13 day Rome City Stay/Eastern Med. help requested

My wife and I are planning a European cruise for 2016 and need some input from more experienced cruisers on this forum. We have cruised a good bit but never outside of North America so anything European is foreign (pun intended) to us. We have been looking hard at the Celebrity 13 day Rome City Stay/Eastern Mediterranean offering. This is a cruise/tour package where we spend the first 4 days in Rome then the remaining days sailing to :

Messina (Sicily), Italy

Mykonos, Greece

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

Rhodes, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Athens (Piraeus), Greece

Naples, Italy

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

We have taken a cruise/tour before so we understand that while it may be more expensive and not the ideal method of vacationing we think it will probably meet our needs best for this trip rather than doing the tour portion on our own.

If anyone here has taken this cruise/tour or has any knowledge about it, we would greatly appreciate you offering any input you can.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Charlie

Have been to all but Mykonos and Rhodes.

If you look on this board, the Greece board and the Other Med Ports boards, all of these ports are covered extensively. We don't know your budget, limitations and interests, so some research on your part to help narrow this very broad question will be a very good idea.

Some things to think about, all commonly discussed here. Private tours are a fantastic way to see many of these ports and their associated sites.

Some ports can be done pretty easily on your own, by public transit or just walking around.

Lastly, many of these ports are focused on historic sites. You may find yourself burned out. maybe, maybe not- depends on your interests. Santorini would be a great break from historic sites...just enjoy the fantastic views.

I agree with all CruiserBruce wrote..I have been to Mykonos and Rhodes..Mykonos would be another great place to unwind as well and just enjoy the day!!! Rhodes very interesting and a great DIY place.Read all you can gather on these boards..tons of info offered. One other thing....do not expect the ports to even be close to what you have been used to..most all industrial and huge save some of the ports in Greece. Cruise/tours are fine and especially for firt timers in a new climate so do what is comfortable for you.

Do you have specific questions?

Are you wondering about the 4 pre-cruise days? the hotel? activities?

or are you more concerned about the cruise and excursions?

In case you don't get more responses borrow some Med cruise books from your library .... Rick Steves ,Ann Vipond, National Geographic, Fodor. They will provide you with info about the ports, sights, activities, etc.

Also go to the Roll Calls for the this years sailing .... often times passengers will post a wrap up of their cruise at the end. And the MEMBER REVIEW section is another place to check for feedback.

We are planning a 2016 trip as well and have run through many scenario's. What will you do for the 4 days in Rome? For me, I would hate to make it all the way to Italy and never see Venice. The following is the iternerary for the Norwegian Spirit 12 day grand Meditteranean. It's hard to beat the variety. Anyway, good luck with your planning as there are just so many options.

Barcelona, Spain

Provence (Toulon), France

Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

Naples, Italy

At Sea ---- ----

Mykonos, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey

Athens (Piraeus), Greece

At Sea ---- ----

Venice, Italy

Venice, Italy

My wife and I are planning a European cruise for 2016 and need some input from more experienced cruisers on this forum. We have cruised a good bit but never outside of North America so anything European is foreign (pun intended) to us. We have been looking hard at the Celebrity 13 day Rome City Stay/Eastern Mediterranean offering. ...

 

If anyone here has taken this cruise/tour or has any knowledge about it, we would greatly appreciate you offering any input you can.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Charlie

If you haven't already done so, may I suggest you also pose your questions over on the Celebrity board, where you are likely to find more folks who may have taken this cruise/tour with Celebrity, and can give you specific info about it.

With respect to the individual ports, as others have suggested above, the various Ports of Call boards on here have a wealth of information about the ports, private guides, what to do, etc., and of course you can ask questions.

I will make one suggestion about Ephesus: get a group together from your Roll Call and do a small private tour that includes the Terrace Houses. Ephesus is an amazing place and you'll really learn more and have a far more enjoyable day with a small group (v. a ship's tour). You'll find plenty of info about reputable tour guides over on the Ports of Call/Europe/Other Med Ports board (which covers Turkey).

Whatever you decide to do, have a great time!

Do you have specific questions?

Are you wondering about the 4 pre-cruise days? the hotel? activities?

or are you more concerned about the cruise and excursions?

 

In case you don't get more responses borrow some Med cruise books from your library .... Rick Steves ,Ann Vipond, National Geographic, Fodor. They will provide you with info about the ports, sights, activities, etc.

 

Also go to the Roll Calls for the this years sailing .... often times passengers will post a wrap up of their cruise at the end. And the MEMBER REVIEW section is another place to check for feedback.

mapleleaves,

We we were really hoping that someone who had taken the tour portion of this trip and could offer their opinion. We have been able to get some information via our travel agent about the actual tour package. The more we read and research the more we are leaning towards flying into Rome a few days early and do a DYI tour.

Thanks for the input.

Charlie

We wanted to thank all of you who took time to reply and offer advice for our 2016 trip. We are using your suggestions to better narrow down exactly what would be best for our needs.

We hope all of you have a great travel year.

Charlie

mapleleaves,

We we were really hoping that someone who had taken the tour portion of this trip and could offer their opinion. We have been able to get some information via our travel agent about the actual tour package. The more we read and research the more we are leaning towards flying into Rome a few days early and do a DYI tour.

 

Thanks for the input.

 

Charlie

Charlie, we have stayed in Rome a few times before and after cruises we have taken. We love Rome and find that we can easily explore on our own without organized tours or guides. We have stayed in various accommodations but the best ones were in the central area so that we can walk to most of the sites we want to visit. We have also used local buses, the metro and cabs to get around to longer distances. You may want to look at Rick Steves' Italy guidebook or Fodor's (or many others too) to get detailed advice on navigating Rome on your own. Have a wonderful trip!

mapleleaves,

We we were really hoping that someone who had taken the tour portion of this trip and could offer their opinion. We have been able to get some information via our travel agent about the actual tour package. The more we read and research the more we are leaning towards flying into Rome a few days early and do a DYI tour.

 

Thanks for the input.

 

Charlie

Rome is extremely do-able on your own and you should have a great time. Read up on hotels in this forum. I would pick one in the Central Storico; you'll be able to walk pretty much everywhere you're likely to go, literally. For the major sites, like the Colosseum and the Vatican Museum, book tickets in advance.

Beside the guidebooks mentioned above, Rick Steves' Audio Europe has audio walking tours that you can download for free.

Don't hesitate to come back to this forum to ask questions; have a great time!

My wife and I are planning a European cruise for 2016 and need some input from more experienced cruisers on this forum.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Charlie

Hi Charlie

In case it's any help with all your other research, in the links in my 'signature' below, grouped by country/region are short videos of what I did at all your stops except Rhodes. All the best, Tony