Need Advice—Best Mediterranean cruise for 2 couples, boomers and millennials,

[njpln]

We are boomers who have done at least 15 cruises, but we are now looking for a Mediterranean cruise with our millennial son and his wife.  Most important is the nightlife, they like club dancing and modern Latin dancing, while we like more traditional ballroom type dancing, or at least dancing to the oldies if in a club setting.  
 

We have found cruised Celebrity, HAL, Norwegian, Princess, and Cunard, and our experience is that some lines/ships favor one or the other but not both, the big exception is Cunard, but the dressy nature of the evenings is not for the “kids”.

 

So we are looking for advice/recommendations for any cruises lines that might offer us the dance options I’ve described above.  We have noticed that sometimes the ships and the individual itinerary makes a difference, so any and all recommendations are appreciated. 
 

Thanks,

 

Norma

[swaddy]

Check out the 'Strictly' cruises with P and O, they might suit. 

[ducklite]

Have you been on a Med cruise?  They are very, very different than the Caribbean.  Very port intensive with long days of walking.  Very little down time.  Most people are in bed not long after dinner, because they are just exhausted.  Days start early, some shore excursions begin as early as 8:00 am.

 

I wouldn't choose a Med cruise for the type of dancing you might find.

[Aquahound]

On 1/4/2020 at 2:53 PM, njpln said:

 

We have found cruised Celebrity, HAL, Norwegian, Princess, and Cunard...

 

Evening entertainment will be most active on Norwegian.  Princess and Celebrity are also decent, and have theme parties on various nights.  

 

HAL entertainment sucks.  Zero evening activities, no theme parties, no pool parties, no game shows, etc.  Again, it just sucks.  

 

Never been on Cunard.

 

As you said, none check all the specific boxes you mentioned.  If a newer Royal Caribbean ship was an option, it might suit your likes due to the Boleros Latin night club on board.  

 

Key point...I highly suggest you ignore posts that say the ship doesn't matter in the Med.  You're on the ship every day, eat there every night, take in the evening activities, and might even have sea days.  Picking the wrong line for you is a good way to ruin your vacation.  

[Markanddonna]

We lean more towards ballroom dancing and with the mainstream cruise lines, you just never know. So much depends on which bands are playing and if they cater to the people who know how to dance. More and more, we find that we are among the better dancers which reflects the sad state of affairs since we are mediocre. Dancing on most cruise ships is spotty and the best dancing lounges are often used for game shows. 

[Dancer Bob]

 

Costa, for sure. Better dancing (longer hours, variety of music) than Cunard, casual, cheaper, choice of itineraries in the Med, broad age range including millenials. Club dancing in the disco if you want.

Don't waste your time with American market ships. I've only been on Holland America in the Med (even with a group, so pathetic I refused to consider their next trip). I will no longer even consider an American ship unless I'm with a group- I expect entertainment is much the same as I've seen in the Caribbean- lowest common denominator, like watching television but louder, drink-til-you-drop bars, the alleged music at an ear-splitting volume, and drunken flailing.

If you haven't been in Europe before- keep your expectations realistic. If you're serious about “seeing Europe”, a cruise ship is not an effective way to do it. For example, staying several days in Malaga is a much different experience than several port stops (I've done both). Cities like Rome, Barcelona, Athens- think weeks, not hours. All you get on a port stop is a brief, superficial introduction.

 

Edited January 11, 2020 by Dancer Bob

[DarrenM]

On 1/7/2020 at 1:37 PM, Markanddonna said:

We lean more towards ballroom dancing and with the mainstream cruise lines, you just never know. So much depends on which bands are playing and if they cater to the people who know how to dance. More and more, we find that we are among the better dancers which reflects the sad state of affairs since we are mediocre. Dancing on most cruise ships is spotty and the best dancing lounges are often used for game shows. 

Yes its shocking that most folk don't do ballroom dancing. What IS the world coming to.

 

I cant imagine a modern cruise ship would just cater for people good at ballroom dancing. It would be a fairly empty cruise.

 

 

[dogs4fun]

On 1/4/2020 at 3:53 PM, njpln said:

We are boomers who have done at least 15 cruises, but we are now looking for a Mediterranean cruise with our millennial son and his wife.  Most important is the nightlife, they like club dancing and modern Latin dancing, while we like more traditional ballroom type dancing, or at least dancing to the oldies if in a club setting.  

Our NCL Med cruise had many evening activities and the music venues were varied - sadly, I cannot recall if there was ballroom dancing. I honestly cannot recall the music/dancing options available on our RCCL or X cruises except  that there were definitely venues for "oldies" dancing on all lines. 

Honestly, our Med cruises were very port intensive and except for the occasional sea day where we enjoyed the onboard activities, we maximized our time exploring in each port of call and were pretty exhausted at the end of such days. After dinner (and sometimes a show), we usually retired in anticipation of the next day's busy port schedule. 

Your millennials will most likely have a lot more energy to avail themselves of onboard activities in the evening than us. Hope you find something that fits your needs. 

[Tapi]

We are a family, parents in their 40’s with young children. We sailed aboard the MSC Meraviglia in the Mediterranean and it was a wonderful choice which provided something for everybody. This cruise line caters heavily to families and multiple generations. Yes, the itinerary was port intensive, but passengers definitely didn’t go to sleep early. Even late into the evening, the ship was buzzing with activity. There were many things going on aboard the ship, and lots of places to enjoy the nightlife. It’s a very international clientele, with a large percentage of passengers hailing from European countries, so expect music and entertainment to be very varied.
 

The route that we sailed on departed from Civitavecchia (Rome) and we visited Palermo, Valletta, Barcelona, Marseille, and Genoa with only one day at sea. For this route, MSC utilizes their newest and largest ships, so not only are you sailing on a sparkling new (and beautifully decorated) ship, but you have tons of things to do onboard. 
 

Usually their prices are lower than the competition, which means that you can splurge a bit on better accommodations without breaking the bank. They offer different “experiences”, each one offering different perks and different types of accommodations. Bella is the most basic and bare bones. Fantastica is the next one up, similar to what most American cruise lines regularly offer. Aurea is next, and that’s where the perks really add up, with things like complimentary drink package, unlimited access that to the thermal area at the spa, free massages, access to a private solarium, and dinner in a dedicated section of the main dining room with open seating. The top accommodations are in the Yacht Club, which is a private “ship within a ship” concept and an even longer list of perks, including butler service.

 

We opted for an Aurea suite (which was still cheaper than a standard balcony on most other cruise lines), and enjoyed the experience tremendously. 

For a multi-generational family cruise in the Mediterranean, I think that MSC is an excellent choice. For us, it was truly one of the best cruises we’ve ever taken. 

 

[Tapi]

14 hours ago, Dancer Bob said:

If you haven't been in Europe before- keep your expectations realistic. If you're serious about “seeing Europe”, a cruise ship is not an effective way to do it.....

Cities like Rome, Barcelona, Athens- think weeks, not hours. All you get on a port stop is a brief, superficial introduction.

I agree. My previous visit to Europe before sailing in the Mediterranean had been a month long land vacation, driving from one city to the next, spending multiple days at each stop. In comparison, on the cruise, we spent an average of 8 hours at each port of call. We didn’t get to experience any nightlife ashore (except during our pre cruise stay in Rome) and we didn’t get to see much of the country side driving from one place to another. I remember being in Barcelona, returning to the ship after a rushed visit to La Sagrada Familia, Camp Nou, and a drive by Las Ramblas, and having a sinking feeling in my gut realizing how little we’d seen.  
 

But with that said, the Mediterranean cruise was still a fantastic choice for my family’s needs and time constraints, and I don’t regret it for a second. It was an excellent opportunity to introduce our young children to Europe. Some friends questioned our sanity when we decided to take them to the Mediterranean rather than somewhere more kid friendly like Disney (😒), but it was a fascinating trip for them, and for us too. Definitely better than going to the World Showcase at Epcot Center. 😂
 

Another important advantage about taking a Mediterranean cruise is that it allowed us to sample all these places inexpensively, knowing that most of our meals and lodging were covered by the cruise fare. 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2020 by Tapi

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

For a multi-generational family cruise in the Mediterranean, I think that MSC is an excellent choice. For us, it was truly one of the best cruises we’ve ever taken. 

 

 

That may be, but I would urge anyone considering MSC in the Med to check the amount of time allowed in each port of call versus other alternatives. In the past, MSC port calls have often been 2-3 hours shorter than most other cruise lines. (And usually only a stingy half-day in Athens.) . And that does make a big difference when you only have a day.

[Tapi]

36 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

That may be, but I would urge anyone considering MSC in the Med to check the amount of time allowed in each port of call versus other alternatives. In the past, MSC port calls have often been 2-3 hours shorter than most other cruise lines. (And usually only a stingy half-day in Athens.) . And that does make a big difference when you only have a day.

On our particular itinerary (screen shot attached) we were happy with our time ashore. Being such a port intensive itinerary, we planned shorter activities each day so that we could pace ourselves, rather than to max out and then be utterly exhausted. 

 

 One thing that I did not like about MSC is that arrival and departure times were adjusted at several ports of call +/- 1 hour from what was printed on our cruise documents. Most of the times we’d find out about the adjustment the night before arriving at the next port of call. It was mildly annoying because we had purchased time stamped admission to some attractions, and the later arrival meant rushing off the ship to make our admission time. 
 

The only time I was sweating bullets was when they adjusted our arrival time in Civitavecchia (where we would be debarking and flying home) from 7:00am to 8:00am. I was already nervous about booking an 11:25am flight home with a 7:00am docking time, so when it was pushed to 8:00am, I was really concerned. But even with the time change, we still had enough time to make our flight home! 

[dogs4fun]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

That may be, but I would urge anyone considering MSC in the Med to check the amount of time allowed in each port of call versus other alternatives. In the past, MSC port calls have often been 2-3 hours shorter than most other cruise lines. (And usually only a stingy half-day in Athens.) . And that does make a big difference when you only have a day.

Agree - especially important on itineraries that visit Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples, Athens, Barcelona, Florence (Livorno) & Venice - IMHO, these are especially fascinating historical cities & if you are like most, you will want to maximum your time in port. 

[Dancer Bob]

Just got a report from a UK friend. P&O Azura, disappointing. Not the first time I've heard this about P&O's newer ships. Queen Victoria not up to previous standard. Cunard seems to vary wildly, my last time on QE the musicians were playing to half-dozen people, all night, every night. So pathetic I was starting to wonder if Holland America had taken over marketing. But other people report rooms very busy on their cruises.

The MSC ship I was on had tile dance floors, music was almost as woeful as NCL, Celebrity or Princess- the only decent group, their contract was ending. And the most uncomfortable lounge furniture I've ever seen on a ship.

Edited January 22, 2020 by Dancer Bob

[DarrenM]

Apologies if I have got his wrong but are you actually accusing a cruise ship of being woeful just because it has a tile dance floor?

 

If so you set a very high bar.

 

I mean. Is the food good? Locations? Cabins?

 

What is a tile dance floor by the way and why does it irk you so?

[Dancer Bob]

The OP's primary question was “...we like more traditional ballroom type dancing, or at least dancing to the oldies if in a club setting...”. even though most of the replies ignored this.

You can certainly dance on tile floors (if they exist at all, on American ships) to loud, off-tempo, monotonous music in drink-til-you-drop bars, but why would you want to pay for this dubious privilege?

I suspect Cunard's Southampton sailings are the ones so well received. My UK friends tell me the UK still has many excellent dance teachers, who can explain about traditional dancing to comfortable tempos and tile vs sprung floors.