Seeking Advice for 1st Time Cruise - Mediterranean (September 2016)

[Langley Cruisers]

...I have no idea where to begin as far as booking which hotels in Europe, obtaining transportation, how to get around in each city, etc. Has anyone here planned and experienced these kinds of Europe land vacations?

 

Well, now I am confused as you seem to have changed your mind from your earlier post:

 

However, we both have fallen in love with the idea of being able to see 15 or so different cities of Europe in one vacation. We want an extended honeymoon to just relax and enjoy before adjusting to married life and I think a cruise is a better option for this instead of a) booking multiple hotels and traveling through Europe (or anywhere else) on our own, or b) staying at one all-inclusive resort and possibly becoming bored of the same locale.

 

Don't forget that you are getting married! heehee... That in itself is a lot of preparation, planning, work, and stress. I would hate to see the honeymoon trip become that too.

 

I truly think you both need to decide what kind of honeymoon you want to have. A cruise - to the Caribbean, and yes I'm serious - is the most relaxing vacation I can think of. The Med, Alaska, some other itineraries are all very, very busy. Relaxing in the Caribbean sun after a stressful wedding sounds like heaven to me.

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[cruisingamateur]

Yes, I know it does seem like I've changed my mind. Well, I would just say that the honeymoon is evolving. Initially, my fiancée and I loved the idea of being on a cruise for an extended vacation, not having to worry about where to stay each night, where to eat, etc. The only thing we'd have to do is figure out what to do at each port of call.

 

However, after posting on here and discussing it with various people, I've been convinced that we'd miss out on the European experience if we only visited each port city for a half-day. Can you really experience Rome or Venice or Athens or Monaco in 6-12 hours? And it got me thinking that if we're going to be in Europe, why not make the most of it and spend more time in each place to explore? It's not like I'm going to be visiting Europe that often.

 

So, this is where we stand as of now: we're undecided between 1) a 24-night Mediterranean cruise on HAL or 2) a combo 12-night cruise (I found one on RCI from Barcelona departing 9/23) and maybe 12 nights in Europe.

 

If we choose option 2, I think ideally we would do the land vacation first so that we can relax more on the cruise portion without it being as hectic. I haven't delved into the details but I reason we could fly into London maybe on the 12th, spend 3 days there, then fly to Paris, spend 3 days, then train/fly to undecided European city, spend 3 days, then train/fly to Barcelona for 2 days before boarding the cruise for 12 nights, returning to Barcelona and flying home.

 

Currently, we're still trying to decide which cities we'd like to visit so that we can do a more in-depth cost analysis (hotels, flights/train rides, meals, entertainment, miscellaneous expenses). If you have recommendations for must-visit European cities, please share :)

 

If anyone has done something like this before or can provide firsthand tips that would help us make a decision, I greatly appreciate it. I may not be covering everything, that's why I'm posting here. I do not want to be naïve and book a vacation without knowing what I'm getting into.

 

Langley Cruisers, we've considered a Caribbean cruise but nixed that idea because 1) we want to take an extended honeymoon (~3 weeks), 2) even if they do offer 3-week Caribbean cruises, I imagine we'd get very bored of beaches every single day (a few hours lounging on the beach is nice, but anything more and I'll want to do something else), and 3) it's more economical to take a 7-10 night cruise to the Caribbean or Mexico and we can do that another time.

 

Thank you to all who have contributed so far, you've been more than helpful! I WILL plan this honeymoon...eventually haha

[italia103]

Just thought I'd weigh in because it sounds like you might be leaning toward a trip that is exactly the kind of adventure my DH and I have done four times in the last seven years. It took me fifty-five years to get to Italy and we are now planning our fifth trip back to the Med so we definitely have started to get this down to a science.

 

If I were you, I would look for an itinerary that goes Venice/Rome or Barcelona/Rome. Our first trip was the former and we used Trip Advisor to find hotels in both cities before and after the cruise and used booking.com to reserve them since you don't have to pay in advance (for most). In between, we got to see a little Croatia, Greece and Italy. I agree with other posters that the Rick Steves' Mediterranean Port Guide is a must if you are planning the land portion of your trip. He is so specific in his directions, tips, and advice that it is almost impossible to mess it up! (And no, he doesn't pay me to say this.)

 

If you have 3-5 days before embarkation, 10-12 nights on the cruise, and 3-5 days after your cruise is over, you will have an amazing opportunity to really see a couple of cities and get glimpses of other places you might want to return to someday. It's easy to see train schedules on a site like trenitalia.com (Italy). Trains in Europe are frequent and reasonable and super romantic but it is tiring schlepping luggage up and down platforms (and often stairs so pack light if you are going to have any land adventures).

 

As for cruising, we are partial to Celebrity. They offer a great cruise product at a fair price and usually offer a couple of nice perks to go with it. Demographic skews younger than HAL, food is great and the cabins are well-designed. Go with the balcony. You won't regret it. If you want to get a great price, you can always go with a guaranteed balcony or concierge class which are always great deals but you don't get to choose your cabin. In that case I'd go with either Concierge or above since there's very few obstructed view cabins in those categories.

 

Sorry this has been so long but I always get excited at the chance to share my love of cruising with someone who hasn't experienced it yet. Our trips have each been trips of a lifetime. Yes, it took a little planning but your friends on CC and other websites make it pretty easy to DIY. If we can do it, anyone can!

[cruisingamateur]

Just thought I'd share that we've decided on our cruise and chose the Celebrity Reflection 9/19 departure. We got an amazing deal for a guaranteed balcony. I know there's a very good chance it'll be a partially obstructed view with lifeboats but we can deal with that.

 

I want to thank everyone who replied and provided valuable information that helped us make our decision. We chose the shorter Med cruise and are going to add some Europe days pre and post-cruise. So far, we'll start by flying into London and spending 3 nights there and we also know we want to spend 3 nights in Paris. Since the cruise starts/ends in Rome, we might also do one night there. We're undecided about the last city. The fiancée is saying Florence...

 

I'll be perusing the other forums on here to find out what to do in each port and maybe partner up with other cruisers to take advantage of some shore excursions.

[Langley Cruisers]

Just thought I'd share that we've decided on our cruise and chose the Celebrity Reflection 9/19 departure.....

We're undecided about the last city. The fiancée is saying Florence...

 

Awesome! You will like Celebrity and I'm glad you chose them (sorry HAL loyals :) ).

 

If you go to Florence, you must then go to Pisa. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was one of the most magnificent things I have ever seen in my life. Many people say it is just a silly tourist trap (and vendors there abound, that's true!) but you see pictures of it all your life and then when you finally see it in person, well, it's just phenomenal. Florence is wonderful, a city filled with history and amazing architecture.

 

I see you have already posted on your Roll Call, that's good. That is where you can discuss excursions and it's the only place we are permitted to discuss tour sharing.

 

Also, here is the link to the general Celebrity board:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=28

 

Have fun planning!

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