Med Cruise Itinerary Questions! Need Advice!

So right now I'm trying to decide between two cruises that leave on the same day, but have slightly different itineraries

1) NCL Epic, Sept 3rd

Embarking Barclona

Day At Sea

Naples, Italy, Arriving at 7am, Departing 7pm

Rome, Itlay Arriving 6am, Departing 7pm

Florence/Pisa, Italy, Arriving 7pm, Departing 7pm

Cannes, France, Arriving 8am, Departing 6pm

Palma, Marjorca, Spain, Arriving 1pm, Departing 8pm

Debarking Barcelona

2) RCI Freedom of the Seas, Sept 3rd 2017

Embarking Barcelona

Provence, France, Arriving 9am, Departing 6pm

Nice, France, Arriving 7am, Departing 7pm

Florence/Pisa Italy, Arriving 7am, Departing 7pm (Same port times as NCL)

Rome, Italy, Arriving 7am, Separting 7pm (One hour less than NCL)

Naples, Italy, Arriving 7am, Departing 6:30pm, (30 minutes less than NCL)

Day At Sea

Debarking Barcelona

the RCI itinerary is about 300.00 more per person than the NCL itinerary right now. On NCL I get the cheaper fare, free drinks, and 150obc for an inside. I would only get 100obc on the Royal Caribbean itinerary. However, Choice Air flights are about 380.00 per person cheaper than ones I can find online for the same dates for the NCL itinerary.

So as you can see, lots of decisions to be made! Can anyone explain which itinerary they thing is better based on experience? I have never done any European itineraries so the better itinerary does hold some sway in my opinion. Also, what shows will be played on the Freedom?

Any other thoughts, speculations would be appreciated as well! :D:cool::hearteyes:=

Is this a trick question? There's not enough (or any) price or port diff to take Epic over Freedom.

Is this a trick question? There's not enough (or any) price or port diff to take Epic over Freedom.

I am not too choosy about the ship although I do consider all aspects of every vacation I take, this is a cruise primarily for ports and I am curious to hear feedback on how these itineraries are similar or different

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^ again, not much diff in ports - it's like asking which do you like better - St Thomas or St Martin.

I sailed The Harmony out of Barcelona this past July. You can't go wrong with either of those itineraries...especially embarking in Barcelona which is great in itself! I would definitely arrive at least 2 days prior to sailing to not only see Barcelona, but also to acclimate to the time. My itinerary was slightly different but out of all of the stops, I would say that Naples/Amalfi Coast was our favorite. We actually LOVED all of the ports so I am probably not much help;) Edited to add that I would make the ship the least of your worries..you will not be on it hardly at all! We really missed out on alot that The Harmony had to offer because of the heavy itinerary. As far as cruiselines go, I would pick RCCL over NCL any day.

I sailed The Harmony out of Barcelona this past July. You can't go wrong with either of those itineraries...especially embarking in Barcelona which is great in itself! I would definitely arrive at least 2 days prior to sailing to not only see Barcelona, but also to acclimate to the time. My itinerary was slightly different but out of all of the stops, I would say that Naples/Amalfi Coast was our favorite. We actually LOVED all of the ports so I am probably not much help;) Edited to add that I would make the ship the least of your worries..you will not be on it hardly at all! We really missed out on alot that The Harmony had to offer because of the heavy itinerary. As far as cruiselines go, I would pick RCCL over NCL any day.

Thanks for the input, I suppose the main difference is going to Provence vs going to Palma Spain and I don't know which port is "better" or if they are simply just way different experiences.

Provence is not a port, it's a region do you mean marseille?

For me nice or Villefrance us preferable over cannes,

It's closer to monaco only a short train ride away, and a few euro

I took the Epic in the Med. We enjoyed it. We did know about the unique bathroom setup on the Epic ahead of time. Epic is a ship that people are very split about it. We enjoyed it though. Burn the Floor was great. Epic offers a spa pass. The spa was great and RCL doesn't seem to offer a thermal spa pass. Although as someone else pointed out, the ship is less important on such a port intensive cruise.

I liked Palma. It was a relaxing port. A lot of people went to the beach. We went to the aquarium and the beach adjacent to it. It was a great day after some heavy duty touring days.

Provence is not a port, it's a region do you mean marseille?

 

For me nice or Villefrance us preferable over cannes,

It's closer to monaco only a short train ride away, and a few euro

Thanks, this is exactly the kind of info I am after! I know nothing about these ports so this is helpful!

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Assuming Provence really means the port of Toulon (I think that's how they listed it when I did my Western Med cruise a couple of years ago) - it wasn't very good. You had to take transportation to the major sites in the region such as Marseille, Cassis etc.. From what I've heard about Palma - it sounds a lot better.

The only other difference in the itineraries is docking in Cannes vs. Nice. Nice gives you access to Monte Carlo - which I liked a lot. Don't know anything about Cannes aside from what I've read about it - and it didn't sound as interesting as Monte Carlo. Both are places to watch how the rich and luxurious folks play so it might be a wash.

Assuming Provence really means the port of Toulon (I think that's how they listed it when I did my Western Med cruise a couple of years ago) - it wasn't very good. You had to take transportation to the major sites in the region such as Marseille, Cassis etc.. From what I've heard about Palma - it sounds a lot better.

 

The only other difference in the itineraries is docking in Cannes vs. Nice. Nice gives you access to Monte Carlo - which I liked a lot. Don't know anything about Cannes aside from what I've read about it - and it didn't sound as interesting as Monte Carlo. Both are places to watch how the rich and luxurious folks play so it might be a wash.

Sorry, Provence (Marseille) is what RCI says.

the book I have on Cannes says you can get to Monte Carlo from Cannes, but yes, Nice would be easier and thats a great point!

A few points to consider:

NCL Epic, Sept 3rd

Embarking Barcelona

Day At Sea- Monday

Naples, Italy, Arriving at 7am, Departing 7pm

Rome, Italy Arriving 6am, Departing 7pm ................. port is Civitavecchia

Florence/Pisa, Italy, Arriving 7pm, Departing 7pm ....port is Livorno

Cannes, France, Arriving 8am, Departing 6pm

Palma, Marjorca, Spain, Arriving 1pm, Departing 8pm

Debarking Barcelona

What you list here as Florence actually docks in Livorno. It is 1hr 45 min approx drive to Florence. Lots of choices for tours, to various towns in Tuscany.

The first day is a sea day, which is good if you have jet lag to recover from. No other sea days though, so you will be touring constantly and be quite tired. The fact that the sea day is a Monday is good though, because many museums in Europe are closed on Mondays.

The extra time in Naples is good because many tours are quite a distance from Naples ( Amalfi, Capri) or time consuming ( Pompeii, Herculaneum).

Cannes isn't tremendously interesting but you can easily go to other towns/cities that aren't far. Or, use it as a light day where you just take your time about town- a nice change of pace for this itinerary.

Palma is lovely but the arrival time is late. Mind you, it is nice to sleep in for a change and still have a number of hours in port.

2) RCI Freedom of the Seas, Sept 3rd 2017

Embarking Barcelona

Provence, France, Arriving 9am, Departing 6pm ............ port is Marseille on a Monday

Nice, France, Arriving 7am, Departing 7pm .....................port is Villefranche

Florence/Pisa Italy, Arriving 7am, Departing 7pm ..........port is La Spezia

Rome, Italy, Arriving 7am, Departing 7pm (One hour less than NCL)..port is Civitavecchia

Naples, Italy, Arriving 7am, Departing 6:30pm, (30 minutes less than NCL)

Day At Sea

Debarking Barcelona

Marseille gives you options to go to many different towns, but check if any sites you are interested in are closed on Mondays.

Villefranche is a tender port so allow for that in planning tours.

Florence- the port is actually La Spezia, which is quite a bit further from Florence than Livorno. You are better off going to places like Cinque Terre rather than Florence.

Civitavecchia- the shorter time here is a bit of a drawback- for tours to/in Rome, more time is better.

Naples- the shorter time here is also a drawback; the tours can be long/lots of driving/traffic.

Sea day just before disembarkation day is late in the cruise and doesn't provide relief in between heavy touring days, but it is good for leisurely packing.

A few points to consider:

 

NCL Epic, Sept 3rd

Embarking Barcelona

Day At Sea- Monday

Naples, Italy, Arriving at 7am, Departing 7pm

Rome, Italy Arriving 6am, Departing 7pm ................. port is Civitavecchia

Florence/Pisa, Italy, Arriving 7pm, Departing 7pm ....port is Livorno

Cannes, France, Arriving 8am, Departing 6pm

Palma, Marjorca, Spain, Arriving 1pm, Departing 8pm

Debarking Barcelona

What you list here as Florence actually docks in Livorno. It is 1hr 45 min approx drive to Florence. Lots of choices for tours, to various towns in Tuscany.

The first day is a sea day, which is good if you have jet lag to recover from. No other sea days though, so you will be touring constantly and be quite tired. The fact that the sea day is a Monday is good though, because many museums in Europe are closed on Mondays.

The extra time in Naples is good because many tours are quite a distance from Naples ( Amalfi, Capri) or time consuming ( Pompeii, Herculaneum).

Cannes isn't tremendously interesting but you can easily go to other towns/cities that aren't far. Or, use it as a light day where you just take your time about town- a nice change of pace for this itinerary.

Palma is lovely but the arrival time is late. Mind you, it is nice to sleep in for a change and still have a number of hours in port.

2) RCI Freedom of the Seas, Sept 3rd 2017

 

Embarking Barcelona

Provence, France, Arriving 9am, Departing 6pm ............ port is Marseille on a Monday

Nice, France, Arriving 7am, Departing 7pm .....................port is Villefranche

Florence/Pisa Italy, Arriving 7am, Departing 7pm ..........port is La Spezia

Rome, Italy, Arriving 7am, Departing 7pm (One hour less than NCL)..port is Civitavecchia

Naples, Italy, Arriving 7am, Departing 6:30pm, (30 minutes less than NCL)

Day At Sea

Debarking Barcelona

Marseille gives you options to go to many different towns, but check if any sites you are interested in are closed on Mondays.

Villefranche is a tender port so allow for that in planning tours.

Florence- the port is actually La Spezia, which is quite a bit further from Florence than Livorno. You are better off going to places like Cinque Terre rather than Florence.

Civitavecchia- the shorter time here is a bit of a drawback- for tours to/in Rome, more time is better.

Naples- the shorter time here is also a drawback; the tours can be long/lots of driving/traffic.

Sea day just before disembarkation day is late in the cruise and doesn't provide relief in between heavy touring days, but it is good for leisurely packing.

This is great info, thank you!!!

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We did the same itinerary but on the Liberty. Great cruise. Very, very port intensive. We took the train from Cannes to Monaco etc. Book extra time for Barcelona, before or after the cruise. If you're loyal to to Royal or building points etc, go Royal. Book online, then shop to reservation to a TA or agency. Many will have great 'group' rates to the Med every year. We went in Sept after hearing the European vacations drop dramatically, even then it was crowded.

I would prefer Provence and Nice over Cannes.

Hi there what did you do in Naples... I was looking at this yesterday for our tour in July coming..

I sailed The Harmony out of Barcelona this past July. You can't go wrong with either of those itineraries...especially embarking in Barcelona which is great in itself! I would definitely arrive at least 2 days prior to sailing to not only see Barcelona, but also to acclimate to the time. My itinerary was slightly different but out of all of the stops, I would say that Naples/Amalfi Coast was our favorite. We actually LOVED all of the ports so I am probably not much help;) Edited to add that I would make the ship the least of your worries..you will not be on it hardly at all! We really missed out on alot that The Harmony had to offer because of the heavy itinerary. As far as cruiselines go, I would pick RCCL over NCL any day.

Provence is a gorgeous region of France! We visited Aix and Bourne Le Mimosa and would recommend both. From Nice, you can go to Villefranche Sur Mer or even take the train 15 min further to Monaco!! For those reasons, I would vote the Freedom sailing.

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We did all these ports on Brilliance last year, highly recommend Papillion for Florence/Pisa by far best tour guide , also Rome in Limo was good. WE did all private tours except did Capri with RCCL

OP, you may want to lurk a bit in the roll call threads for the sailings to see what folks are talking about in terms of ports.

I've been lucky enough to have been on both cruise lines in the med and been too all of these ports. I would choose Palma and go to valledemosa (sp)? I loved it. Got a group together on roll call and booked Palma taxi. It was like 20 aero each. Gorgeous!!!

My other suggestion is for Naples to go to amalfi coast, , Positano and sorrento. I got a group together on roll call and booked italytoursharing.com and did the tour that included lunch up in positano. It was spectacular and my favorite port!