Help me pick itinerary please!

[eastexascruiser]

We are planning our first cruise to the Mediterranean for next May. My husband is an Architectural Engineer and had an extensive tour of Italy decades ago. This will be my first time to that part of the world!

 

Since DH has already been to the highlights of Italy, he wanted a cruise with a focus on Greek ports. He did say though that he wouldn’t mind to visit Venice again (although how much has it changed in the past 20 years – would he be disappointed?!)

 

Itinerary trumps ship, however, MSC & Costa are out. I don’t like the fact that they have short port times. Luxury lines are also out – we have 4 children to put through college (2 in process & 2 coming up ;) We can spare 14 days plus a few travel days, but that is tops. We will be flying out of DFW.

 

Taking the above into account, I have narrowed down my choices to the following 3 itineraries:

 

Azamara Journey (Venice-Athens/Athens-Rome): Only problem here is that there is no way we will have time to visit Rome post-cruise. We would have to fly out as soon as we get to port.

 

Norwegian Gem (Venice-Venice/Venic-Venice)

 

Star Clipper (Athens-Athens/Athens-Athens)

 

I am thinking doing back to back 7 day cruises would be best, unless someone has other suggestions. The Journey and the Gem have quite similar itineraries. The main differences are that the Journey calls on Kotor, Bodrum, Rhodes & Olympia (the Gem does not call on these ports). The Gem calls on Dubrovnik, Corfu and Crete (the Journey does not call on these ports.

 

The Star Clipper has some overlapping ports, but really gets into the Greek Isles. The only downside, I see, with this itinerary is that we will miss Venice.

 

For those of you who have visited these ports, which of the above do you think would be best? Which ports to sacrifice?

 

Thank you for your feedback!!

 

Jan

[kestrel]

We sailed on the Grand Princess from Rome to Venice several years ago. Our ports included: Rome, Monte Carlo, Livorno, Naples, Santorini, Rhodes, Mykonos, Athens, Katakolon (Olympia), Corfu and Venice.

 

Santorini and Venice are my favorite ports. I also think that Rome, Athens and Naples are not to be missed.

 

Rhodes: The old town is only about 10-min walk from the port. It's a very charming medieval town.

 

Katakolon/Olympia: It seems that Olympia is the only place to go at this port of call. It's a world-class ruin. However, you will be able to see many other world-class ruins in other ports such as Athens or Pompeii.

 

Corfu: We walked to the old fort and then strolled in the old town. I wasn't too impressed. If we go there again, I will join a tour to see other parts of the place.

 

I haven't been to the rest of the ports you mentioned, and cannot help.

[whiteheather]

I'm hoping to book Ruby Princess Venice to Rome for next year which is 12 nights with an overnight stay in Venice to start and the possibility of spending a night or two in Rome post cruise. It includes Corfu, Mykonos, Santorini and Rhodes as well as Dubrovnik or Split, Katakolon, Athens and Ephesus.

 

My husband and I also visited Venice nearly 20 years ago and haven't been since. From what I've seen on TV it hasn't changed much except from maybe being busier now. We sailed from Croatia to Venice by catamaran and loved the place. Everyone who sails from Venice by cruise ship remarks how wonderful an experience it is so I can't wait.

 

Have fun choosing your cruise :)

 

Lynn

[Hlitner]

Interesting choices. Regarding the itinerary we would generally recommend the Gem ports for a first time visitor. However, when it comes to ships there is no comparison. NCL is basically a budget cruise line with nice ships and lots of on-board dining options (many with additional cost). Azamara operates 2 of the smaller 700 passenger "Renaissance Cruise line ships" which are wonderful vessels for those that love smaller ships (that would be us). Azamara is a classier product than NCL and we really love those ships. We thought the food in the alternative Aqualina Restaurant (Journey) was some of the best food we have ever had on any cruise, and we have been on more than 50 differrent ships. On the other hand, it is hard to pass-up an opportunity to visit Dubrovnik and Crete is also an interesting port with many choosing to go to the interesting ruins at Knossos.

 

Hank

[jocap]

I think that in Corfu you really have to take a tour of the island, because the capital is a busy working site, and you'll miss the best features if you just visit there.

Dubrovnic is special; as you say, little can compare to the sail in/out of Venice; Santorini is a must.

The choice of ship depends on what facilities you need; we often find that a Med cruise is so intensive that the ship is secondary; indeed, we are taking an inside cabin on Gem next year for the 1st time, because we know we'll only want to crash out in it.

Enjoy choosing- jocap.