To Cruise or Not to Cruise.... the MED

[zooma]

I've been to Italy five or six times (only once via a cruise) and never tire of it!  So so much to experience and see and ... eat!  If  you're going all the way over there, I think you're going to want to hit at least some of the must-sees in that amazing country.

 

That being said, we love that Rhapsody Croatia/Greece itinerary and are planning on it for next summer ourselves. If you really have the time/means to do Italy plus the cruise, I second (or third) the idea of starting your trip in Rome. Fly directly there (might even be less expensive than flight to Venice), spend 2 days seeing the main sights and start in on all that yummy pasta. Easy train ride to Florence, which is beautiful and easily walkable . . . with scrumptious gelato spots. Spend at least a night or two there if you can before heading to the wedding. The Tuscan countryside will be a perfect counterpart to the few busy days prior. If you eat meat, be sure to enjoy some Bistecca alla Florentine while you're amongst all those gorgeous vineyards. Then, as you're thinking, head on up to Venice via train and take in the wonder that is that incredible city. (Note: imho, food is not the highlight there, though we really loved our cicchetti food tour.) And then hop on Rhapsody to cruise the Adriatic! What an awesome combo trip that would be.

 

This would give you a great little taste of some of the main cities in Italy and likely will whet your appetite for a return trip (sorry -- not meaning to plan out your future vacations for you 🙂). Maybe then you can go explore the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, other parts of Tuscany, eg Siena, and (only if you must) that tower in Pisa). And, because you will already have seen the main sights in Rome and Florence, you can just wander and enjoy those places in a less-touristy and less-hectic manner. Alternatively, since you'll probably be hooked on Mediterranean cruises at that point, you could do your next one in and out of Barcelona, making your way all the way over to Rome, still being able to get in more Italy along the way but, again, not feeling like you've got to cram things into single-day port excursions.

 

We personally have found that there have been several opportunities to visit Italy over the years (not all of them feasible) -- whether it's weddings or family trips or cruise stops or kids studying abroad -- and we hope to continue with those in the future, whereas Croatia/Montenegro/Greece (again, for us) are a little less mainstream and likely will not be done as often (though we are looking at our cruise as a precursor to more Croatia later). If you are able to swing the "Intro to Italy" plus the more "exotic" cruise, go for it! Looking forward to reading about what you decide.

 

 

 

[grapau27]

16 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

I know, I know,  I'm asking a bunch of cruise lovers if I should take a cruise....

 

but hear me out on this.

 

A friend of mine is getting married in the countryside outside of Florence, he's invited a small group of friends over for the Wednesday wedding.  

 

We're encouraged to take day trips on our own during the week  pre and post ceremony.

 

We tossed around the idea of doing the wedding, and then mixing in a cruise.

 

We could fly out Monday night, Arrive Tuesday morning and hang out Tuesday, do the wedding Wednesday, and hang out Thursday.   Friday we could take a train from Florence to Venice and hop aboard Rhapsody and sail to Croatia, and Greece. 

 

Sounds great, but before I break out the credit card, we wondered if we were making a mistake.

 

Europe is no Caribbean (only place we've ever cruised) It's not like going from beach to beach.  Would a few hours in port each day be enough, would we feel cheated.

 

Maybe we should skip the cruise and explore Italy from land --- Pisa, Florence, Rome.....  

 

We are close to our next rung up on C&A status, and want to squeeze in another one before that add some tiers.... lol

 

But wonder if this trip would be better by land.

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts....

 

 

Cruise every time for me.

The Venice itinerary is great but balconies are in short supply and expensive on a Vision type ship.

This year you could get on Oasis in Rome on a Thursday or if it's next year on Allure from Rome and they have lots of balcony cabins to choose from at better prices than Rhapsody.

[RCCL Fan]

Thank you guys so much for the advice.

 

Decided we're going to do it.

 

Planning out the days now....  and will get the deposit into my TA on Monday!

[cruisequeen4ever]

Oh my goodness; you’ve gotta do the cruise! The Med is gorrrrrgeous!! 😍 You’ll still get to explore by land per your plan, too. A Med Cruise allows you to visit so many places in a short period of time; it’s totally worth it! It’s not relaxing like the Caribbean but it’s thoroughly fulfilling in all you get to see. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

And now I see you’ve decided to do it; yay!! Happy planning to you!

[4774Papa]

We have traveled to most of the countries in Europe, having lived in the Middle East and Germany.  Also, retired and we have done land trips, usually in conjunction with a cruise.

 

Here is my take on the MED.

1)  Some ports are perfect for spending one or two days.  Ports like Split and Dubrovnik, Croatia, also the Greek Islands and ports in the west like Monaco or Cannes.

2) If you haven't been to Europe and visited the key cities like Rome, Florence, Venice, Athens, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, London, Berlin, Munich, the list goes on, then you need to spend several days at these places.  Also, many of these places are not easy to get to from a port (Paris, Rome, Florence, Madrid, Berlin, Munich).

 

We have taken cruises to visit many of the ports that are just more of a pain to get to since we have largely see the major cities, sometimes more than once.

 

Not sure what your plans are for future travel or priority of what places that you really want to see.

[Judyrem]

On 7/26/2019 at 7:56 AM, SRF said:

I love the area.

 

I do not see that a few hours in each port is enough to even decide to come back.  And looking at the itineraries, they are port, port, port, port, port, port ......

 

And in many cases, since the ports are close, so transit time is short, and you are off the ship early and back late, to get up early and repeat.

 

To me, NONE of that calls to me.

 

I would rather pick 1 or 2 cities, and spend at least a few days in each.  Most of them deserve a week or more.

 

We have done a week on Mykonos, and still want to go back to do things.  Heck Delos is almost a full day.  We spent a week in Sicily, and that same.  2 weeks in Berlin.  A week in Copenhagen. Three trips to London for more than 5 weeks total.  Two week in Edinburgh (I have been there 4 times for a total of almost 4 weeks). etc, etc, etc.

 

 

 

 

I agree with you.  I just got back in June from ten days In Edinburgh and we were there ten years ago for a week. 

 

Ahhh Italy I love it and have eaten my way up and down the boot.😁

 

I like to immerse myself in  Europe.  My friend is trying to talk me into another Med cruise and I am not that interested so far, but I am getting older.👀

 

I don't mind doing cruises for places I would like to briefly visit like Panama Canal and South America.

 

Europe is special to me and I love to go there and stay for a while.

 

To each his/her own.

[RCCL Fan]

3 hours ago, Judyrem said:

I agree with you.  I just got back in June from ten days In Edinburgh and we were there ten years ago for a week. 

 

Ahhh Italy I love it and have eaten my way up and down the boot.😁

 

I like to immerse myself in  Europe.  My friend is trying to talk me into another Med cruise and I am not that interested so far, but I am getting older.👀

 

I don't mind doing cruises for places I would like to briefly visit like Panama Canal and South America.

 

Europe is special to me and I love to go there and stay for a while.

 

To each his/her own.

These were my concerns too --- and why I posted the question.

 

But it does seem a vast number of people were satisfied with the time they got in port.

 

Someone asked about past and future travel.

 

Yes we've done London, Paris, Madrid, Frankfort... but no  never Italy or Greece.   

 

Could we come back, sure,  we're in our late 30's, Early 40's, plenty of opportunity.  

 

I just saw a good price on the Greece cruise and said lets do it, but paused  wondering if we would feel like we were cheating ourselves out of the experience. 

 

Hence my question,  so I agree with you, but think I may roll the dice anyway.

[Judyrem]

2 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

These were my concerns too --- and why I posted the question.

 

But it does seem a vast number of people were satisfied with the time they got in port.

 

Someone asked about past and future travel.

 

Yes we've done London, Paris, Madrid, Frankfort... but no  never Italy or Greece.   

 

Could we come back, sure,  we're in our late 30's, Early 40's, plenty of opportunity.  

 

I just saw a good price on the Greece cruise and said lets do it, but paused  wondering if we would feel like we were cheating ourselves out of the experience. 

 

Hence my question,  so I agree with you, but think I may roll the dice anyway.

Excellent!  Sounds lovely!  Carpe diem.  Life is short, go for it!

[SimplyMarvie]

Go do it! You can always come back to the parts you missed or want to see again, but as someone who lives on the med and travels the area frequently, a land vacation and a cruise vacation in the mediterranean are completely different creatures and one isn't better or worse than the other -- you're just experiencing the mediterranean in a different way, and not being cheated out of anything.

 

Apart from Rome (which I don't think I'll ever get enough of -- my immediate post-retirement plan involves renting a flat on the via appia antica for a minimum of 6 months and just watching the sun move across the sky) I feel like cruising gave me enough time to see each individual city and the things there-in but not really enough time to explore the interior of the country. But on the other hand, you get to compare the different cities and see how civilization changes and moves from country to country which is harder to do on a land-based itinerary. Equally cool, just different. 

[LoisGriffin1]

Italy needs time so I would never recommend it as a cruise. So many ports involve long bus/train journeys making it tiring. Also places like Florence really come alive at night (great food, live music in the streets).

 

As you mentioned Croatia and Greece I say go for it. The ports are the destinations so you don’t need to spend a couple of hours travelling to the main city.

 

I visited Dubrovnik on a cruise and totally fell in love with it. I have been back 4 times since and have a 5th booked for next year. Croatian sunsets are the most incredible I have seen. I have only done a couple of ports in Greece but they have been great. It will be a more relaxing cruise then a Western Med would be.

[RCCL Fan]

We're booked.

 

Thanks for all the advice. 

 

We're flying into Rome  -- staying an overnight

 

Taking the train to Florence -- staying an overnight

 

Renting a car and driving to a wedding, in the Chianti region --- staying several days

 

returning the car to Florence &  hopping the train to Venice --- staying an overnight

 

Boarding ship and heading to Croatia & Greece.

 

Flying home from Venice.  

 

Then going straight to the soup kitchen upon our return home as I will have no money.  lol