Need help for Europe. Are all cruiseline excursions cost about the same?

[vmom]

Currently looking to book a cruise to Europe and looking at different ships, lines and where to go. I usually cruise Princess, but am also going to look at Celebrity and RCCL. Port schedule is important.

 

It would be me (woman mid 50's) and my daughter age 22 traveling. Neither of us have been to Europe before.

 

For those who have cruised Europe before and cruised multiple lines, Is there much of a difference in costs in excursions between these three lines or is one more or less expensive compared to the other two.

 

Anything else I should look at or consider? Depending on my work schedule, we will be cruising either May or July 2013. Not sure if we will cruise northern Europe or go with a more southern route.

 

Also do you recommend Princess air or independent air for someone who has never been to Europe before?

 

Thanks for any and all suggestions and advice.

[alcpa1]

You have left yourself wide open....I'll try to be kind.

Your instinct to compare itineraries first is right on.

In the Med Rome, Florence and Athens are between 35 minutes to at least an hour from the ports.

Instead of using costly ship's excursions join the Roll Call for your sailing and plan excursions using the Ports of Call boards. All of the cruise lines use large busses. The private excursions often cost less, travel with about 14 passengers, and can access areas the busses cannot.

There are a couple of different air options available but know that the cruise air fares are not the same as a fare you would book directly with the airlne. I do not recommend booking air if you cannot pick and choose your own flights. This is the most restrictive ticket often compared to a consolidator ticket - not good. Some of the cruise lines allow you to book your preferred flights for a fee (sometimes waved for members of their loyalty programs.)

Whatever you do...do your research for your air travel with the same careful research you are doing for your sailing portion. If you must fly with connections give yourselves hours between flights. Absolutely fly across the pond a minimun of one day prior to embarkation.

Ask questions about your flights BEFORE you book. The regular posters on the Cruise Air Forum on Cruise Critic are terrific and will be glad to help.

Do come back and ask all of the questions you wish. When you are booked absolutely join the Roll Call.

[SadieN]

Go in May if possible. July in Rome is very hot and humid. No airconditioning and the natives do not use deodorant. DD lives in Rome and has some 'interesting' stories of being in crowded Roman busses in July. Her stories are not for those with weak constitutions. It's better if you are tall.:p

 

Look on the CruiseAir board for air info. Read the sticky about how the cruise lines distribute flights.

 

Arrive a day or so ahead of time and get insurance.

[Keith1010]

I would try to go in May as it will be less crowded.

 

No matter what you do arrive to port one or more days before the cruise. See if you can arrive two to three days. Benefit is if your flight is cancelled or delayed you won't miss the ship. If any luggage gets lost there will be time to sort it out. You get over the jet lag and it gives you time to tour the city of embarkation.

 

Price the air both ways but if you go with cruise air ask for custom air so you can request flights of your choosing as opposed to being dependent on what the cruise line selects for you which is not always optimal for the traveler. If you have to change planes you want a larger buffer then they normally assign.

 

As to tours the costs will be around the same for each line. Once you finalize your itinerary you can do a lot more research on tours. There will be places that you can do on your own to save money, others that a ships tour would be good and still others that you might be able to do a tour on your own or with others who are on your roll call.

 

Let the itinerary be your guide as you select the cruise.

 

All three lines you've mentioned would be fine. All things being equal for a European Cruise I would go with Princess or Celebrity ahead of RCI but focus on itinerary first as you are doing.

 

Keith

[Hermione60]

the natives do not use deodorant.

 

Oh puhlease :( I go at least twice a year to Italy since we share a border, including Rome, including in summertime, and that is emphatically not true. Italians in general are very careful about their grooming and appearance, and that definitely includes deodorant. You are really playing the "ugly American" there.

[cruisemom42]

If you're planning to travel to Europe, you will get the most out of it by doing a lot of the legwork and research yourself in order to make the best choices for you.

 

You can compare the cost of included air by looking up comparable flights if booking independently. I often find better deals (and better connections) booking on my own, but it's not ALWAYS the case. Don't forget to figure in the cost of transfers if you book independently. At some ports (e.g., Barcelona, Venice), transfers are not too expensive; at others (Rome), the port is a long way from the airport and costs are high for private transfers.

 

Overall, May is generally cheaper, less crowded, and less hot than July.

 

As for shore excursions, there are minor differences between lines. I've found Princess shore excursions to be pricier, on average, for Europe than Holland America. I looked at a possible Royal Caribbean cruise out of Venice this spring and thought the shore excursions were again less than Princess. I have no idea re: Celebrity pricing.

 

Even if it is your first trip to Europe, don't be afraid to investigate private tours through your roll call. Others will often arrange them and you can join in to reduce costs. This usually makes them less expensive than the ship excursions, while giving you more flexibility and a small group experience. (Nothing worse, in my opinion, than waiting for your 40 new best friends to stand in line at restrooms or finish their souvenir shopping when you want to get on with the tour....)

[SadieN]

Oh puhlease :( I go at least twice a year to Italy since we share a border, including Rome, including in summertime, and that is emphatically not true. Italians in general are very careful about their grooming and appearance, and that definitely includes deodorant. You are really playing the "ugly American" there.

 

I'll let my DD know the next time she has her nose in someone else's pit on the local bus that she is smelling 'baby fresh' and not sweat.:eek::p;)

 

As you say in GENERAL Italians are fastidious in their appearrance but not everyone uses deodorant.

 

Today's strike in Rome was a doozie. For whatever reason this one seems to be worse than the others. She had problems getting back from her onsite class. She posts---

"The elderly fighting with the bus drivers, no taxis anywhere, people just walking casually through the street, and TONS of cops everywhere. Like I told a group of women from one of the southern states in America, WELCOME TO ITALY!"

[Essiesmom]

If you are considering the Med., get a sopy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports. He tells you how to do many of the ports on your own. He also has free audio tours to download from his website (ipod, mp3) and maps to print out to go with them. Reading it may help you decide on an itinerary. The Baltic is a different matter. I wish he would do a book for northern Europe...Many of the Baltic ports are doable on your own, with the help of a guidebook...But Russia (St. Petersburg) is one where you must do a tour, either through the ship or an independent agency, because otherwise you must obtain a Russian visa. EM

[Azulann]

Cruise Mom and Essiesmom had lots of very good advise.

 

You cannot do and see everything on your first trip to Europe. After your first visit ,you will be planning another cruise or land trip to see more.:)

 

Decide between both of you, your three favorite cities, areas, and ideal day as a stranger in a foreign land.

 

Then pick a departure port to explore at least two days before the cruise, then pick the cruise line with the itinerary that you want.

 

I remember my first time in Europe, Rome, Tuscany. I fell in love with everything.

So many places so little time....

[maryann ns]

Check the itinerary and port times very carefully. That is far more important than the ship. Avoid public holidays or days where museums are closed. This important for places such as Florence (port of Livorno) and Istanbul among others. You do not want to be in a port on a day when many important places are closed.

 

Also check the time in port carefully. Some cruises which seem to be less expensive are able to be that because they skimp on port times.

 

So pick your ports, look for itineraries that seem good and then check the details carefully.

 

You are going to Europe to see the sights so that is the most important thing.

[alcpa1]

VMom,

Sorry I quit before I was finished last night. My computer was not herself.

I'd also highly recommend a Med cruise in May. Baltic you can do either timeslot although the last time I was in St. Petersburg at the end of July it was 100.

Almost any embarkation port in the Med is fine. Barcelona is one of the easiest ports both timewise and costwise.

For a Baltic cruise I'd avoid sailing from the UK or Holland. Many mainline ships also leave from Stockholm or Copenhagen and they are much closer to the ports you probably want to visit.

Once again I encourage you to ask all of the questions you might have, that's what friends are for...AND do not book your air without getting the expertise of the great posters on the Cruise Air forum.

[vmom]

Thanks for all the great feedback and suggestions.

 

My preference would be to go in May but we may have to to in July due to other commitments. We should have that sorted out within the next few weeks.

 

Sounds like if we decide to do the Mediterranean ports, May is definitely a better time to go. If we find we must go in July I think we should think of traveling northern Europe instead. I don't do heat and humidity well and hot humid weather would really take a lot of the fun out of a day of exploring for me.

 

Thanks for all the great help. I will definitely be spending more time on these boards doing further research.

[Dancer Bob]

I'll take Azulan's comments even one step further, you cannot possibly visit a major European city for a few hours and get more than a very brief overview. You must research ahead and decide on a priority. This is even more important in peak times (i.e. July) when there will be huge lineups for all the tourist attractions, even worse when the cruise ship buses arrive. A couple of hours difference in port times won't change what you can accomplish very much. "So many places, so little time" is very true.

I completely agree with Keith1010 regarding air. Personally I would cancel rather than travel in July.

[flamomo]

I just got back 3 weeks ago from a Princess cruise that began in Venice, and ended in Ft Lauderdale. I participated in a huge and wonderful CC roll call that included a number of people that had done one or more Med itinerary(s) previously. I arranged my own air, and flew into Venice a couple of days early, for which I will be eternally grateful .... there is so much beauty to see in Venice, and I really just scratched the surface. I was fortunate to be able to get into tours for most ports that were arranged with local tour companies by people on the roll call who had used them before, and they were all excellent, as well as less expensive than Princess tours and with way fewer participants. The few Princess tours that I did were very good as well, just somewhat pricier.

 

As you probably suspect, I agree with those who recommended that you join the roll call for your cruise. I joined mine even before I booked the cruise so I could benefit from the information they shared and the questions they answered, to help me make the decision to even book.

[Hlitner]

You ask very good questions and for many folks it makes lots of sense to carefully budget at the early planning stages as opposed to getting into some financial trouble later down the pike. Regarding cruising in Europe in May vs July we think May makes more sense for most Med itineraries because its still the shoulder season (things are less crowded, you can often get a better deal on the cruise price, airline prices are lower, and the weather is not quite as hot).

 

Regarding tours/excursions you generally have 3 options each having pros and cons. The cruise lines contract with local travel providers for their tours which generally use large buses/groups and often have inflated costs since everyone (tour operator, subcontractors, cruise line, etc) must profit. Another option (preferred by many frequent travelers) is to arrange (in advance) for private excursions where you can control the group size, cost, and itinerary. One great way to get involved with private tours is to use the CC Roll Call board for your specific cruise where CC posters get together to organize their own tours and share expenses.

 

The 3rd way to see Europe is to simply do it on your own. We personally have been traveling this way for over forty years and spend a lot of time helping other independent travelers on the CC Port boards. If you are willing to spend time doing your pre trip homework and enjoy planning your own port days.....then this might be for you. The primary advantages of independent travel is that you can do what you want, when you want, with whom you want. We love the freedom and prefer to avoid being part of the "herd" (tour groups). Independent travel will often cost far less then both private and cruise line excursions and can often allow you to do as much (or more) then the tours.

 

Regarding Northern (i.e. the Baltic) Europe or southern (i.e. the Med) is strictly personal preferencee. Personally, we find the Med countries offer lots of variety. In fact we just returned from a 25 day Med cruise where we were in Italy, Croatia, Montenegro. Israel, Malta and Egypt. Many love to visit places such as France, Spain, and Italy on a single trip.

 

As to air, for us its simply a matter of cost. Once we have decided on a particular trip we will cost out the transportation/hotel costs on our own (easy to do on web sites such as Orbitz, Expedia, or Venere) vs the cost of cruise line provided alternatives. Most of the time we save money by doing it ourselves....but this is not always the case.

 

Hank

[mushypeaman]

I would try to go in May as it will be less crowded.

 

No matter what you do arrive to port one or more days before the cruise. See if you can arrive two to three days. Benefit is if your flight is cancelled or delayed you won't miss the ship. If any luggage gets lost there will be time to sort it out. You get over the jet lag and it gives you time to tour the city of embarkation.

 

Price the air both ways but if you go with cruise air ask for custom air so you can request flights of your choosing as opposed to being dependent on what the cruise line selects for you which is not always optimal for the traveler. If you have to change planes you want a larger buffer then they normally assign.

 

As to tours the costs will be around the same for each line. Once you finalize your itinerary you can do a lot more research on tours. There will be places that you can do on your own to save money, others that a ships tour would be good and still others that you might be able to do a tour on your own or with others who are on your roll call.

 

Let the itinerary be your guide as you select the cruise.

 

All three lines you've mentioned would be fine. All things being equal for a European Cruise I would go with Princess or Celebrity ahead of RCI but focus on itinerary first as you are doing.

 

Keith

We have been into western med three times all with P& O and had an excellent cruise each time. Twice on Ventura and once on Azura. They are quite large about 125000 tonnes 3800 passengers but we like them. We usually try to avoid ship excursions and do our own thing but I must give credit to P&O for the trip to Rome from Citivechia. It cost around£94 (154 dollars) but was worth every penny. First stop was the Trevi fountain,then a short walk to the collesium. The queues were enormous but we were able to avoid them all and walk to the front. A lovely lunch was served in restaurant outside Vatican City. The tour round the Vatican was amazing inc cisteen chapel any some rooms where extra payments are expected. The whole building is just magnificent. After the Vatican any cathederral is just mundane. Excellent value for money. The guide gave a very good coverage of all we were viewing. The coach took about 1 and a half hours to get back to the port -around 8 hours for the whole trip. Other cruise ships will offer the Rome trip. What I am saying is some trips need to be booked on an organized tour and I think Rome is one of them, Enjoy