Greece 2022 need advice

[ChicagoCubsFan]

Thinking about a Greek cruise Oct of 2022.  Any recommendations on ships or itineraries? Any help appreciated.

[Ourusualbeach]

There’s only 3 choices

 

Odyssey out of Rome 7,8 or 9 night itineraries

Brilliance out of Venice 7 night  itineraries

 

Vision out of Barcelona 12 night itineraries 

 

Personally I’d go with Odyssey (newest ship) with extra time in Rome before or after. 
 

Brilliance would be my second choice. 

[lr657]

Jewel is sailing a few Greek Isle cruises in September and October 2022 also. 

[Norwich Cruiser]

6 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

There’s only 3 choices

 

Odyssey out of Rome 7,8 or 9 night itineraries

Brilliance out of Venice 7 night  itineraries

 

Vision out of Barcelona 12 night itineraries 

 

Personally I’d go with Odyssey (newest ship) with extra time in Rome before or after. 
 

Brilliance would be my second choice. 

Brilliance unfortunately sails from Ravenna rather than Venice

[ChicagoCubsFan]

Not familiar with European cruising.  Is Ravenna not a good port to sail from?

[Ourusualbeach]

4 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

Brilliance unfortunately sails from Ravenna rather than Venice

I know, and Odyssey doesn’t technically sail out of Rome either.  It was more just using those cities as the gateway cities to go along with spending time in one or the other ore or post cruise.

[Ourusualbeach]

6 minutes ago, ChicagoCubsFan said:

Not familiar with European cruising.  Is Ravenna not a good port to sail from?

It’s the gateway city for Venice.  Of you want to spend some time in Italy before or after your cruise. 

[livylotte]

In terms of port and ease of getting from airport to ship then Barcelona is the easiest and nicest port.

[pcur]

I've sailed twice on Greek Isles cruises, and twice the Western Med.  Plus, I love the Vision.

 

I checked her 12 night itinerary, and it's one of my favorites:

 

Barcelona, Spain | Monte Carlo (Cannes), France | Florence/Pisa (Carrara), Italy | Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy | Cruising | Chania (Souda), Crete | Mykonos, Greece | Athens (Piraeus), Greece | Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey | Santorini, Greece | Cruising | Barcelona, Spain

 

Monte Carlo, Florence, Rome, Chania, and Santorini are all wonderful for doing your own walk-about. 

 

Get hop on/off us tickets for Rome, and stay near the Vatican entrance to the museum if you are going to see the Basilica and Sistine Chapel, buying tickets in advance. 

 

I think Chania has a free shuttle bus from the pier.  Lovely place.  

 

Ephesus is a MUST with a tour guide, and Athens has the hop on/off pickup at two locations right next to the dock area.

 

Go in ahead in Barcelona, stay near the port (near the statue of Columbus turn-about), and take the hop on/off bus all over.  Walk Las Ramblas and have tapas for dinner.  Get a hotel with a good breakfast buffet (read Tripadvisor reviews); we had AMAZING breakfasts in Barcelona:  nothing like US breakfast buffets.

 

 

[Norwich Cruiser]

5 hours ago, ChicagoCubsFan said:

Not familiar with European cruising.  Is Ravenna not a good port to sail from?

Ravenna on a good day is about a two and a quarter hour drive from Venice although RCG are offering a transfer directly from the airport I certainly wouldn’t use it.

 

In peak summer season it could well take longer.

 

Maybe spend a few days pre cruise in Venice and take the train to Ravenna spend the day there one day would be enough in Ravenna the day before embarking it takes away much of the pressure of embarking day for you.

 

Only my thoughts I’m sure others will have there opinions just consider them all and does what works for you.

 

Or you could fly into Bologna which is much closer than Venice depends how much you want to visit Venice which is always a highlight for us.

The one thing you unfortunately will miss with sailing out of Ravenna is the fantastic sail away from Venice.

[Norwich Cruiser]

5 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I know, and Odyssey doesn’t technically sail out of Rome either.  It was more just using those cities as the gateway cities to go along with spending time in one or the other ore or post cruise.

I knew you would know but I didn’t want the original poster to maybe get confused and not fully understand that Ravenna and Venice are two completely different places and probably some 140 to 150 km apart.

[Ashland]

We did an amazing 12 night cruise on Vision out of Barcelona May 2019;

Cannes, Florence, Rome, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Valletta (our favorite just amazing).

Don't overlook Vision out of Barcelona a great pre-cruise stay.

[Norwich Cruiser]

30 minutes ago, pcur said:

I've sailed twice on Greek Isles cruises, and twice the Western Med.  Plus, I love the Vision.

 

I checked her 12 night itinerary, and it's one of my favorites:

 

Barcelona, Spain | Monte Carlo (Cannes), France | Florence/Pisa (Carrara), Italy | Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy | Cruising | Chania (Souda), Crete | Mykonos, Greece | Athens (Piraeus), Greece | Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey | Santorini, Greece | Cruising | Barcelona, Spain

 

Monte Carlo, Florence, Rome, Chania, and Santorini are all wonderful for doing your own walk-about. 

 

Get hop on/off us tickets for Rome, and stay near the Vatican entrance to the museum if you are going to see the Basilica and Sistine Chapel, buying tickets in advance. 

 

I think Chania has a free shuttle bus from the pier.  Lovely place.  

 

Ephesus is a MUST with a tour guide, and Athens has the hop on/off pickup at two locations right next to the dock area.

 

Go in ahead in Barcelona, stay near the port (near the statue of Columbus turn-about), and take the hop on/off bus all over.  Walk Las Ramblas and have tapas for dinner.  Get a hotel with a good breakfast buffet (read Tripadvisor reviews); we had AMAZING breakfasts in Barcelona:  nothing like US breakfast buffets.

 

 

Great advice I fully concur.

 

Mykonos is fantastic also.

 

I can recommend Hotel Jazz in Barcelona.

[Norwich Cruiser]

3 minutes ago, Ashland said:

We did an amazing 12 night cruise on Vision out of Barcelona May 2019;

Cannes, Florence, Rome, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Valletta (our favorite just amazing).

Don't overlook Vision out of Barcelona a great pre-cruise stay.

Maybe not the newest ship but we’ve had fantastic cruises in her and I agree definitely the best itinerary.

[Ashland]

1 minute ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

Great advice I fully concur.

 

Mykonos is fantastic also.

 

I can recommend Hotel Jazz in Barcelona.

Yes...We stayed 3 nights pre-cruise at the Jazz Hotel...great location !!

[Ashland]

Just now, Norwich Cruiser said:

Maybe not the newest ship but we’ve had fantastic cruises in her and I agree definitely the best itinerary.

We have sailed on her many times also and found her to still be a great choice....Our true aft cabin was just amazing for that sail out of Valletta. I wouldn't hesitate to do that specific itinerary again. One of the best we've done...again VALLETTA 

[dandi799]

I hope @ChicagoCubsFan does not mind me piggy backing off of the original post!!

 

Does anyone have any insights into how much an older couple would realistically be able to see in Athens in one day? My mom and dad are hoping to find a cruise that includes Rome and Athens, so the Odyssey itinerary  looks great, especially with adding on time in Rome before or after. This would be a bucket-list trip, so I would hate for him to leave feeling frustrated. He is 70, and in decent shape, but does have very early stage Alzheimers, so they would likely not want to explore on their own in order to keep the frustration level down. They have only been on one cruise and want to stick with Royal. I saw a couple of other lines that began in Rome and ended in Athens, which would have been ideal. 

[Norwich Cruiser]

3 hours ago, Ashland said:

We have sailed on her many times also and found her to still be a great choice....Our true aft cabin was just amazing for that sail out of Valletta. I wouldn't hesitate to do that specific itinerary again. One of the best we've done...again VALLETTA 

Valletta port with the walls as the ship swings round in port early in the morning with the sun coming up is amazing.

 

We normally then get the lift ( about a ten minutes walk away and a couple of euros )although other modes of transport are available dockside out of the dock and turn right up to the park and city centre.

[Norwich Cruiser]

5 minutes ago, dandi799 said:

I hope @ChicagoCubsFan does not mind me piggy backing off of the original post!!

 

Does anyone have any insights into how much an older couple would realistically be able to see in Athens in one day? My mom and dad are hoping to find a cruise that includes Rome and Athens, so the Odyssey itinerary  looks great, especially with adding on time in Rome before or after. This would be a bucket-list trip, so I would hate for him to leave feeling frustrated. He is 70, and in decent shape, but does have very early stage Alzheimers, so they would likely not want to explore on their own in order to keep the frustration level down. They have only been on one cruise and want to stick with Royal. I saw a couple of other lines that began in Rome and ended in Athens, which would have been ideal. 

There is a ho ho bus right outside the dock.

[3monkeys4me]

We just booked Brilliance out of Venice (Ravenna) in June for Greek Isles. We will likely fly into Venice and take the train into Ravenna. Then post cruise we will take the train back up to Venice area for a week or so. We will likely only spend a day in Venice itself, we've been there many times though only our oldest daughter has and she hasn't been back since she was 2. We will probably spend most of the week near where we used to live.

[grapau27]

3 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

Great advice I fully concur.

 

Mykonos is fantastic also.

 

I can recommend Hotel Jazz in Barcelona.

We booked Hotel Jazz for 2 nights Allure pre cruise in June 2020.

Even though it was non refundable they refunded 2 days after I emailed them that our flight was cancelled due to covid19.

The reviews are excellent and we will definitely stay there when we go back to Barcelona.

Graham.

[Ashland]

4 hours ago, dandi799 said:

I hope @ChicagoCubsFan does not mind me piggy backing off of the original post!!

 

Does anyone have any insights into how much an older couple would realistically be able to see in Athens in one day? My mom and dad are hoping to find a cruise that includes Rome and Athens, so the Odyssey itinerary  looks great, especially with adding on time in Rome before or after. This would be a bucket-list trip, so I would hate for him to leave feeling frustrated. He is 70, and in decent shape, but does have very early stage Alzheimers, so they would likely not want to explore on their own in order to keep the frustration level down. They have only been on one cruise and want to stick with Royal. I saw a couple of other lines that began in Rome and ended in Athens, which would have been ideal. 

If by the time they sail they will be able to book with a private vendor for Athens...I can absolutely

recommend PK Travel. We booked with a small group from our roll call and they gave us an amazing day tour of Athens.

[lovemylab]

Vision out of Barcelona would be my first choice.  I love the itinerary and Barcelona is an easy port to get to and from.   

 

Odyssey would be my second choice. While the ship doesn't sail out of Rome, getting to Civitavecchia is fairly easy and many companies offer a shuttle service.

 

The only way I would consider the Brilliance is if I was planning to spend time in Italy before & after the cruise.  Getting to Ravenna from Venice will take several hours, and for me it wouldn't be worth the hassle unless I was planning to combine it with a few days pre/post cruise in that area.  Flying into Bologna could be an option worth looking into.  Anytime I have looked into flying into Bologna those flights were always more expensive and had an extra layover compared to Rome/Barcelona/Venice.