which itinerary in Oct. 2010

[sandyruns]

Hi, I'm brand new to the board, and to SD! Was wondering if anyone has done either of these itineraries:

 

Athens to Malta (like on 10/9/2010), which goes through the corinth canal, Sicily, and a few Greek islands

 

or

 

Malta to Barcelona (like on 10/16/2010) which focuses on Sicily, Tunisia and Spain.

 

Trying to plan a great trip for my 10th wedding anniversary. Anyone have a recommendation? Judging by your positive commends about SD, I know I'm in the right place!

 

Thanks.

[dag39]

Any chance you could do one earlier in the year when the weather is warmer? Those itineraries both sound great, but I think SD is best experiences when you can be outside in the warm and sun (although the Med can also get hot (and I mean hot!) in the summer, of course). might not coincide perfectly with your anniversary, but you can pretend. :)

[carlylecat]

OK OK what a great predicament

 

We have never been on either complete itinerary but have been in almost every port through different itineraries

 

So how would we decide, we would break it into little components

 

One trip starts in a great city and one trip ends in a great city...I like starting off the trip with a few days of sightseeing before I get aboard to relax, it decompresses me and gets me ready to sail...

 

Malta would not do that for me so I would give one point for 39 over 40 there

 

However I would pick Barcelona way over Athens as a city to visit so the points are now even

 

40 has a day at sea which we like - it keeps me from having to skip something in choosing to stay aboard for a day which is a must do for us and I hate missing out on ANYTHING!!!

 

So bopping along the Greek Islands beats Majorica and the Spanish Riv for me so one vote for 39

 

For getting in touch with the ancients... both offer wonderful experiences to temples - 39 to Agrigento and 40 to Segesta so all even on ancient relic viewing

 

For pure adventure 40 has it all over with the excitement of visiting a Souk in Tunis, this is something that can be scary for an American like me who over doses on Fox News but is just what all of us need to get over our irrational fear of the Arabic world.

 

So I guess it would come down to the excitement and adventure of 40 in Barcelona and Tunis combined with the luxury of a day at sea versus the relaxation of doing some site seeing before boarding, cruising along some of the most beautiful islands in the world and experiencing an incredibly relaxing luxurious vacation.

 

So the answer is obvious...

 

The trips are back to back and you only celebrate this anniversary once...take both legs and have a trip of a lifetime!

[DisneyJen]

All I have to say is that I LOVE the way carlylecat thinks:D

 

Any anniversary on SD, especially a milestone, (we just marked our 25th on SD 2 in March '09) is wonderful!

 

We haven't visited the Med so I can't offer my usual $.02.

 

We are looking forward to seeing Barcelona next November before boarding SD2 for our first trans Atlantic!

[sandyruns]

Carlylecat, I agree with your thinking process! Would be perfect, but I don't know if I can get grandparents to watch my 6-year-old that long. Sigh. Was trying to convince my husband to do the TA a few weeks later, but combined with a few days on land, it gets too lengthy.

 

Do you think October would be too cold? I don't need blazing hot, but I see your point. We honeymooned in Marbella, Spain, and it wasn't really swimming weather, but was pleasant. Might be colder on a boat though.

[sandyruns]

DisneyJen - I'm so glad to hear they do anniveraries well on board. So excited!

[Jim Avery]

Carlylecat, I agree with your thinking process! Would be perfect, but I don't know if I can get grandparents to watch my 6-year-old that long. Sigh. Was trying to convince my husband to do the TA a few weeks later, but combined with a few days on land, it gets too lengthy.

 

Do you think October would be too cold? I don't need blazing hot, but I see your point. We honeymooned in Marbella, Spain, and it wasn't really swimming weather, but was pleasant. Might be colder on a boat though.

 

Last year it was cold and wet for much of our October 20 cruise out of Civitivecchia. Did have a few warmish, sunny days. In October, the Med is changeable so you flip a coin and take your chances. :D

[whatnot]

We just came back a couple of weeks ago from an Oct 18 cruise out of Barcelona on SD I. It was upper 60's for high temps on Oct 16, 17 and 18 in Barcelona. Our first port was Mallorca on the the 19th and the high was 71, but lows were in the lower 50's. It was cool, but not bad because we had very nice sunny days. You just don't get the full use of all the great outdoor facilities on the yacht in this type of temps. Just depends what you want to do. I'm sure you'll make a good decision.

[sandyruns]

I emailed Mr. Cabello, I'll let you know what he says. THANKS!

 

Thanks also for the October update, Whatnot. I generally don't need to sunbathe, but don't want to be freezing on the outdoor areas of the ship either.