Recommend Royal for Italy cruise?

[Stevie44875]

Thinking about taking a cruise around Italy with Royal for 10 year wedding anniversary. Does anyone recommend using Royal for Italy? Would like to stick with Royal since we have been cruising with them for awhile but always up for trying some one new.

[MomtoCCC]

I would love to know the answer to this as well..

[Tina0922]

Looking at the other cruise lines, my family chose to sail RCI next summer. It was the only line that covered all of the cities & ports we wanted to visit in Italy & the Med. It is a VERY expensive & long trip but with family health issues, this will be the last year for us to try to go. We are booked doing the 5-day land tour starting in Venice then to Florence and into Rome. We board the Mariner for the 13 night sailing going to Greece, Turkey, & Egypt. Dont know if we will ever be able to travel that far again so trying to do as much as possible in one trip with family! No other line went to all these cities/ports.

 

Tina

[Cindi314]

We did the 12 night mediterranean on brilliance of the seas five years ago for our 25th anniversary. It was the best vacation we have ever had!!! I would recommend it highly. While it is expensive, it is well worth it. We were constantly on the go as we wanted to see as much as we could - not knowing if this would be something we could ever do again. In my opinion, you will not regret taking this trip.

[sassy12]

We did the three night pre-cruisetour and then the 12 night Tour of Italy and Croatia in November 2007 and loved it. We didn't get to Split, Croatia because of rough seas but we enjoyed the extra Saturday night in Venice. Dubrovnik is the most beautiful port we've ever seen especially from the Walled City.

 

You will not regret it. We loved the pre-cruisetour, also. Had plenty of time to see everything and free time, too. Everything went without a hitch.

 

Enjoy!

[kdowneymd]

I would vote for RCCL. We did 12 day Brilliance out of Barcelona in 2003- fabulous. Legend 12 day out of Rome in 2007- greAT (CLOSE TO FABULOUS) HAL 10 day out of Venice in 2008 just ok definitely not as good for us.

[madmarti]

We did the 12 night Med. on the Legend last June. It was a trip of a lifetime. We flew to Rome 2 days before and saw all of the sights there, then we boarded the ship for Portafino, Livorno, Sicily, Venice, Dubrovnik and Naples. We loved every minute of it. We booked some private tours with Romeinlimo and some ship excursions. It was worth every penny as we both felt it was a trip of a lifetime. Do It !!!! you won't be sorry. ;)

[bionicman97]

We did a 7 night out of Barcelona that had 4 stops in Italy and we enjoyed it very much. However, the private tour company made all the difference in the world.

[time4me2fly]

We did a 12-night Med/Venice out of Barcelona on the Brilliance and loved it. If you're happy sailing with RCI, then you'll enjoy their cruises in Europe even more. There is so much to see and do in Europe. Enjoy!

 

We booked all private tours or went on our own and were very happy with the tours. Check the ports of call forum for great info.

[FTLcruisers]

We were on 12 night Italy/Croatia cruise on Legend of the Seas in October and it was fantastic. Legend is small enough that we were able to get to know the crew and our fellow passengers. We had overnights in Florence (Livorno) and Venice - awesome. We also did a Med cruise on Brillance several years ago with stops in France, Italy, Greece & Turkey. We have a 12 night Greece/Turkey booked in Oct 2011 on the Splendour - sails out of Venice. SO, yes, RCCL is great for Italy.

 

Marianne

[FreewayFortune]

I did the 12 night Brilliance cruise 2 years ago and loved it so much that we went again this summer with the Greece and Turkey itinerary. I don't know if it was just because we were cruising in Europe but both Brilliance cruises were absolutely amazing. The staff was great and several of them actually remembered me from 2 years ago. Now I have to get back to work so I can start saving for the next cruise:)

[phred119s]

I can't comment on the trip since it's 3 weeks away!

 

But, the cruise (only) price that we are paying really is only $300 or so more for 12 nights than the 7 night Alaska cruise in 2008. I'm happy with the price we are paying. With airfare and private tours this is definitely our most expensive vacation ever. can't wait!! :D

[FreewayFortune]

I can't comment on the trip since it's 3 weeks away!

 

But, the cruise (only) price that we are paying really is only $300 or so more for 12 nights than the 7 night Alaska cruise in 2008. I'm happy with the price we are paying. With airfare and private tours this is definitely our most expensive vacation ever. can't wait!! :D

Wow we didn't get a deal that good. But we actually got a really good deal on our Alaska cruise in 06. And that was the cruise that made me into a cruise addict:) Enjoy your upcoming cruise.

[MusicalCruiser]

We did a b2b on Splendour out of Venice two years ago. Great price and wonderful ports (only went to one port twice, Corfu). We had private tours in Athens and Ephesus, did a cruise tour in Corfu and did the rest of the ports on our own. You'll find lots of info in the Eastern Med threads.

 

Happy Travels!

[browneyes7]

Thinking about taking a cruise around Italy with Royal for 10 year wedding anniversary. Does anyone recommend using Royal for Italy? Would like to stick with Royal since we have been cruising with them for awhile but always up for trying some one new.

 

We did a 16 day transatlantic and then a 7 day Med. cruise (mostly Italy) on the Voyager. We loved it, but I would love doing a Med. on ANY cruiseline. France and Italy are breathtaking!!

[polimb]

We did a B2B (14 days) out of Rome (Civitavecchia) eastern and western Mediterranean on the Navigator. To date it was the best cruise of our lives.

[CruisinChaos]

I did a 12 night Mediterranean cruise on the Navigator of the Seas in May. I had a blast and would do it again in a second.

[critterchick]

For Europe, pick the line/ship that visits the ports you want to see. :)

[mom4mom]

We were on 12 night Italy/Croatia cruise on Legend of the Seas in October and it was fantastic. Legend is small enough that we were able to get to know the crew and our fellow passengers. We had overnights in Florence (Livorno) and Venice - awesome. We also did a Med cruise on Brillance several years ago with stops in France, Italy, Greece & Turkey. We have a 12 night Greece/Turkey booked in Oct 2011 on the Splendour - sails out of Venice. SO, yes, RCCL is great for Italy.

 

Marianne

 

We did the same cruise. It was our first on RCI and it was so great that we have booked our next one - a transatlantic starting in Rome next year. Can't wait. The Italy ports were awesome. We met many different cruise critic members on these threads and joined in several different private excursions. It was definitely the way to go.

 

as an aside, I've been trying to reach you, Marianne, for some information about a private excursion that you took to the port for that cruise we took together. Can you email me privately at pacesmom4mom@yahoo.com so we can chat.

 

Joan

[stormyitaly]

They do a great job!

[Able Seaman H]

We haven't long got off Independence and it is probably one of the best cruises we've ever done. Southampton is really good as a destination port, no hassle from porters etc, security polite and efficient. Food excellent, shows stunning and facilities on board really great.

 

Gibraltar - ok, queue for the cable car can be terrible, excursions bypass much of the queue otherwise get a taxi.

 

Villefranche - a lovely port. We hired electric bikes and rode into Monaco!! (There is a train for the less active).

 

Pisa - get a group of you and hire a minibus cab. 240 Euros for 6 or 7 people you get dropped off in a little square right by the tower. We chose just to do Pisa in a more relaxed fashion rather than push to do Florence as well.

 

Rome (civitaveccia) - My slightly off the wall suggestion. Hire a car (Hertz is on the front road and a Fiat Panda cost us 50-60 Euros) then drive the 45 minutes to Lake Bracciano. Bracciano it's self is a pretty place but the lake is stunning. It's about an hour to drive all the way round and there are 3 main towns to see. A lovely al-fresco lunch in one of the hotels or restaurants right by the water. A chance to loose the crowds for a day.

 

Sardinia - These guys are really trying hard to impress. The tourist board are very pro-active. The Cathedral at the top of the town is wonderful and make sure you visit the crypt underneath the alter. The Elephant tower is definitely worth the trip up if you can manage it but not for the faint hearted. There are numerous outside lifts (elevators) around the town to help you get up to the cathedral and tower. There is also a segway tour round the corner of the port building.

 

Lisbon - Segway, segway, segway. What ever you do you need to speak to red tours and book yourself on a Segway tour of the Alfama old town. We had a guide called Peter (I think) who was a Londoner living in Portugal. Perfect english and portuguese and a truely magical hour and a half or so. We booked directly with red tours because the ship's excursion started at 10.00am and we wanted to set off later. Possibly speak to them about stopping off for a bit of lunch along the way.

 

Cadiz - not really somewhere we hit it off particularly well with. Had a walk round but came away a bit uninspired.

 

Vigo - We like this place, wander round the old town (go in the big shopping centre, take the escalators up to the top level and walk across the bridge.

 

Henry :)

[Grand Prix Racer]

Four years ago we chose Carnival over RCCL for our 12 day Med cruise out of Italy. The reason was cost. The price for 12 days on Carnival was about the same as 7 days on RCCL. Our cruise was fantastic. If you go for the history, ruins, different cultures you may opt for Carnival. If you want the upgrade RCCL experience spend the extra money for a longer cruise than 7 days. The passengers pn the Carnival med cruise were different that the typical caribbean cruises we have taken. More upscale and less part types. It was the best cruise out of the 11 we have taken.

[gr8cruisn]

We went on the Voyager of the Seas October 2009 - left from Barcelona and went to Rome, Naples/Amalfi Coast, Florence/Pisa and Nice/Monaco. Was the best cruise ever! I recommend setting up private tours with people you meet here as opposed to taking RCCL excursions to save some money and and get more personalized service. This was a trip of a lifetime. Just do it!

[operafan]

We did a Med/Canary Islands in 07 on Voyager. Fantastic! We enjoyed it so much we're doing Navigator Eastern Med next May.