GREECE CRUISE

[IRIS FAYE]

I am interested in taking a cruise to Greece. I hear Costa may not be American - friendly. Does anyone know of a cruise line cruising that location for ten days or under without having to mortgage my home to pay for it. I would be going alone and would prefer not paying for the other person absent from my room "200%" Single supplement is OK but not the double-charge. I've read of some European cruie lines, but don't have any reliable sources. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Iris

 

Cruising fool

 

[Bruin Steve]

Most of the major American lines that do the Mediterranean--Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean, etc. concentrate on broader Med cruises than just Greece...RCI does Barcelona round trips that only touch on Greece every other time...

Princess and Celebrity's Millennium do Barcelona to Venice one-ways with a couple of stops in Greece...

 

If what you want is MOSTLY Greece, I'd go with Celebrity's Galaxy which does a Rome round trip with mostly Greek stops...here's a sample itinerary:

 

Mon civitavecchia (rome), italy -- 7:00 PM

Tue naples, italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM

Wed at sea -- --

Thu rhodes, greece 1:00 PM 9:00 PM

Fri santorini, greece 7:00 AM 8:00 PM

Sat mykonos, greece 7:00 AM 9:00 PM

Sun katakolon, greece 12:00 PM 7:00 PM

Mon at sea -- --

Tue dubrovnik, croatia 7:00 AM 3:00 PM

Wed taormina, sicily 12:00 PM 9:00 PM

Thu at sea -- --

Fri civitavecchia (rome), italy 8:00 AM --

 

Good luck...

 

Summit, July 3, 2004: Alaska: 13 night cruisetour

[IRIS FAYE]

Thank you so very much!! I spoke to Celebrity and they charge for both people to the room for single occupancy. I may not have a choice and may need to pay the doube-fee if I get to travel there. I might be lucky and hit a nice promotional offer and save a little. Thanks Again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Cruising fool

 

[Lvteks]

I've been oot so just caught your post. Four of us (women) took Costa to the Carribean and had a great time. Perhaps European ports are different. We had a great time getting ready for the last night toga party. I agree that Celebrity is an excellent choice, however you may enjoy the European flair of a Costa experience. Have fun,

Blessings,

Gail

[Hornblower]

Iris, if you wish to cruise on an European cruise line and see the Greek Islands try MSC Cruises. They have 7-night cruises with the MSC Lirica departing Venice for most of summer:

 

Sun...Venice..........................................16:00

Mon...Dubrovnik (Croatia)........09:00 – 13:00

Mon...Bari (Italy)......................20:00 – 21:00

Tue...Corfu (Greece)................07:00 – 13.00

Wed...Kusadasi (Turkey).........15:30 – 21:00

Thu...Rhodes (Greece).............07:00 – 16:00

Fri...Katakolon (Greece)...........13:00 – 20:00

Sat...at sea

Sun...Venice.............................07:00

 

or you could try Princess Cruises with Star Princess 12 day cruise from either Civitavecchia (Rome) or Venice.

 

There are also smaller cruise lines that do more of the islands but they are usually on smaller and older vessels. Your best bet is to talk to a cruise travel agent, they’ll give you a full list of cruise lines that visit Greece and its islands.

 

Cheers

[Hlitner]

Guess I woke up on the wrong side this morning, because that Lirica itinerary seems close to awful! It looks like they tried to cram one too many ports into their week, and as a result, are shortchanging passengers in most of their ports. Keep in mind that it can sometimes take a good 1 to 2 hours to clear immigration/customs in many European ports and you must be back on-board at least 1/2 hour before debarkation. Hence, Dubrovik barely gives you time to see the town! Corfu is even worse. Most thing do not even open in Corfu until around 9:30...and this is a large interesting island. Again, passengers would not have sufficient time to enjoy the island, shop, have lunch in a nice cafe, etc. Kusadasi leaves just enough time for a hurried tour of Ephesus...but probably not enough time to explore the wonderful outdoor bazaar and adjacent shops within walking distance of the pier. On Rhodes, they finally give you a full day to enjoy the island, its sites, and beaches. As to Katakolon, this is one of the few ports in Greece that makes me wonder why its even a port! Yes, you can a take an overpriced bus trip to Olympia,,, but this never rated as a highlight of any trip. I do think one could find better itineraries. The only good think about the Lirica it that it begins and ends in Venice.

 

Hank

[smeyer418]

Oceania ia having a sale including free airfare. I don't know how they handle singles however-- sorry.

 

Proud charter member of the PPS-Passport Pusher Society

Oceania Insignia(Athens to Venice)-something new!

smeyer418@yahoo.com

Celebrity, NCL, Overnight Ferry, hydrofoil between countries, car ferries and river cruise and of course the Staten Island Ferry

[Hornblower]

Hank, I think, maybe you have been a little harsh, but I do understand, you have made a valid point. I did a similar cruise on the EUROPEAN VISION in 2002. I can say that Dubrovnik can be done without a tour in that time allocated, but the person doing it should be a little knowledgeable of the place before undertaking it, that way they will get full value. The other places are similar, but may have to be done on their tours. Rhodes is the only one where you can get to see some of the island (Lindos) and the old town of Rhodes, thankfully. Of course it is always best if you have a whole day, no matter which port of call. Hopefully MSC Cruises will heed your thoughts and change this itinerary around.

 

In my opinion instead of Kusadasi after Corfu it should have been Santorini, which I think is the number one island and should not be left out on any Aegean cruise. Then from there to Rhodes and onto Kusadasi. From Kusadasi it could be straight back to Venice with a day at sea or a stopover at Bari, which would eliminate the first visit there. Katakolon is eliminated, also Kusadasi could be taken out of the itinerary and replaced with a visit to Piraeus (Athens) and from there straight onto Venice. If Bari is a stop on the way back, then tours could be taken to Alberobello to see the ‘trulli’, the white city of Ostuni and the archaelogical excavations at Egnazia. At least now Bari becomes a destination and not just an embarkation/disembarkation point.

 

Just a suggestion.

 

Cheers

[Hlitner]

Many of us Americans have a habit of trying to cram the maximum touring into the least possible time. I call it the "If this is Tuesday it must be Belgium" syndrome (after the movie of the same name. When we started serious travel (about 30 years ago) we used to follow this pattern. After lots of experience we found that these hurried tours/ports etc. really caused us to miss much of what makes travel so special. If you see too much too fast, you really see very little. Cruises, by their very nature, magnify this problem. But 4 hours in beautiful European cities and islands is simply not enough time to "feel the atmosphere." The thought of not having enough time in Dubrovnik to sit at an outdoor cafe and relax with a nice lunch/wine or beer would keep us from going on the Lirica. By the way, I agree with your comments about Santorini. We love this island!

 

Hank

[Bruin Steve]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>

Sun...Venice..........................................16:00

Mon...Dubrovnik (Croatia)........09:00 – 13:00

Mon...Bari (Italy)......................20:00 – 21:00

Tue...Corfu (Greece)................07:00 – 13.00

Wed...Kusadasi (Turkey).........15:30 – 21:00

Thu...Rhodes (Greece).............07:00 – 16:00

Fri...Katakolon (Greece)...........13:00 – 20:00

Sat...at sea

Sun...Venice.............................07:00

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

I agree with Hank that this Lirica itinerary is just awful...In Dubrovnik, by the time you get off the ship and get into town, you've got time to take a couple of photos to look back at later and finally see what the place looked like...You've got to start heading back to the shiup by noon, so forget lunch...

 

I'm not even sure why they stop in Bari for an hour--must be some administrative reason...you're not even getting off the ship, not that there's much to see there...

 

In Corfu, again, you've got to head back to the ship before any kind of lunch and you dont really have the time to go to the Achilleopn Palace or anywhere outside of Corfu town...and not enough time to explore that...of course, you can't do much shopping at 7 am either...

 

Kusadasi? You're pulling into port at 2:30 in the afternoon!!! Say what?!?

 

Rhodes, you finally get a decent portion of a day...but still have to reboard the ship in midafternoon...

 

and Katakolon, you don't arrive until after lunch...

 

What is the point of most of this?

 

Compare this to that Galaxy itinerary:

A full (7 to 7) day in Naples

8 hours in Rhodes

A full (7 to 8) day in Santorini

A full (7 to 9) day in Mykonos

7 hours in Katakolon

8 hours (rather than four) in Dubrovnik

9 hours in Taormina...

Plus three nicely spread "at sea" days...

 

You don't get to Kusadasi (but what would you see in less than about 4 useful hours anyway?)...

And you don't get to start in Venice (But you could always fly in a few days pre-cruise and visit Venice and Florence on the way to catch the ship in Rome...which is very do-able...

 

And you don't get Corfu (again, not a lot of time there anyway)...

 

Instead, you get Santorini, Mykonos and Taormina...

 

I'd make the tradeoff for the itinerary alone...not to mention Celebrity's superior ships and service...

 

Summit, July 3, 2004: Alaska: 13 night cruisetour

 

[Hornblower]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Steve wrote:

I'm not even sure why they stop in Bari for an hour--must be some administrative reason...you're not even getting off the ship, not that there's much to see there...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

It is a technical stopover. Basically to pick-up and drop-off passengers from Southern Italy.

 

If Bari became a destination, there would be things to see like I already posted, in fact I omitted several other attractions in its hinterland. Hopefully it will become a destination one day.

 

For all the other places you mentioned I agree. The MSC Lirica itinerary is best suited for those that want to spend time on the ship, basically making it the destination. So, sightseeing or touring is not the number one attraction but maybe just a quick look around and some quick shopping. The idea of sitting down and having lunch and coffee etc., can only really be done if the ship stays in port for the whole day, that way you can relax and enjoy the atmosphere without any worry of being left behind.

 

The itinerary of Galaxy is definitely better and also longer (costlier). It is definitely aimed at a different segment of the cruise market, more suited to Americans than that targeted by MSC which is mainly Europeans. I suggested MSC Cruises because they are European and also because not many people think of them. It was a suggestion.

 

As for Celebrity’s superior ships and service... MSC Cruises is still building their fleet, introducing newer ships as they are purchased (see MSC Armonia) or built (see MSC Opera), they will improve their ships and service. They are a serious contender and will get better when customers give them feedback, so maybe this forum and others will give them that feedback.

 

Cheers

[Hlitner]

I was actually happy to see MSC start to upgrade their overall product and market to the English speaking world. This company has deep pockets, but historically has operated substandard budget priced older ships. They now seem to be trying to become a true competitor which is good for those who like to do some offbeat itineraries in the Med. I am just hoping that they overhaul their itineraries and have interesting port stops a-la Orient Lines or Costa. When that happens, we will give em a try.

 

 

Hank

[IRIS FAYE]

Good to hear someone enjoyed Costa. Can you tell me if a person going alone can still enjoy the people around them or did you enjoy because you had friends with you? I am not a shy person, but would not want to go alone and feel alienated due to the multi-lingual groups. Does Costa compare to any of our American cruise lines? If so, which ones? I go with what I can afford, but try to target the quality of the whole picture--food, cleanliness, staff, and choice of ports. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!!!! Thanks Iris

 

 

 

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lvteks2:

I've been oot so just caught your post. Four of us (women) took Costa to the Carribean and had a great time. Perhaps European ports are different. We had a great time getting ready for the last night toga party. I agree that Celebrity is an excellent choice, however you may enjoy the European flair of a Costa experience. Have fun,

Blessings,

Gail<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Cruising fool