Rome to Eastern Med -- Sailing by Which Part of Sicily?

[Chunder Worthy]

I was just looking at a Google Map and saw that if one was going to cruise from (the port near) Rome to Kotor, Athens or any Eastern Med location, that the ship passes the island of Sicily. At first I just figured the ship would round Siciliy counterclockwise but when I zoomed in I noticed that there was a strait between Messina at the NW corner of Sicily and the very end of the tip of the boot of the Italian mainland which would be a shorter clock-wise sailing.

 

It appears the latter route would shorten a cruise by six or so hours (just guessing). Does anybody know which route Princess uses or favors to go from Rome to anywhere in the Eastern Med and if it's not the Messina route, may I ask why not?

 

Below is an arbitrary map I found of the area to put things into better perspective (and yes, I'm thinking I don't want to sail anywhere NEAR Tunis during Ramadan...).

 

[Colo Cruiser]

They normally go through the Strait of Messina......

 

The Strait of Messina (Stretto di Messina in Italian language, Strittu di Missina in Sicilian) is the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria (Punta Pezzo) in the south of Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, within the central Mediterranean. At its narrowest point, it measures 3.1 km (1.9 mi) in width, though near the town of Messina the width is some 5.1 km (3.2 mi) and maximum depth is 250 m (830 ft).

[Jojiboy]

Our cruise on the Regal Princess last October went through the Strait of Messina.

[Murphey]

We sailed this way 2 years ago on the Emerald. Was really quite lovely, so close to shore you could see the people on the beach....lots of waving going on!

[Chunder Worthy]

That's great information. I've never been to Sicily (and won't get there on this trip); but it's nice to be close enough to at least view it (and sounds interesting throught the strait).

 

Thanks all!

[paul929207]

We have always gone thru the strait of messina. It is a narrow area. I think it gets as close as 3 miles across. So on one side you see the tip of Italy and on the other, Sicily. North of the strait is the island of saltebuca, (sp??) which is an active volcano. Some times at night you can see the sparks shooting out. We have always seen it on the right when going from Rome to the eastern Med.

[Astro Flyer]

They normally go through the Strait of Messina......

 

The Strait of Messina (Stretto di Messina in Italian language, Strittu di Missina in Sicilian) is the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria (Punta Pezzo) in the south of Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, within the central Mediterranean. At its narrowest point, it measures 3.1 km (1.9 mi) in width, though near the town of Messina the width is some 5.1 km (3.2 mi) and maximum depth is 250 m (830 ft).

We've always transited through the Straight of Messina & don't recall Princess ever going to Palermo so Messina is the shortest route. Whether going to the Adriatic, Ionian or Aegean we've transited the Straights of Messina from Rome.

 

I wish that Princess would go to more of Sicily which has fewer tourists & has so many wonderful historical sites. Sicily was Magna Graecia where the famous "Greek" mathematician Archimedes was born in Syracusa. Agrigento's Valley of the Temples are reported to have some of the best Greek sites in the world. Villa Romana del Casale near Piazza Armerina is said to contain some of the best preserved Roman mosaics in the world. Exploring Mt. Etna & other places like Taormina are all wonderful & it would be great to explore less traveled destinations like Sicily.

Edited June 30, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Chunder Worthy]

We've always transited through the Straight of Messina & don't recall Princess ever going to Palermo so Messina is the shortest route.

 

I wish that Princess would go to more of Sicily which has fewer tourists & has so many wonderful historical sites. Sicily was Magna Graecia where the famous Greek mathematician Archimedes was born in Syracusa. Agrigento's Valley of the Temples are reported to be some of the best Greek sites in the world. Villa Romana del Casale near Piazza Armerina is said to contain some of the best preserved Roman mosaics in the world. Exploring Mt. Etna & other places like Taormina are all wonderful & it would be great to explore less traveled destinations like Sicily.

 

Well, that's all very historical and all but a little dry. I want to go back so I can see where Michael Corleone returned and exacted his revenge on Don Ciccio! KIDDING KIDDING KIDDING!

 

Seriously, I'm very sad. (Although I've been to Italy a handful of times) I've never had the pleasure of visiting Sicily, which I understand is a whole other Italian "world." This cruise next month passes it, but I had to give it up in order to "obtain" a few other ports that were more important. One day... Thanks for that great information about Sicily!

[Astro Flyer]

Well, that's all very historical and all but a little dry. I want to go back so I can see where Michael Corleone returned and exacted his revenge on Don Ciccio! KIDDING KIDDING KIDDING!

 

Seriously, I'm very sad. (Although I've been to Italy a handful of times) I've never had the pleasure of visiting Sicily, which I understand is a whole other Italian "world." This cruise next month passes it, but I had to give it up in order to "obtain" a few other ports that were more important. One day... Thanks for that great information about Sicily!

Ha, ha! :p

 

The capo who ran the Sicilian Mafia for 40 years was captured a few years ago in a shepherd's hut in Corleone! :eek:

 

Having Sicilian grandparents, my first trip to Italy was to the old country where some famiglia still live. The town is a suburb of Palermo & it was where some of GF3 was based. ;)

 

I was hesitant to go to Sicily but discovered so many things we enjoyed & hopefully some day we'll return for a longer land-based visit. We've been fortunate to tour Italy by land from the Alps to Sicily. There is so much more to experience during a land-based vacation that's not possible during a brief time in port.

 

You're going to be very well prepared for your cruise & hopefully you'll share your experiences after your cruise...Buon Viaggio! :D

[Pushka]

Mmm, a celebrity cruise we are taking in August goes to Sicily (Messina) and Malta and the route we take goes rather close to Tunisia...

 

We are looking forward to a private Taormina and Mt Etna visit.

Edited June 30, 2015 by Pushka

[Astro Flyer]

We are looking forward to a private Taormina and Mt Etna visit.

We enjoyed our October 2013 visit to Mt. Etna on a private tour & it was quite cold near the summit. With 2 large ships Taormina was very crowded unlike our previous relaxed land-based tour there. Although we found a great place near the piazza to enjoy one of my favorite cannolis...Molto Bene! :D

Edited June 30, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Colo Cruiser]

We enjoyed our October 2013 visit to Mt. Etna on a private tour & it was quite cold near the summit. With 2 large ships Taormina was very crowded unlike our previous relaxed land-based tour there. Although we found a great place near the piazza to enjoy one of my favorite cannolis...Molto Bene! :D

 

We have been to Taormina several times.........

We had to divert to Trapani on one cruise. Did not like it at all. :(

[Murphey]

Princess is going to Palermo and Messina in 2016! Plus Malta and Tunis (maybe!). Looking forward to these new ports (for us)!

[Chunder Worthy]

Princess is going to Palermo and Messina in 2016! Plus Malta and Tunis (maybe!). Looking forward to these new ports (for us)!

 

Yikes. Maybe avoid Tunis during Ramaden (ifyouknowwhatimeanandithinkyoudo). Other than that, I'd love that too, ENJOY!!

[LEtue]

Princess is going to Palermo and Messina in 2016! Plus Malta and Tunis (maybe!). Looking forward to these new ports (for us)!

 

Looking at your itinerary for May 2016 it looks like Tunis is still scheduled. Did you receive a different itinerary with your confirmation?

 

I am interested in the booking the Royal for September 2016 and don't want to go to Tunis :( Hoping for Naples instead actually.....

[Murphey]

Looking at your itinerary for May 2016 it looks like Tunis is still scheduled. Did you receive a different itinerary with your confirmation?

 

I am interested in the booking the Royal for September 2016 and don't want to go to Tunis :( Hoping for Naples instead actually.....

 

No, they haven't changed the itinerary, I think it's way to early for them to make that decision. Naples is indeed on our itinerary as well as in September (11th).

[oxypete]

Pre European Union, there were plans to build a bridge across the straits. Passing through the straits, you can often see smoke rising from Mt Etna. Every town in Sicily is an adventure - never miss a chance to visit - love the calamari in Siracusa.

[LEtue]

No, they haven't changed the itinerary, I think it's way to early for them to make that decision. Naples is indeed on our itinerary as well as in September (11th).

 

I don't think it is too early for those of us wanting to book - but not wanting to go to Tunis. I'm sure a lot of passengers still want to go there but I doubt it will be a good choice even over the next few years :(

 

Loved the rest of the itinerary but I gave up and booked the Harmony of the Seas yesterday :)

[gailjen]

I was just looking at a Google Map and saw that if one was going to cruise from (the port near) Rome to Kotor, Athens or any Eastern Med location, that the ship passes the island of Sicily. At first I just figured the ship would round Siciliy counterclockwise but when I zoomed in I noticed that there was a strait between Messina at the NW corner of Sicily and the very end of the tip of the boot of the Italian mainland which would be a shorter clock-wise sailing.

 

It appears the latter route would shorten a cruise by six or so hours (just guessing). Does anybody know which route Princess uses or favors to go from Rome to anywhere in the Eastern Med and if it's not the Messina route, may I ask why not?

 

Below is an arbitrary map I found of the area to put things into better perspective (and yes, I'm thinking I don't want to sail anywhere NEAR Tunis during Ramadan...).

 

 

We sailed through the Strait of Messina last year on the Regal just before sunset and we saw Dolphins, it was spectacular. Definetly think the straits will be the route.

 

This year we are sailing from Livorno to Malta (originally Tunis ) so going around Sicily, we then go back to Rome and Naples then through the straights to Crete.

[spcl4cs_gal]

The Emerald was supposed to be in Tunis today but is now docked at Salerno, Italy. :)

Edited July 6, 2015 by spcl4cs_gal

[skf]

We went thru the Straits of Messina in 2002 on Golden. I remember being surprised when I went on deck that night and saw a huge tower carrying electrical wires to Sicily. Makes the towers crossing the St. Lawrence River look small.