Mediterranean. What cruise line?

[bobk57]

;) My sweetheart and I want to take a Med. cruise May '09 and are trying to decide what cruise line to go on. We have Ruby Princess, Holland Oosterdam, Celebrity Summit and Oceania Regatta. If we choose Princess it will be our 5th with them. We already cruised on the Oosterdam in Mexico and have never cruised on the other two lines. We have never been to Europe and are not sure what offers the best ports to see. Anyone have any preference on cruise line and ports that are a must see? Any and all feedback and input is greatly appreciated.

 

bob:)

[alinehu]

I have been to the Med 2 times one on Princess the other in Carnival. Both experiences have been perfect, excellent!! Regarding ports the must sees are

Italy (everything!! Venice, Rome, Amalfi Coast (Naples) AHHH!!) Greek isles (Santorini), Athens, Dubrovnik, Barcelona.

[operafan]

;) My sweetheart and I want to take a Med. cruise May '09 and are trying to decide what cruise line to go on. We have Ruby Princess, Holland Oosterdam, Celebrity Summit and Oceania Regatta. If we choose Princess it will be our 5th with them. We already cruised on the Oosterdam in Mexico and have never cruised on the other two lines. We have never been to Europe and are not sure what offers the best ports to see. Anyone have any preference on cruise line and ports that are a must see? Any and all feedback and input is greatly appreciated.

 

bob:)

 

We like Celebrity and the best itinerary we've taken is Venice/Barcelona. There's nothing more beautiful than Venice, Rome, Florence and Santorini and Celebrity provides a great cruise in Europe. We had a great time on our RCCL cruise in the Canarys last November too. We didn't think it would compare with Celebrity but it did in every way but the food. X's was much better. Either line would be terrific...............

[Eileen G]

The cruise line is not as important as the ports. Check the ports you want to see and also the port times. We chose Princess because I wanted to go to Venice and as many stops in Greece as I could. All the port times were atleast 8 hours and there was only one sea day. We had the added bonus of adding two days in Venice and two days in Rome at either end of the cruise.We have now done Rome to Venice and Venice to Rome both in May which is a really great time to go to the Med. Take a look at the different itineraries and do research on each port to see which ones you would like to do. Than choose the one with the most ports that interest you.

[nparmelee]

I agree with the ports being more important and the ship/line less important. We prefer smaller ships so that is a factor to us if we find two similar cruises. Our first Med cruise was Rome to Istanbul which gave us the history we wanted, our 2nd will be mostly Italy with a Venice to Rome route. So much is subjective about which ports are a must see, we just look for the ones that have something we would like to do. An example for us would be Monte Carlo, some people really want to go to the casino there, we live in a gambling state so not really a big deal to us, however we're looking forward to going out to Eze that day instead. Find the ports you want to start or stop in first, then start to narrow the options down. You can do just some quick research on the ports listed for a cruise and decide which ones are more interesting or not to you and that will help in making a final decision. If you don't want to research the ports, talk to a good TA and see what they might suggest as a good itinerary for you. A lot really depends on what you like to do, do you want to shop, go to musuems, see art, tour ruins, wander in town, take pictures, eat, go to a beach.......Some ports are better for some things, others are better for other things.

[Chesie]

Ditto the ports selection before cruiseline. We are doing our first Princess cruise this October Egypt/Aegean. Wanted Egypt and didn't want alot of Italy ports as we have been to Italy several times. A couple years ago we did a Panama cruise and wanted to go to Columbia South America. Only found 2 lines that did that. We looked at both lines THEN decided.

 

We dont' cruise for the shows, mini golf etc. The ship, to us, is for sleeping and eating. With the ports we pick we are off the ship most of the day, come back to the ship clean up, eat and crash. This upcoming cruise has 3 sea days which we are looking forward to just to relax. Last 2 days are sea days. It will be a nice way to unwind.

 

Whatever you choose, enjoy!

[stingraynz]

Hi

 

IMHO - it's all about itinerary. ports & proximity to the ports you really want. For example, If you want to see sorrento take the itinerary that takes you there and not a nearby huge city. Also, even more important, time in ports. Does the itinerary have that overnight in Venice or Istanbul or whatever destination you most desire? Where does the cruise start/end? Is this is the city you want to stay on longer pre or post cruise. Lastly, duration....why take a 7-day when you can go 10. Better yet why take a 10 day when someone offers a 12-day.

 

My choice would lean towards Oceania first. They just understand the itinerary as I see it. They go into the smaller destinations and seem to have that extra time in ports you require. They also usually have longer itineraries. That is exactly what led us to them in the first place. Celebrity also has a fantastic European product.

 

The OP said..whatever you choose - enjoy your trip!

[Abbyroo]

The ports are the deciding factor for sure! :D We chose the Ruby Princess for departure 9/1/09 for several reasons...love Princess and this will be a fairly new ship, love the ports (check them out on their web site) sailing from Barcelona to Venice, and the time of year is ideal for us. We hit the major ports in Italy, Monaco, Turkey and Greece. We considered RCCL's Brilliance but did that ship to Panama and just thought Ruby would be a nice experience and a newer vessel.

 

But like I said...the ports did it for us. Come join us....maybe it won't be as hot then...we hope! :) We are in the process of deciding which independent tour company to use for our excursions in various ports. Big decision with all the wonderful recommendations on this board.

[Happy ks]

Have a lovely cruise and a lot of fun planning between now and then :)

 

When we started looking into our trip to Italy we first started thinking about a land trip, then thought the cruise made more sense because of travel and unpacking. We first thought we wanted to take a particular ship and ended up with a ship we never would have considered.

 

The ship we are on, RCCL Legend of the Sea, is older and not at all as nice as some of the other choices. But, it is the perfect itinerary for us and we'll not really be onboard all that much. A 13 night cruise and only 3 sea days! We foresee crashing on those sea days and not missing ice rinks or climbing walls or anything other than a good book and a lounge chair in the solarium.

 

We've been on the sister ship and we've cruised several other lines, so we know what cruise ships have to offer. If we could afford Oceania, we may have chosen that, but I think the price was about double what we're paying for our cruise, plus it was several days shorter.

[MSPCUBS]

Definitely choose by ports and price (if that is a consideration). My favorite cruise line is HAL, but I am doing a med cruise in Sept. on Carnival. Both the ports and a HUGE price difference is what sealed the deal for me. I agree with the poster that says the ship is just your floating hotel.

[Aussie One]

If you choose the Summit.it departs from Venice. its in port two days. you can use the ship as a hotel and plenty of time to tour Venice.

if you depart Barcelona its one day and departs 5 pm i think a extra sea day is in this Cruise to Venice.

[Cruiser Forever]

I've cruised the Mediterranean 4 times and each time was with RCI. The Legend, The Grandeur, and 2x Splendour. No problems at all with RCI. But Italy is a must to see. I never get bored of Italy. I love it. Santorini is also a must see.:D

[murphysmum]

Hello....

 

A lot of wonderful suggestions have already been given. I don't think that anyone has yet mentioned Azamara Cruises, a fairly recent off-shoot of Celebrity.

 

They have some excellent itineraries for all of the ports mentioned...and more.

 

We sailed with them in February this year and were VERY impressed with the experience...on a par with Regent and a relatively smaller (700 people) ship. Their pricing is still very competitive.

 

Just a suggestion...

 

murphysmum;)

[oakbriar]

I agree with all the above about ports of call being the most important. We (myself, my husband, daughter and son-in-law) are going to be cruising the Med. in May (4th to be exact) and we chose this departure because of my daughters desire to see Mykonos and Santorini and my and her desire to see Istanbul. My son-in-law has never been to Europe and this cruise sails from and returns to Rome where we plan to stay a few extra days (probably pre-cruise since that will give us a little time to get over jet lag). I am sure you will enjoy whichever you take............maybe we will meet you on our cruise.

[LHT28]

I would pick the cruise based on the ports you want to see most.

Then check how long you are in port some are there all day some only a few hours.

If you have to tender ashore ...how long will it take for 2000 -3000 to get off

 

We like the smaller ships and are doing an Oceania cruise in May.

They are very port intensive so that has to be your priority.

 

Enjoy what ever line you choose

 

Lyn