Favorite Greece/Mediterranean Itineraries?

[Sun and Fun]

We are looking at a Greece/Mediterranean cruise in a few years. We have never been to Europe, so we would love to hear about which itineraries you like and which ports were your favorites and why 😊.

[Norwich Cruiser]

In no particular order

Venice ( not Ravenna ) Favourite 

Mykonos 

Santorini

Katakolon

Piraeus ( Athens )

Corfu

Dubrovnik

Split

Salerno (Amalia coast )

Ajaccio

Barcelona

Kotor

Lisbon

Valetta ( Malta )

Funchal ( Madeira )

Villefranche

Messina ( Sicily )

Palma

 

To name but a few.

[tallnthensome]

Look at the ports of call forums for med cruises. 

[Ashland]

My all time favorite was Valletta Malta...So make sure you choose an itinerary that includes it.

We did an amazing RCI cruise to the Med/Greece May 2019.

Barcelona, Cannes, Florence, Rome, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini & Malta.

 

[little britain]

Anything including Dubrovnik, Split and Kotor. 
Mykonos is far nicer than Santorini.

Ajaccio is stunning too. 

[Gumpxyz]

If you’ve never been to Europe, a stay in Rome should definitely be on the cards although there is too much to do in one day- so plan it wisely. 
we also love Barcelona and tend to do to western med trips from Barcelona so extend our holiday in Barcelona before and after the cruise. 
We’ve not managed to do the Greek cruises yet- someday hopefully 😃

[Travelling2Some]

Keep in mind that it takes 3 or 4 days to see Rome and it is quite far from the actual port.  For that reason Rome makes a wonderful embarkation/debarkation point but we don't like it as a port of call.  Favorite sail-out was Venice and coming into Kotor, Santorini and Malta is special too.  Oh, and the fjords of Norway are fantastic.

[dani negreanu]

 

1) Santorini

2) Venice (when it was an embarkation port)

3) Funchal (Madeira)

4) Corfu

5) Lanzarote

 

and I agree that the Fjords are stunning.

 

[Hoopster95]

18 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

In no particular order

Venice ( not Ravenna ) Favourite .... To name but a few.

 

8 hours ago, little britain said:

Anything including Dubrovnik, Split and Kotor. 

 

6 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

1) Santorini

 

Absolutely superb advice from many very knowledgeable CC'ers here on this thread! OP, you've never been to Europe? In my humble opinion you really need to sail from Rome, and spend a few days in Rome pre or post cruise. No one can do Rome on a port stop.... it is absolutely impossible and you will really regret it as a 1st timer.

 

As far as the most incredible ports I have ever sailed into and out of, my list is #1, #2 and #3 place Venice (not Ravenna). If you have the opportunity to sail into Venice before it gets fully shut down, then do so. After Venice, the best of the very best in my humble opinion and in no particular order are Malta, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Santorini.

[dani negreanu]

8 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

After Venice, the best of the very best in my humble opinion and in no particular order are Malta, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Santorini.

 

I wish I could recommend Malta (and Kotor) based on personal experience, but my cruises reaching those 2 amazing ports were Corona cancelled.

[Hoopster95]

23 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

I wish I could recommend Malta (and Kotor) based on personal experience, but my cruises reaching those 2 amazing ports were Corona cancelled.

 

Oh too bad ... you'll really have to make a point of trying to sail there in the future.

Kotor was one of my biggest surprises ever. I had zero expectations until we began our sail-in.

Utterly stunning and had one of my favorite days ever in the Med.

 

 

[lovemylab]

Favorite ports:  Venice, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Santorini and Monaco.  

 

All of these ports were small enough that a day was enough to do some exploring without feeling rushed.  Our cruise had an overnight stay in Venice which was perfect.  

 

Few tips/suggestions:

1) When comparing itineraries, pay attention to the length of time you're in port .  We tend to prefer Med cruises that have longer port days.  

2) If Rome is a priority for you, I strongly recommend that you book a cruise that sails from Civitavecchia and spend a few days pre/post cruise in Rome.  The first time we visited Rome, it was during a one day stop on a cruise.  We were very rushed trying to cram in all the sites we wanted to see that we ended up not enjoying it at all.  A few years later we booked a cruise out of Civitavecchia and spent a few days pre-cruise and it was so much nicer to enjoy Rome at a relaxed place. 

3) Santorini can get very congested with cruiseships.  We had a port stay from 2-10pm which was nice as most ships were gone by 5pm.

[4cats4me]

We’ve been on a couple Med cruises and highly recommend one that starts In Barcelona and ends in Rome, and definitely spend at least 3 nights in each.  Favorite places of ours were Santorini and Kotor! 

We booked private tours for each destination and tour shared with others 

we met on roll calls on CC 

 

[dani negreanu]

14 hours ago, lovemylab said:

Few tips/suggestions:

1) When comparing itineraries, pay attention to the length of time you're in port .  We tend to prefer Med cruises that have longer port days.  

 

3) Santorini can get very congested with cruise ships.  We had a port stay from 2-10pm which was nice as most ships were gone by 5pm.

 

Very good points.

 

Length of time, and I should add hour of arrival too...

 

For example, Santorini and Dubrovnik [visited by me] are very hot places, not much shade.

 

In Santorini, we took the speed boat to Oia and were "sampling" it already at 9AM. By noon, we were on the bus back to Tira. I got very busy in Oia by 10.30AM, so we had some "free" time to explore.

 

In general, those ports in the Med during the summer are very hot, and, personally, I prefer an early arrival.

 

I know that many would like to experience the sunset in Santorini, but getting there at 2PM is smack in the middle of the hottest hours....

 

[4774Papa]

Anything in the Med is great, but the Adriatic and eastern Med is a bit better than the western Med.

[George C]

Our last European cruise had stops in Kotor and Dubrovnik, I had no knowledge of these ports before , we just loved these walled cities. Also love leaving out of Barcelona great city to spend time pre or post cruise, my two other cites we loved was Florence and Venice.

[coldflame]

On 6/26/2021 at 5:08 AM, little britain said:

Anything including Dubrovnik, Split and Kotor. 

Quite frankly the Dalmatian coast is one of the most overlooked destinations in the Adriatic. Now that the Game of Thrones crowds are dwindling, Dub and Split should be busy but lovely and enjoyable. I would recommend going there for a week and take the ferries up and down the coast.

[lovemylab]

6 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

 

I know that many would like to experience the sunset in Santorini, but getting there at 2PM is smack in the middle of the hottest hours....

 

 

This depends on when one is visiting.  We visited in October so arriving at 2pm was a non-issue in regards to the temps as it wasn't summer 🙂

[Travelling2Some]

2 hours ago, lovemylab said:

 

This depends on when one is visiting.  We visited in October so arriving at 2pm was a non-issue in regards to the temps as it wasn't summer 🙂

Agree!  We feel that the med is too hot in the summer.  October is perfect.  And the sunset in Santorini is something special.  Book a cliff side table in one of the restaurants.  One of our best travel memories.

[Sun and Fun]

Thank you everyone!!!!