Help us choose a cruise!

[ggcruiser]

We are a family of 4 (two 50+ adults and two teen boys, 13 & 16) traveling with another family of 5 (same ages and their +1 is a 10 y.o. girl). We traveled last year together on the 9-Day Scandinavia, Russia & Baltic from Copenhagen. We had a great time and are looking forward to doing it again this summer. The trouble is which itinerary to do?! We are looking at two: 7-Day Western Mediterranean from Barcelona or 11-Day Greek Isles & Italy from Rome (Civitavecchia).

 

There are pros and cons to each. We would be traveling from South Florida. Flights to Barcelona are more affordable, but getting to JFK and flying direct to Rome will make that departure port not too tough. Does anyone have thoughts on ports for these itineraries? If we did the 7 day, we might add a little land tour in and around Munich.

 

We love to travel and are up for a great adventure. Any tips, tricks and advice you could share is most welcome. TIA 😀

[cruisequeen4ever]

First, thank you for adding links to the itineraries! Hands down, the 11 day! I voted above but wanted to also explain why. There are certain ports that I look for on a Med cruise that are musts, and that itin has them all (except Venice, which is increasingly rare to get on a cruise). It’ll give you a very thorough experience. Happy planning, and come back to tell us what you chose!

[casofilia]

As we are from NZ and have horrendous travel costs to get to the Med we would do both if they fitted together!!

 

If forced to give a choice then the 11 day; the longer the better, and better ports the only anti is Civitavecchia!!!

[Turtles06]

I voted for the 11-day because of the itinerary and also because a 7–day cruise is too short, especially if you have to fly to Europe for it!  Also, while Barcelona is an interesting city, it would be wonderful to spend some pre- or post- cruise time in Rome. The kids are a great age to enjoy that city. 
 

Enjoy whichever you decide! 

[ggcruiser]

57 minutes ago, casofilia said:

As we are from NZ and have horrendous travel costs to get to the Med we would do both if they fitted together!!

 

If forced to give a choice then the 11 day; the longer the better, and better ports the only anti is Civitavecchia!!!

We cruise a lot but can’t do both at once. However, hubby and I spent 9 weeks in NZ (Before we had kids) and had the greatest adventure exploring your beautiful country. Kiwis are so friendly and we plan to go back with our boys at some point. Can’t wait!!

[ggcruiser]

11 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

I voted for the 11-day because of the itinerary and also because a 7–day cruise is too short, especially if you have to fly to Europe for it!  Also, while Barcelona is an interesting city, it would be wonderful to spend some pre- or post- cruise time in Rome. The kids are a great age to enjoy that city. 
 

Enjoy whichever you decide! 

We would add several land days if we did the 7 day 👍🏻

[stefmaia]

I pick the 11 day every time. I love the Greek islands and 7 days is never long enough.

 

[Turtles06]

Just now, ggcruiser said:

We would add several land days if we did the 7 day 👍🏻

 
Yes, but I’d do that with the 11-day. 😃

[ggcruiser]

Yes, most likely, but with the 7 day we’d have more land days. We’re taking two weeks total for this vacay.

[Turtles06]

Just now, ggcruiser said:

Yes, most likely, but with the 7 day we’d have more land days. We’re taking two weeks total for this vacay.

So why ask anyone else?  Pick what works best for you and what interests you the most. 😊

[ggcruiser]

8 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

So why ask anyone else?  Pick what works best for you and what interests you the most. 😊

I was curious what others have experienced if they have sailed any of these itineraries. Obviously we can pick one on our own but I like to gather info and gain insight and cruise critic forums are a GREAT place to get experienced cruisers opinions 😃

[OCruisers]

To go all the way over there the 7 day would not be worth it to us UNLESS we were going to spend a week in Barcelona before the cruise.  :)

[RussNJodi]

Voted for the 11 day, but will say if you do take the seven day, HIGHLY recommend adding that Munich option you mentioned; love that city!

[Von & John]

I just voted for the 11-Day...

It was interesting to see the results, once I voted - 100% 11-Day!

Whichever you choose - have a fantabulous trip!

We love Barcelona & have done a couple of longer trips from there - which we loved. 

We tend to spend extra time before & after the trip in Barcelona.

We have also embarked Rome/Civitavecchia - which was also a fantastic trip!

We haven't done either itinerary you are looking at - but have visited many of the ports.

[catinhat]

My vote is for 11 days.   We just did an 11 day and will never go back to a short 7 day especially if we have to fly somewhere to cruise.    

[njcruiser27]

We did the 7 night out of Barcelona this past September and loved that cruise.  We stayed both pre and post cruise on Barcelona and really enjoyed our time there. This year we are doing a 10 night out of Athens and ends in Barcelona which hits ports in Spain, Turkey, Italy and Monaco. I would probably opt for the 11 night as well, but our cruise last year was fantastic!

[mcmomny]

We have done the 7 day out of Barcelona, loved it. Stayed 3 days before and 1 day after. Barcelona is a great place to spend time and we had the time to spend

 

We are now booked for the 11 day cruise out of Rome to the Greek Islands but not until 2021 and are really looking forward to it. We will go into Rome a few days before and most likely make it a full two weeks but because it is still a year away we can plan and prepare for it

 

I think our flight from NY to Barcelona was about 8 hours, not bad seeing as getting to Las Vegas is 7 hours for us so even if you can only go for one week it is worth it!

 

We just recently did 5 days in London and the flight was worth it!