Best Italy and Greece cruise?

My family of five (myself , DH, DS 16, DS 15, DD 10) are planning on a summer cruise to Italy and Greece. We will probably start in Rome and go on to Greece. Israel might be nice too. There are so many cruises to choose from. I'm looking for advice from people who been there.

We've done multiple Disney Carribean cruises and an Alaska cruise.

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

Before anyone can answer we need to know if you are looking at mass market lines, luxury lines, don't care, etc. The best cruises are on the luxury lines but they are pricey.

Consider a one-way cruise Rome to Venice or vice-versa. I think RCI, Princess & Celebrity offer broadly similar itineraries.

Israel is a little bit out on-a-limb following withdrawal of cruises to Istanbul and Egypt, and doesn't fit in too well with Italy and Greece.

Add a day or two at each end - particularly Rome.

JB :)

We are pretty open to which cruise line. I do tend to prefer the higher end cruise lines. That is primarily why we sailed Disney in the past. For this trip, ports are more important. I would like to know that my kids will have options for recreational activities.

Price is always a consideration, but we like to be comfortable.

Thanks.

Med cruises are very port intensive. Think a 12 day cruise with only one sea day. That makes the onboard activities barely relevant. You book for the itinerary, not the ship/amenities. Go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com and choose the ports you want to visit from the Ports of Call list. It will tell you who calls there and their itineraries. Choose the one that suits you most. EM

Following this post regarding Italy and Greece.

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I would get a TA to help you with this.

When our children were around the ages of your children we did a Princess Cruise which worked out well for everyone. RCI might be an option as well.

A TA can put together several choices of you to look at.

Keith

There is a 14-day Adriatic & Aegean Cruise on Crown Princess from Rome to Barcelona in June & July 2018. You may want to check if the itnerary that include Italy & Greece ports is of interest to you. We are booked on its May sailing.

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Med cruises are very port intensive. Think a 12 day cruise with only one sea day. That makes the onboard activities barely relevant. You book for the itinerary, not the ship/amenities.

Yes, agreed. One usually books for the ports and not anything else. I mean, line and ship are important, but they pale in comparison to why you are booking a Med cruise in the first place.

I think you'll get many different answers here, but we cruised on Royal to the Med and loved it. There was rarely a free minute, and if there was, we were exhausted (but in a good way!).

I agree that you might want a travel agent in your home town to help you with this; have them do the research for you and then you can narrow down the choices.

Which of these MSC med. cruises is the BEST in terms of

1) Ship entertainment, shows & activities

2) Ports

3) Value

MSC Poesa, 6N, $894, Bari--Olympia--Mykonos--Athens--Sarande--Dubrovnik--Venice

MSC Orchestra, 12N, $1912, Genoa--Marseille--Barcelona--Casablanca--Tenerife--Funchal--Malaga--Civita(Rome)--Genoa

MSC Preziosa, 9N, $1447, Genoa--Malaga--Casablanca--Lisbon--Barcelona--Marseille--Genoa

MSC Sinfonia, 5N, $659, Venice--Split--Kotor--Civita(Rome)--Genoa

Which of these MSC med. cruises is the BEST in terms of

 

1) Ship entertainment, shows & activities

 

2) Ports

 

3) Value

 

 

 

MSC Poesa, 6N, $894, Bari--Olympia--Mykonos--Athens--Sarande--Dubrovnik--Venice

 

 

 

MSC Orchestra, 12N, $1912, Genoa--Marseille--Barcelona--Casablanca--Tenerife--Funchal--Malaga--Civita(Rome)--Genoa

 

 

 

MSC Preziosa, 9N, $1447, Genoa--Malaga--Casablanca--Lisbon--Barcelona--Marseille--Genoa

 

 

 

MSC Sinfonia, 5N, $659, Venice--Split--Kotor--Civita(Rome)--Genoa

You'd probably be better asking this question in your own thread. This takes it away for the original ops post.

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You are right, but I thought that this information I researched may give the OP some ideas for his Italy and Greece cruise, especially regarding the ports visited.

You are right, but I thought that this information I researched may give the OP some ideas for his Italy and Greece cruise, especially regarding the ports visited.

When choosing MSC, one has to give special attention to the amount of time the ship spends in port. The cruise line draws mainly European cruisers, who are on board more to sail, than see the ports and many itineraries (not all) reflect that.

OP, I agree with the others who said you should look for a point to point cruise that allow for more time in important embarkation and debarkation cities.