Best European Ocean Cruise Line?

[buckeyedonna]

I would love to take a European cruise, especially seeing Italy and Ephesus. Spain would be nice; France not so much. Price matters, but so does comfort and amenities.  There are so many cruise lines from which to choose that I'm not sure where to begin.  Looking for advice and recommendations. Thanks in advance!

[CruiserBruce]

There is no one "best" Cruise line for everyone. "Best" is a very subjective and vague term, and means different things to different people.

 

Have you cruised with a Cruise line you like? If so, start with what they offer. In the Med Cruise market,  Spain is Western Med, Greece and Ephesis ( Turkey) are east Med. So that might require 2 cruises, or one longer one.

 

 

[Essiesmom]

By Best European Ocean cruise line, are you looking for a cruise line that is based mainly in Europe, like Costa, MSC, Mein Schiff, AIDA, P&O, Fred Olsen and a few others…or are you looking for a line that cruises everywhere, but does some Europe cruising in spring/ summer/ fall?  There will be a member who comes in here to suggest Oceania is the best, no matter where you are cruising.  Others will swear by Viking Ocean.  There are diehard fans of other cruise best known in north America who will swear by the ship of their favorite line that is spending the season in Europe.  
   Best to begin by selecting an area you want to sail, such as Northern Europe, eastern or western Mediterranean…. The website cruisetimetables.com allows you to research by departure port, port of call, or ship and it will tell you their itineraries.   If you will give us a narrower view of what you think you want, we can offer more suggestions.  EM

[cruisemom42]

Half the fun of planning a vacation like this is doing the research. Unless you're strapped for time, I would start by looking at itineraries on the various cruise websites (you probably have some idea which you would consider and which you could afford...).  That way you could see whether what you want to do is feasible and possibly even get more ideas. 

 

Italy is sort of "mid-Med", so it is often included in either Eastern or Western Med itineraries. You may have a tough time finding a cruise with ports in Spain that does not also include France, as they are the "stars" of the Western Med -- although there are a few cruises to or from Barcelona that sail more southerly and hit ports such as Malta, Sicily, and possibly Sardinia (the latter two being islands that belong to Italy). North African ports are interesting but not offered very frequently. Some have concerns about safety there. 

 

In the Eastern Med you have the Adriatic ports (Croatia, Montenegro, Albania), all of Greece, which offers a wide variety of history (Athens, Katakolon), and many different flavors islands from Corfu to Santorini to Zakynthos.  I would also agree that Ephesus is absolutely stunning and other ports in Turkey are also very interesting in and of themselves.

 

When researching I suggest looking at things like the amount of time spent in port. Also read reviews of similar itineraries here on CC to get an idea of what it's actually like. Personally, I always recommend looking for an itinerary that starts and ends in different ports and allowing several days in each one in addition to your cruise. Otherwise you barely get a taste of some of the largest and most interesting cities.

 

Good luck! 

 

P.S.  If time is short and you want to book something as soon as possible, a good TA can answer a lot of these questions and steer you toward itineraries and lines that may work for you.

 

[YourWorldWithBill]

6 hours ago, buckeyedonna said:

I would love to take a European cruise, especially seeing Italy and Ephesus. Spain would be nice; France not so much. Price matters, but so does comfort and amenities.  There are so many cruise lines from which to choose that I'm not sure where to begin.  Looking for advice and recommendations. Thanks in advance!

The only such cruise we've done in that area is on Viking. They have a cruise that goes Ephesus, to  Greece, up the Adriatic to Venice. Depending on how long you want to cruise for, you can choose 7, 14, or 21 days and on to Spain. I mention Viking because when you said "comfort", you'll be comfortable on Viking. We liked the itinerary and the onboard experience. Their focus is on the ports visited.

The only other line we've been on lately is Holland America, but not in that area.

As others said, the research is worth it. I found I learned more of what I want by looking at the lines' websites and calling them than from travel agents, but that might just be my lack of luck with agents. But we loved the Viking experience!

[jocap]

If you're wanting a European owned line, the more luxurious ships are Ponant (French), Viking (Norwegian) and Saga (UK)  ... Saga ships are for 50+ years old only.

Fed Olsen has small ships and I would call them cosy- owned by a Norwegian family but mainly sailing from the UK.

There are other lines owned by big companies which home port in Europe and rely mainly on European passengers, such as Aida, Costa,  Cunard, P&O. MSC, Marella and Ambassador.

Ships which travel from the USA to spend summer in Europe are the big lines such as Princess, HAL, RCI , Carnival and Disney.

I'm sure I've missed some... 😮 

 

Edited November 5, 2022 by jocap

[Hlitner]

Over the years we have cruised in and around Europe in more than 10 different cruise lines and a River cruise line.  They have all been wonderful :).  The OP does not say anything about their cruising background, but I will assume they have been on 1 or more cruises in the Caribbean or Alaska.    Cruising in Europe is somewhat different as most will agree it is more about the ports/itinerary than the ship.  I would suggest the OP consider itinerary and budget as the primary issues and the cruise line somewhat less important (although you still want to be on a decent line).  When looking at the itinerary pay attention to the actual times the ship is in each port (long port days are desirable).  Also give some consideration as to which day of the week in each port keeping in mind that Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are the days when you need to be cognizant of what you want to do vs the possible closures of a museum or site you might want to visit.

 

I would also suggest that if you are American/Canadian and only comfortable with the English language, you might want to stick with cruise lines that are English oriented.  Some of the Europeans lines are targeted at other languages (such as Aida to German).  

 

You might also want to look for a cruise that begins and ends in different ports.  Why?  You can extend your vacation on both ends and spend some land time in two different places.  A good example would be an itinerary from Barcelona to Rome (Civitavecchia).   And also consider that there are some excellent itineraries in Northern Europe where the summer temperatures will be more comfy for folks who want to avoid the hot weather often found in the Mediterranean area.

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

13 hours ago, buckeyedonna said:

I would love to take a European cruise, especially seeing Italy and Ephesus. Spain would be nice; France not so much. Price matters, but so does comfort and amenities.  There are so many cruise lines from which to choose that I'm not sure where to begin.  Looking for advice and recommendations. Thanks in advance!

Take the time to find a highly regarded cruise specialist TA who will interview you about your travel experiences, preferences and expectations and recommend a short list of cruise lines/ships that can deliver a great itinerary along with a stellar onboard experience.

FWIW: we’re currently on a 47 day multi-segment Oceania cruise (BCN-ATH-FCO-BCN-MIA) visited Ephesus last week - as well as Masada and Delphi. And I expect we’ll visit many of the ports you’re thinking about.
 

Except for the ocean crossing near the end, this is a very port-intensive trip. You may read here on CC that the ship doesn’t matter with port intensive itineraries. That’s NOT true. The ship is your home away from home and the quality of food, service and sleep experience matters tremendously. Add the capacity for multi-segment itinerary building and flexible amenities inclusiveness with value laden pricing and you’ll quickly understand why your TA will have Oceania on your short list.

[cruisemom42]

35 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Add the capacity for multi-segment itinerary building and flexible amenities inclusiveness with value laden pricing and you’ll quickly understand why your TA will have Oceania on your short list.

 

Oceania is far from the only line that provides opportunities for "multi-segment itinerary building".  Nor do they have any particular lock on the number or variety of ports called on. Oceania's marketing information says their ships call on 450+ unique ports annually.  Holland America's, for example, call on 470+.  Hardly a deciding factor.

 

(And very interesting to hear that your Oceania cruise "visited" Masada -- has Oceania dug a new canal to the site or did you get there from the same ports many other ships use, Ashdod or Haifa?)

[Flatbush Flyer]

23 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Oceania is far from the only line that provides opportunities for "multi-segment itinerary building".  Nor do they have any particular lock on the number or variety of ports called on. Oceania's marketing information says their ships call on 450+ unique ports annually.  Holland America's, for example, call on 470+.  Hardly a deciding factor.

 

(And very interesting to hear that your Oceania cruise "visited" Masada -- has Oceania dug a new canal to the site or did you get there from the same ports many other ships use, Ashdod or Haifa?)

OOPS! Fat finger. I thought I typed “I” in front of “visited.” Perhaps I just should’ve used a “-“

 

Of course, anyone with a basic understanding of geography would know that Masada is an excursion from a cruise ship as is Ephesus and Delphi (and Rome and Paris and a zillion other places that cruise lines questionably advertise to catch your eye. “Piraeus? Let’s just call it Athens.”).

 

And, of course, some lines other than O do multi-segments which is why I suggested a TA and a “short list.” But, only a few do them with the option of multiple booking configurations that maximize perks for specific categories of repeat customers. That particular Oceania  idiosyncrasy can save the savvy “regular” far more than “chump change.”

[cruisemom42]

9 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

That particular Oceania  idiosyncrasy can save the savvy “regular” far more than “chump change.”

 

Yes, we all know Oceania is the greatest thing since sliced bread. 😏

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Yes, we all know Oceania is the greatest thing since sliced bread. 😏

And it’s gluten free!

[azalice]

I just want to say that my DH and I have reached a point of time where we also pay attention to having less intensive cruises. Some lines have made a point of having intensive cruising with few sea days. So when we look at itineraries in Europe we now check for less intensive days so that we have a few extra sea days for some rest. So recently, we cancelled an Oceania cruise in favor of a HAL cruise which has an interesting itinerary along with more rest between ports.

[buckeye7]

Hi BuckeyeDonna,

We are also buckeyes! We have taken several European cruises with Princess and thought they were great. We did one similar to this one and saw the sights you are hoping for.  Princess has several different itineraries and is a mid-price line.  https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=N320A
 

 

[Markanddonna]

I just finished a port intensive cruise, 12 day with only one sea day. Problems erupted when the ship was late to port, making the next day also late. For example, we arrived in Patmos about 3:00 which is not good for a tender port with sites that are dark creating a dangerous situation. Istanbul was an absolute nightmare unless you diy on the tram. I never saw such gridlock in my life. We all got off the van in the middle of the street and walked to the ship. Crazy.

[pris993]

On 11/5/2022 at 6:54 AM, buckeyedonna said:

I would love to take a European cruise, especially seeing Italy and Ephesus. Spain would be nice; France not so much. Price matters, but so does comfort and amenities.  There are so many cruise lines from which to choose that I'm not sure where to begin.  Looking for advice and recommendations. Thanks in advance!

I have visited the ports you mentioned on a number of cruise lines including Princess, Celebrity, Holland America and Cunard.  You can't go wrong with any of these lines, if price matters, a less expensive line is NCL which also has cruises, may be not to Ephesus but to Italy and Spain for sure.   Good luck, you can't go wrong pick a cruise with the ports you like and the price point that works for you. 

[gerryuk]

Take language into consideration. If you travel with a line like Costa, the vast majority of the pax will be Italian, although all the staff speak English. At the present time this would probably not matter to a lot of cruisers, however it is presenting problems. I was on Costa a couple of weeks ago and there were so few English speaking pax on board they cancelled some excursions. One was to Istanbul, not a problem for me as i just left the ship and walked to the main Mosque and Grand Bizzar, Istanbul was a delight on foot from the port, and cost nothing. I will be back on Costa this week from Barcelona to Dubai, it will be interesting to see if any excursions are cancelled on this cruise.