Almost sold on Azamara, Narrowing Itinerary

[castoff50]

Planning our 1st Med. cruise. Azamara seems to fit my ship criteria: less than 1000 passengers, free style dinning, descent fitness facilities, more subdued atmosphere and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Is this an accurate picture? Now the harder choice, itinerary. It is so overwhelming! My thinking is that a small ship will more often dock rather than tender and visit less touristy locations. I would rather travel in Apr/may or Sept/Oct but the itinerary that looks the most interesting is the Jul.26th- Aug.9th 2009. It seems to have a wide range of ports including Italy, Greece, Malta and Turkey. Unfortunately, that itinerary is at the height of tourist season. Another choice would be highlights of Italy during more off season. I'm looking at 2009 12-14 nt. cruises and any suggestions would be welcome.

[susiesan]

I couldn't decide on one itinerary either so I went with two, back to back. Look at April 25 and May 2, 2009, on the Journey. There are no repeat ports doing two cruises in a row. It's just before the high season and before it gets really hot in the Med.

Susie

[cruisePRN]

I would suggest you look at the shore excursions not just the itinery because sometimes azamara uses obscure ports which won't allow you to get to the cultural areas you might want to see.

[Susan-M]

I agree that choosing your first Med cruise is overwhelming with all of the choices available. One suggestion that I would make is to pick the areas that you want to see and then try to find a cruise line and ship that you feel is a good match for you. By choosing the cruise ship first, you are limited in your choice of itinerary (which you are finding now). I also agree that July/August isn't the best time.

 

You mention visiting less touristy areas, but if you haven't seen some of the highlights such as Rome, Florence, Barcelona, Amalfi Coast, Santorini, Athens, Venice ... although very touristy, they are all wonderful places to visit. Going in spring or fall is a good time to visit. We chose Millennium for our first Med cruise ... the itinerary was perfect. Although we prefer smaller ships, Millennium never felt crowded, probably because it was September when few children were on board.

 

Good luck with your choice.:)

 

p.s. I should have added that Celebrity Summit is now doing Med itineraries instead of Millennium.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The 27-Sep-2009 to 11-Oct-2009 Journey itinerary looks really nice, Barcelona - Athens, does Italy, Istanbul, Ephesus, some Greek islands...

[Napi's Mom]

Planning our 1st Med. cruise. Azamara seems to fit my ship criteria: less than 1000 passengers, free style dinning, descent fitness facilities, more subdued atmosphere and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Is this an accurate picture? Now the harder choice, itinerary. It is so overwhelming! My thinking is that a small ship will more often dock rather than tender and visit less touristy locations. I would rather travel in Apr/may or Sept/Oct but the itinerary that looks the most interesting is the Jul.26th- Aug.9th 2009. It seems to have a wide range of ports including Italy, Greece, Malta and Turkey. Unfortunately, that itinerary is at the height of tourist season. Another choice would be highlights of Italy during more off season. I'm looking at 2009 12-14 nt. cruises and any suggestions would be welcome.

It's also at the height of the TEMPRATURE variation...we were told spring or fall were best times to visit the Med. Otherwise..in Nov. we had 80's in Egypt, so imagine July & Aug.:eek: We shared Ephesus with almost nobody, ditto Cairo & Pyramids. realize we lucked out on weather as it was rainy season and we had 1/2 day only...late Nov.

[critterchick]

Come join us on the Quest Best of Italy cruise on May 16, 2009! We picked this itinerary because of three overnights - in Sorrento, Venice and Ravenna. Because we embark from Civitavecchia (the closest port to Rome), you would have an opportunity to spend a few days pre- or post-cruise if you wanted to see some of the "major" sights there. And the overnights in the other three ports will give you a great opportunity to see more than just a superficial bit of the three ports. My only regret is that there's no overnight in Florence.

 

The other ports, while not necessarily obscure, are interesting because they are not as frequently visited by the ships: La Spezia (one of the Cinque Terre), Sardinia, Sicily and Dubrovnik, Croatia (gotta have that one non-EU port so it's a VAT-free sailing, I think). I think I covered them all...

 

It's 14 nights in the shoulder season, so the crowds won't be as crushing and the weather should be wonderful. I wouldn't normally choose to cruise Italy, but the overnights cinched the deal for me.

[castoff50]

Thank you for the responses. Many good things to consider. Jun/Jul/Aug are definitely out. The "best of " are the best for a reason and I would hate to miss them. I haven't even looked at the excursions! Did you consult with a professional before making your cruise choice? I have control issues but maybe it is time to talk to a TA.

[critterchick]

Thank you for the responses. Many good things to consider. Jun/Jul/Aug are definitely out. The "best of " are the best for a reason and I would hate to miss them. I haven't even looked at the excursions! Did you consult with a professional before making your cruise choice? I have control issues but maybe it is time to talk to a TA.

 

We used the Rick Steves and Eyewitness guides to help us decide where we wanted to go, so I guess you could say we consulted professionals, but only in books and DVDs.

 

Good luck deciding! If you decide on the Best of Italy, please post to our roll call!:)

[Napi's Mom]

The 27-Sep-2009 to 11-Oct-2009 Journey itinerary looks really nice, Barcelona - Athens, does Italy, Istanbul, Ephesus, some Greek islands...

This is very like our "RUIN VACATION" and we hit almost every great Med city for antiquities Rome, Naples ,Tunis, (not so good), Malta , Crete, Alexandria (Cairo)Egypt, Athens, Kusadasi (Ephesus) and finally Istanbul! For history buff like me it was a PERFECT itinerary...except I'd have like Santorini &/or Rhodes. Amazing how many great photos we shot. We also did mostly private tours...if you do them right they're cheaper than Ships!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Come join us on the Quest Best of Italy cruise on May 16, 2009! We picked this itinerary because of three overnights - in Sorrento, Venice and Ravenna. Because we embark from Civitavecchia (the closest port to Rome), you would have an opportunity to spend a few days pre- or post-cruise if you wanted to see some of the "major" sights there. And the overnights in the other three ports will give you a great opportunity to see more than just a superficial bit of the three ports. My only regret is that there's no overnight in Florence.

 

...

 

It's 14 nights in the shoulder season, so the crowds won't be as crushing and the weather should be wonderful. I wouldn't normally choose to cruise Italy, but the overnights cinched the deal for me.

 

That's the one I want to do, although probably not until 2010. Sounds great, and my favorite travel season!