line -- most of the time.  Med itineraries are very intense and have few sea days.  Choose an itinerary that you like and worry less about the cruise line (unless you know from past experience that you loathe it). You'll be off the ship for most of the daylight hours in every port. 
4. Look for variety.  If it is a first Mediterranean trip, look for a cruise that gives you a variety of places to visit. I wouldn't recommend the Greek Isles, for example, pretty as they are, because the Med has far more diversity.  Look for at least a couple of major cities, a couple of pretty islands, and maybe a few different or unexpected stops. Do keep in mind that a few of the larger cities that are popular destination are a long way from the ship. (Rome is 70 minutes; Florence 90 minutes). Some of the reading already suggested should help you get an idea of what ports appeal to you. In general, Western Med = Spain, France and Italy; Eastern Med = Italy, Croatia, Greece (and when safe, Turkey)
5. Flights are expensive. Amortize your time by staying as long as you can. I'd rather spend two weeks in Europe on a tighter budget than one week on an 'over the top' spree. Take the Oceanview room instead of the Balcony or stay in a small local hotel instead of a large chain. Don't feel like you have to buy souvenirs for everyone in every port. And so on....
6. Do some things on your own, and don't overdo it. Already covered above, but sooo important. On my first Med cruise, after about 5 punishing days of long tours in a row, I was about ready to throw myself overboard. 
7. Private tours in Europe are expensive, should be reserved in advance, and are of fairly good quality. They give you an option that is generally better than the big-bus ship tours, at a lesser cost, and many now have the ability to let you open up a "tour" on their website and then share it with others.  (Some reading on these boards will help you to understand the options better.)  But don't rule out doing some ports on your own. Ports that lend themselves to this, even for first-timers, are Mykonos, Venice, Rhodes, Dubrovnik, Split -- even Athens and Barcelona if you are comfortable getting around a big city on your own.
8. Once booked, do even more research -- I find the more I put into it ahead of time, the more I get out of it. And research doesn't have to be boring: watch some movies about the history or just for the locations; read some books by local authors or set in places you'll visit, etc.

[Tapi]

4 hours ago, slidergirl said:

My recommendation is to not try to pack too many places to see/things to do at the ports.  Research every port and pick maybe 2 things you MUST see/do..

I agree with this. One of the biggest takeaways that I took from our first Med cruise was to focus on one or two points of interest rather than trying to squeeze too much in. The time ashore is insanely limited so there’s NO way to see it all. 

 

I’ve always known that a cruise only allows people to barely sample each port of call rather than truly visit and explore in depth. But contrary to Caribbean cruises where I’m usually satisfied with what I can squeeze into the limited time ashore, on our Med cruise, I had this terrible sinking feeling at every place we visited, realizing that I hadn’t even remotely scratched the surface. And it happened at every port of call. I dreaded getting back on the ship because of that sinking feeling. There’s SO much to see, SO much to learn, and SO much to experience, it’s mind boggling. Most of these ports of call  are better suited for an extended land vacation. 

 

But with all of that said, I don’t regret for one minute taking this cruise. It was still an amazing experience. Our goal was not to explore in depth, but to introduce our young children to Europe in an easy and kid friendly way. Our cruise more than met our needs. We will hold of until they get older to take them on a longer land vacation. 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Tapi

[TxStacey]

I am about to take my second Med cruise in 3 years..we board in Barcelona in 2 weeks EEK!! and we end in Venice.  One mistake I made on my first Med cruise was booking a brand new HUGE ship (RCCL Harmony of the Seas).  We LOVED the ship, but barely had time to enjoy it and definitely paid a premium for it.  We are on a much smaller, older ship (Rhapsody of the Seas) this time, but not worried since we will be in port most of the time.  In fact, it will be less of a PULL to feel like we need to get back on the ship!

One tip when looking for flights is to try to book through the cruiseline's air department.  We used RCCL's Air2Sea both times and saw a very large savings.  It was not more expensive to fly into Barcelona and then back home from Venice.  Also, they will guarantee to get us to the ship if there are any issues.  We were able to choose our seats and the days we wanted to fly.  

Like others have said before me, just pick one or 2 major must see's in each port..you will be overwhelmed with how much there is to see and also will be trying to figure out WHEN you can book your next one 🙂.

This will be my 19th cruise and it never gets old!  Good luck and happy planning!

[caripoo]

You first need to figure out which part of the Med you want to see.....Then the time of year.....If you can avoid the summer months, it will be less $$$, crowded, and hot.....Next, which size ship...there are all kinds of great lines, and you will fit into a few......Planning is part of the fun....Hopefully you will have time to stay before and after and explore a little, so look for a cruise that start and end in different ports. ENJOY!!

Edited April 25, 2019 by caripoo
additions

[ollienbertsmum]

Certainly you need to decide what part of the Med you want to see.  When you choose your ship have a look at the time spent in each port.  Lines do vary.   I agree that avoiding July and August makes for more pleasant touring experiences.  Midsummer is for people who want time off work and to go to the beaches.  

 

Another consideration is where to embark/disembark.  Different ports can be a good idea if you have two weeks so that you spend two or three nights pre and post cruise exploring a city.  However I recommend looking at flights before you book.  You may want to find an embarkation port that you can fly to directly or with just one change.  To me that makes a difference.  

 

Remember there is no such thing as "the perfect med cruise".  There are lots of cruises and people choose them for different reasons.  

[GastroGnome]

Lots of really good advice here - and fascinating reading the (I assume) predominantly US perception of Europe.

 

The only thing I would add is to figure out what you want most from the experience.  If you want to prioritize food, or local culture, ancient history, more recent history, scenery etc.  That will help advise your itinerary.

 

Oh - and the cruise line can make a difference.  Not in terms of the vessel so much as others are right - Med Cruises are very port heavy and you are likely to be off ship - and off ship for hours - every day.  But because  the size of the vessel impacts where they can dock and where not; and how much they are prepared to pay for mooring fees will influence where on the dock or available tender spaces they can be.  Smaller vessels can get into smaller ports (which are often closer to towns etc).  More expensive lines tend to demand better service from tender vessels. (Most European ports require that cruise lines use local boats for tendering rather than their own)  Europe was not built with big cruise ships in mind!

 

Oh - final thing.... be honest about your stamina.  Its really easy to pack your itinerary with wonderful things to do - but day long tours day after day take a lot of persistence.  We found (2 moderate adults one teen now young lady) that unless it was really special whole day tours day after day are too much.  We only do half day tours and spend the other half just wandering.  (Or flaked out...)

[nicoleinwi]

I guess it really comes down to how long do you want to be gone. 

 

When we went on our Med cruise, we did RT out of Barcelona hitting Western Med on NCL for a week.  The price for a 12 night on the same line (NCL) from Venice to Barcelona was about the same price as our week long.  Most people would think a no-brainer go 5 nights longer. 

 

Our rationale for doing shorter was that we just don't like to be gone that long.  Even though DH & I both get 5 weeks vacation a year we didn't want to use up 2 weeks in one trip.  We like to visit both embark and disembark ports if we haven't been so we would have been adding days for Venice as well as the extra nights on the ship.  

 

For us, even though it will cost more, our travel needs are better suited going back and doing a cruise of out Venice and hitting the ports we missed on a week long cruise at a later time.  

[PelicanLvr]

On 4/23/2019 at 2:41 PM, cruisemom42 said:

As a veteran Med cruiser (I am now in double digits, lol), it would take me pages to share my insights, but off the top of my head these are some of the best insights that I learned along the way:

 

1. It's better to plan a cruise that starts in one city and ends in another. Most of the cities that are the terminus points of cruises are large and very interesting and deserve a few days pre- or post-cruise to explore.  These days 'open jaw' flights generally are not any more expensive than flying to and from the same city. (Of course, special fares can change that...)
2. Look at time of year, holidays, and what days the ship will actually be in port (and even what hours).  All of these are important. Nothing is worse than finding out your only day in Rome is a Sunday and the Sistine Chapel is closed. Europeans celebrate some different holidays from the US -- one that always seems to trip people up is the May 1 Labor Day holiday. Most everything is closed on that day.  Also keep in mind that in Europe, Monday is the closing day for many museums. If you are going to Florence, avoid being there on a Monday at all cost!  Finally, some of the non-US cruise lines (Costa, MSC) tend to have shorter hours in port.  If you are only in Athens for one day, believe me it is far better to have 12 hours than 7 hours....  Finally, unless you have to, avoid the summer months. It is unbelievably crowded, and very hot. Look at the 'shoulder seasons' of late spring and mid fall for a better experience.
3. Itinerary trumps cruise line -- most of the time.  Med itineraries are very intense and have few sea days.  Choose an itinerary that you like and worry less about the cruise line (unless you know from past experience that you loathe it). You'll be off the ship for most of the daylight hours in every port. 
4. Look for variety.  If it is a first Mediterranean trip, look for a cruise that gives you a variety of places to visit. I wouldn't recommend the Greek Isles, for example, pretty as they are, because the Med has far more diversity.  Look for at least a couple of major cities, a couple of pretty islands, and maybe a few different or unexpected stops. Do keep in mind that a few of the larger cities that are popular destination are a long way from the ship. (Rome is 70 minutes; Florence 90 minutes). Some of the reading already suggested should help you get an idea of what ports appeal to you. In general, Western Med = Spain, France and Italy; Eastern Med = Italy, Croatia, Greece (and when safe, Turkey)
5. Flights are expensive. Amortize your time by staying as long as you can. I'd rather spend two weeks in Europe on a tighter budget than one week on an 'over the top' spree. Take the Oceanview room instead of the Balcony or stay in a small local hotel instead of a large chain. Don't feel like you have to buy souvenirs for everyone in every port. And so on....
6. Do some things on your own, and don't overdo it. Already covered above, but sooo important. On my first Med cruise, after about 5 punishing days of long tours in a row, I was about ready to throw myself overboard. 
7. Private tours in Europe are expensive, should be reserved in advance, and are of fairly good quality. They give you an option that is generally better than the big-bus ship tours, at a lesser cost, and many now have the ability to let you open up a "tour" on their website and then share it with others.  (Some reading on these boards will help you to understand the options better.)  But don't rule out doing some ports on your own. Ports that lend themselves to this, even for first-timers, are Mykonos, Venice, Rhodes, Dubrovnik, Split -- even Athens and Barcelona if you are comfortable getting around a big city on your own.
8. Once booked, do even more research -- I find the more I put into it ahead of time, the more I get out of it. And research doesn't have to be boring: watch some movies about the history or just for the locations; read some books by local authors or set in places you'll visit, etc.

OP - Read this post again and again.  Lots of very important and useful advice here.  Well said CruiseMom!

[ljandgb]

Cruisemom42 hits good points.

 

I'll throw in another vote for not going in the summer.  It is wiltingly hot, which is a bigger issue when wanting to be up and around seeing a city than lounging on a beach.

 

Realize that some ports are over an hour from their highlight city - Civitivecchia for one, is a good hour plus from Rome.

 

Do not be tempted to see everything you can - you won't be able to, and will exhaust yourself.  You don't need a 3 hour bus trip to a famous city when there are always perfectly fascinating things closer to port.

 

Take time to sit and enjoy the local ambience.  My husband and I made it a point on our river cruise to sit and have a beer in every town we went to, and just people watched.

 

Definitely look into non-cruiseline excursions - better value, more variety, smaller groups.  If you are at all interested in food, consider at least one food tour.  They've been some of our favorite excursions - interesting foods and the tour guides have been wonderful insights into the local culture.

 

Mallorca was my all time favorite port, and it wasn't even on my radar except that it was on the itinerary that best fit our time frame.  It's beautiful, well kept (a nice break after several Italian ports - sorry Italy, but you know what I'm talking about), and the mountain areas were fantastic.  Sardinia, away from the main town and into the interior, was beautiful too.  

 

Plan some full days and some short days, especially if you go in summer.  You'll need some down time  or your vacation will feel like a death march by the end.

 

Do NOT go to every museum on offer, unless you REALLY like classical art.  I'm over and done with Madonna paintings, no matter who painted them.  Same with big churches.  If that's your thing there is plenty to see, but don't feel like you have to see them just because everyone else does.  I wish I'd skipped the Ufizi in Florence and gone to the Galileo museum instead. My one regret from that trip.

 

Definitely consider a couple days pre or post cruise.  There's something to be said for sitting in a sidewalk cafe late at night and just absorbing the culture.  Logistically, it's also better to try to arrive at least one day early to help with jet lag and more importantly to give you a cushion for travel issues.  We are 2 for 3 in delayed European flights, both resulting in a 24 hour delay.  We'd have completely missed the boat had it been cruises we were destined for. 

[4cats4me]

I recommend going anytime from mid Sept through mid October.  We’ve gone twice, both times early to mid October and the weather was neither overwhelmingly hot or cold, absolutely perfect, and each trip we only had one day of rain.  Actually, I don’t think we even had one rainy day on the cruise this past October. 

 

Next thing, don’t waste money on a balcony.  You won’t be on the ship that much.  

Balconies are a necessity for the Caribbean, not so much for Europe.  We made this mistake in 2015, and what we didn’t take into account was that we were downstairs waiting to go on tours when it was still dark out in the AM, and it was ALMOST dusk by the time we’d arrive back onboard.  

 

Thirdly, don’t make a mistake and book late traditional dining.  Our dining was at 8:30, which I purposely booked thinking we’d be arriving back to the ship late eve 

every night, when in fact we could have made it to dinner by 6:00 pm. 

 

Fourth,  decide whether you want a closed loop or open jaw.  First trip we booked a 12-day closed loop from Barcelona which had 4 sea days and 8 ports.  That was a perfect balance! 

Second cruise was 11 days from Barcelona ending in Rome which included Greek islands.  

Both cruises included French Riviera, Florence, Rome, Naples, Greece, Santorini, Mykonos, or Turkey, and Spain.  We loved them. Both.  

11 day cruise had 3 sea days which became four when we couldn’t call on Mykonos.  

 

What I would not want would be an 11 day cruise with only two sea days.  Too exhausting, unless many ports are simple to do, like Greek islands.  

 

Many ports are far far from the sights.  Rome City is 90 minutes from the port, so you will spend 3 hours traveling, hence, the 12 hour sightseeing days. 

 

Florence is either 90 or 120 minutes from the port. 

 

Other ports are very very simple to do like Barcelona, Cannes, Nice, Santorini, Mykonos, And Naples.  However, most want to go to the Ama'fi Coast or Pompeii, so you will be driving a bit of a distance to get there. 

 

Do not buy cruise ship excursions.  They are way overpriced and way worse than private 6-12 person tours.  6-8 is a perfect amount. Bus tours waste too much time boarding, unboarding, restroom breaks of 30 mins, eating away at valuable tour time. 

We booked all private tours on the first cruise, sharing the cost with roll call people and average price for an all day tour, plus lunch, admission to sites, (pre purchased from home) et cet was around $100-$125 pp vs. cruiselines’ $350 pp for the same thing.  Most vans cost around $650=$700, split 8 ways, so you add on the cost of tix and lunch, that is where the $125 estimate comes from. 

 

My favorite itinerary  is one that is heavily concentrated on Italy and Greece. 

We love everyplace we’ve visited.  

[4cats4me]

On 4/23/2019 at 9:26 AM, erby2283 said:

Going to Italy has been a dream for me. Finally happening in Aug. One thing I learned - plan on spending more than you think you will. Now, I am booking excursions (not through the ship) - but that's bc this may be my one and only time to make it to Europe and I want the best experience and to learn about the history of the sites and not just see them. You can definitely save money by booking an inside room, not booking excursions and choosing an off-peak time of year.  My one deciding factor was that my bf wanted to see as many different European countries as possible since this may be our one time in Europe. So we choose an Itinerary that visited 4 Italian ports as well as 3 others.  If it was just me, I probably would have taken a land-tour and spent more time in just Italy. 😉

As someone else mentioned, make a list of what countries you want to see and go from there.

 

 

Hi Erby, it’s me, Dana, your FB friend.  LOL

Edited April 29, 2019 by 4cats4me

[Tapi]

On 4/29/2019 at 1:38 AM, 4cats4me said:

Next thing, don’t waste money on a balcony.  You won’t be on the ship that much.  

Balconies are a necessity for the Caribbean, not so much for Europe.  We made this mistake in 2015, and what we didn’t take into account was that we were downstairs waiting to go on tours when it was still dark out in the AM, and it was ALMOST dusk by the time we’d arrive back onboard.  

I do get your logic, but I’m extremly grateful that we spent additional money on better accommodations when we sailed the Med last November. Our itinerary was port intensive (only one sea day), and it was SO nice to have a comfortable place to go back to and relax for a few hours after sightseeing all day. And even though many times the ship did arrive and/or depart when it was dark outside (specially in the late fall when there are less hours of sunlight) it was wonderful to sit in our balcony and watch. I remember getting to Barcelona early in the morning when it was still pitch dark, but it was so exciting to see the city all lit up from the comfort of our balcony. We planned our activities so that we were never rushing off the ship in the morning, which gave us time to order breakfast from room service and enjoy a bit of leisure time as we watched the ship dock. 

 

And we took things further. Sailing “off season” allowed us to afford a suite, something that I normally would’ve never considered. But the pricing made a suite not only enticing, but well within our budget. I don’t regret it for one bit. It was absolutely fantastic. 

Edited May 1, 2019 by Tapi

[4cats4me]

58 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I do get your logic, but I’m extremly grateful that we spent additional money on better accommodations when we sailed the Med last November. Our itinerary was port intensive (only one sea day), and it was SO nice to have a comfortable place to go back to and relax for a few hours after sightseeing all day. And even though many times the ship did arrive and/or depart when it was dark outside (specially in the late fall when there are less hours of sunlight) it was wonderful to sit in our balcony and watch. I remember getting to Barcelona early in the morning when it was still pitch dark, but it was so exciting to see the city all lit up from the comfort of our balcony. We planned our activities so that we were never rushing off the ship in the morning, which gave us time to order breakfast from room service and enjoy a bit of leisure time as we watched the ship dock. 

 

And we took things further. Sailing “off season” allowed us to afford a suite, something that I normally would’ve never considered. But the pricing made a suite not only enticing, but well within our budget. I don’t regret it for one bit. It was absolutely fantastic. 

 

We had the balcony on Med Cruise one, used it for 45 minutes total over 12 days. Last cruise, we had a window and never missed having the balcony.  

If the price is right next time though, we would take a balcony. 🤗😀

 

[iancal]

Pay close attention to the amount of time in port. It is always shorter than you think because of the time required it disembark and the safety net time required when returning (you don't want to miss the boat).

 

Pay attention to how far your desired sights are from the port.  For example, if you want to to Florence, Rome, etc, both are a good distance from the port.

 

We only do one way cruises in the Med.  We pay attention to the pre cruise and post cruise ports. What to see, where we can travel from there, etc.  You will have much less actual touring time than you think.

 

If you are interested in museums, etc. check to see if you can reserve a time in advance.  Might save hours of waiting in line.   

 

IF you are planning to stop at some Greek Islands go on line and see how many other ships will be in port.  Same for ports like Dubrovnic.  These places are complete zoos when four or five large ships are in port.   

 

Don't go in July or August. Far too hot.  We typically go in May/early June or mid/late Sept-mid October.

 

Once we know where we want to go we look at the ships that sail that route.  Then shop for the best combination of ship/price that meets our requirements.  Prices can vary greatly between ships and very much so between dates on the same ship.  We typically buy either just prior to or a month into the final payment window.  Much less if we happen to be doing a land trip in Europe at the same time.

Edited May 2, 2019 by iancal

[luckyfincruiser]

@ljandgb - what did you do during your day in Mallorca?