European cruises

[cruisenovice2]

I am in the midst of trying to plan our first European cruise. Where can I go to get help and read reviews of ships, ports etc. any advice is much appreciated. As always thanks in afvance.

[TheOldBear]

You are mostly in the right place 🙂

 

Visit the Ports of Call / Europe section, and poke around there for port information. You may also want to look at some independent sources [e.g. Rick Steves] as those do not conflict with CC's restrictions on promoting travel agents.

 

That being said - take a look at the 'Deals' and 'Find a Cruise' dropdowns at the top of the page and browse around - then visit reviews for selected ships and the forums for the cruise line for more information.

 

What have you thought about so far in planning? 

 

Budget? Number / age in party? Season of the year? Trip duration?

 

[and lots of other questions....] 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by TheOldBear
Added missing text

[cruisenovice2]

26 minutes ago, cruisenovice2 said:

I am in the midst of trying to plan our first European cruise. Where can I go to get help and read reviews of ships, ports etc. any advice is much appreciated. As always thanks in afvance.

 

2 minutes ago, TheOldBear said:

You are mostly in the right place 🙂

 

Visit the Ports of Call / Europe section, and poke around there for port information. You may also want to look at some independent sources [e.g. Rick Steves] as those do not conflict with CC's restrictions on promoting travel agents.

 

That being said - take a look at the 'Deals' and 'Find a Cruise' dropdowns at the top of the page and browse around - then visit reviews for selected ships and the forums for the cruise line for more information.

 

What have you thought about so far in planning? 

 

Budget? Number / age in party? Season of the year? Trip duration?

 

[and lots of other questions....] 

 

 

Thanks so much. We are leaning toward September. We are a group of 4 age 60.  
some have some mobility issues.  This has been so helpful!

[klfrodo]

I can only tell you what I've done and the resources I've used.

 

Went to a local book store (Barnes and Noble) and bought city maps of the towns were are staying in. They were posted all over my home office.  Then I got sticky notes and labeled points of interest..

 

Then I started researching ports of call here on cruise critic. Then I would use the search bar on YouTube and bring up videos of interest.

Then I also used the heck out of Google to search for private tour companies or just to research ports of call or things we might be interested in.

I even used Vrbo and Airbnb to search for apartments or condos rather than hotels.

 

I then broke everything down in a Word document in chronological order with links to websites or videos. 

Then Covid hit and all of my research and dreams went to hell....

 

But, we've started over for a 2023 October European land and cruise tour

[wheezedr]

If by European cruise you mean more specifically the Mediterranean then you should recognize that these are very port intensive cruises.  You should certainly look for a line that fits your needs, we did 21 days on the Royal Princess a number of years ago but most of the major cruise companies can work.  In those 21 days we had 17 port stops.  You might also want to arrange your embarkation and disembarkation in 2 different cities that would allow pre and post tours that will add to your trip. Cruisers jump on and off at various ports but Rome, Barcelona, Athens, tend to be major starting and ending points.  Those are all places that play well for an additional few days of visiting.  Rick Steve’s book was helpful.  I also got a lot of useful information from Tomsportguides.com. , check them out.  

[Essiesmom]

For your ports, get a copy of Rick Steve’s’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports.  He tells you what there is to do in the port, how to DIY it, and how much you can do in the time you have.  He also has one for Scandinavian and Northern European Cruise Ports.  For the few ports he doesn’t cover in those books, he recommends Lonely Planet.  Lonely Planet is good because you don’t have to buy the whole book, you can go to their website, purchase and download only the chapters you need.  Rick Steve’s also has free audio tours to download from his website, and maps to print out.  EM

[jsn55]

8 hours ago, cruisenovice2 said:

I am in the midst of trying to plan our first European cruise. Where can I go to get help and read reviews of ships, ports etc. any advice is much appreciated. As always thanks in afvance.

River or ocean?

[wcook]

For a board overview, check out Rick Steve’s Mediterranean Cruise Ports - either the book or the YouTube video. 

[George C]

9 hours ago, wcook said:

For a board overview, check out Rick Steve’s Mediterranean Cruise Ports - either the book or the YouTube video. 

I really like his videos , I would check them out , I actually have a dvd collection. My favorite ports / cities are Barcelona, Venice, Florence , Naples Kotor and Dubrovnik, these cruises are normally very port intensive. I would leave from a port you like and spend a couple of days there we loved leaving from Barcelona.

[ontheweb]

I don't know if this applies everywhere, but Rick Steves also has a tv show. It is on our local PBS from New York City. The episode today was about Italy.

 

Also one can find the books mentioned in previous posts often in libraries.

[Hlitner]

You do not say which September, but if you are thinking next month you just need to be aware that the European airline/airport system is a mess.  Next year that will likely not be as much of an issue.  But when planning a European trip we always suggest folks try to limit changing planes.  Since you are in Florida (assuming your info is correct) you might want to think about flying out of MIA which would give you the most non-stop options.  All in your party would also need Passports valid for at least 6 months beyond your return date.  

 

My general tip (for European cruises) is to consider a cruise that begins and ends at different ports.  You can than extend your trip at both ends which adds some decent land time.  You can typically find cruises moving between major ports such as Barcelona to Civitavecchia (Rome),  Athens to Rome, etc.  While cruising in Europe is a fantastic way to see lots of places without the hassles of land travel it also has the big disadvantage of limiting your time in each place.  A few days (or longer) of land time before and after the cruise gives you the best of both worlds.  Flying in a few days early also gives you time to recover from jetlag, and deal with any airline delays.

 

You mention traveling in September which is actually a terrific time since it is the shoulder season, and the temperatures are usually more moderate.   Keep in mind that cruising and traveling in Europe is somewhat more expensive than typical Caribbean/Alaskan cruises.  You are generally going to spend more money in European ports and for tours/excursions.  You also need to give some consideration to health insurance and should find out if your current insurance will give you decent coverage outside of the US.  As a general rule, if you do need healthcare, you would have to pay out of pocket (i.e. major credit card) and later seek reimbursement from your insurer.   If you plan on buying trip insurance you should look at various options besides what is offered by the cruise line and/or a travel agent.  There are some good online sites (insuremytrip.com; squarmouth.com etc) or you might want to call an expert travel cruise broker such as tripinsurancestore.com (highly recommended by many here on CC).

 

Also be aware that some (not all) cruise lines offer some decent discounted air pricing.  Before buying your air you should compare directly booking your own air versus what deal you can get by booking your air through the cruise line.  There are pros and cons to each option so this is worth some exploration and perhaps asking for help here on CC.   There is a separate blog here for "cruise air" and you can usually get a lot of helpful info on the blog for the particular cruise line that you choose.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[jubejubes]

If you are River cruising, please use AMA, as they are based in Austria.  Using Viking or a UK based cruise line, there will be issues due to BRETEX.

 

River cruising is wonderful and a lot of excursions are part of the AMA itinerary.  I have done Amsterdam to Budapest, Amsterdam to Strassborg and the Netherlands and Brussels in the springtime Tulip cruise.  Absolutely NO issues at all.