PLEASE HELP!! - Questions about Mediterranean Cruises

[will773]

Air to Europe is always higher in the summer. It's not just the Olympics.

 

Grr!!!!! :mad:

[onevacationlover]

Thanks everyone for all of your answers! I'm really leaning more and more towards a 12 nighter on a Radiance class ship! If only they would just release their schedules!!!!! :mad:

 

Another side rant: I am hoping that airfares are artificially high this summer due to the Olympics being in London. That could be totally wrong, but I'm hoping that next year they will be a little better.

 

Yes, cant hardly wait to see Europe 2013 RCCL Itin's... airfare currently from SC to Barcelona is around 1300; so contemplating not doing Liberty this June/July summer because of the price of air...may have to hope next year will be less..

[onevacationlover]

Air to Europe is always higher in the summer. It's not just the Olympics.

 

We just paid 600 less last summer

[hubofhockey]

We just paid 600 less last summer

 

I paid $200 less this Summer. Of course, we booked very early before the price of oil spiked.

[lanikeekee]

Thank you for your answers!

Hi saw your itinerary it looks fanatastic...we did a 21 day Med cruise a year ago and the ports are great...here is my opinion on each...hope you don't mind:)

 

Barcelona, Spain...fabulous port so much to see make sure you go to Guadis church it blew my mind...and I don't get impressed by much...also just walking down the main street Las Ramblas with all its great eateries and shopping...so much fun.

Monaco...very expensive $8.00 for a coffee :eek: but stunning...enjoy the views of the extremly wealthy..I have never seen so many Ferraris and lamborghinis being just driven around...the woman and men are dressed beautifully...a great day of walking and taking photos...the marina is mazing with the most expensive privatly owned boats there!

Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy...we did a ship tour here and went to Lucca and Pisa...I loved Lucca it is a walled town with no cars in it...stunning place great shops and when we where there a gorgeous Antique market...love it...Pisa was very crowded but great photos..especially of people trying to do the lean against the leaning tower:p

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy...we started our cruise from Civitavecchia and had already spent 2 days earlier in Rome and also 3 at the end...so we stayed in the port on our turn around day for our cruise...Rome is an hour and a half away from the port...take a tour if you want to see everything in a short time...just too much to see in one day! But if you stay in the port it is a lovely little town with a market and shops...there is also a beach which if it is nice weather would be a great place to relax.

Naples, Italy..We did a private tour to Pompeii and to Positano and Sorrento...was fantastic and worth it...if you want more info contatc me on ysimpson@live.com.au

Fun Day at Sea Relax you will need it

Dubrovnik, Croatia Stunning describes this place...we walked the wall and shopped and ate and drank local wine...great day.

Venice, Italy didn't go here so no comment...have fun:)

Venice, Italy

Fun Day at Sea

Messina (Sicily),We weren't here for long so we caught a little bus/train up to the church for a great view of the port and town...we just wandered the streets and ate gelati and drank coffee...just a relaxing day

Fun Day at Sea

Barcelona, Spain Well as I said...Barcelona..brilliant:D

 

wish I was going...have a :D great time

[will773]

Thank you for your answers!

Hi saw your itinerary it looks fanatastic...we did a 21 day Med cruise a year ago and the ports are great...here is my opinion on each...hope you don't mind:)

 

Barcelona, Spain...fabulous port so much to see make sure you go to Guadis church it blew my mind...and I don't get impressed by much...also just walking down the main street Las Ramblas with all its great eateries and shopping...so much fun.

Monaco...very expensive $8.00 for a coffee :eek: but stunning...enjoy the views of the extremly wealthy..I have never seen so many Ferraris and lamborghinis being just driven around...the woman and men are dressed beautifully...a great day of walking and taking photos...the marina is mazing with the most expensive privatly owned boats there!

Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy...we did a ship tour here and went to Lucca and Pisa...I loved Lucca it is a walled town with no cars in it...stunning place great shops and when we where there a gorgeous Antique market...love it...Pisa was very crowded but great photos..especially of people trying to do the lean against the leaning tower:p

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy...we started our cruise from Civitavecchia and had already spent 2 days earlier in Rome and also 3 at the end...so we stayed in the port on our turn around day for our cruise...Rome is an hour and a half away from the port...take a tour if you want to see everything in a short time...just too much to see in one day! But if you stay in the port it is a lovely little town with a market and shops...there is also a beach which if it is nice weather would be a great place to relax.

Naples, Italy..We did a private tour to Pompeii and to Positano and Sorrento...was fantastic and worth it...if you want more info contatc me on ysimpson@live.com.au

Fun Day at Sea Relax you will need it

Dubrovnik, Croatia Stunning describes this place...we walked the wall and shopped and ate and drank local wine...great day.

Venice, Italy didn't go here so no comment...have fun:)

Venice, Italy

Fun Day at Sea

Messina (Sicily),We weren't here for long so we caught a little bus/train up to the church for a great view of the port and town...we just wandered the streets and ate gelati and drank coffee...just a relaxing day

Fun Day at Sea

Barcelona, Spain Well as I said...Barcelona..brilliant:D

 

wish I was going...have a :D great time

 

Thanks very much for your input on all these ports. This is just the itinerary for the Carnival Sunshine. So far, it's my favorite for next year. I'm just waiting impatiently for Royal to release their itineraries for next summer, as we would prefer to cruise with them, not Carnival. This itinerary does look amazing though...

[opcasey]

We did a 7 night cruise out of Malaga on Adventure last summer and are doing a 12 night out of Rome on Mariner this summer. I'm not sure when you graduate, but the rates are better in very late May. We departed May 27th last year and are departing on the 28th this year. I think the European schools get out later than American schools, (I'm assuming you're American) so their official summer vacation season starts a few weeks later. If you can go right after graduation, you might get a better rate.

 

The rates for this year are about the same as 2011, so take a look at the 2012 rates to get a feel for what the final prices will probably be next year. We noticed price drops starting in February for both cruises. In fact, we are doing a 12 night cruise this year because the price dropped so much. We were originally booked on a 7-night cruise this May, but we were able to switch to a 12 night for the same price.

 

I didn't see if anyone mentioned this, but the cruise director staff gave foreign language lessons the day before each port so you knew a few local words and phrases that would be helpful.

 

Have fun and congratulations on your upcoming graduation!

[monkeyinhat]

We did the same trip.

I say yes yes yes. do a cruise. you get to see a lot and never have to unpack and know where you are having dinner and breakfast.

we did nearly this same itenerary about 2 yrs ago. We love Royal and had booked an inside cabin for 7 nights, then found new Carnival dream coming out and for a 12 night balcony paid about 200.00 more. I enjoyed this cruise but it was not your regular carnival cruise, being europe and more older passengers. I say pick the itenerary not the ship. you will be exhausted.

 

My big advice friend up with your cruise critic roll call and do tours together. they are 8 people personalized tours opposed to 40 people mega tours.

 

What we did. Embark port was Civiccehi (sp) we spent 2 days in rome touring, shared rides with CC buddies to port over an hour away (all tours were with CC friends except one)

 

NAPLES- did a tour of the Almalfi coast, ate at a fantastic hillside place guide took us to, Postano , sorrento and others, did a Pompeii tour with a history professor

 

Livornio- did all day tour of the entire city of Florence, Pisa, can't think of the gallery name, but went to the gallery and saw "David" again, he set us up with a fabulous lunch, went to several wonderful sights.

 

Sicily, -we did on our own. there is a little train that takes you around, there were several other sights to see but we saved our money here

 

Barcelona-We did the hop on hop off bus with tour and saw the entire city, got off when wanted then back on, do a little pre research easy to do on your own

 

Monaco-very easy to do on your own, we did another train ride around the city, visited the palace, the church where Princess grace buried, went to the entrance of the casino walked around, others did tours to further away perfume factories

 

Croatia- can definately do on your own. walked the wall and visited the old city.

 

Venice=the ship spent the night here. We did a private tour of the canals , they drive you all over and serve chanpagne. visited the dungeons. walked the street, went to murano glass. St Marks square. did a bar crawl on our own group. think they followed a rick steves guide. was pretty cool while the ship spent the night, we laid in lounge chairs on the deck covered in blankets eating popcorn watching a james bond movie. that was so surreal. once you get the hang of the floating boat system it is easy to do . We did blow the horn leaving Venice. there were 2 small boats with people singing and playing instruments, waving flags, dancing, the passengers were celebrating back , it was so fun and memorable

 

sorry this is so long. but a trip of a life time. would be glad to answer any questions.

 

 

 

Thank you for your answers!

Hi saw your itinerary it looks fanatastic...we did a 21 day Med cruise a year ago and the ports are great...here is my opinion on each...hope you don't mind:)

 

Barcelona, Spain...fabulous port so much to see make sure you go to Guadis church it blew my mind...and I don't get impressed by much...also just walking down the main street Las Ramblas with all its great eateries and shopping...so much fun.

Monaco...very expensive $8.00 for a coffee :eek: but stunning...enjoy the views of the extremly wealthy..I have never seen so many Ferraris and lamborghinis being just driven around...the woman and men are dressed beautifully...a great day of walking and taking photos...the marina is mazing with the most expensive privatly owned boats there!

Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy...we did a ship tour here and went to Lucca and Pisa...I loved Lucca it is a walled town with no cars in it...stunning place great shops and when we where there a gorgeous Antique market...love it...Pisa was very crowded but great photos..especially of people trying to do the lean against the leaning tower:p

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy...we started our cruise from Civitavecchia and had already spent 2 days earlier in Rome and also 3 at the end...so we stayed in the port on our turn around day for our cruise...Rome is an hour and a half away from the port...take a tour if you want to see everything in a short time...just too much to see in one day! But if you stay in the port it is a lovely little town with a market and shops...there is also a beach which if it is nice weather would be a great place to relax.

Naples, Italy..We did a private tour to Pompeii and to Positano and Sorrento...was fantastic and worth it...if you want more info contatc me on ysimpson@live.com.au

Fun Day at Sea Relax you will need it

Dubrovnik, Croatia Stunning describes this place...we walked the wall and shopped and ate and drank local wine...great day.

Venice, Italy didn't go here so no comment...have fun:)

Venice, Italy

Fun Day at Sea

Messina (Sicily),We weren't here for long so we caught a little bus/train up to the church for a great view of the port and town...we just wandered the streets and ate gelati and drank coffee...just a relaxing day

Fun Day at Sea

Barcelona, Spain Well as I said...Barcelona..brilliant:D

 

wish I was going...have a :D great time

[will773]

Hopefully today will give me some relief!

[littlesteelo]

Sorry to dig up this thread, but if you haven't decided yet on a cruise, definitely consider Independence out of Southampton, especially the Italian Med itinerary. You get the amazing ship, plus all the ports too. And if you are worried about the number of sea days (5 on the one I am doing in July), you can just stay on the ship in ports like Vigo, which is pretty uninteresting. Gibraltar is a half day stop too, so it might as well be a sea day.

 

Pricing has been far better this year, and it is worth waiting until around March to book the cruise. A couple of months ago the cruise was £1600 ($2567) pp, whereas I just booked it last week for £1300 ($2085) with $400 OBC.

[EMED2010]

We did the 12 night out of Barcelona on Brilliance. Our stops were:

Toulon, France

Livorno, Italy

Civitevecchia, Italy

Naples, Italy

Venice, Italy (overnight)

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Corfu, Greece

 

It was fabulous!!! It was our first cruise and I really have nothing to complain about. It was VERY port intensive. We only had 3 sea days out of a 12 night cruise. The first 4 days were ports and we toured heavily.

We flew into Barcelona a day before the ship set sail and I wish we could have had a few more days because Barcelona was so nice but my husband has limited vacation.

Ship time was a lot of fun although brief. Our ship had the belly flop contest and the marriage game. I participated in daily trivia in Schooners, Walk for Wishes, climbed the rock wall, went to the gym, played mini golf and shuffleboard and had a massage. I managed to squeeze everything in expect for pool time. We went the beginning of November and it was too cool for me.

 

I would really recommend doing the cruise. Although what we saw in each of the ports was limited, I was able to get a good overview and know what I would like to explore at length some day.

[EMED2010]

Thanks everyone for all of your answers! I'm really leaning more and more towards a 12 nighter on a Radiance class ship! If only they would just release their schedules!!!!! :mad:

 

Another side rant: I am hoping that airfares are artificially high this summer due to the Olympics being in London. That could be totally wrong, but I'm hoping that next year they will be a little better.

 

When we flew (Oct 2010), we were able to get round trip air from Newark, NJ to Barcelona on Continental for $1280 for two people. I don't know what it is now but I see by your signature that you live close to me so that is an option you may want to check out.

[will773]

Sorry to dig up this thread, but if you haven't decided yet on a cruise, definitely consider Independence out of Southampton, especially the Italian Med itinerary. You get the amazing ship, plus all the ports too. And if you are worried about the number of sea days (5 on the one I am doing in July), you can just stay on the ship in ports like Vigo, which is pretty uninteresting. Gibraltar is a half day stop too, so it might as well be a sea day.

 

Pricing has been far better this year, and it is worth waiting until around March to book the cruise. A couple of months ago the cruise was £1600 ($2567) pp, whereas I just booked it last week for £1300 ($2085) with $400 OBC.

 

I really do like this itinerary! Although the more I look at the options, I think we should go to Venice, too. I really like some of the Celebrity sailings.

[will773]

When we flew (Oct 2010), we were able to get round trip air from Newark, NJ to Barcelona on Continental for $1280 for two people. I don't know what it is now but I see by your signature that you live close to me so that is an option you may want to check out.

 

I would definitely be looking for the best deal. I am going to Salt Lake City in a few weeks with a big group from my high school and we are leaving from Newark. Thanks for the tip.

[will773]

We did the 12 night out of Barcelona on Brilliance. Our stops were:

Toulon, France

Livorno, Italy

Civitevecchia, Italy

Naples, Italy

Venice, Italy (overnight)

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Corfu, Greece

 

It was fabulous!!! It was our first cruise and I really have nothing to complain about. It was VERY port intensive. We only had 3 sea days out of a 12 night cruise. The first 4 days were ports and we toured heavily.

We flew into Barcelona a day before the ship set sail and I wish we could have had a few more days because Barcelona was so nice but my husband has limited vacation.

Ship time was a lot of fun although brief. Our ship had the belly flop contest and the marriage game. I participated in daily trivia in Schooners, Walk for Wishes, climbed the rock wall, went to the gym, played mini golf and shuffleboard and had a massage. I managed to squeeze everything in expect for pool time. We went the beginning of November and it was too cool for me.

 

I would really recommend doing the cruise. Although what we saw in each of the ports was limited, I was able to get a good overview and know what I would like to explore at length some day.

 

Really like this itinerary too! Too many choices!!!!

[mgoblue19]

My fiancee's aunt is doing a family cruise in the Med (we did one last summer in Caribbean on Allure as well). The July 18th 12 day on Serenade out of Barcelona is what they're thinking. The itinerary looks great, but IMO any 12 day cruise will have amazing ports to stop at (since I've never visited Europe).

 

These are now on the RCI website, just FYI.

[Steppy08]

Either way you go, Europe is awesome.

 

My first trip was 5 years ago and we stayed in Austria and Germany, with a side trip to Italy at the end. We hit about 6 different cities in 12 days... Lots of packing/unpacking. But we had the benefit of living in and experiencing the culture 24/7 for 12 entire days.

 

We are on the Serenade this summer (June 22). We love the itinerary but it will be different not actually staying in hotels on land and immersing ourselves in the culture. Bonus: only unpacking once!

 

As far as price goes, the land based vacation and the cruise are truthfully quite comparable. (we did get a balcony cabin)

 

Whatever you choose have fun!