9 night Greek Isles cruise Jewel of the Seas

My hubby and I are thinking of booking this cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary in October 2019.... For those who have done this cruise we have a few questions:

1)what is the anticipated weather like?

2) we always book a balcony but might even splurge on a suite.... wondering if either of these rooms would even be worth it or should we cut cost and try inside or ocean view instead and spend the money on excursions....We are flying from Canada(prairie province so flights are not convenient as say in Toronto unfortunately)

3) any must-dos in the ports offered? We hope to maximize our time in port seeing as we have no idea when we would be able to return..:)

4) anybody have any other tips and advice for Europe? Is the ship in USD or a different currency?

Thanks for any help you can give...

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Expenses on an RC ship are in USD no matter where the ship is sailing.

My hubby and I are thinking of booking this cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary in October 2019.... For those who have done this cruise we have a few questions:

 

1)what is the anticipated weather like?

October should still be great and a very popular cruising month in the Med.... not too warm but not too cool either. Average temps are around 65 degrees (20 celcius).

 

2) we always book a balcony but might even splurge on a suite.... wondering if either of these rooms would even be worth it or should we cut cost and try inside or ocean view instead and spend the money on excursions....We are flying from Canada(prairie province so flights are not convenient as say in Toronto unfortunately)

In my humble opinion your #1, #2 and #3 criteria should be excursions, not the ship nor the cabin. You will spend all day and evening at the cities you are visiting. The place to save money if it's a concern for you is the cabin. Your memories will not be of you going to sleep each night in your suite but where you were standing at sunset when in Santorini, or walking through Pompeii, or standing in front of the Acropolis, or or or.... not your cabin

 

3) any must-dos in the ports offered? We hope to maximize our time in port seeing as we have no idea when we would be able to return..:)

 

Crete - I did on my own, simply walked around town, so can't help you with specifics here

Santorini - Do it yourself to Oia (extremely easy)

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=54116194&highlight=santorini#post54116194

Mykonos - Also an easy do-it-yourself port, if you need a tour to help you choose to go to Delos (google it)

Rhodes - google and go to Lindos for a 1/2 day. The other half day is great walking through the old town within the old walls

Athens - If you've never been here, I recommend a tour or taxi.... taxi's at the pier are extremely competitive I discovered this past August

The Acropolis and area are walkable so this should be a #1 target for any first timer to Greece.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=54152018&highlight=athens#post54152018

Naples - you have a ton of choices here. Amalfi & Pompeii were on my bucket list so that's what I did

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=44324697&highlight=amalfi#post44324697

 

4) anybody have any other tips and advice for Europe? Is the ship in USD or a different currency?

A must-do is 2-3 days pre or post cruise in Rome. One day just to get to the ship is a joke. It wold be like me flying to New York the evening before a cruise, going to bed, then waking up the next morning to go to the ship and saying I've seen New York! Rome is a must must city to see, definitely top 5 in the world in my humble (and biased) opinion.

 

 

Thanks for any help you can give...

 

 

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Make sure you book ASAP as the best prices will be early. Our Sept. 2019 cruise (same itinerary as yours) is almost sold out in many categories. We were able to get a Grand Suite for hundreds less than a Junior Suite; consequently the GSs sold out fast. I wouldn't waste another minute, I'd book ASAP because this itinerary sells really well. Check out prices and compare the different categories. Only you can decide if a suite is worth it to you.

Thanks so much everyone.. those are some awesome tips and great advice!

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Mediterranean cruises is very port intensive. The question you have to ask yourself, with so many days in port, is the extra expense worth it.

We did a similar cruise on the Rhapsody for our 20th anniversary a few years ago. Totally awesome.

Do some research on the ports to determine if you even want to do an excursion or if you just want to wander around and meet people and do things that way. Many of the ports you will see you can do that pretty easily, we did Crete, Mykonos, Santorini, and Naples on our own. Of those, the only one I would have second guessed was Naples to go see Mt Vesuvius and the ruins at Pompeii (we woke up to rain, so don't feel so bad about wandering around Naples- which was cool.

Athens, for sure- get a tour. We had pre-hired someone, and had a great time.

+1 for spending a few days in Rome- either pre or post cruise. Better that way than trying to see it fast on a tour.

Anyway, after doing that- figure how much you will spend, and see if you can swing a suite. We had an aft suite with a huge balcony, and it was great to hang out while we came into and left port. A memorable evening was having dinner on our balcony as we sailed from Santorini. One of the best evenings ever. But you can have coffee out there as you arrive, too- which were a different set of awesome pictures.

Our trip also included Turkey, and we did a hired tour there, too- hopefully, that will stabilize someday soon, as seeing Ephesus is amazing.

Have a great time- that cruise is on our short "best cruise ever" list.

My replies in blue :)

Thanks for the reply. You've provided some great information and advice. :)

We did a similar cruise on the Rhapsody for our 20th anniversary a few years ago. Totally awesome.

 

Do some research on the ports to determine if you even want to do an excursion or if you just want to wander around and meet people and do things that way. Many of the ports you will see you can do that pretty easily, we did Crete, Mykonos, Santorini, and Naples on our own. Of those, the only one I would have second guessed was Naples to go see Mt Vesuvius and the ruins at Pompeii (we woke up to rain, so don't feel so bad about wandering around Naples- which was cool.

 

Athens, for sure- get a tour. We had pre-hired someone, and had a great time.

 

+1 for spending a few days in Rome- either pre or post cruise. Better that way than trying to see it fast on a tour.

 

Anyway, after doing that- figure how much you will spend, and see if you can swing a suite. We had an aft suite with a huge balcony, and it was great to hang out while we came into and left port. A memorable evening was having dinner on our balcony as we sailed from Santorini. One of the best evenings ever. But you can have coffee out there as you arrive, too- which were a different set of awesome pictures.

 

Our trip also included Turkey, and we did a hired tour there, too- hopefully, that will stabilize someday soon, as seeing Ephesus is amazing.

 

Have a great time- that cruise is on our short "best cruise ever" list.

Thank you so much. That description of sailing away from Santorini with dinner on the balcony sounds amazing! :hearteyes:

My partner and I are planning on going on the cruise but we have not booked yet. The deal they are offering on the booking seems quite good and the deposit is quite small relative to the cost of the trip.

I agree that port intensive cruises like this one are much different than ones like in the Caribbean where one's main focus is getting into some warm weather (especially if you are Canadian and coming to the Caribbean in the winter).

The cruise also seems more attractive because of the 9 day length which permits seeing more places but still keeps the price reasonable.

I expect we will book in the next couple of weeks.

I did have one question about any time dining. Are you able to request a table for two or four or are you seated at a larger table with strangers?

My partner and I are planning on going on the cruise but we have not booked yet. The deal they are offering on the booking seems quite good and the deposit is quite small relative to the cost of the trip.

 

 

 

I agree that port intensive cruises like this one are much different than ones like in the Caribbean where one's main focus is getting into some warm weather (especially if you are Canadian and coming to the Caribbean in the winter).

 

 

 

The cruise also seems more attractive because of the 9 day length which permits seeing more places but still keeps the price reasonable.

 

 

 

I expect we will book in the next couple of weeks.

 

 

 

I did have one question about any time dining. Are you able to request a table for two or four or are you seated at a larger table with strangers?

Our experience with anytime dining has been you can request at table for two or four..you generally don't sit at large tables with strangers.. we have only cruised Carnival and Celebrity...but I would think since RCI is parent company to Celebrity it would be the same...

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