We are thinking of visiting Italy, Spain, and the Greek Isles. We lould like to hear what cruise line, ship, and routes you enjoyed or not enjoyed. When is the best time to cruise, when not, and how
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We are thinking of visiting Italy, Spain, and the Greek Isles. We lould like to hear what cruise line, ship, and routes you enjoyed or not enjoyed. When is the best time to cruise, when not, and how far out did you purchase your trip? Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you.
I cruised to and back to Europe from NYC harbor. I only did the transatlantic crossing, as I was moving there, so went by car once we hit France. It's cold in the north atlantic so go in the summer. I like Holland America or Celebrity. You may have to do 2 cruises, hooking your trans atlantic up with the particular area you want to see. Italy or the Greek Isles have the most beautiful warm water, but I would prefer a smaller chip for those places.
We have done the Greeks Islands in May it was warm to HOT I would do at least 10+ days We prefer smaller ships but pick the itinerary that suits you & then look for a cruise line in your budget
My wife and I cruised from Venice to the Greek Islands a few years ago on Royal Caribbean. The ship was a bit old, but the food and the service were very good, and the cabin was comfortable and not cramped. We saw Venice, a few of the Greek islands, Kusadasi, and Dubrovnik. Next summer, we are leaving from Barcelona on Royal Caribbean for a cruise of Provence, Italy (Rome, Florence, Sorrento), and the Greek Islands. The cruise ends in Venice, a city we love to visit. We wanted to try a different cruise line or a newer ship, but RC had the best itinerary for us.
There is a great deal to see in Rome. You will not be able to do it all in a day. The cruise lines offer day trips and tours. These may be worth your while for places you have not been to before, but leave some free time during the cruise just to explore on your own. It doesn't have to be in every port.
I would save your money and avoid the ship sales (watches and other expensive goods) and the hard sell of carpet salesmen in Kusadasi. Shop for what you want and don't waste time with pushy sales personnel in the shops. It is hard to sell a carpet, and they work very hard at it and can way overcharge too.
The ship also advocates certain stores in the ports with the promise of special discounts. The cruise line may be getting kickbacks.
In Venice, sidetrips by boat to Murano and Burano are easy. A day in Murano is good for looking at glass--from chandeliers to paper weights. A day in Burano is good for looking at lace clothing or linens. Venice is full of shopping opportunities and some of the worst food in Italy. Venice is infamous for the food since there are more tourists than residents in Venice.
Italy is expensive, even for the Italians. There are many unforseen expenses--charges for "the table" and cover charges and charges for condiments, so you must be careful and not accept what you might think are freebies. The Greek Islands are beautiful and provide photo ops galore.
We have traveled in many countries in Europe, and a cruise is a good way to see a lot without re-packing your suitcases several times. Use the laundry service on the ship so you can pack less or leave some free space for your purchases. If you buy anything heavy (bedspreads, tile, etc.), figure out how you will get it back home.
I prefer the smaller ships. I like the Marco Polo-----only about 800 passengers. The route was from Barcelona to Istanbul, and ''hitting'' all the countries in between. True, there are not all the great amenities of shops, top rated shows, etc.,. But, the food was great, the crew and passengers ideal, and there were no kids aboard. It has no amenities and plans for children. Many of the passengers commented it was was their 2nd to 4th trip aboard, they like it so much. It travels all over the world.
I think October is the best time to go to the area you mention-weather is great. Throw a sweater in, but that you may not even need.
Its probably not a good idea ro add Spain to Italy and Greece for cruising because its a long haul from Spain to Italy and you would probably be better to concentrate on the most beautiful cruisng areas....Italy, Greece and Turkey..This is a route very well supplied by numerouse cruise lines...I would suggest trying to find a line that departs from VENICE (lorious)...cruises the Dalmationa coast (if ship is small enough it can cruise between islands and shore,,magnificent)...Then on to Greece..see if you cancruise interisland.. thenTurkey...Very interetsing to visit Ephesus..dont get tempted to but too many carpets !!..return via Rome (2 available ports)so you can encompass Italy (with Venice)...Dalmatian coast...Greece , Turkey..".Vacations to go"site is a very good way of finding cruises and seeing which ships are best for you..they provide good deal of information about every ship available and which cruise routes
I have cruised Europe probably 5 times and done all of these islands. I use Royal Caribbean and tend to stick with it. You want to see Santorini for sure. If you do Italy try to pick an itinerary that starts in Rome or Venice and fly in early or stay later to see those two beautiful cities. I did a 2-week repositioning cruise flying into Athens, Greece and out of Lisbon once and that was a great itinerary. I think it was in April. To me the bigger the ship the better. They are going to tender you in Santorini. I've been in April and also November and the weather was still OK. Turkey is very interesting and Ephesis is a must to see. Have a great tripi.
We went on a Celebrity 2 week cruise that left Barcelona, Spain & went to Niece\\France, Monte Carlo, Rome, Capri, Athens, Sartorii\\Greece, Croatia, and ended in Venice, Italy. It was the most wonderful cruise ever. Every day when you wake up you are in a difference city & the ship is usually docked from 6am to 6pm, so you have all day to tour - either on your own or on the ships tours. If you do the ships tours - then this trip is really stress less because they do all the planning & transportation.
We also arrive 3 days earlier to Barcelona & stayed 5 days extra in Venice. If you have the time you should also extend your trip - it was well worth every minute & $$ that we spent.
We booked the cruise around 6 to 9 months earlier because we needed to go on a specific time in the summer. My daughter is a teacher & only can take off in July. July & August are the busiest times & airfare is the highest at this time but it was our only option. So of you are flexible you might be able to save on airfare & cruise rates.
I have only cruised Europe on Princess ships, so don't know about RCCL except to say it is just as good, and also Celebrity and Holland America. I would say do not go in August, most of the Europeans take vacation in August, so there may be less services available, and many simply close down for the month..Plus it is very hot usually.
I think cruising in Europe is a wonderful way to see a lot of gorgeous places; it's more economical than having to pay for food, a hotel and transportation for each city you visit. Plus, the best thing is no packing and unpacking. We have traveled with Royal Caribbean, Azamara, Oceania, Princess and Norweigan. We have had wonderful times on all of these ships.
You probably need to first, decide where you want to go, and then find a cruise that meets your criteria: Costs, time of the year and the number of days you want to be gone. The smaller ships usually cost more but they can go to ports where the bigger ships can not. Look online at the many discount travel agencies to get an idea of what is out there (I get many emails every day with specials). If this is your first cruise, you may be more comfortable with a travel agent. I've used a person one time and the other times booked online. Something else you need to do is to check on flights across the pond.
We've booked as soon as a month prior to sailing (however these cruises had the air included in the price) and up to 15 months prior. If you can sail when the students are in school, you will save a ton of money as opposed the school vacations or the summer.
I have taken several European cruises. My favorite was in 2006 when I visited Venice, Dubrovnik, Athens, Santorini, Rome, Naples, Florence and Barcelona. It was a 12 day cruise and allowed full days in each port as well as a couple of days at sea. Personally, I prefer the smaller ships and cruising in the fall (mid to late September or early October). The weather is still nice and the ports are less crowded.
Just a few thoughts to the good advice given. If you are particularly interested in one of the bigger cities, i.e. Rome, my advice would be to start/end your cruise there so you can spend several days in the city itself. The port for Rome is 1.5 hr drive from the city, so even with ship excursion/ train you do not have much time for sightseeing. In Athens the port is 30-45 min drive to the city. This is common for many larger cities in Europe. That said, you will see a little slice of every port, & can determine if you would like to spend more time there in the future. If you are willing to do some research, & willing to take public transportation, which is infinately better that most of the US, you can get more of a feeling for the city than a bus tour. Transportation from the port to the city is easily arranged by internet, or you can go to cruisecritic.com & meet up with pax on your ship to arrange group transportation. Have fun & remember a smile goes a long way.
We enjoyed Carnival Freedom.. we had decent food, excellent entertainment and a good mix of shore excursions. We chose the ship for the route it took and fewer days wasted at sea. Have also sailed Royal Carribean with good results, not so great entertainment. Princess was a disappointment. And while we safely sailed aboard Costa Fortuna, would not recommend this for first timer US citizens. Aboard the ship of 3,000 there was a grand total of less than 20 US citizens.. language barrier can be a problem.
I did back-to-back Med itineraries on the Norwegian Gem in summer of 2010. The ship was beautiful and the crew was friendly. The weather was HOT but I'm from Florida and used to hot summers. I did appreciate the ocean breezes. We sailed from Venice and the first week our itinerary included Dubrovnik, Croatia -- Athens, Greece -- Izmir/Ephesus, Turkey -- Nafplion, Greece. Unfortnately, a scheduled strike impacted our itinerary. They shifted our Athens day, dropped Nafplion, and added Santorini. We returned to Venice and then sailed to Split, Croatia -- Corfu, Greece -- Santorini, Greece -- Mykonos, Greece -- Iraklion, Crete, Greece. Our schedule change resulted in only a half day visit to Athens and I had to cancel a private full-day tour. Things felt a little rushed that day. We booked our cruise nearly a year out. I like to do that because I enjoy the research and planning for a trip like this. Once we booked, I started learning about the ship itself and meeting fellow passengers on the Cruise Critic site. I used Frommers and other sites to research the ports. We planned a lot of private excursions or just did the port on our own. We went horseback riding in Corfu -- just beautiful. Didn't spend too much time in Mykonos as we did book the ship's excursion to the island of Delos to visit the archeological site there. Santorini is spectacular -- we were fortunate to see it twice because of the schedule change. Definitely spend some time researching the ports to decide what you want to do and see, and that will help you decide whether to take a ship's excursion or do something independently or with another ship-excursion operator. You will love it!!
I'm adding a "part two" to the above post as I didn't get into Italy. I had some time in Venice, Padua and Milan on the 2010 trip. In 2005 I had done another Med cruise with Carnival (on the Liberty) and traveled to Rome, Livorno (Florence and Pisa), Naples (Amalfi Coast), Messina, Sicily (Taormina/Mt. Etna) and Venice in Italy -- Barcelona, Spain -- Cannes, France. Every port was a wonderful discovery. I love history, art, architecture, good food, good scenery, etc. and Italy has all of this! Barcelona was also beautiful and I'd love to return some day. Cannes was probably my least favorite port but I can't say anything bad about it.
I absolutely LOVE Italy and plan to return this fall to spend more time in Rome and on the Amalfi Coast (not on a cruise). We had three days in Rome prior to my 2005 trip, and it was simply not enough time!!
Hello! Since you sound like you've been there and done that AND thoroughly enjoyed every minute, I wanted to pick your brain for info on a trip Im planning....
I want to see Italy (Rome, Florence and Venice by reantal car if I can have my way with my husband :), and I also want to spend time in Istanbul. I figured a great way to go would be cruise in-between Italy/Istanbul. So, questions:
Have you (or anyone reading this) rented a car in Italy and did you have all your hair when you were finished? My husband dreads this....I'm seeing an adventure.
Does anyone have a preference on cruise lines that service between Italy/Istanbul? I'm looking online but looks can be deceiving. I've only cruised Celebrity and Carnival. Oceania looks the best so far, and there seems to be quite a few smaller lines.
Any tips on seeing Istanbul on your own? What to avoid or see?
I saw your info on the Greek Isles you saw and am book marking that....Thanks!
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated and happy travels!
Holland America probably has a cruise with an itinerary close to your wish list. I also think Cunard may. Check them both. As for driving in Italy, we have done it several times. Entering Palermo when traffic was at its worst (I was at the wheel) was the scariest but we survived (and were stronger for it!) and highway driving is easy.
What to avoid in Istanbul you ask? The only thought that comes to mind is try to avoid the carpet salesmen ... decent men all of them and only trying to make a living, but they can be persistent. What to see? The big three, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi and then just enjoy the city. Try to stay at a hotel in the old part of the city, Sultanahmet, and you will be within walking distance of most things you want to see.
