Which mediterranean Brilliance itinerary to take?

[AWAprincess]

Hey there...Geez...all these countries to choose from. I just want history...romance...sight-seeing...something out of this world and not the normal "caribbean" thing. So...which itinerary do you think is good...from May-Aug on the Brilliance. We are late 20's early 30's. Just the two of us...Any imput ladies and gents???? Help us out...neither of us has been to Europe. I'm looking for pro's and con's...so if you have either...dish out. Meanwhile...I'm going to check the "ports" boards and see what they have in there...

 

Thanks!!!

Traci

[scottie99]

What are the itinery options. Let me know and i will give my 2 pence (or cents) worth. I have done most Med options.

[denmanja]

Traci,

 

My boyfriend and I did the Brilliance from Barcelona to Rome in May. It was fantastic! (By the way, we are both in our mid 20s). I don't know if they still have that itinerary, but you can spend a day pre-cruise in Barcelona, which was a great city. There were only two stops I wasn't in love with - Corsica and Sicily, and it was kind of nice to have a break. (You also spend one day at sea, which is great). The other ports are the French Riviera, Florence/Pisa, and the Italian Riviera. The only downside is ending in Rome, with so much to see, we really missed being pampered like we were on the ship. But you can spend extra days to make sure you don't miss anything. It is a good itinerary with lots of history, sightseeing, and romance!

 

That being said, no matter what you do, you will have a great time. Europe is beautiful.

 

Good luck!

Jennifer

[VacationNut]

For me, it would always be the itinerary which included Dubrovnik - beautiful city.

[kyriecat]

I'm leaving for the Greek Isles cruse on Friday (YEA!!). I chose this itinerary because I have always wanted to see Athens and Rome. I love the ancient history and architecture of the area. Plus Ephesus (another historically facinating city) is included in this itinerary.

 

However, if you are not really into historical sites, I would probably choose the Venice trip. I noticed that you mentioned romance as something you are looking for in a trip. I think an evening gondola ride through the Venice canals would be VERY romantic. Next time I make it the Med (probably another 10 years :( ) I'm going to take the Venice cruise. I love the fact that you get an overnight stay in Venice.

[AWAprincess]

Yea...I knew that both of these itineraries had their +'s and -'s. Here they are:

 

03-Aug Barcelona, Spain 7:00 PM Boarding

 

04-Aug Villefranche (Nice), France 10:00 AM 11:00 PM Tendered

 

05-Aug Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Docked

 

06-Aug Naples, Italy 8:00 AM 8:00 PM Docked

 

07-Aug At Sea

 

08-Aug Venice, Italy 1:00 PM Docked

 

09-Aug Venice, Italy 5:00 PM Docked

 

10-Aug Dubrovnik, Croatia 9:00 AM 6:00 PM Docked

 

11-Aug Corfu, Greece 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Tendered

 

12-Aug At Sea

 

13-Aug Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Docked

 

14-Aug At Sea

 

15-Aug Barcelona, Spain 7:00 AM Departure

 

 

And this one:

 

15-Aug Barcelona, Spain 7:00 PM Boarding

 

16-Aug Villefranche (Nice), France 10:00 AM 11:00 PM Tendered

 

17-Aug Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Docked

 

18-Aug Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Docked

 

19-Aug At Sea

 

20-Aug Mykonos, Greece 1:00 PM 9:00 PM Tendered

 

21-Aug Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey 7:00 AM 8:00 PM Docked

 

22-Aug Santorini, Greece 7:00 AM 6:00 PM Tendered

 

23-Aug Piraeus (Athens), Greece 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Docked

 

24-Aug At Sea

 

25-Aug Naples, Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Docked

 

26-Aug At Sea

 

27-Aug Barcelona, Spain 7:00 AM Departure

 

 

Sorry if it's alot...but I just copied and pasted from RCCL site. Oh and didn't know if I said this before or not...but this will be our 1st time in Europe. So...we're newbie's. I'm even excited and the mear thought of going! We may book this...this weekend when we're on the Sovereign. Does anyone know what the shipboard credit would be for a 12 day?? Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

 

Traci:)

[vacationhappy]

We just went on the Italy/Greek Isle cruise in August on a different cruise line but I would highly receommend the itinerary with Santorini and Mykonos. August is hot however there is a comfortable breeze in the Greek Isles and it breaks up the sightseeing just a bit. IMHO, Santorini is one of the most beautiful and romantic places on earth - don't miss Oia (a village on Santorini) - to die for!

[truffles2]

I would vote for the second itinerary with Mykonos and the Greek Islands....and Ephesus is outstanding!

[cruise'n]

We went on the cruise that went to Venice and loved it. I think Venice was one of my favorite ports and Dubrovnik was so beautiful and nice! I'm sure you cannot go wrong with either cruise. Enjoy!

[WeBeCruisin']

We've done both itineraries on RCCL and they're both great. In 2001, we were on the Legend for 12 days and loved Venice. Dubrovnik was very nice, also. This past summer we were on the Brilliance for 12 days, but didn't get to make it to Mykonos or to Kusadasi, Turkey, which were a large part of why we took that itinerary. Athens was interesting but very hot and a long climb to the top of the Acropolis and the Turkish ports can be cancelled with little or no notice due to the political situations in the middle east.

 

There are so many ports and so much to see in the Mediterranean that, if you can possibly swing it, you need two or three trips to "do the Med" properly. This was our fifth European cruise, but there is still so much to see and do. We've also done the 14-day Baltics on Constellation, and a 12-day British Isles, Amsterdam and Paris on the Splendour, and a 7-day trip on Sea Dream, which was supposed to include Casablanca, which was cancelled for political reasons. Since the SeaDream was such a small ship (4,000 tons) they substituted a trip up the river to Seville, Spain, which was very nice, but NOT Casablanca. :(

 

If you have to choose just one, I'd probably recommend an itinerary which includes Rome, Naples, the French Riviera and Monaco, and Venice. If you take a tour of the Amalfi coast, or Capri, you'll see scenery and villages which are not all that different from the Greek Isles, except for some of the architecture and the blue-roofed buildings.

 

The bottom line is that you'll love any Mediterranean itinerary. It's a fantastic area of our world.

 

Allen

[Host Karen]

I'll put in our vote for the Greek Isles itinerary. We did it this past June and enjoyed the best vacation of our lives -- despite the fact that several nights we were exhausted from all the sightseeing! I wrote a review of our BOS trip if you want more information on the ports. It was a fleshed out version of the log I posted every few days here on the boards. Click here to access it.

 

We definitely want to sail the Venice itinerary, probably in 2007, but we haven't decided on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity.

[QueensChick]

I just returned a week ago from this itinerary. It was outstanding! Florence, Pisa, Rome, Athens, Pompeii, Ephesus... wow! The history was overwhelming, the sights beautiful and awe inspiring.

The Greek isles of Mykonos and Santorini will take your breath away.

For romance... you can't beat the island of Capri (Naples).

I was sorry not to get to Venice, but it just gives me an excuse to return.

Whichever itinerary you choose, it will be the cruise of a lifetime. Enjoy! :)