First European cruise, where should we go?

[Fishboy1947]

We, 71 & 76, want to take 3 of our oldest grandchildren on their first cruise to Europe in May/June 2023.  We’re thinking 7-12 day cruises with a full day at the ports at both ends.
 

Our 2 grandsons will be 20 & 21 and our granddaughter will be 20, they will all still be in college. They have cruised once each to Alaska & the Caribbean with our families as a group.They get along very well and have diverse backgrounds, pretty typical young adults(more older teenagers).

 

We have only cruised Princess but their options are very limited, will be happy to try other similarly priced lines.

 

The choices are overwhelming, The different areas of the Mediterranean, British Isles or possibly the Baltic. We have cruised the British Isles and the Baltic and traveled Italy on land but this is their trip.

 

What area would they enjoy the most? Any particular countries or ports? Any must sees?

 

I know they would enjoy any trip but we want to optimize this first adventure for them. 

 

Thanks for any input

[VMax1700]

If it is their cruise, then their interests are paramount.  Are they interested in ancient history and ruins? My daughter, son and son in law love it, but daughter in law just perceives an 'heap of old rocks' 🤪

If interested in history then look to Eastern Med.  If they would be more interested in 'modern' Europe, then look to Western Med and calls to Ibiza, Majorca, Barcelona, Monaco etc.

 

[Hlitner]

There is no right/wrong since there are so many different wonderful options.  But for a first time visit you might want to consider cruises that embark in Barcelona and end at Rome (Civitavecchia) with a few days at each end.  Both Barcelona and Rome have much to offer visitors and the various itineraries will offer you some interesting options including France and Italy.   Princess and Celebrity are good starting points and there are other cruise lines such as RCI also doing similar routes.  Flying into Barcelona is relatively easy and the airport is not too distant from the city (and the port).  

 

Just keep in mind that some European ports are quite a distance (1-2 hours drive) from their actual tourist destinations.  For the first time visitor this does mean spending more money on excursions/transfers although many of the cities, such as Rome and Florence, are well worth the extra hassles.

 

Hank

[sanger727]

The first question is what are your and their interests? I've also been fascinated by ancient societies so for us it was hands down a Greece Islands tour with that started in Rome. If art or more modern history is a bigger interest then that might not be the right choice. Although, I agree with @Hlitnerthat it's hard to go wrong with Rome. I would plan on spending more than one day on each end. A port stop doesn't really most of the cities justice. You can easily spend a few days in any of the embarkation/debarkation stops. And don't forget the time change. A couple extra days on the front end to adjust to the time is good. 

[JMorris271]

Another question to ask yourselves is do you want to have more at sea days or more port of calls intensive days. It is very hard to most anything in a day. Even a week in Rome or Barcelona is not enough time to really delve in their offerings depending on what you want to see

When you have full or a 3/4 day stop, you will need to be very selective about the ports you visit so  research the stops on a cruise you are thinking about. 10 -14 days offer you much more flexibility for planning your time.

Scandinavia is a nice cruise and is cruise intensive with shorter calls where Turkey or Israel is an overnighter.

Whatever you decide, enjoy it.

[Nebr.cruiser]

My choice for a first European cruise would be first, the Eastern Med and second the Western Med. For scenery and history, our Eastern Med cruise was one of the best we have ever taken.  A lot does depend on just what your interests are.  

 

Many Med cruises are very port intensive, and as already stated, areas of interest may require some traveling, but well worth it in our opinion.

 

One extra day in Rome is doable but not enough!  Our favorite stops were the Amalfi Coast, Ephesus (quite a ways from the port) and Athens.  But they were all great.

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Why not ask THEM what/where they would like to see, and go looking for itineraries that include as many of those ports as possible.  Are they all in the same family? Or how many families?  Get them copies of Rick Steve’s’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports, or also his Scandinavia and Northern Europe Cruise Ports and have them read and decide what they want to do.  EM

[hallasm]

In May /June I would recommend a cruise to the Norwegian fjords - depending on the itinerary and time  there will be the possibility of midnight sun (June inside Arctic Circle) The deep Norwegian fjords are beautiful and fascinating. In May/June still snow in the mountains. 
I would suggest you stick to Princess - In the Mediterranean I would personally avoid MSC and Costa - it can easily get a little too ‘local’.

[SelectSys]

While I am first and foremost in the camp of asking your grandkids their interests, my first preference would to go to the med.  The weather will most likely be nice.  Since you want to do a day or two both before and after the cruise, I would pick a "one way" rather than "round trip" cruise.  For example, pick a cruise that starts in Athens and ends in either Rome or Barcelona.  

[navybankerteacher]

Thinking of your “…full day at the ports at each end…” remark, I would suggest that you consider a seven day rather than twelve day itinerary - and have two or three days at each end —- which would allow some real time to experience a couple of carefully chosen ports.

[donaldsc]

Instead of doing a cruise, have you thought about asking each one of them which city they would like to spend several days in so they end up designing their own trip.  To me, this would beat taking a cruise and spending a very short time in each of 7 or 8 cities.  You can then let them wander around the cities by themselves as they are old enough to do that.

 

They might prefer that to cruising.  Why not ask them.  One of my granddaughters other grand parents took her and 2 cousins to Paris for a week followed by some time in the country.  They all loved it.

 

DON

[pris993]

8 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Why not ask THEM what/where they would like to see, and go looking for itineraries that include as many of those ports as possible.  Are they all in the same family? Or how many families?  Get them copies of Rick Steve’s’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports, or also his Scandinavia and Northern Europe Cruise Ports and have them read and decide what they want to do.  EM

I agree ask them.  Second, you can have them search you tube videos for more info on ports they are considering.   I use you tube to get a feel for new ports myself.  

 

I have cruised many times in the Mediterranean both east and west, have done the Baltics and several transatlantic cruises.  I can tell you on a first trip, it will all be so new and exciting no matter what trip you choose, they will be in for a real treat.  Happy cruising.  

 

My first Mediterranean cruise was back in l989 from Venice to London, 12 nights, included Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon, La Havre and Southampton England.  Love it so much we went back at least a dozen times.  

[Fishboy1947]

Thank you for all the input

 

I plan to meet with them this weekend to discuss everything. I wanted your input to help me prepare for when we meet. I had been thinking of taking them on a trip for the past couple years, but COVID. Seeing the pandemic hopefully reaching the point of allowing travel, I thought now is the time. But looking at the current bookings for May/June 2023, I see I have to move faster than I thought

 

it will be interesting to hear their thoughts. At that age I didn’t have any background to have intelligent input if asked the same question, other than Rome and Athens, etc sound neat. Thanks for the Utube idea, hadn’t thought of that

 

I picked doing a cruise to give them exposure to several areas, I know it’s only exposure. Maybe the idea of a seven day cruise and a couple days at each end is a good combination.

 

I just ordered Rick Steves Mediterranean port guide, thanks for the suggestion

 

Thanks again to everyone 

[navybankerteacher]

23 minutes ago, Fishboy1947 said:

Thank you for all the input

 

I plan to meet with them this weekend to discuss everything. I wanted your input to help me prepare for when we meet. I had been thinking of taking them on a trip for the past couple years, but COVID. Seeing the pandemic hopefully reaching the point of allowing travel, I thought now is the time. But looking at the current bookings for May/June 2023, I see I have to move faster than I thought

 

it will be interesting to hear their thoughts. At that age I didn’t have any background to have intelligent input if asked the same question, other than Rome and Athens, etc sound neat. Thanks for the Utube idea, hadn’t thought of that

 

I picked doing a cruise to give them exposure to several areas, I know it’s only exposure. Maybe the idea of a seven day cruise and a couple days at each end is a good combination.

 

I just ordered Rick Steves Mediterranean port guide, thanks for the suggestion

 

Thanks again to everyone 

Think about Istanbul to Athens, or Venice to Rome, or Rome to Barcelona - There are many seven day itineraries bookended by opportunities to really experience a couple of places.

[JMorris271]

If you did choose a Venice to Rome or a Rome to Venice cruise, you could fly out of the same airport on the return flight thus paying for a round trip price instead of a multi destination price. Take a train to Florence from the port and then onward to which ever airport you choose to use. None of those cities are very far apart and fairly with the attraction are condensed for easy access.

Edited February 28, 2022 by JMorris271
save space

[hallasm]

13 minutes ago, JMorris271 said:

If you did choose a Venice to Rome or a Rome to Venice cruise, you could fly out of the same airport on the return flight thus paying for a round trip price instead of a multi destination price.

Not necessarily- most airlines have ‘Open-jaw tickets’ - flights where the return leg departs from a different airport to the arrival. In general same price level as a return ticket.

[Zach1213]

Late to the game, but much like a previous poster suggested, this may not be a "cruise is best" situation. In my opinion, many of the best places in visit in Europe are places that are either not on the water, or it's a situation where the transport from port to the city/region takes up a lot of the time you would have for the day...places like London, Paris, Berlin, Munich, anywhere in Switzerland, Vienna, Budapest...or natural features like the Alps, Pyrenees, Black Forest, Scottish Highlands. Or there are some great places on the water, but so spread out that one cruise won't hit them (Lisbon and/or Porto, Rome, Nice/Monaco, Istanbul, Oslo, Dublin, Scotland) but affordable flights, or even overnight trains, would allow you to hit a few of them. 

 

I am but one person, but to me Europe is best done by train or plane...not boat. Unless it's a river cruise. Too many of my favorite places in Europe are far from the coasts, or far from each other. 

Edited February 28, 2022 by Zach1213

[Pudgesmom]

2 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

I am but one person, but to me Europe is best done by train or plane...not boat. Unless it's a river cruise. Too many of my favorite places in Europe are far from the coasts, or far from each other. 

I actually agree with this in general, but cruises are really great for a multigenerational group. We’ve done this numerous times.  If some members are more or less active, they can plan their daytime activities/shore excursions to suit. Then everyone can meet up at dinner (already paid for!) to compare notes and share experiences. Next morning the whole group is transported to a new location.  

[wowzz]

On 2/24/2022 at 2:30 AM, Fishboy1947 said:

I just ordered Rick Steves Mediterranean port guide,

Remember that Rick Steves is an American, writing for Americans. 

There are far better guide books  out there . The Rough Guide or Lonely Planet books spring to mind.

[ldubs]

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

Remember that Rick Steves is an American, writing for Americans. 

There are far better guide books  out there . The Rough Guide or Lonely Planet books spring to mind.

 

Well, the OP appears to be American!   Maybe Lonely Planet writes for Australians and Rough Guides writes for British.  😀😀

 

For the three mentioned I think I like Lonely Planet.

[ldubs]

On 2/23/2022 at 5:02 PM, pris993 said:

I agree ask them.  Second, you can have them search you tube videos for more info on ports they are considering.   I use you tube to get a feel for new ports myself.  

 

I have cruised many times in the Mediterranean both east and west, have done the Baltics and several transatlantic cruises.  I can tell you on a first trip, it will all be so new and exciting no matter what trip you choose, they will be in for a real treat.  Happy cruising.  

 

My first Mediterranean cruise was back in l989 from Venice to London, 12 nights, included Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon, La Havre and Southampton England.  Love it so much we went back at least a dozen times.  

 

"I can tell you on a first trip, it will all be so new and exciting no matter what trip you choose, they will be in for a real treat."

 

This is sooo true!  

[John Bull]

9 hours ago, hallasm said:

Not necessarily- most airlines have ‘Open-jaw tickets’ - flights where the return leg departs from a different airport to the arrival. In general same price level as a return ticket.

 

Yes, on consolidator flight website like https://www.skyscanner.net/ , click on "multi-city" ("open-jaw" on some websites) instead of "Return" or "One-way", enter your home airport (include nearby airports if suitable), and the ports at both ends of a one-way cruise. Airlines and Air Alliances that serve all three will charge the mid-price of the two return tickets. 

 

One-way cruises mean you can spend days pre and post-cruise in those cities, broadening your experience compared to a single - often trunkated - day as a port of call.

Barcelona to Rome as already mentioned wouild be a good choice, but there are others

 

JB 🙂

[Markanddonna]

18 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

I am but one person, but to me Europe is best done by train or plane...not boat. Unless it's a river cruise. Too many of my favorite places in Europe are far from the coasts, or far from each other. 

I disagree. Try to pick your beginning and ending ports carefully to spend more time there. Rome would be a great one. Spending 4-5 days in Italy and then a cruise would be ideal. I have found that port cities I thought were uninteresting turned out to be wonderful. I would try to go in May because of the weather and competing families. 

[cruisemom42]

21 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

I am but one person, but to me Europe is best done by train or plane...not boat. Unless it's a river cruise. Too many of my favorite places in Europe are far from the coasts, or far from each other. 

 

There is always a "yes, but...." answer. 

 

To my mind there are some good reasons to do at least an initial visit to Europe on a cruise. Two examples I can think of are:

• Mediterranean cruises with well-chosen ports. Remember, the Greeks and Romans navigated around their world on the Mediterranean Sea even long after there were Roman roads. Many interesting sites or ancient cities ARE located near or within a 30-minute drive of the port. If you take out Florence (the real outlier), and Rome (easily done pre- or post-cruise), I can think of many ports where you would not spend much time getting to where you want to go -- including Barcelona, Venice, Istanbul, Palermo, Kusadasi (for Ephesus), Malta, Rhodes, Athens, Naples and more.
• Scandinavian/Baltic cruises -- again, these were seafaring countries and access to key sites from ports is usually quite easy. Also the expense of Scandinavia is somewhat mitigated by using the cruise ship as your hotel and where you'll eat most meals. 

[jeremyosborne81]

I'm going to start with the explanation that I love ancient Greece. That is why a trip I took on MSC in 2017 out of Venice was PERFECT.

 

We left Venice and stopped at Brindisi, Italy. Not much to see there so either plan an excursion or stay on the ship.

Next stop was Katakolon, Greece, which leads to the ancient site of Olympia, the home of the ancient Olympic games. This was thrilling for the history and fun. They have the ancient arena excavated and we're allowed to walk on it, even getting on the starting line and running down the track. It's unfortunate the temple to Zeus has fallen over due to earthquakes centuries ago, but it's still great to see.

After Katakolon was a stop in Santorini. Most people think it's great and I was excited for the beauty I've seen in photographs, but the experience being there showed me those pictures are carefully curated. The wider view shows a brown cliff face that detracts from the rest of the view. Of course, I'm also not much of a visual beauty person either. My girlfriend still thought it was great.

 

Next was Piraeus (Athens), Greece, which was another bucket list stop. We took a tour up the Acropolis and around the Parthenon. Again, fantastic and something everyone should experience.

 

We then went on to Corfu, Greece, which is a nice port with museum/fort to wander around.

Finally a stop in Kotor, Montenegro, which was a surprisingly great place. We took a tour of the town and learned a lot of things. Visited a Byzantine church in the middle of a lake. The scenery is top notch.