Itinerary help needed for the Med!

[catsforkids]

Princess is about to come out with the 2015 Med cruises and I need help! First time to the Med and not sure which itinerary offers the "best" ports.

 

Between these ports, which would you choose?

 

Kotor, Sanotrini, Heraklion, Athens, Rhodes, Kusadasi

 

OR

 

Genoa, Tunis/Carthage, Naples, Palermo, Messina, Valletta, Mykonos

 

Both itineraries include Barcelona, a stop in France (we have been there), Florence, Rome, Istanbul

 

I would appreciate any comments :)

[CCFC]

My choice would be:

 

Genoa, Tunis/Carthage, Naples, Palermo, Messina, Valletta, Mykonos

 

Genoa is walkable from the port and a has some good shops, not been to Tunis/Cartage or Messina but that adds to the excitement! Naples is the gateway to Pompeii and Capri the town itself is a little run down (not sure if the trash men have gone back to work yet after all these years). Palermo again you dock in the town. Valletta is lovely, the town is beautiful even after the Germans did try to flatten it, they also drive on the correct side of the road! Mykonos again is beautiful.

[catsforkids]

My choice would be:

 

Genoa, Tunis/Carthage, Naples, Palermo, Messina, Valletta, Mykonos

 

Genoa is walkable from the port and a has some good shops, not been to Tunis/Cartage or Messina but that adds to the excitement! Naples is the gateway to Pompeii and Capri the town itself is a little run down (not sure if the trash men have gone back to work yet after all these years). Palermo again you dock in the town. Valletta is lovely, the town is beautiful even after the Germans did try to flatten it, they also drive on the correct side of the road! Mykonos again is beautiful.

 

Thank you for your insights :) It is a bit overwhelming with so many ports to choose from & this helps a lot!

[leavingocalaagain]

Princess is about to come out with the 2015 Med cruises and I need help! First time to the Med and not sure which itinerary offers the "best" ports.

 

 

 

Between these ports, which would you choose?

 

 

 

Kotor, Sanotrini, Heraklion, Athens, Rhodes, Kusadasi

 

 

 

OR

 

 

 

Genoa, Tunis/Carthage, Naples, Palermo, Messina, Valletta, Mykonos

 

 

 

Both itineraries include Barcelona, a stop in France (we have been there), Florence, Rome, Istanbul

 

 

 

I would appreciate any comments :)

 

 

If you have interest in the ancient Greek and Roman ruins then I would choose the route with Athens and Kusadasi. Ephesus ruins (Kusadasi) are some of the greatest ancient ruins in the world and a must see at some point. Athens is another must see spot at least once.

 

 

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[ccrain]

Princess is about to come out with the 2015 Med cruises and I need help! First time to the Med and not sure which itinerary offers the "best" ports.

 

Between these ports, which would you choose?

 

Kotor, Sanotrini, Heraklion, Athens, Rhodes, Kusadasi

 

OR

 

Genoa, Tunis/Carthage, Naples, Palermo, Messina, Valletta, Mykonos

 

Both itineraries include Barcelona, a stop in France (we have been there), Florence, Rome, Istanbul

 

I would appreciate any comments :)

 

I agree with the previous post, to see ancient ruins you have to do Athens and Kusadasi (Ephesus) - no question.

 

To be able to experience today's life, Naples is a must - you can walk from the port or go see Pompeii, which was kind of a snoozer for me. Mykonos gets you a little of both. Have not been to most of the places on the second itinerary, but since we've been to most of the others, we would do the second one.

[paul929207]

I would also pick Kotor, etc.

[bassmaster150]

Kusadasi (Ephesus)

 

You HAVE to go see this....some of the greatest preserved ruins on earth. We have been to the med twice, are going to the baltics this year, but as we go back to the med in 2015, we want to go back to Kusadasi (Ephesus) as the first time we went we had not done any research prior to our departure. It was the greatest highlight of our first cruise in the med.

[Hlitner]

We have actually been to all the ports mentioned (many times to some) and would quickly recommend the first option. The 2nd option does have some interesting ports, but not places we would recommend on a first cruise to the region. Tunis and Palermo are far from our favorite ports. And choosing between Santorini and Mykonos is quite easy (I do not know anyone who would choose Mykonos although we do enjoy using the port for a nice beach day).

 

As to your first option, this is great if you are interested in seeing some of the best ruins on earth. In Athens you have the Acropolis, Kusadasi gives you Ephesus (truly amazing), and Heraklion lets you see Knossos. And those other ports are also real winners.

 

Hank

[Talisker92]

If you have interest in the ancient Greek and Roman ruins then I would choose the route with Athens and Kusadasi. Ephesus ruins (Kusadasi) are some of the greatest ancient ruins in the world and a must see at some point. Athens is another must see spot at least once.

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Kotor is very interesting, as is Rhodes. Sailing into the caldera in Santorini is fantastic. There is a large archeological site on the island also.

If you go to our website and scroll down to 2007, look for our Venice to Istanbul trip story.

We also got married on Santorini.

We are always happy to answer any questions.

[leavingocalaagain]

We have actually been to all the ports mentioned (many times to some) and would quickly recommend the first option. The 2nd option does have some interesting ports, but not places we would recommend on a first cruise to the region. Tunis and Palermo are far from our favorite ports. And choosing between Santorini and Mykonos is quite easy (I do not know anyone who would choose Mykonos although we do enjoy using the port for a nice beach day).

 

 

 

As to your first option, this is great if you are interested in seeing some of the best ruins on earth. In Athens you have the Acropolis, Kusadasi gives you Ephesus (truly amazing), and Heraklion lets you see Knossos. And those other ports are also real winners.

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

An additional thought on Ephesus is to make sure your tour includes the Terrace Houses. A little extra but a fascinating part of Ephesus.

 

 

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[Cruise Junky]

We were looking at these exact itineraries last night. For us, it would be the one that included Santorini..my happy place :)

[flamomo]

I LOVED LOVED LOVED Ephesus! The ruins there are mind boggling, and truly a must see. I not usually one to gush (as in the 3 LOVEDs above), but that place was so incredible. Other ruins I have visited on cruises were wonderful things to see, but Ephesus outshines every single one of them, including Pompeii. When I went to Pompeii, I was very impressed, and would definitely recommed it, but once you see Ephesus, you will understand what I an talking about.

 

Kotor is nice, but I was way more impressed with Dubrovnik (yes, I know that's not on your list)

 

I enjoyed Santorini more than Mykonos, though it had it's own charm.

 

Dang! Talking about these places now makes me really want to go back to all of these wonderful places.

[heatherbelle]

Genoa, Tunis/Carthage, Naples, Palermo, Messina, Valletta, Mykonos

 

I would take this one.

 

For me I hated Athens, horrible dirty city. Yes you get to see all the ruins, but there are so many other ruins along the way.

 

I would google the ports and look at the places to see what you are interested in.

 

Naples is one of my favourite ports because the boat docks at the end of the pier where the hydrofoils go from. There is so much to do here you need a week.

 

I haven't been to Tunis, but I have read a Disney cruise line trippie by Disney falcon. Google that here trippie is full of pictures of Tunis. It looks lovely.

[Pam in CA]

Both are interesting itineraries and you really can't go wrong with either.

 

I've been to almost all of the ports multiple times (including land vacations) and could go back again in a heartbeat. It's kind of like saying: New York or San Francisco? Both have fascinating sites and you'll enjoy.

 

I love, love, love Kudadasi and Ephesus; I also love, love, love Naples and Pompeii. When I was there last October, I took a great tour that included Herculaneum and Mt. Vesuvius in addition to Pompeii. I agree that if you go to Ephesus, you need to see the Terrace Houses. It's a "must do."

 

Rhodes is fascinating but then so is Messina. They're very different. Tunis is also interesting but then Athens is too.

 

I personally wouldn't be able to pick one itinerary over the other. IMHO, neither is "better" as they're both terrific.

Edited February 23, 2014 by Pam in CA

[berlingo]

For me Tunis would not be somewhere I would rush to return to.

 

The prospect of visiting North Africa was exciting but the reality was an uncomfortable and intimidating experience for my daughter and myself. By the way I do not consider myself an inexperienced or unconfident traveler. Given that this was on a cruise line excursion so I definitely would not advise travelling around independently.

 

However over ports on the itinerary are very interesting so I too would struggle to choose.

 

Happy cruising.

[Mulege]

Kusadasi gets you Ephesus and also Mary's house. This is recognized as the house that the mother of Jesus lived in and died after the crucifixion of Jesus. A wonderful experience.

 

Cleopatra had her honeymoon in Ephesus, the second largest city in the world at the time after Rome.

 

St. John is also buried nearby Ephesus. So much history.

[caber]

Both are good itineraries but Santorini would swing it for me. It is the prettiest island I have been to.

[catsforkids]

Thank you, everyone, for your insights and thoughts. I appreciate all the responses. I just love being able to tap into the views of many well seasoned travelers.

 

These decisions in life are the fun ones :)

[waverley7]

Santorini is the most beautiful place....I loved this port!

 

Amalfi Coast (Naples) is also the most beautiful place

 

When we went they had both on one itinerary, it was awesome to see both.

 

Good Luck chosing!

 

Janice

[JanaJohn]

Princess is about to come out with the 2015 Med cruises and I need help! First time to the Med and not sure which itinerary offers the "best" ports.

Between these ports, which would you choose?

Kotor, Sanotrini, Heraklion, Athens, Rhodes, Kusadasi

 

This would be my choice. We were in Santorini in '12 and loved it! I've read many great things about Kusadasi and that's on my list for the next Med cruise. I want to go back to Heraklion since I was there with the US Navy in 1970 and want to see it again.

 

Last October I was on the Ruby and we were scheduled to visit Tunis. About a month before the cruise Princess notified us that they were dropping Tunis due to security concerns and instead we'd be stopping at Valletta, Malta. So keep in mind you might not end up in Tunis if you pick that itinerary.

[azdmelani]

I would pick the itinerary that stops in Valletta. I was in Malta for two weeks a few years ago. It's an absolutely gorgeous country.