Mediterranean Greek Isle/Venice...Which would you choose?

[stowite]

Count me in as another person that feels that sailing into and out of Venice is not to be missed.

 

I was on a similar itinerary 2 years ago and loved it. Ravenna was the surprise jewel on the itinerary for me. Everyplace else we went was great but most of the places that surpassed Ravenna were places I was expecting to be amazing ( like Venice, Rome, Florence, and for us Amalfi coast). I had never heard of Ravenna before but the mosaic artwork in the various churches there was incredible. If you are worried about being churched and arted out from the rest of the trip, my husband took a tour of the Ferrari museum as a change of pace instead of seeing the mosaics in Ravenna.

[Virtopia]

Are you able to combine any time in Venice before the cruise leaves?

 

I'll be doing my first Mediterranean cruise in September but will be going in 4 days pre cruise and staying 2 days post cruise. I'll cover Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan and Lake Como during my pre and post cruise days and the cruise covers 4 Greece stops, Croatia and Montenegro.

 

I've read a lot about the sail in and out in Venice, so I knew my cruise had to start there. The Brilliance 12 night sailing I was previously booked on was leaving from Barcelona. Even though that's a cruise I'll have to do in the future, I wanted my first experience of a Mediterranean cruise to be from Italy since it's the #1 country on my bucket list, followed by Greece :) killing 2 birds with one stone!

Edited April 25, 2016 by Virtopia

[jdc2204]

My wife and I did the only 8 night cruise out of Venice that RCI last year on the then Splendour of the seas. (No longer in the fleet). We flew in two nights post cruise to Venice. Se saw every thing we want to see there. Burano, Murano. You can truly get lost in Venice. On the Cruise we visited Croatia, Corfu, Santorini, AThens, Turkey, Katacolon, Oympus. One small problem. it was in late July. Hot but not too hot. All in all a very good itinerary. Great cruise. I think RCI only does one 8 night cruise per season and we took it. Check June or July.

[SPacificbound]

Itinerary one :)

[cruisingbajan]

Thanks everyone for all the input.

 

You have certainly given me quite a bit to pondered and some fresh ideas on how to approach this trip.

 

I had not given much thought to my pre cruise plans but will now give that some serious thought.

 

Keep the ideas and advice coming guys:D

[cruisingbajan]

Thanks everyone for all the input.

 

You have certainly given me quite a bit to pondered and some fresh ideas on how to approach this trip.

 

I had not given much thought to my pre cruise plans but will now give that some serious thought.

 

Keep the ideas and advice coming guys:D

[jd99]

We have done a few Med itineraries - all on Disney. We have two favorites by far.

 

1. Out of Venice to Athens, Ephesus, Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos, Santorini, Malta and ended up in Barcelona.

2. Out of Barcelona to Malta, Tunisia, Rome, Florence, Naples, Villefrance and Corsica.

 

Sailing out of Venice was amazing. I want to do that again for sure. We loved the Greek Islands a great deal (we have relatives in Greece and have been to some places) but getting to see Santorni was worth the price of the cruise.

 

The other sailing listed was our first ever in Europe and thus i think it makes it even more special. We did more "history" on this sailing and more beach stuff on the Greek sailing.

 

I would go back and do either one in a second. We have been exclusively Disney cruisers (20X) until our upcoming Allure sailing. I am praying we all love it so that we can begin looking at some of the Med itineraries on Royal since the pricing is so much more reasonable than DCL.

[KiwiGal117]

In 2013 we did a 6 day Splendour out of Venice - as everyone else has said, it was spectacular! We went to Kotor, Corfu, Kefalonia (a last minute change due to a general strike in Athens on the day we were meant to be there) and Dubrovnik. Kefalonia is our new favourite place in the world, and we're dying to go back. The sailaway from Venice was truly special, and the other locations were spectacular as well. I'd definitely do that route again. We are doing a Western itinerary this summer and tacking on a week and a half land vacation to justify the airfare; starting in Venice, and ending up in Rome where we will pick up the Harmony of the Seas in Civi. So another enthusiastic vote for Itinerary A.

[Bette And Bill]

Hi Guys,

 

My wife and I arfe going through our bucket list cruises and this is near(if not at) the top of the list.

 

Looking at the itineraries it is extremely hard for us to choose (We may end up doing both eventually:)) but for now we have to pick one:rolleyes:.

 

I am leaning towards the Greek Isle Itinerary because it technically takes you to more countries...on the other hand however we have always wanted to visit Italy(Venice in particular)even before we discovered cruising on a land vacation.

 

Which would you choose and why?

 

For those who already have done either or both, what did you enjoy most about the places you visited.

 

Thanks in advance guys.

 

We just booked the Brilliance for Oct 2017, as it will over night in Venice. Venice has been on my bucket list for a while and I wanted to do it before we can no longer sail in and out of the city. We follow that cruise with one that does stop in Greece (Athens and Santorini). Maybe the best of both worlds. Have fun deciding.

[tonkie]

We are on the Vision in September from Venice and going to the Greek Islands

 

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/7NightGreekIslesCruise-VI07M322?currencyCode=USD&sCruiseType=CO&sDateMin=2016-09-01&sDateMax=2016-09-30&sailDate=09%2F10%2F2016

 

2 birds with the one stone :-)

Edited April 25, 2016 by tonkie

[Krazy4Kruisin']

Two years ago we went on Royal from Venice to Croatia. Turkey, and two Greek islands: Santorini and Katacolon.

 

We flew into Venice two days early and fell in love with the city. Our next favorite on the trip was Santorini.

 

Great itinerary, and I agree with Bob that they may limit large cruise ship in Venice in the future.

 

We did the same thing in 2008. We flew into Venice a few days early, then sailed from there to Dubrovnik (Croatia), then Ephesus (Turkey), then Santorini and Corfu (Greece). We loved doing it this way. In fact, when we did the Western Med, we flew into Barcelona a few days early and the same thing when we did Alaska cruise, flying into Vancouver early.

[bluebeard39]

Had we not been to Venice I would have taken the one to Venice but I wanted to see Athens and Santorini so we did the Greek Isles on Serenade of The Seas June 2013 and we loved the cruise. We went from Barcelona to Cannes France, Florence, Rome, Athens, Ephesus, Santorini and Naples then back to Barcelona.

[ltdmcc]

We also wanted to do both so found with Holland a 24 day - not expensive- that goes from Barcelona, does Greece and Italy --- so we are going to get it all!

[CatMom7]

We have done both the 12 day Venice itinerary from Barcelona on Brilliance and the 12 day Greek isles itinerary from Barcelona on Serenade. We loved both cruises, but if this is your first Med cruise, I would definitely choose the Venice itinerary with the overnight in Venice. The sail into Venice is spectacular and not to be missed, but this may no longer be possible in the next few years. It was a great opportunity to have an evening there to wander around after most of the day tourists have left.

 

You can't really make a wrong decision in picking between these two itineraries. I would suggest arriving at least 2 or 3 days in advance of the cruise to tour Barcelona and get acclimated to the time difference. I can also recommend going in either May, September, or October - it wasn't too hot and the crowds were not as bad. Happy planning!

[Waterworld11]

Venice-Hands Down. I flew into Venice from Toronto and spent 2 days prior to my b-b last Oct.-Nov. on the Splendour. Such a beautiful city. But the Greek isles are also majestic. Croatia is bubbling over with history. One day in Ephesus,

Turkey is just barely adequate to take in it's ancient surroundings.

You have such a difficult decision to make, but no matter where you travel to

In this world you will come home with amazing memories.

Enjoy where ever you go!

 

Marilyn D+. Yes, I agree the fall is a wonderful time to visit the Adriatic!

Edited April 25, 2016 by Waterworld11

[F19810]

I have been on 4 Med cruises and have been on many land vacations to Europe. My favorite city in the world is Venice. Any cruise that goes there would be my choice. Having said that, you can't go wrong with either cruise. If you like ancient history then Ephesus and Athens is a must. I know, not much help!

Judy

[cruisingbajan]

Decisions...decisions:)

 

Not a bad predicament to be in based on the info provided;).

[JimAOk1945]

What a wonderful dilemma! I vote for the itinerary that includes Venice. A cruise is a great way to celebrate your anniversary! What could be more romantic than Venice! :D

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I had a similar debate with myself last year - a couple of differences (no Dubrovnik and docking in Salerno not Naples) on the mainly Italy one, but both on the Brilliance.

 

As here, everyone advised me that Venice is not to be missed.

 

I REALLY want to go to Greece, but even before all the recent stuff, Turkey has NEVER been on a list of "must visit" places (and not being Roman Catholic, Mary is not all that and a bag of chips to me, so "her house" has zero interest for me - that was the big selling point everyone who pushed that itinerary spoke of).

 

So ultimately I decided on essentially your Option A and embark in 25 days!! CANNOT WAIT!!!!!

 

One of these days maybe I'll find a cruise to Greece that doesn't include Turkey...

[cruisingbajan]

I had a similar debate with myself last year - a couple of differences (no Dubrovnik and docking in Salerno not Naples) on the mainly Italy one, but both on the Brilliance.

 

As here, everyone advised me that Venice is not to be missed.

 

I REALLY want to go to Greece, but even before all the recent stuff, Turkey has NEVER been on a list of "must visit" places (and not being Roman Catholic, Mary is not all that and a bag of chips to me, so "her house" has zero interest for me - that was the big selling point everyone who pushed that itinerary spoke of).

 

So ultimately I decided on essentially your Option A and embark in 25 days!! CANNOT WAIT!!!!!

 

One of these days maybe I'll find a cruise to Greece that doesn't include Turkey...

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

 

Be sure to come back and let me know how it was:).

[Hoopster95]

So ultimately I decided on essentially your Option A and embark in 25 days!! CANNOT WAIT!!!!!

 

Fan-freakin-tastic!!!!!! :D You are going to have an AMAZING cruise.

If you're trying to decide where to stand on Venice sail-in, try deck 12 sailing into Venice, outside deck right outside of the gym, starboard side corner (port side for sail-away) so that you can see forward over the helipad and beyond, but also to the side as you go by St. Marks.... or simply the helipad, right up front (but you have to get there early as space on the rails fills very early).

 

Have an awesome cruise :D

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

 

Be sure to come back and let me know how it was:).

 

Will do!! I probably am not getting internet, but will do a full update when I get back! :)

[Virtopia]

Fan-freakin-tastic!!!!!! :D You are going to have an AMAZING cruise.

 

If you're trying to decide where to stand on Venice sail-in, try deck 12 sailing into Venice, outside deck right outside of the gym, starboard side corner (port side for sail-away) so that you can see forward over the helipad and beyond, but also to the side as you go by St. Marks.... or simply the helipad, right up front (but you have to get there early as space on the rails fills very early).

 

 

 

Have an awesome cruise :D

 

 

I'll be on the Rhapsody in September, sailing in and out of Venice as well. Any suggestions on where the best spot would be to watch sail away?

[Hoopster95]

I'll be on the Rhapsody in September, sailing in and out of Venice as well. Any suggestions on where the best spot would be to watch sail away?

 

Sail-away should be your #1 focus as sail-in will be super early. When I sailed in on Voyager a few years back, sail-in was supposed to be at 6:30am... well, I got up at 6 and went quickly upstairs from my interior cabin... we were already docked :mad:. So sailing into Venice when it's your homeport is much like all other ports, more often than not you get there early. I estimated that we likely sailed by St Mark's at around 5:30-5:45am.

 

No helipad on Rhapsody so 1st choice for me by a mile would be deck 10 forward port side. This is the only fully forward view facing external deck so I'm only guessing the rails will be packed after muster! 2nd choice would be on any railing port side deck 10 (jogging track upper deck)

[Virtopia]

Sail-away should be your #1 focus as sail-in will be super early. When I sailed in on Voyager a few years back, sail-in was supposed to be at 6:30am... well, I got up at 6 and went quickly upstairs from my interior cabin... we were already docked :mad:. So sailing into Venice when it's your homeport is much like all other ports, more often than not you get there early. I estimated that we likely sailed by St Mark's at around 5:30-5:45am.

 

 

 

No helipad on Rhapsody so 1st choice for me by a mile would be deck 10 forward port side. This is the only fully forward view facing external deck so I'm only guessing the rails will be packed after muster! 2nd choice would be on any railing port side deck 10 (jogging track upper deck)

 

 

Thank you!! I've made a note to get there promptly after muster.