Port or Starboard? - Eastern Med & Greek Isles

[tobymonster]

Anyone know which side is better for this itinerary?

 

Rome

Naples/capri

Valletta, Malta

Mykonos

Athens

Ephesus, Turkey

Rhodes

Santorini

Chania, Crete

Venice

 

Thanks!

[Gonzo70]

There is a public smoking area near midship on deck five, port side. As such I would advise against a deck six or seven midship, port side balcony stateroom if you dislike cigarette smoke. Aside from this, there should be no significant difference between a port versus starboard side stateroom. If you are trying to pick the side that will be facing the port, there is no way to know in advance - several factors are involved with regards to how and where a ship ports and the variables change from sailing to sailing. Most likely some ports will have better views on the port side and some on the starboard side. Aside from to avoid the smoking area, the side of the ship should be a non factor in your stateroom selection.

[cruise kitty]

Agree with Gonzo, It's really not going to make much difference which side you're on regarding view; for quite a few of the ports, you're docked in a huge industrial area. Also, depending on time of year, it's often dark when you're sailing in. &, often when you're docked, your view is of another ship parked right next to you!

 

For places with amazing sail ins/outs such as Istanbul, Venice, the best location is on one of the upper decks, either all the way forward or aft, as these tend to be a 360 view, & you don't want to miss any of it!

[ariawoman]

I was deck 8 port side above the smoking area that was on 5 and could smell it even that high, just to add to the post from before :-)

 

I was on a similar itinerary - i don't think it really matters which side you're on. When you tender you never know which way you'll face, and when they port the port side is often the side of the port, but sometimes it's not! :-) Little games they like to play to keep us on our toes :-)

[Essiesmom]

If you desire a balcony, starboard gets the view on the sail in to Venice. But your best views will be topside. EM

[tobymonster]

Thanks for the insights, everyone!

 

I think we'll probably go for starboard both to avoid the smoking smells and to have a chance for a good view into Venice. We'll be on the 11th deck (AQ) probably, so hopefully high enough to avoid the smoke smell, but I'm very sensitive to it, so wouldn't want to risk it.

 

Stupid question... starboard is the even cabin numbers, right?

[Tomato53]

Toby, correct, the even numbers are starboard (the right side of the ship facing forward).

[cmaygar]

If sailing out of Venice, get a port cabin for fabulous views. If sailing into Venice (which it looks like you'll be doing), get a starboard cabin for breath-taking views as you sail to the port and take out your camera! It doesn't matter which side you'll be on in Rome because it is not a "beauty" port by any standard. It won't matter which side you're on for Mykonos, or Santorini because you'll have great views from either side of the boat. Ephesus doesn't seem to matter too much either. There are great views of the area from both sides of the boat. I haven't been to the other ports.

 

Looks like a great itinerary. Enjoy!!!!

[Hawaiidan]

Sailing into venice is usualy before dawn and the earily morning is frequently fog zero zero. I found the sail out of venice better than the sail in.

 

Your best place in on deck not in a cabin. for this reason I got an inside. Saved money for shore trips...

 

You wil be off shore out of sight 99 % of the land. Your port days will be off the ship till evening..

[TLCOhio]

If you desire a balcony, starboard gets the view on the sail in to Venice. But your best views will be topside. EM

 

Agree with the earlier posts. Have been in most of these ports/areas. You have a super cruise being planned. Great places to see and do.

 

Wanted to second and highlight the great sights for the sail-in to Venice. That's super wonderful. Doing it from your balcony on the starboard would be nice. BUT, up topside is the best. Below are a couple of my visuals to give you a preview for how wonderful it will be.

 

For those interested in Venice, I had done an earlier summary on this great city from early CC board postings. You can check these many pictures and notes at this location. Venice is one of THE key stop and you might look at this earlier posting for the many options and visual potentials shown for this city that is so great for "walking around".

See: Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226&highlight=venice

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 50,935 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

 

As we sailed into Venice, here is a tighter shot of the main square and the crowds that were there around 1 pm on June 14. Next are a couple of other views from that great sail-in to Venice and the sights of various interesting buildings and church. Love Venice so, so much!!: