Cruise Med..how to choose?

[Lovetwocruz2009]

Hi All,

 

This will be our (me and DH) first cruise to the Mediterranean. I am looking to go summer 2014. My question is how do I choose? I want to see Italy and France.

 

Any suggestions for what month to go, cruise length 7 or 12, what itinerary?. We have never been to Europe. Our budget including cruise and airfare is $6,000. Is this reasonable? I will set aside additional money for excursions and trinkets. We are open to other cruise lines.

 

Thanks for all of your help.

[Kerry's Girls]

Because airfare is the real killer (I fly from California as well), I want to spend as much time in Europe as possible when we go. We arrive as many days ahead as we can afford (time and $$-wise) - that way we have a chance to spend time in a city or two and also get adjusted time-wise before we get on the ship and start the marathon of port days. When choosing a cruise, it's all about itinerary and price for us - the ship is really more of a floating hotel because by the time we're done exploring a port, we're too tired to enjoy most of the ship's facilities.

 

Best,

Mia

[agreene]

I agree, you should go on the longest one that you can do. I have done 2 med cruises, a 12 day Celebrity Solstice and a 7 Day Liberty of the Seas. Both were great but I have to say I liked the Solstice the best. It went to Italy, Greece and Turkey. I have left out of Rome and Barcelona and I suggest you spend some time in port at the departing city as they are all fabulous! I spent a week in Barcelona prior to my Liberty cruise last summer. That one went to Italy and France. You can find out a ton of info reading reviews on Cruise Critic to see what suits you the best.

[hazeleyez3]

If you are short on vacation time, you might want to think about a 7 day cruise that leaves out of Rome, and use the remaining days to explore the city w/o any worries of missing the ship.

[goncruzn]

Hi All,

 

This will be our (me and DH) first cruise to the Mediterranean. I am looking to go summer 2014. My question is how do I choose? I want to see Italy and France.

 

Any suggestions for what month to go, cruise length 7 or 12, what itinerary?. We have never been to Europe. Our budget including cruise and airfare is $6,000. Is this reasonable? I will set aside additional money for excursions and trinkets. We are open to other cruise lines.

 

Thanks for all of your help.

 

Keep in mind that during the months June - August the temperatures in Italy, Spain and Greece can be pretty hot. I can't remember how hot it is in France at that time of the year, but it is summer there also.

 

I would say if you could squeeze 12 days, do so. Most of those cruises will leave out of Barcelona (I think). The problem with a 12-day, though, is that it will cost you more.

 

I think you could do it on $6,000, but it might be tight. Unless airfares go down you're probably looking at $2,500-$3,000 for the two of you. I've seen rates for a 12-day cruise range from $800 to over $1,000 per person for an inside cabin. If you're a balcony snob like me then it could be upwards of $1,500 per person. These are just averages so you might find a cruise that will be considerably less.

 

The key is to keep your eyes peeled for sales. Check prices weekly (especially on Tuesdays) and you might luck out and get a good rate. I'm going on a 7-day this October and I'm paying under a $1,000 for a balcony cabin. Unfortunately, my airfare is going to cost me upwards of $1,100. Go figure. Good luck with your planning!

[Lovetwocruz2009]

Because airfare is the real killer (I fly from California as well)' date=' I want to spend as much time in Europe as possible when we go. We arrive as many days ahead as we can afford (time and $$-wise) - that way we have a chance to spend time in a city or two and also get adjusted time-wise before we get on the ship and start the marathon of port days. When choosing a cruise, it's all about itinerary and price for us - the ship is really more of a floating hotel because by the time we're done exploring a port, we're too tired to enjoy most of the ship's facilities.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

 

Thank you for the information. We live in SF Bay Area. What airline did you use? It didn't realize the airfare was so steep. I will have 2 weeks vacation. So would 2 days pre cruise and 2 days post cruise be good? 7 day cruise.

[Lovetwocruz2009]

Keep in mind that during the months June - August the temperatures in Italy, Spain and Greece can be pretty hot. I can't remember how hot it is in France at that time of the year, but it is summer there also.

 

I would say if you could squeeze 12 days, do so. Most of those cruises will leave out of Barcelona (I think). The problem with a 12-day, though, is that it will cost you more.

 

I think you could do it on $6,000, but it might be tight. Unless airfares go down you're probably looking at $2,500-$3,000 for the two of you. I've seen rates for a 12-day cruise range from $800 to over $1,000 per person for an inside cabin. If you're a balcony snob like me then it could be upwards of $1,500 per person. These are just averages so you might find a cruise that will be considerably less.

 

The key is to keep your eyes peeled for sales. Check prices weekly (especially on Tuesdays) and you might luck out and get a good rate. I'm going on a 7-day this October and I'm paying under a $1,000 for a balcony cabin. Unfortunately, my airfare is going to cost me upwards of $1,100. Go figure. Good luck with your planning!

 

I am a balcony snob too. So I need to increase my budget for sure. Maybe check the airline prices first? How much should I budget for excursions? Did you use the cruise line for excursions or private? I figure maybe $250 per day on excursions but that might not be reasonable..

 

Geez, I have alot of work to do.

[Lovetwocruz2009]

Thanks for all of the replies. I feel overwhelmed already. I need to speak to the hubby about increasing the budget. Wish me luck.

[flannbarr]

Same situation here except we have our 2 kids too. Looking at 12 nights out of Barcelona with 2 days pre-cruise. Waiting for itineraries which come out in March.

[jessicalorene]

You could do it on that budget it will just require a bit of research. My husband and I did western med for our honeymoon and are going back this spring for a eastern med. The western med was spain france and italy and was fantastic!

 

We chose based on what we wanted to see since we also used the ship as a floating hotel and spent much more time off it, My best advice is if you are going to go all the way to Europe plan excursions and make the most of your time there. We only did an excursion for one port on our honey moon and I wish we did more ! IT was great in Rome not waiting in lines not worrying about transport and seeing more then we probably would have on our own.

 

We fly from the east coast but we paid $1500 for both our tickets (Boston to Rome direct) and then only $699 pp for a balcony. We paid very similar for our honeymoon. Just keep your eyes peeled for price drops!

[roitan]

I would recommend avoiding August as that is "high season" in Europe and it seems as thugh 1/2 Europe takes off for Holiday:) Croatia is awesome

[ssb]

If you have time

 

consider a b2b TA and another contiguous cruise.

Can be only one airfare one way!!!!

And spend some time in area you will be departing from or to.

Depart from or destination to a port near your home.

Everything best bang for buck!

But you book early or last minute for best cruise pricing!

These are generally in fall westbound or spring eastbound from/to Europe

or could be just a repositioning cruise anytime anywhere.

see 90 day ticker site on net for examples in one place.

 

As an example only.......

there is a wonderful Navigator repositioning cruise 7 day

available for an available b2b

from Rome to Barcelona 11/03/13 to 11/10/13

with intensive nice itinerary.

Then the Navgator 11//10/13 transatlantic cruise 14 day from Barcelona to Galveston!

 

A bunch of us are doing the b2b 7 day and 14 day.

[Kerry's Girls]

Thank you for the information. We live in SF Bay Area. What airline did you use? It didn't realize the airfare was so steep. I will have 2 weeks vacation. So would 2 days pre cruise and 2 days post cruise be good? 7 day cruise.

 

Once I found flights at cheapo air and the next just by pricing them all out at the different airlines. I'd actually suggest loading up on the days ahead of the cruise and then heading home after the cruise, though I know others do it differently.

 

We did all private excursions using the ports of call boards here and shared some with others on our roll call. It was cheaper and we got to choose our own itineraries (and not deal with the pacing of large bus tours and the mandatory shopping stops). I have kids with me, so private is vital for us, but even if it were just grownups, the value money and timewise is worth it for private or shared tours.

 

Best,

Mia

[jamesr3939]

We have done two med's both 10 day and I wouldn't do anything less. Forgo the days at the end and add them to the start. It will give you more time to get over jet lag and sight see. The cruises to the med are port intensive and we always needed a vacation at the end to rest up. We have found it better to just go home at the end. We left from Genoa on one and really enjoyed the extra days there to walk around. We also took the train up to Lugano for two nights, which was really fun. We got the hotel in Genoa to hold our stuff so all we had to do was pack an overnight bag.

[hansolosmom]

Here are things I considered before booking the Med:

 

First we looked at cities we wanted to visit. (I'm not cruise line loyal so I looked at all of them) we decided we wanted to spend the most time in Italy, specifically Rome. There were no cruises that do an overnight in Rome, so we ended up with a trip that starts and ends there.

 

Then we looked at length and lines.

 

Airfare is the next big one to look at. We're a little better off than you since were on the east coast, but I'm paying for 4 so it probably evens out :)

 

If you can look at May or Sept those will be cheaper airfare-wise since it's considered off season. It also works better for cruise fares too.

 

Lastly you need to look at European hotel prices and the excursions. I would figure at least $100 per person. You can find groups to hook up with that can help lower those prices. I have to say I was amazed - I had no idea how expensive the hotels were. We did the Baltics a few years ago out of Dover and the Med is a lot more expensive than that.

 

But you really can do it on a budget, trust me on that. There's really good info on the port section for doing it on your own.

[Trekker954]

Hi All,

 

This will be our (me and DH) first cruise to the Mediterranean. I am looking to go summer 2014. My question is how do I choose? I want to see Italy and France.

 

Any suggestions for what month to go, cruise length 7 or 12, what itinerary?. We have never been to Europe. Our budget including cruise and airfare is $6,000. Is this reasonable? I will set aside additional money for excursions and trinkets. We are open to other cruise lines.

 

Thanks for all of your help.

 

One tip since you haven't been to Europe yet, meaning you haven't been to Rome and italy is high on your bucket list. My upcoming 12 nite sailing from Barcelona stops in Rome on a Sunday. Unfortunetly, the sistene chappel and vatican museum is closed on Sunday. I've been to Rome before and seen it all, but can you imagine my daughter's disappointment. So make sure you check your port dates to avoid disappointment after you book. Or sail out of Rome and do a pre cruise visit for a few days. So much to see in Rome.