Advice needed for Greek Island Cruise!

[theknitter1]

My partner and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary with a cruise to the Greek Islands- this will be in July of 2013. We are going to spend two weeks in Europe (Barcelona, Nice, Venice) and would like to leave from Venice for a 6-8 night cruise.

 

I have only been on one cruise, Celebrity (loved it), but my partner has never been and she is not very big on the idea but has agreed to try it out. She does not like to dress up (unlike me) so I am trying to think of the best cruise line to go on. I am thinking Norwegian or Royal Caribbean. I would like to get your input and also your experience as a gay or lesbian traveler. My partner is pretty "butch" and I am very feminine and am usually taken for a straight gal - unless we are together.

 

Thanks in advance for your expertise and advice.

[AttilaTheFun]

NCL has a 7-night Greek Isles cruise from Barcelona! Thru not require you to dress up and do a nice job.

[sully108]

My partner and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary with a cruise to the Greek Islands- this will be in July of 2013. We are going to spend two weeks in Europe (Barcelona, Nice, Venice) and would like to leave from Venice for a 6-8 night cruise.

 

I have only been on one cruise, Celebrity (loved it), but my partner has never been and she is not very big on the idea but has agreed to try it out. She does not like to dress up (unlike me) so I am trying to think of the best cruise line to go on. I am thinking Norwegian or Royal Caribbean. I would like to get your input and also your experience as a gay or lesbian traveler. My partner is pretty "butch" and I am very feminine and am usually taken for a straight gal - unless we are together.

 

Thanks in advance for your expertise and advice.

 

We are hopefully doing a Greek Island cruise with additional days in Italy - sometime next summer also .. NCL or RCI or Princess. We are just beginning to look. Ruby Princess looks nice. I am not into the dressy thing either. Hope Princess doesn't mind a "resort casual" look almost every night.

[AttilaTheFun]

We are hopefully doing a Greek Island cruise with additional days in Italy - sometime next summer also .. NCL or RCI or Princess. We are just beginning to look. Ruby Princess looks nice. I am not into the dressy thing either. Hope Princess doesn't mind a "resort casual" look almost every night.

 

Most Princess cruises haveat least 2 formal nights that require dressing up if you want to eat in the dinig room. The buffet will serve ome of the same food and you don't have to dress up.

[theknitter1]

I am leaning towards NCL because of their dress policy. Thanks!

[Tomato53]

Since you liked Celebrity, consider them too. Aqua Class on Celebrity has a separate dining room called Blu and it's "smart casual" every day (no formal nights like the main dining room).

 

There are some other amenities (bottled water and teas in the room, admission to the Persian Garden in the spa area and others).

 

Depending on the itinerary and dates, sometimes there isn't much of a premium over a regular balcony or their Concierge Class fares.

 

If you're interested, do a search on the Celebrity board and you'll find quite a few comments.

[AttilaTheFun]

Celebrity currently has no Mediterranean cruises posted for July 2013 - only Northern Europe, so not sure when they are releasing those sailings.

 

Ditto on Royal Caribbean, but they only have Europe round-trip from Southampton cruises posted for July 2013 so far.

 

NCL has their 7-day Greek Isles cruise posted, roundtrip Venice, but the prices are pretty high still IMO. We got screwed with our Western Med cruise this summer - the prices have dropped dramatically after final payment was due. Not saying that you can wait until 75 days out for your cruise, but the prices may drop further if you wait a bit or don't mind re-booking if the price drops before final payment.

 

If you're looking for a longer cruise, Princess has a 12-night from Venice to Rome that visits Greece too. It's over 2x as expensive as the NCL sailing right now though. As I mentioned earlier, Princess has at least 2 formal nights where dressing up is required if you want to eat in the main dining rooms, but the buffet has some of the same food at dinner and doesn't require dressing up. We thought the dinner food was better than NCL - included seafood and some nicer stuff - if that is important to you.

 

Please let us know what you choose, what an awesome vacation and celebration!

[theknitter1]

Thanks so much for the advice! I would prefer Celebrity but they don't seem to have any shorter cruises posted at this time. My partner said no way on an 11 or 12 night cruise - I thought since she agreed I'm not going to push my luck! We are planning on flying to Barcelona and taking a train through the South of France and then on to Venice. And then we would cruise from Venice to the Greek Islands. Good food is important to me but I was thinking as it is our first cruise together I am willing to compromise in order to get the casual ambience that I think she is looking for.

 

I am a planner and love to get things locked in but I know if I gave it some time I might get some better deals. Definitely want a balcony! Thanks again everyone.

[cruiseerf]

Looking at your itinerary....Are you spending one week traveling through Europe and then want 1 week on a cruise or two weeks traveling through Europe including the cruise?....IF you are spending two Weeks in TOTAL.....I would not suggest doing three major cities in 1 week.....This involves....running, moving luggage, packing/unpacking, watching for pickpockets and constantly trying not to forget anything....not so relaxing...

 

IF your total is three weeks....enjoy no problem. Otherwise you will see the inside of more airports and trainstations then much of the local culture. IMHO.

 

You cannot go wrong with a cruise....Celebrity is good food but older crowd.....RCL is fun because it has man "for pay" options which dont have dress codes and if you don't mind paying a little extra some nights....you can really make your own plans and not be stuck in the main dining room every night. Princess is also fun and attracts many people from the UK...and they are always a fun crowd... There is no umpacking and repacking, and your things travel with you.....Your partner will enjoy I am sure.

 

Congratulations on 10 years....That is something!

 

Happy Sails!

[theknitter1]

Hi Cruiseerf,

We are planning on at least 3 weeks total. I agree two weeks would be a crazy trip! I'm looking into flying to Barcelona and staying 3-4 days then making our way via train over to Montpellier maybe for a day and then to Nice for a couple of days. From there we will make some day trips to Cannes and/or Monaco. Then a couple of days in Venice and then the cruise. I need to look at train times to see how long it will take and factor that in to our travel time. Even with this schedule it sounds busy. That's why I thought the cruise would be a nice relaxing end to our travel.

 

Thanks for the additional info on the cruise lines. My co-worker has been on Princess and loves it. She said they have some smaller passenger ships (around 500 passenger) that might make a nice trip. Will keep you posted!

[AttilaTheFun]

Hi Cruiseerf,

My co-worker has been on Princess and loves it. She said they have some smaller passenger ships (around 500 passenger) that might make a nice trip. Will keep you posted!

 

The Small Ships of Princess are Ocean Princess and Pacific Princess and hold around 600 passengers. Ocean is sailing northern Europe in July 2013 and Pacific only doing 12-day itineraries during that time.

[carenero]

Hi!!!!

 

I am also traveling with my pathner and for him is the first cruise as well.

 

We decided to try and go in the Celebrity Silhouette from rome the 07/17 for 13 nights. It seems to be a nice ship. Never been in a Celebrity cruises but some friends recomended.

 

Also if tou go to venice from the south of france , stop in Verona, for a day tour to the city and leave to venice in the afthernoon. Verona is such a romantic and cozy city.

 

Happy Aniversary.

 

PD: We are from Venezuela

[Phxazzcruisers]

My partner and I will jot travel on any line other than the RCL Family. We always travel on Celebrity ships or Azamara. We have always been treated incredibly well and have always had great experiences. Try looking at Azamara and see if hey have anything available.

[Spree75]

Knitter,

 

I'm not sure your budget but if you're worried about your partner enjoying the cruise you could go with one of the luxury lines (Seabourn, Silverseas, Crystal, Regent). My partner and I took a 7 night cruise on Seabourn last year and loved it. This year Seabourn is again offering 7 night cruises from Venice to Athens. There is one cruise on Oct 27 that stops in Mykonos. The only Greek Island on the rest of the cruises is Corfu.

 

One formal optional night and no jeans in any of the dining rooms after 6 PM. Dress was much more casual than I expected.

[sully108]

Most Princess cruises haveat least 2 formal nights that require dressing up if you want to eat in the dinig room. The buffet will serve ome of the same food and you don't have to dress up.

 

Well I hope room service does a great job .. :D

[AttilaTheFun]

Well I hope room service does a great job .. :D

 

Room service food was okay, but fairly limited menu. Don't be deterred from going to the buffet on formal night! I hear they even put out tablecloths to dress the place up a bit on formal night and like I said, some of the same dishes will be served as the main dining rooms. Enjoy!

[theknitter1]

Knitter,

 

I'm not sure your budget but if you're worried about your partner enjoying the cruise you could go with one of the luxury lines (Seabourn, Silverseas, Crystal, Regent). My partner and I took a 7 night cruise on Seabourn last year and loved it. This year Seabourn is again offering 7 night cruises from Venice to Athens. There is one cruise on Oct 27 that stops in Mykonos. The only Greek Island on the rest of the cruises is Corfu.

 

One formal optional night and no jeans in any of the dining rooms after 6 PM. Dress was much more casual than I expected.

 

I looked into the Azmara and Silverseas as well. Since we are going to be in Europe two weeks prior to the cruise I think the smaller luxury cruises may be out of my price range. I am the one that likes luxury, she doesn't really care about all of that, which is why I am leaning towards NCL! Thanks for your reply.

[Chicken_Lips]

Also, if your train tickets are too expensive or if the train travel is too time consuming (funky connections, etc.), search for cheap flights across Europe using http://www.skyscanner.com. It has helped us with our cruise/independent travel expenses tremendously. You can travel cheaply between European cities for under $100/person with luggage. Sometimes the airports are located 60 min outside of town, but can easily be reached by an express bus or local train from busy cities. The flights usually last anywhere from 45 min to 2 hrs if you fly across the continent.

[theknitter1]

Thanks for the tips Chicken Lips!

[theknitter1]

Hi!!!!

 

I am also traveling with my pathner and for him is the first cruise as well.

 

We decided to try and go in the Celebrity Silhouette from rome the 07/17 for 13 nights. It seems to be a nice ship. Never been in a Celebrity cruises but some friends recomended.

 

Also if tou go to venice from the south of france , stop in Verona, for a day tour to the city and leave to venice in the afthernoon. Verona is such a romantic and cozy city.

 

Happy Aniversary.

 

PD: We are from Venezuela

 

 

Have a wonderful time! I have only been on one cruise and it was Celebrity. I loved it! Thanks for the advice on visiting Verona too!

[rsolvay]

My (ex) partner and I did the NCL Jade Greek islands cruise out of Venice in May of last year. It was a great cruise, very gay friendly. There was an FOD get together (unhosted) in one of the bars every night during the two-for-one cocktail happy hour. Met lots of cool people and had a great time. I recommend it!

 

My current boyfriend and I are probably going on the Greece/Turkey cruise with RCI Splendour of the Seas out of Venice on July 13th. If you choose this one, it would be nice to meet up!

 

Take care,

Robert & Ali

Vienna, Austria