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Time for a med cruise. Which One?

mellowrose

By mellowrose,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Azure Moon

Azure Moon

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We loved our summer cruise on the Spirit doing the 12-Day Mediterranean itinerary.

 

We sailed from Barcelona and ended in Venice. There is also a sailing from Venice to Barcelona. Both make stops in France, Greece, Turkey, and Italy. For that trip to be our first to Europe, we sure got to see a lot of places in those two weeks.

 

We were supposed to have a stop in Athens, Greece, but there was to be a strike the day we would have been there so the cruise line substituted Dubrovnik, Croatia. Bummer we missed Athens, but we were just as happy with Dubrovnik since it was on my list of places I would like to see someday. That's one thing I really like about NCL, they do a great job at substituting when a port has to be missed :cool:.

 

We loved every port stop, loved having the use of the ship on the overnight in Venice. There is so much to see and do in each of the ports that it would be easy to do this itinerary again.

 

The Spirit was a fabulous ship for this itinerary. It has the Galaxy of the Stars lounge at the front with all those windows. One evening we had a storm and it was really interesting to watch the lightning up ahead of the ship. It has the terrific open terraces at the back of the ship. Loved eating out there, relaxing there as the ship left port, hanging out with new friends there. It is a wonderful size and easy to get around.

Edited by Azure Moon
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HokiePoq

HokiePoq

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We love the Jade and its fabulous crew! Great new itinerary this year that we are looking forward to in April. Check that one out, too.

May depend on how much time you have. We didn't do the back to back but wish we could as the alternating itinerary includes Istanbul which is on our bucket list. We've done the Epic 7 day and that was good, too. Did it after the TA and had time to do things on the ship during the TA and concentrate on the ports on the 7 day.

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portcbob

portcbob

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Hi Guys.

My wife and I did the Jade on 2 x 7 night back to back cruisers to the Eastern Med in May/June, 2012 and absolutely loved the ship and the ports. Covered quite a few ports including Athens, Greek Isles, Dubrovnik and Split, Turkey ect. Had a wonderful time. The Jade is a great ship, great staff and food. Entertainment was also fab. Would do same 14 nighter in a heartbeart.

 

Cheers Bob.:):):)

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chipmaster

chipmaster

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Pick a cruise in the Med based on PORTS, PORTS, PORTS, its all about the ports :D

 

Ship and line while important can't compare to the hours and experience in the ports.

 

Did I say ports ???

 

Loved our trip with Norwegian to Hawaii. Now its time for the Med. What are your favorite ships? Itineraries? I am open ended on this one because I want to see it all eventually!
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Cloudyrain "Live from...." Rare

Cloudyrain

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Look at the Epic out of Rome if you can, and then travel to Venice for the 7 night Jade. Or the 12 night grand med on the spirit. We have been on both the spirit and the epic and loved them both equally for different reasons. If you only have 7 days you definitely can't go wrong with the Epic west med but it's 3 big Italy ports and I think I'd prefer the Spirit Grand Med or the Jade/Epic combo (or the Jade-Jade b2b) to get more countries in as you are flying so far.

 

Whatever you choose you will love it :D

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  • 3 weeks later...
signora

signora

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We just booked the 14-day Grand Med on the Spirit for July 2015==it will be hard this summer not to be going! Still, there is so much research/prep to do, like re-reading the Iliad and seriously boning up on European history, the cliff notes. I'm glad I already read a semi-trashy novel on Pompeii! So much to learn, and plan--looks like I have plenty of time! If you're going, come join our roll call!

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bonniboo1

bonniboo1

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Did the Gem 3 yes ago. Very nice. Did the Spirit last year...Wonderful!!! We spent 2 nights in Barcelona along with a tour with Barcelona Day Tours...not to be missed. We also spent t an extra night in Venice. Would I Do it again...In a beat. Out of all my cruises, the best cruise EVER!! Good luck in whatever you choose and enjoy.

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Da-Painter

Da-Painter

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We just booked the 14-day Grand Med on the Spirit for July 2015==it will be hard this summer not to be going! Still, there is so much research/prep to do, like re-reading the Iliad and seriously boning up on European history, the cliff notes. I'm glad I already read a semi-trashy novel on Pompeii! So much to learn, and plan--looks like I have plenty of time! If you're going, come join our roll call!

 

As I learned on CC, get Rick Steves "Med Cruise Ports" book, its very helpful for planning. There is so much to see, and will help your research.

Enjoy.:)

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heatherbelle

heatherbelle

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My advice is to choose your route rather than the ship, you will only spend time sleeping on the ship and briefly eating. Also the longer the cruise the better IMO.

 

I have now done two Med cruises, neither on NCL, but my favourite ports, are Venice, Dubrovnik, Naples (loads of choice of places too go) and any port in the South of France. Try and avoid a ship departing from Barcelona, as you end up paying more duty, although non EU passengers can claim this back.

 

On my still to do list, are Istanbul and Mykonos. My least favourite port was Athens, dusty horrible place and I wouldn't go back in hurry. However saying that, American's love their culture, being a Brit I see plenty of it here in the UK. I prefer pretty ports. I think the Spirit goes to Istanbul and has a n overnight stay.

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itravelalot

itravelalot

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We did the 12 night grand med on the Spirit in July. The ports were good (we have done similar cruises in the past) but the ship is amazing.. We are going on another Spirit Cruise on the 28th of December.. The Spirit has great open decks in the back. It is a great way to cruise.:)

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SteveH2508

SteveH2508

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We did the 12 night grand med on the Spirit in July. The ports were good (we have done similar cruises in the past) but the ship is amazing.. We are going on another Spirit Cruise on the 28th of December.. The Spirit has great open decks in the back. It is a great way to cruise.:)

 

See you on board - we board on the 26th in Malaga. :D

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California Traveler

California Traveler

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Hi Guys.

My wife and I did the Jade on 2 x 7 night back to back cruisers to the Eastern Med in May/June, 2012 and absolutely loved the ship and the ports. Covered quite a few ports including Athens, Greek Isles, Dubrovnik and Split, Turkey ect. Had a wonderful time. The Jade is a great ship, great staff and food. Entertainment was also fab. Would do same 14 nighter in a heartbeart.

 

Cheers Bob.:):):)

 

We are scheduled for this in May 2015 - best itinerary :D

 

CT

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romrai

romrai

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we are going on our 3rd med cruise in april. 1st one was on another line. 5 days with 3 days in athens and another 3 in istanbul, stops in crete, kusadasi and rhodes. really enjoyed that. the second was on the jade. 12 days grand, from barcelona. saw malta, rome, alexandria, izmir (supposed to be athens, ended in crete) very nice. in april we will be going from rome, naples, olympia, izmir, 2 days istanbul and athens. this is on the jade as well. we have spent 16 nights on the spirit before and 12 on the jade. we like the size of the spirit, but she is old and designed for the asian market, so it is smaller (railing heights, countertop heights etc) she is definately showing her age and it is not like fine wine. we do find that the med has too many ports for us. we like to kick back and relax, and find it hard when we are in a new port everyday. on the next one, since we have seen most places, we can relax a bit more.

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lamchops

lamchops

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I'm planning my second med cruise which will be the eastern med. We did the western a few years ago as it included ports with landmarks that even novices would recognize as well as some unfamiliar gems.

We left from Barcelona (stayed 6 days there) and visited:

Marsaille

Monaco (Monte Carlo)

Livorno (leaning tower)

Rome (lots to see)

Naples (Pompeii)

Valletta (Malta was spectacular)

Tunis

 

We enjoyed Barcelona but the 6 day cost would of been better spent on a B2B as one day in each port was not enough. In hindsight, the second leg would of been:

Marsaille

Nice

Florence

Rome (lots to see)

Naples/Capri

Medina

Tunis

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