1st cruise to italy

[Sandi07054]

Looking for a cruise for me and my 30 yr daughter

Would definitely like Rome in beginning or end so I can stay a few extra days

Want to go in 2017.

Thank you

[wheezedr]

Kind of an open ended question. You ought to supply a little more info. How long would you like to cruise, other ports you would like to visit while on the ship, does size of the ship matter,. For instance I just got off the Royal Princess on a 21 day loop Athens to Athens. During that cruise and at least this summer that ship stops on Saturday in either Athens, Rome or Barcelona and passengers embark and debark at all three. Thus there were 1,2,3, and 4 week cruisers. But for your interest Rome was both an embarkation and debarkation point. Thus we met folks who started or ended there. A classic combination would put Rome at one end of the cruise and perhaps Athens or Barcelona at the other.

Also recognize that multiple lines, Princess, HAL, Celebrity, etc cruise the med.

suggest you start with how long and when you want to cruise, then cone down on an area, eastern versus western med and finally focus on which lines satisfy your needs. Depending on budget you can also check some of the more upscale lines.

As an example part of my decision was a desire to visit Istanbul and ironically we may be among the last cruisers in this year.

Good luck on your planning.

[TLCOhio]

Looking for a cruise for me and my 30 yr daughter. Would definitely like Rome in beginning or end so I can stay a few extra days. Want to go in 2017.

 

You have been given some excellent responses and questions from wheezedr. Your options are many, many!! Your time length window available and the size of cruise ship/budget affects your potentials in a significant manner. As detailed below in my live/blog below, we did lots around Italy and the Croatian coast from Barcelona, which is a handier port with its shorter distances/timing than the options in Rome would provide. Clearly Rome is a super great, historic city, but things are not as handy/easy there given the locations for their port, airport and that major, sprawling/confusing city.

 

Tell us more! How much are you interested in history, nature, shopping, culture, museums, architecture, wildlife, music, art, etc.? What have been your past Europe travel experiences? How much on this trip would be about the ship versus the ports as your personal priorities?

 

Clearly you can focus more on great stops in and around Italy, including going to Venice and back. Or, including the amazing Croatian coast with such locations as Dubrovnik and Kotor? Or, farther to Spain, Greece, Turkey, Israeli, etc.??

 

Below are some of my past visuals and options for potentials that you could experience in these great areas. Look forward to hearing more specifics from you.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 214,281 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

In Dubrovnik, we started with a local cab driver who gave us a “panoramic tour”, including crossing this unique bridge near the main cruise ship docking area. Then we drove up and up through narrow twisting roads to the high point overlooking Dubrovnik and near the cable car high station. From this point, we could also see part of Bosnia and and Montenegro. The “super star” view was down below with this angle of the harbor and walled city. Beautiful!!!:

 

 

 

Don’t miss the sail-in and/or sail-out for Venice. This was our view from the top of the ship as we approached the historic center of Venice. On a beautiful day, as we enjoyed, this is so spectacular!!!:

 

 

 

In front of the Accademia Art Museum in Venice, here is an artist on that wooden bridge over the Grand Canal making a painting. Lots of such great views can be experienced all over this historic city.:

 

 

 

This is the dramatic front view of St. Peter’s and the Square with the beautiful sky over this historic setting on June 10, 2011, during our visit and doing the Scavi tour under the Vatican in Rome. This dramatic Cathedral is the world's largest!:

 

 

 

It was a big “WOW” for our first visit to Pisa. This tower is much taller than I expected. They just completed a major cleaning of it a few weeks earlier in the spring, making things perfect, except for that little foundation problem with one tower. Also impressive here are the Pisa Baptistry and Duomo (main) church. Pisa has a couple of major universities here. There is another church here that also also a learning (and shorter) tower. We drove by that site. Two leaning towers in Pisa! How many knew that?:

 

 

 

Overlooking Positano along the Amalfi Coast, this is the view as we dined, family-style for lunch, at La Tagliata during our private tour for our small group through RomeInLimo. The views here were super and the sun came out in strong force as we enjoyed our three-course lunch with local wine and drinks. Their website is http://www.latagliata.com.:

 

[ducklite]

Your budget is the #1 factor. Would suggest a small ship. It was depressing watching tender after tender of people trying to get off a large ship in Santorini--by the time the last people got off they might have had an hour total in port. Considering we could have put everyone in the ship we were on ashore in three tenders, there was no waiting and no lines.

[b_cruise]

Wow, awesome pics!!

 

My first cruise was on royal Caribbean. It was great. Then I used carnival and ncl. I have looked at celebrity holland and princess but I find their rates more money. I cruise the med for the ports and not just the ship so I look for the ports first and the price.

 

Look for private tours too as the ships tours are usually more money. There are lots of good companies recommended on here.

 

Personally since carnival is not offering 2017 yet, I would recommend ncl and for tours get on your roll call and I have used RIL and italytoursharing.com and smartcruisetours. I recommend italytoursharing.com

 

Also look for perks like prepaid gratuities or if u like a drink package ncl usually offers this too. Planning is a lot of fun!! A lot of times z good TA will offer u more than booking direct with the cruise line. Last year through a ta, I saved $300 pp.

[Sandi07054]

Thanks everyone

 

My cruise budget is around 1500 per person. Not including airfare and excursions. We definitely do not want Norwegian or Carnival. We like good food Two definite ports are Rome and Barcelona. We have never been to Europe. We realize we are only getting a taste of these cities. Thanks girl any additional help

[ducklite]

With that budget you are pretty much stuck with Royal Caribbean, MSC, maybe HAL, maybe Celebrity in a small inside cabin. Not sure you will get "good food" on any of those...

 

Rome to Barcelona is a common itinerary and most if not all of those lines will offer it.

Edited July 3, 2016 by ducklite

[Sandi07054]

Thx

[rosepetals]

Looking for a cruise for me and my 30 yr daughter

Would definitely like Rome in beginning or end so I can stay a few extra days

Want to go in 2017.

Thank you

There are some lovely 7-9 day Celebrity cruises you could consider that start or end in Rome where you could tack on extra days to visit. Some start in Venice (a beautiful city to depart from, and end in Rome. The S-class ships are really nice and the food is very good. If you are willing to stay in an inside stateroom then you can probably make your budget. You should consider contacting one of the larger TA's that can offer you some extra perks, like Prepaid Gratuities or Beverage Package or OBC. Good luck!

[TLCOhio]

Wow, awesome pics!!

 

Sandi07054: My cruise budget is around 1500 per person. Not including airfare and excursions. We definitely do not want Norwegian or Carnival. We like good food Two definite ports are Rome and Barcelona. We have never been to Europe. We realize we are only getting a taste of these cities. Thanks girl any additional help

 

rosepetals: There are some lovely 7-9 day Celebrity cruises you could consider that start or end in Rome where you could tack on extra days to visit. Some start in Venice (a beautiful city to depart from' date=' and end in Rome.[/quote']

 

Appreciate this added information and the nice comment on my pictures. The credit goes to these great, scenic, historic areas of Europe. This area is very different from many spots in the Caribbean.

 

Your budget range could be rather tight. Much might depend on your timing. When are you planning to travel? There are some timings in May or early June, maybe later September or early October where maybe you can find some better pricing.

 

Good food? There are always debates and varied opinions for how good is "good?". Food opinions can be very personal.

 

If you can start in one city, such as Barcelona and then finish in a location such as Venice or Rome, that allows added flexibility to do more in such locations with so many great potential to see, explore and enjoy. See many more details below on Venice. Keep it flowing with the good questions and info needs.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

If Venice is one of your future desires or past favorites, look at this earlier posting for many options and visual samples this city that is so great for "walking around", personally seeing its great history and architecture. This posting is now at 61,135 views.

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

[mapleleaves]

There are no short cuts; you'll have to do research just like the rest of us.

 

I wanted to start or end in Venice so that eliminated a number of ships.

 

After that I looked at itineraries ..... I didn't want multiple sea days and I wanted to go to ports that supported my interests. I also looked at port times; you want to be in port long enough and at the right time of day for planned activities. Food and entertainment weren't a priority.

 

After that, I read dozens of MEMBER REVIEWS. When you read enough of them you find common threads, like which lines have the most complaints about heavy smokers.

 

There are books specific to Med cruises. Rick Steves and Ann Vipond are 2 that come to mind. Order them from your library. Lots of useful info. I brought the book with me .... good reading on the plane and it was a great resource at any port in case I needed a back up plan.