Recommendations for a 10-12 day European/Mediterranean Cruise

[cruisincup]

Family of 6 and we have done several Caribbean cruises. Looking for something Mediterranean/European for a summer 2024 cruise. Would appreciate itinerary and cruise line recommendations for those who have done these previously as well as any other advice surrounding this type of trip that will help it come off without a hitch (we are from the US and have not done any previous travel to Europe). TYIA 

[LHT28]

Do you have any places  that are must sees on your bucket list?

Budget?

Age range of family ?

Do you want to spend a few days before or after in the port cities?

Do you have Valid  passports?  If not I would get them ordered  after the Holidays

 

Check the link at the top  FIND  A CRUISE  it will help narrow down your dates & prices

[wheezedr]

Recognize that unlike your usual Caribbean cruises you will not be forced to do a closed loop cruise in Europe.  Thus it will be reasonable to embark in 1 port and disembark in another. Many cruise lines take advantage of this on the Med by offering a rolling series of embarkations with other stops in between.  You can thus easily add extra time at two places you might wish to do in more depth. I would look at cruises starting and or ending in Rome,Barcelona, Athens.  A 2 week cruise might start in one and end in one of the others.  Lots of interesting stops.  Med cruises are very port intensive with great things to visit. 

[VMax1700]

You will need to do a lot more planning than on a Caribbean cruise.  Passports for one, currencies for another (depends on countries visited). 

Transport to/from airport to pre/post cruise hotel. Transport to cruise port (some such as Barcelona and Athens are quite close) but some such as Rome to Civitavecchia port or Venice to Trieste require a bit of pre planning. 

Also tours need to be pre booked privately or through the cruise line.  You will not find the line of buses or kiosks selling tours in Europe.  You may get a taxi, but there may be language differences and taxi drivers are not tour guides.

For more information on Europe visit the sub forum that has a lot of information  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/8-europe/

Edited December 9, 2022 by VMax1700

[mom says]

In addition to the advice given, if you are new to Europe, learn a bit about how things are done in Europe before you go. Rick Steves has 2 guidebooks specifically aimed at cruisers. One for the Med and one for Scandinavia/Baltic. He also has an introductory guidebook that gives general, but valuable information to any traveller to Europe,  called Europe Through the Back Door.

 

European cruises tend to be Port intensive, so the whiz bang bells and whistles of the mega theme park ships aren't as important in the grand scheme of things. Most of your day will be spent ashore, and you may well be too tired by dinner time to want to do much more. Concentrate on the itinerary that most interests you ( and don't forget to look at how many hours you will have are each port), then look at the ships with that itinerary.

[Essiesmom]

I agree with mom.  Get the Rick Steves books.  Read about the ports, decide what you want to see or do.  If there are six of you, I assume some are children…of what ages?  Are we fitting this in during summer vacation?  
   If you are tied to July/August, I would avoid the Med, particularly the eastern Med because it is beastly hot.  Northern Europe and the Baltic are better for those times.     Get those books, give them to the kids and find out what they want.  Then go to cruisetimetables.com and look for cruises that go there.  EM
 

[ldubs]

9 hours ago, cruisincup said:

Family of 6 and we have done several Caribbean cruises. Looking for something Mediterranean/European for a summer 2024 cruise. Would appreciate itinerary and cruise line recommendations for those who have done these previously as well as any other advice surrounding this type of trip that will help it come off without a hitch (we are from the US and have not done any previous travel to Europe). TYIA 

 

If you have cruise lines you enjoy you could check their Mediterranean itineraries.  If you have perks, so much the better. 

 

There are a lot of Med itineraries.  Major embarkation ports are Rome (Civitavecchia), Barcelona, Venice (Ravenna) and Athens (Piraeus). We like Rome and Barcelona because we have more preferred flight options to those places.  

[Hezu]

12 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

You will need to do a lot more planning than on a Caribbean cruise.  Passports for one, currencies for another (depends on countries visited).

Although I would say that the currency is not that big issue: majority of European countries use euros these days and in most other countries you might survive without any cash, especially in Nordic countries you could pay pretty much anything with cards.

[Markanddonna]

3 hours ago, Hezu said:

Although I would say that the currency is not that big issue: majority of European countries use euros these days and in most other countries you might survive without any cash, especially in Nordic countries you could pay pretty much anything with cards.

In the eastern Med, I discovered that many vendors/taxi drivers, etc PREFER American dollars. That is definitely true in places like Turkey.  In Israel, a taxi driver wanted only AMERICAN dollars. In countries that use the Euro, this is not applicable.

[VMax1700]

3 hours ago, Hezu said:

Although I would say that the currency is not that big issue: majority of European countries use euros these days and in most other countries you might survive without any cash, especially in Nordic countries you could pay pretty much anything with cards.

I agree with you however a lot does depend on ports and embarkation.  Sail from Southampton and Sterling may required.  Also for any UK ports.  Denmark, Norway and Sweden will require their currency or a credit card (preferably with zero FX fees).  Some other countries in Eastern Med too.   But my comment was more a 'nudge' to do research.  The US Dollar is not accepted everywhere.  

As a side note to OP also note that Amex is not widely accepted in Europe.

[Essiesmom]

To add to that side note, Discover is also not accepted, even recognized in Europe.  EM

[George C]

13 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I agree with mom.  Get the Rick Steves books.  Read about the ports, decide what you want to see or do.  If there are six of you, I assume some are children…of what ages?  Are we fitting this in during summer vacation?  
   If you are tied to July/August, I would avoid the Med, particularly the eastern Med because it is beastly hot.  Northern Europe and the Baltic are better for those times.     Get those books, give them to the kids and find out what they want.  Then go to cruisetimetables.com and look for cruises that go there.  EM
 

Most of Rick Steves shows are on YouTube also, I have a collection on dvd. 
we did a really great 12 day cruise from Barcelona great place to start or end a cruise, fun inexpensive city compared to some . We did almost all private tours with some of our roll call. 

[dolittle]

Mostly good advice so far, I would add arrive at least a day in advance remove the stress of making the ship and enjoy your embark city . To me Barcelona is the best and easy to get to port ,it is right in town . Good luck with your studying up, it will add a lot to your trip.

[buckeye7]

We cruised an itinerary with Princess. We thought it was wonderful. We have another booked with them this May. I think Princess has nice itinerary choices. We’ll be leaving out of Barcelona this time, ending in Rome.  Good suggestions already about arriving a few days early to see the embarkation city, adjust to time change, and ensure you and your luggage are there in plenty of time. (We only do carry-on, but if you are checking luggage, it gives you time in case anything goes wrong.) Research private tours with your Roll Call here once you book. We had really great tours that we arranged with others that I met here on Cruisecritic  in our Roll Call.

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, buckeye7 said:

We cruised an itinerary with Princess. We thought it was wonderful. We have another booked with them this May. I think Princess has nice itinerary choices. We’ll be leaving out of Barcelona this time, ending in Rome.  Good suggestions already about arriving a few days early to see the embarkation city, adjust to time change, and ensure you and your luggage are there in plenty of time. (We only do carry-on, but if you are checking luggage, it gives you time in case anything goes wrong.) Research private tours with your Roll Call here once you book. We had really great tours that we arranged with others that I met here on Cruisecritic  in our Roll Call.

 

Our first Med cruise was on Grand Princess.  It was called the "Grand Mediterranean".   It was a fantastic itinerary.  Since, we have done more Med cruises on Princess as well as RCI and Celebrity.  All have terrific Mediterranean itineraries, IMO.   But I always think fondly of that first Med cruise on Princess.    

[Hlitner]

How to plan a European cruise for a first timer (to Europe)?  First, forget what you know about Caribbean cruises.  Europe is different.  You will spend a lot more money, off the ship, than you do in the Caribbean.  So you need to realistically determine your budget. 

 

Where many folks simply cruise on the same line in the Caribbean, forget the loyalty stuff!  Europe is about itineraries.  There are some decent online data bases (operated by cruise agencies) where you can easily look at itineraries (of all cruise lines).  Find a few itineraries that your group prefers and go to work :).  We do like cruises that begin and end at different ports so that there is the opportunity to add some days (at either or both ends) to enjoy some land time.   When you look at itineraries pay attention to both the day of the week in each port and the times in the port.  Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays are days when closures can be an issue (depending on where you go) and you also want long port days.  So, for example, if you want to visit the Vatican keep in mind it is generally closed on Sundays (except one day a month).  If you plan on going to Istanbul consider that Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays.  You will also find that many museums close 1 day a week (usually Mon or Tues).  The time to consider these issues is before you book!

 

I would suggest forgetting about Baltic (Northern Europe) cruises since St Petersburg (an amazing port) is off the table for the foreseeable future.  We are big fans of the "Med" because of the diversity of ports and typically good weather (although it can get very hot in July-Aug).  

Also keep in mind that everyone in your group will need Passports (they should be valid for at least 6 months beyond your trip).   

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

One way to think about a Mediterranean cruise is making it a two-for-one:   a trans-Atlantic in early/mid Fall, as a way of getting you home after some land travel, so you can experience Greece, Italy or perhaps Spain, before boarding a ship stopping in Mediterranean ports, and perhaps an Atlantic island, on the way home.  This give several benefits: less cost for flying both ways,  possibly a lower fare because T/A’s frequently cost less per day than a regular cruise, better weather because summer in the Med can be oppressive,  a real mix of time on land as well as time on ship, and a great way to come home rather than a second trans-Atlantic flight.

Edited December 12, 2022 by navybankerteacher

[pris993]

I have done Mediterranean cruises on Princess, Celebrity, Cunard, HAL and NCL in the past 10 years.  Suggest you stick with a cruise line you know or one of the mainstream lines mentioned above.  

 

If you have a travel agent, you might explore ideas with that resource.

 

When I plan a cruise, I always consider what airlines I might use to get to and from, so I have a good idea of what air travel with be involved.   Do go at least 2 days in advance of boarding the ship, allows time to adjust if you have delays.  Try to book nonstop flights if possible and on only one carrier if you can't do nonstop, less problems and less chance of missing luggage.

 

Look at itineraries that interest you and simply pick one and go.  Mediterranean is amazing and you can't go wrong on any cruise.  Have fun planning, come back and ask more questions if you want later. 

 

If you need hotels, book yourself, don't book through cruise line, you can do better price wise.

 

I agree for a first-time cruise to the Mediterranean, the port of Barcelona is very easy to get to and from the port and airport.  

[GreenFamily]

On 12/10/2022 at 3:20 PM, dolittle said:

Mostly good advice so far, I would add arrive at least a day in advance remove the stress of making the ship and enjoy your embark city . To me Barcelona is the best and easy to get to port ,it is right in town . Good luck with your studying up, it will add a lot to your trip.

Barcelona is very convenient because the port, airport, and tourist attractions are within miles of each other. Celebrity has great itineraries from there. NCL has good itineraries and appeals to kids. I personally would take an NCL cruise from Rome or Athens, not Barcelona because I don’t like the NCl western med itineraries.