Have you cruised in Europe? If so.....

[Santyclaws]

If you've cruised in Europe, which cruiseline do you prefer? My parents are going for their 50th Anniversary Sept/Oct. 2010.

 

This will be their first time cruising, and their first time to Europe. They want to sail out of Italy. Doesn't matter which port.

 

 

Santy :)

[swalm22]

We made a wonderful cruise on the MS Noordam from Holland America Line

perfect quality and style see my review with pictures ;

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1050505

[LHT28]

They all go to similar ports it is what the ship offers you need to look at

what are their preferences, must haves etc...

 

We like Oceania ...small ships, no formal nights, limited smoking areas (2) no charge for specialty restaurants, open dining, port intensive

[wwinfl91]

If it is their 50th anniversery I would suggest checking HAL cruises. The age group on the ship will match theirs and the cruise line is an excellent one. The food, service and cabins are excellent.

 

I don't know exactly when they want to go but find a good online cruise TA and check for prices and availability. Many cruise lines leave from Rome and return there.

 

HAL has the Noordam sailing from Rome during those months. They do a 10 day Western Med cruise and a 10 day Eastern Med cruise or you can combine them and do a 20 day.

 

The Prinsendam, the smallest HAL ship, also does a 14 day starting in Rome and ending in Athens or a 28 day complete Med and Black sea 28 day cruise that comes back to Rome. I would suggest that might be a bit much for a first cruise but your parents may be braver than most.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[jocap]

If they are going in Sept, virtually every cruise line is represented in the Med, so look at a few reviews.

If it's their 1st cruise, then steer away from the Italian lines of Costa or MSC, who will have the biggest presence- not because anything's wrong, but they are run firstly for Italians, so that's the language on board.

Check whether they want the more upmarket cruise lines, which have every comfort but come at a price.

The more middle range: Princess, RCI, HAL etc provide good service etc, but slightly less luxury.

NCL is freedom all the way.

When you get to Oct, many of the ships are repositioning to the Caribbean, so the choice becomes limited. Perhaps they could have a week in the Med, then stay on for the transatlantic crossing?- jocap.

[Wandering Writer]

We've cruised with Princess (liked their precruise tour), Celebrity, and HAL. We took the Noordam out of Civitivechia (Rome) for our Mediterranean cruise for our 40th anniversary. Really enjoyed it! Again as others have said, check the ports. Which do they want to see? And what are they looking for in a ship? My blog has pics and commentary from our Med cruise. Scroll down and find Italy, Greece, Spain, Monaco, and Portugal in the Label List to see what we did in port.

[momofmeg]

We did a transatlantic on the Constellation and loved her. Next year she will do med cruises out of Barcelona.

[Keith1010]

I would look at the itineraries for several cruise lines. Try Princess, Celebrity and HAL for starters. Think through carefully the ports of embarkation and disembarkation in terms of ease of flights to and from these areas from your parents home city. Also, be sure they fly in a few days in advance so that they get over the jet lag and so they do not miss the ship should they encounter flight delays or flight cancellations.

 

Keith

[sanjim]

I would consider sailing out of Barcelona, because it is much easier to get to the pier. In Rome you have to take a train or bus some 50 miles to get to the ship. Anyway Barcelona is such a wonderful city I am sure they would enjoy the sights their with much less hassle.

[evgal/nj]

50th wow! will they enjoy this! is the cruise a suprise or are they involved in the planing ? i agree barcelonia is easy to cruise out of, it was our 1st med cruise & very easy,

 

venice is always great, easy to get from airport to cruise ship, and what can i say your in venice!

 

do they enjoy dressing up each nite? ncl gives the option of dressing up or down. hal,celebrity & rccl only have the buffet if you don't want to dress for dinner each nite. each have extra charge restaurants. we're celebrating our 40th & we usually cruise sept/ oct. don't see a BIG difference in the age range, but it might be the time of year. ncl is our fav. we like the free style & the relaxed atmosphere. i think service on service on on all three are about the same, apparently hal used to be a step above, on last yr's cruise on the zuiderdam everyone kept remarking how they changed since being bought by carnival, we had a great time sooooo.

 

the med. cruises tend to be very port intensive with a different port each day, it can be very exhausting, we enjoy the transatlantic cruises have done celebrity,hal,ncl. we love the 6 seas comming home, sooo relaxing.

karen

[lcand1923]

Since they haven't cruised before, consider Oceania. The ships are smaller, the cruises are port-intensive, the food is good and they have

NO FORMAL NIGHTS!

 

Since it is the 50th Anniversary, I feel your parents want to be pampered a bit but not have to make a lot of fuss.

 

We've sailed quite a few lines (and do like HAL), but Oceania is our favorite line.

[orchestrapal]

Oceania is the most upscale of the lines mentioned without the much higher price-tag of luxury lines. Not having to travel with formal wear or having to dodge smokers and children makes most seniors feel really comfortable. The passengers are friendly and the food superb. If they can afford the difference between mass-market and Oceania- go for it!:)

[june1]

We took a last minute Med. cruise on Celebrity last year in late Nov. - last cruise of the year but overall good weather and no crowds as we were the only ship in the ports. Great service and food. It was a busy port intensive cruise which is to our liking. Our favorite port was Ephesus with Santorini second where we shared a taxi to Oia (gorgeous). Don't miss Venice.

 

We took the train from airport into Rome and then another train to Civitavecchia with each trip 30 - 40- min. We arrived a day early and stayed at the Hotel Triano (sp?). We had an early return flight and booked he ship's transportation to the airport. We were the first ones off the ship.

[LHT28]

A special anniversary deserves a special cruise

Oceania

 

almost luxury ;)

[Santyclaws]

Wow! Thank you all for your replies! I am in the midst of checking out every ship that travels at that time (late Sept. of 2010).

 

It is not a surprise, ......well, anymore. My dad surprised my mom, but told her much sooner so she could help plan. He wasn't sure if she wanted a cruise or land tour. She picked cruise with a few days on either end for some land touring. She was so floored when she found out, she didn't really believe him!

 

June1, is taking the train intimidating? Were you aphrehensive about taking the train? Is it a nice ride? How will they know which train to take? Are there english directions?

 

Thank you to those who posted links to their reviews/blogs! I read trip reviews, and I want to go!

 

Well, I'm no further along making decision wise, but it sure is fun!:)

[evgal/nj]

we took the train from paris to london, dh uses wheelchair, we were treated great! i don't remember if all the signs were in english but there were enough so we were able to find our way. we've taken buses in spain & italy no english signs,but we were always able to find someone hat spoke english for help.we just left plenty of time and were always suprised how easy it was. venice is very easy to get in & out.

karen