petuniaflower Posted June 14 #1 Share Posted June 14 Trying to decide between these two, if anyone has sailed and has input, please share. Ship wise they are similar and tho we prefer the newer/bigger ships we want to port, ideally embark in venice which is why we have these narrowed down. Really want Venice and Greek Islands/Athens, and these are the only ones that seem to have both, tho one has Athens, but the other has 2 Greek Islands..also Ancona and Brindisi seem to be pretty non eventful ports, but open to suggestions. Thx in advance! msc lirica venice monteneg mykonos santorini ancona vs msc armonia athens croatia venice brindisi mykonos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted June 14 #2 Share Posted June 14 You have t said when your cruise is, but I feel if you want to appreciate Venice, you want to embark there, spending at least a day if not two prior to the cruise. I also prefer Kotor to Split. Santorini can be an arduous day due to tendering and getting up and down from the tender dock. But it should be done at least once. EM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare alserrod Posted June 14 #3 Share Posted June 14 2 hours ago, petuniaflower said: Trying to decide between these two, if anyone has sailed and has input, please share. Ship wise they are similar and tho we prefer the newer/bigger ships we want to port, ideally embark in venice which is why we have these narrowed down. Really want Venice and Greek Islands/Athens, and these are the only ones that seem to have both, tho one has Athens, but the other has 2 Greek Islands..also Ancona and Brindisi seem to be pretty non eventful ports, but open to suggestions. Thx in advance! msc lirica venice monteneg mykonos santorini ancona vs msc armonia athens croatia venice brindisi mykonos I am going to compare these two ones MSC Lirica MSC Armonia If you have more accurate journeys, please share them. You have posted "Montenegro" and "Croatia". There are a lot of ports there and my opinion could differ depending on exact ports. Venice (both) Dubrovnik (Lirica) Kotor (both) Corfu & Zakynthos (Lirica) Mykonos & Santorini (Armonia) Ancona Vs Bari From this side of view Lirica includes Dubrovnik and two Greek islands. I know nothing about Zakynthos (I had a call there in mainland, near Olympia stadium). Conversely Corfu is well-known Armonia just includes Mykonos and Santorini. Two of most iconic Greek islands. I have a nice souvenir from that area because they weren't congested. All of them could be crazy if you travel in peak dates.... I would choose Lirica after these ports 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petuniaflower Posted June 14 Author #4 Share Posted June 14 (edited) 2 hours ago, Essiesmom said: You have t said when your cruise is, but I feel if you want to appreciate Venice, you want to embark there, spending at least a day if not two prior to the cruise. I also prefer Kotor to Split. Santorini can be an arduous day due to tendering and getting up and down from the tender dock. But it should be done at least once. EM Sorry-next July, and yes we plan to arrive a day earlier at least 🙂 Edited June 14 by petuniaflower addition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petuniaflower Posted June 14 Author #5 Share Posted June 14 37 minutes ago, alserrod said: I am going to compare these two ones MSC Lirica MSC Armonia If you have more accurate journeys, please share them. You have posted "Montenegro" and "Croatia". There are a lot of ports there and my opinion could differ depending on exact ports. Venice (both) Dubrovnik (Lirica) Kotor (both) Corfu & Zakynthos (Lirica) Mykonos & Santorini (Armonia) Ancona Vs Bari From this side of view Lirica includes Dubrovnik and two Greek islands. I know nothing about Zakynthos (I had a call there in mainland, near Olympia stadium). Conversely Corfu is well-known Armonia just includes Mykonos and Santorini. Two of most iconic Greek islands. I have a nice souvenir from that area because they weren't congested. All of them could be crazy if you travel in peak dates.... I would choose Lirica after these ports Sorry 🙂 Armonia Athens Greece Split Croatia Venice Italy Brindisi Italy Mykonos Greece vs Lirica Ancona Italy Venice Italy Kotor Montenegro Mykonos Greece Santorini Greece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted June 14 #6 Share Posted June 14 You can board Armonia in three different ports, including Venice. So you could do either itinerary with a Venice embarkation. I haven’t been to Ancona or Brindisi but I have visited the others at least twice. EM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare alserrod Posted June 14 #7 Share Posted June 14 1 hour ago, petuniaflower said: Sorry 🙂 Armonia Athens Greece Split Croatia Venice Italy Brindisi Italy Mykonos Greece vs Lirica Ancona Italy Venice Italy Kotor Montenegro Mykonos Greece Santorini Greece So Both: Venice and Mykonos Similar on Both: Kotor/Split Similar on both: Ancona/Brindisi and difference is Armonia: Athens Lirica: Santorini Look for information for a 1 day stop in both ports and decide you are deciding between the most iconic Greek island and the old and heritage-known Athens t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petuniaflower Posted June 14 Author #8 Share Posted June 14 Thanks..I think Ancona/Brindisi is what we're trying to find more info on at this point. Also, are Santorini and Mykonos similar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted June 14 #9 Share Posted June 14 They are both quintessential Greek islands, but while Mykonos is picturesque and quite walkable, Santorini is spectacular. EM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awatt Posted June 14 #10 Share Posted June 14 I would pick any itinerary with Santorini, I loved it so much I went back and stayed a week. Enjoyed Mykonos, very pretty and the beach club was a great afternoon. But feel no need to go back. Both will be packed in July. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dididi Posted June 15 #11 Share Posted June 15 OP, We've been looking at similar MSC cruises for 2025 and have narrowed down our choices to the MSC Fantasia's 9-day out of Trieste (includes Athens, Ephesus and Istanbul) and the 7-day MSC Armonia out of Venice-Marghera. We like the Armonia's itinerary better than Lirica's because the stop in Brindisi would allow us to visit the trullo houses in nearby Alberobello: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trullo Santorini is spectacular but the line to take the cable-car up/down to the pier in the summer is very, very long. Armonia gives you a "classic" Greek island, Mykonos, and the wonders of Athens. We haven't yet been to Split (and its Diocletian Palace) but loved Kotor. To get to Kotor the ship will slowly sail through a narrow fjord for a couple of hours. A very pretty sail worth getting up very early to witness. So both itineraries are appealing in different ways. And I agree with Petunia that you should plan for at least two days in Venice. One day to walk around St. Mark's Square and all of the sights you can do mostly on foot, and the next to take the vaporetto ferries to Murano, Burano, etc. To help you in deciding which itinerary to go and what to do in Venice, I recommend Rick Steve's book on Mediterranean cruise ports. Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Venice are covered in detail. Best of luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare alserrod Posted June 15 #12 Share Posted June 15 21 hours ago, petuniaflower said: Thanks..I think Ancona/Brindisi is what we're trying to find more info on at this point. Also, are Santorini and Mykonos similar? I have google "Santorini Greece" and "Mykonos Greece" These are some of first pictures in the query SANTORINI MYKONOS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare alserrod Posted June 15 #13 Share Posted June 15 Santorini this picture is mine and taken a lot of years ago. I was sailing in the ship you can see in I haven't been in Mykonos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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