Which Mediterranean ports & ship for anniv trip?

[mediaase]

Considering a Mediterranean cruise for a wedding anniversary trip and wondering which Greek itenerary you would recommend. Ports you suggest as well as the ones you wouldn't' suggest.

 

Also, which ship would you recommend for it?

 

 

We've only done Caribbean cruises and have never been to the Mediterranean, so we're open to all suggestions.

 

 

Thanks in advance!

[Biker19]

Any ship out of Venice - go early (May) or late (Sept) to avoid crowds, heat and high prices.

[voyager70]

Since you've only done Caribbean cruises any Med cruise would be memorable. I personally would recommend one of the 12 night sailings out of Barcelona including Venice or the Greek Isles.

[Sweetsue5680]

I've booked Vision of the Seas October 5, 2018 from Barcelona. 13 night Itinerary looks terrific - check it out!

[luv2travel06]

Since you've only done Caribbean cruises any Med cruise would be memorable. I personally would recommend one of the 12 night sailings out of Barcelona including Venice or the Greek Isles.

 

 

We are planning a Med cruise next year for our anniversary as well, having never been to Europe.

 

We are maybe looking for something that sails between Barcelona and Venice.

 

 

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[Hoopster95]

C

1. which Greek itenerary you would recommend.
   
2. Ports you suggest as well as the ones you wouldn't' suggest.
   
3. Also, which ship would you recommend for it?
   

never been to the Mediterranean!

 

1. Question for you OP.... are you dead set on Royal Caribbean? Or are you willing to look at another equivalent cruise line?

 

2. Greek's best are Santorini, Mykonos, Athens and Rhodes. Corfu is just ok. Crete I can do without.

 

3. Definitely a smaller ship (not too small) and with decent amenities. Both Vision and Radiance Class are perfect sizes for the Med.

 

 

Most important question OP is regarding what I've hilighted.... you've never been to the Med.... are you dead set on Greece? If so that's cool, however only Santorini for me falls into the top 10 ports/cities in the Med to visit. And what time of year are you planning?

[mediaase]

1. Question for you OP.... are you dead set on Royal Caribbean? Or are you willing to look at another equivalent cruise line?

 

2. Greek's best are Santorini, Mykonos, Athens and Rhodes. Corfu is just ok. Crete I can do without.

 

3. Definitely a smaller ship (not too small) and with decent amenities. Both Vision and Radiance Class are perfect sizes for the Med.

 

 

Most important question OP is regarding what I've hilighted.... you've never been to the Med.... are you dead set on Greece? If so that's cool, however only Santorini for me falls into the top 10 ports/cities in the Med to visit. And what time of year are you planning?

 

Great stuff! Thank you!

 

As for being dead set on RC...I'd "prefer" RC simply to rack up some C&A points since we'll likely book a suite. That's pretty much the ONLY reason we'd choose RC in Europe.

 

The wife has always wanted to see Santorini, so we'll likely pick an itinerary that includes it.

 

We'll probably do a spring trip, so late April/Early May is what we're considering based on what we've heard so far.

 

Thanks ALL for the tips so far...very helpful!

[Hoopster95]

1. I'd "prefer" RC
   
2. The wife has always wanted to see Santorini,
   
3. late April/Early May is what we're considering
   

Thanks ALL for the tips so far...very helpful!

 

You're welcome :)

 

Best bang for your buck = Jewel 10 day - May 20th

pros:

• awesome ship
  
• here you can see most all the important parts of Greece + Ephesus + Naples.
  
• Easy international flights to/from Rome
  
• You can stay in Rome pre or post cruise, an absolute must do.
  

A shorter cruise with 3 of the top 5 ports ever in the Med = Rhapsody May 26 - 7 day sailing

• Venice!!!!! #1, #2 and #3 port to sail in/sail out of in pretty much the entire world let alone the Med
  
• Dubrovnik and Kotor in my personal top 5 ports in the Med to visit, utterly beautiful
  
• Plus you get Santorini as you require
  

One of the best itineraries I can see around that time = Celebrity Reflection Airl 27 + May 18

pros: top 4 ports in Greece + Malta (another top 5 port for me)

cons: no Venice

 

If for whatever reason you end up not choosing Santorini as a must do, look at Vision's sailing on May 26 of Barcelona;

pros: long days in port to explore, overnight in Venice!!!!, easy flights to/from Barcelona.

Maybe after this cruise you can fly over to Santorini and stay on the island for a few days??

 

Of the above four, and considering your top criteria (1st time to Europe, Santorini is #1 must), I would pick the first option with Jewel. You get to knock off most of Greece so that you can come back to the Med next year and do Venice/Croatia/Kotor/etc! Whatever you choose you are going to have an awesome cruise!!!

 

edit: forgot to mention, if you choose the Jewel cruise, you can easily choose and plan to take your wife to Venice for 2-3 days via the bullet train (3.5 hours). Now that's a romantic anniversary!

 

 

(Btw, I'll be reviewing my Greece + Med sailings on Jewel in Sept here on CC so keep on the lookout)

Edited June 12, 2017 by Hoopster95

[easyboy]

A shorter cruise with 3 of the top 5 ports ever in the Med = Rhapsody May 26 - 7 day sailing

 

• Venice!!!!! #1, #2 and #3 port to sail in/sail out of in pretty much the entire world let alone the Med
  
• Dubrovnik and Kotor in my personal top 5 ports in the Med to visit, utterly beautiful
  
• Plus you get Santorini as you require
  

Been to these ports and would not hesitate to do it again.

[Merly]

Med cruises are great. Santorini is fab, ( you can do a trip yourself very easily and for much less than Royal charge, check it out). Mykonos is also lovely. Athens, you dock in Piraeus, which is the port and have to take a trip of some sort to get into Athens. You can get a local bus I believe, but I have never done it. Rome, what can I say, fabulous, so much to see but a long way from Civitavecchia, the cruise port. Naples is great for getting to see other places such as Santorini, you can jump on the ferry, Capri the same, jump on the train for Pompei or Herculaneum. Barcelona a great city with so much to see. Have a fab time whichever you choose, just do lots of research.

[Biker19]

a shorter cruise with 3 of the top 5 ports ever in the med = rhapsody may 26 - 7 day sailing

• venice!!!!! #1, #2 and #3 port to sail in/sail out of in pretty much the entire world let alone the med
  
• dubrovnik and kotor in my personal top 5 ports in the med to visit, utterly beautiful
  
• plus you get santorini as you require

+1.

[Merly]

+1.

Yep, forgot about Dubrovnik and Kotor, also Split.

Just so many lovely places to choose from.

[Biker19]

^ for different reasons, Kotor sail in/out just as memorable as Venice.

[krisko]

I'm doing Jewel 7nt (out of Rome) Greek Isles (santorini, mykonos, athens, katakolon) next week and everybody I've talked says it will be an amazing cruise. We're getting there 4 days early and going to Amalfi Coast just south of Naples. Then two days in Rome after the cruise.

 

Amalfi would be a fine place to go for anniversary. You could also consider Tuscany (wine country!), Venice, Lake Como, or the Cinque Terre before or after the cruise. Since it's an anniversary, I'd pop for a suite of some kind if it's affordable.

 

Have fun!

[voyager70]

I'm doing Jewel 7nt (out of Rome) Greek Isles (santorini, mykonos, athens, katakolon) next week and everybody I've talked says it will be an amazing cruise. We're getting there 4 days early and going to Amalfi Coast just south of Naples. Then two days in Rome after the cruise.

 

Amalfi would be a fine place to go for anniversary. You could also consider Tuscany (wine country!), Venice, Lake Como, or the Cinque Terre before or after the cruise. Since it's an anniversary, I'd pop for a suite of some kind if it's affordable.

 

Have fun!

 

That sounds like an amazing trip. Have a great time!

[nelblu]

I've done 3 12 niter Mediterranean out of Barcelona on both Serenade & Brilliance. Also, have an upcoming Brilliance cruise with the same itinerary which includes Venice. IMO, this is the best of the Medit. cruises. The Brilliance class is the largest allowed in Venice and it's the most memorable entrance of any ports. Sailing in on the canal is simply breathtaking.

 

Other stops on this itinerary are, Nice/Villefranche, Livorno/Pisa/Florence, Civitavecchia/Rome, Salerno/Naples, Venice, Ravenna/Bologna & Kotor. The beauty of this itinerary is no VAT as Kotor (Montenegro) is not part of the EU.

[jamesr3939]

Wow that's a hard question to answer. An excursion to Rome is obviously a must do. A few of my fav ports were Malta and Toulon France. We just walked around in both ports. Toulon was special as we were there on Sunday and most of the shops were close, but there was a huge farmers market set up on the street. We bought some food from a few stalls, wine from a wine shop, and sat under a tree and ate.

[notoryous]

1. Question for you OP.... are you dead set on Royal Caribbean? Or are you willing to look at another equivalent cruise line?

 

2. Greek's best are Santorini, Mykonos, Athens and Rhodes. Corfu is just ok. Crete I can do without.

 

3. Definitely a smaller ship (not too small) and with decent amenities. Both Vision and Radiance Class are perfect sizes for the Med.

 

 

Most important question OP is regarding what I've hilighted.... you've never been to the Med.... are you dead set on Greece? If so that's cool, however only Santorini for me falls into the top 10 ports/cities in the Med to visit. And what time of year are you planning?

 

Hi: Im on a similar boat ( Get it?! :P) What recommendations do you have besides RCCL? I dont have a lot of wiggle room on the dates as it will be for my Honeymoon. I needs to depart between Oct 27-30 and it need to go to Santorini (future wife's only request). The only option I have so far is the Brilliance of the Seas departing from Barcelona.

 

Im all eyes! Thanks in advanced!

[notoryous]

I've done 3 12 niter Mediterranean out of Barcelona on both Serenade & Brilliance. Also, have an upcoming Brilliance cruise with the same itinerary which includes Venice. IMO, this is the best of the Medit. cruises. The Brilliance class is the largest allowed in Venice and it's the most memorable entrance of any ports. Sailing in on the canal is simply breathtaking.

 

Other stops on this itinerary are, Nice/Villefranche, Livorno/Pisa/Florence, Civitavecchia/Rome, Salerno/Naples, Venice, Ravenna/Bologna & Kotor. The beauty of this itinerary is no VAT as Kotor (Montenegro) is not part of the EU.

 

Im considering this exact itinerary on Oct 2017, do you have any tips, recommendations, experiences to share?

[Hoopster95]

Hi: Im on a similar boat ( Get it?! :P) What recommendations do you have besides RCCL? I dont have a lot of wiggle room on the dates as it will be for my Honeymoon. I needs to depart between Oct 27-30 and it need to go to Santorini (future wife's only request). The only option I have so far is the Brilliance of the Seas departing from Barcelona.

 

Im all eyes! Thanks in advanced!

 

Oct 28: The Brilliance itinerary is excellent (gets you to Santorini, but no Venice.) Also includes spectacular & rarer Malta

Oct 28: The Rhapsody itinerary is Venice to Barcelona, excellent 8 day itinerary! You can fly into Santorini pre-cruise for a few days and then to Venice pre cruise for another couple of days.... then visit incredible ports and stay in Barcelona a couple of days after the cruise!

[nelblu]

Im considering this exact itinerary on Oct 2017, do you have any tips, recommendations, experiences to share?

 

 

In order to experience the old world, you need to take tours whether thru RCL or an independent tour co. The tours for Florence, Rome & Naples are in the area of 9-10 hours. Ravenna, we selected a beach tour after the tiring tours. Kotor, is new to us, but, we have selected a beach break with lunch. Venice, basically you can see a lot on your own as it is quite compact and most of the attractions are within walking distance. The time that you are going it should not be as crowded as the summer months.

 

You can check the cruise planner for the various tours offered by RCL or go to the port of calls section of CC to ascertain various tips.

 

Ps. Each time we have gone, we've selected a different area or attraction in each City. Never made the Sistine Chapel. Hopefully, this time we'll make because in past cruises we missed either arrived on Sunday or under maintenance.

[vacationlover_mn]

Since you've only done Caribbean cruises any Med cruise would be memorable. I personally would recommend one of the 12 night sailings out of Barcelona including Venice or the Greek Isles.

 

We did this and loved it! We did a roundtrip out of Barcelona, with a 2 night prestay and one night poststay - and found tons to do there. We visited Nice, Eze, Monaco, Florence, Kusadasi, Naples, Rome, Mykonos, Santorini and Athens, and they were all great :)

[rhammond]

We did a 10 day Mediterranean on the Vista at the end of last May, the weather was perfect. We started in Athens and ended in Barcelona, it was an awesome itinerary. Athens, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Malta, Sicily, Florence, Naples, Rome, Marseille, Barcelona - my absolute favorite was Naples/Amalfi Coast, I'd go back there in a second. We loved all of the stops, but Italy was the best. Next we're looking to leave out of Venice and go down the Baltic to Mykonos and Santorini.

 

We were on Jewel of the Seas over Christmas in the Caribbean, it's an older, smaller ship, wouldn't be my first choice to go back on her. Symphony of the Seas is debuting next spring in Europe with some Mediterranean itineraries, may be an option if you'd like to try a new ship. Norwegian also has some great Europe itineraries.

[George C]

^ for different reasons, Kotor sail in/out just as memorable as Venice.

 

 

We did both last September , knew nothing about Kotor but totally loved that walled city

[Biker19]

Next we're looking to leave out of Venice and go down the Adriatic to Mykonos and Santorini.

Fixed.