Which ports in Europe?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I have never been to Europe.  We are planning a cruise there in 2024.  We currently have a cruise booked with NCL, but am considering jumping ship.  Our school changed our calendar so I will have to change the dates with NCL, even if we stick with them.  Celebrity released so many, I feel a bit overwhelmed.  Which ports would you consider "must see" for someone that hasn't been to any of them?  Do any ships or itineraries seem to have a better value right now?  My friends want to focus on Greece and Italy.  Italy has always been at the top of my bucket list, so it's a must for me.  I also want to begin or end there because I want to go to Tuscany.  However, would it be a mistake to see Greece before France or Spain?  I will be on the Reflection Sunday and would like to book while onboard, if we switch to Celebrity.

[Cruising89143]

20 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I have never been to Europe.  We are planning a cruise there in 2024.  We currently have a cruise booked with NCL, but am considering jumping ship.  Our school changed our calendar so I will have to change the dates with NCL, even if we stick with them.  Celebrity released so many, I feel a bit overwhelmed.  Which ports would you consider "must see" for someone that hasn't been to any of them?  Do any ships or itineraries seem to have a better value right now?  My friends want to focus on Greece and Italy.  Italy has always been at the top of my bucket list, so it's a must for me.  I also want to begin or end there because I want to go to Tuscany.  However, would it be a mistake to see Greece before France or Spain?  I will be on the Reflection Sunday and would like to book while onboard, if we switch to Celebrity.

We love Venice and Rome but both need more than a one day stop on a ship. Same with Barcelona. IMHO it’s going to take more than one or two trips to Europe so I suggest pick an area and concentrate on that area to fully enjoy it. Make plans to go back in the future. If time permits plan to spend a few days both pre and post cruise in the above cities. We do love the Greek Isles. It’s a hard decision to make. Good luck.

[Denny01]

There’s a whole world for you to explore and in my opinion, there is no Best. If you are thinking of Italy and Greece, Id suggest you look at the Eastern Med cruises out of Rome. You can go early and see Tuscany. Then to Rome, down to Citiveceechia (Rome’s port) to take a cruise to the Greek Islands and back. 

 

You’ll want to never quit. There are so many European ports to explore. My favorite (if thats possible) in the Med is Barcelona. Then there is Southampton in the south of UK and you can explore. 

 

Then there is Amsterdam. We are going back to cruise to Iceland this year. Amsterdam is probably the friendliest city weve cruised from. And so much to see and do, it’s almost The Reason to cruise. A great port for river cruises also. 

 

Den

 

[Grandmaanne7]

We did a Northern European cruise this summer (Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium and Amsterdam).  While we loved it, be aware that many European ports are very far from cities and require a lot of time and effort to actually see the cities you are supposed to see.  Paris, for example, is a 2 1/2 hour bus ride each way which really doesn't leave you much time to enjoy the city sights.  Amsterdam is also a 2 bus and a train ride each way.  While you do get to see the countryside on the journey, if your intent is to savour the city, keep this in mind.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

As others have said, there are so many places to see, you'll want to make more than one trip.  Just pick one area and concentrate on that.  If Italy has always been on your bucket list, then start there.  You can do pre- and post-cruise excursions.

[smtcan]

I would definitely choose to see Rome.  My choice would be to fly in early, spend time in Tuscany then a few days in Rome before boarding your ship.  Rome is definitely worth more time than just a shore excursion  and it is quite a distance from the port.  Paris and London are wonderful cities, but not well served by cruises because of their distance from the ports.

 

 

[bigbenboys]

16 minutes ago, Grandmaanne7 said:

We did a Northern European cruise this summer (Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium and Amsterdam).  While we loved it, be aware that many European ports are very far from cities and require a lot of time and effort to actually see the cities you are supposed to see.  Paris, for example, is a 2 1/2 hour bus ride each way which really doesn't leave you much time to enjoy the city sights.  Amsterdam is also a 2 bus and a train ride each way.  While you do get to see the countryside on the journey, if your intent is to savour the city, keep this in mind.

It has been a number of year since we cruised from Amsterdam. Our Celebrity ship was docked near Amsterdam Centraal train station in what I call the center of town.

[cw2go]

10 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

As others have said, there are so many places to see, you'll want to make more than one trip.  Just pick one area and concentrate on that.  If Italy has always been on your bucket list, then start there.  You can do pre- and post-cruise excursions.

Agree with @Happy Cruiser 6143 

 

I'll add...Venice, Rome and Florence would be my recommendations for an Italy starting point. 

Patty 

[markeb]

If you've never been to Europe, and always wanted to go to Italy, then I'd agree with the previous recommendations. Extend the land time as much as possible, but pick a couple of places in Tuscany you really want to visit before spending time in Rome. Most of Italy isn't near a cruise port...

 

In some ways, the Greek Islands may be the best cruise destinations, at least for day visits. We've cruised Northern Europe twice, and that's generally also a good cruise destination. In both cases there's a lot to do near the cruise ports. Florence, Paris, London, Berlin, etc., really need longer visits and are quite a ways from the cruises ports.

[SbbquilterUT]

11 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

It has been a number of year since we cruised from Amsterdam. Our Celebrity ship was docked near Amsterdam Centraal train station in what I call the center of town.

Apex docked at the Centraal Station area this summer - easy walk to everything and tram if you want to use it.  Can highly recommend the Iceland/Ireland cruise.  Then we tacked on Norway to make it a very nice trip.

[markeb]

2 minutes ago, cw2go said:

Agree with @Happy Cruiser 6143 

 

I'll add...Venice, Rome and Florence would be my recommendations for an Italy starting point. 

Patty 

 

I would look at all of them, but you'll be doing the equivalent of a cruise ship excursion if you try to visit all of them in a week. I'd visit either Venice or Florence (Florence if you want to go to Tuscany), and Rome, But all three becomes a bad version of "If It's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium"!

[NCteacherlovescruising]

52 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

We love Venice and Rome but both need more than a one day stop on a ship. Same with Barcelona. IMHO it’s going to take more than one or two trips to Europe so I suggest pick an area and concentrate on that area to fully enjoy it. Make plans to go back in the future. If time permits plan to spend a few days both pre and post cruise in the above cities. We do love the Greek Isles. It’s a hard decision to make. Good luck.

 

We are planning to fly in at least 2-3 days early and stay at least 2-3 after so we can see some other places, especially in Italy!  The cruise we currently have booked starts in Athens and ends in Venice.  Not sure if we're keeping that one or switching to Celebrity.

 

48 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

There’s a whole world for you to explore and in my opinion, there is no Best. If you are thinking of Italy and Greece, Id suggest you look at the Eastern Med cruises out of Rome. You can go early and see Tuscany. Then to Rome, down to Citiveceechia (Rome’s port) to take a cruise to the Greek Islands and back. 

 

You’ll want to never quit. There are so many European ports to explore. My favorite (if thats possible) in the Med is Barcelona. Then there is Southampton in the south of UK and you can explore. 

 

Then there is Amsterdam. We are going back to cruise to Iceland this year. Amsterdam is probably the friendliest city weve cruised from. And so much to see and do, it’s almost The Reason to cruise. A great port for river cruises also. 

 

Den

 

 

Greece and Barcelona both sound fabulous!  We are thinking about doing a land vacation in Iceland next year. 

 

44 minutes ago, Grandmaanne7 said:

We did a Northern European cruise this summer (Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium and Amsterdam).  While we loved it, be aware that many European ports are very far from cities and require a lot of time and effort to actually see the cities you are supposed to see.  Paris, for example, is a 2 1/2 hour bus ride each way which really doesn't leave you much time to enjoy the city sights.  Amsterdam is also a 2 bus and a train ride each way.  While you do get to see the countryside on the journey, if your intent is to savour the city, keep this in mind.

 

I'll keep this in mind, thanks!

 

29 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

As others have said, there are so many places to see, you'll want to make more than one trip.  Just pick one area and concentrate on that.  If Italy has always been on your bucket list, then start there.  You can do pre- and post-cruise excursions.

 

Hopefully my husband will want to return to see other places.  So far all our cruises have been in the Caribbean.  While we'd rather start seeing some other places, it's quite a bit more expensive when these long flights are involved.  

 

27 minutes ago, smtcan said:

I would definitely choose to see Rome.  My choice would be to fly in early, spend time in Tuscany then a few days in Rome before boarding your ship.  Rome is definitely worth more time than just a shore excursion  and it is quite a distance from the port.  Paris and London are wonderful cities, but not well served by cruises because of their distance from the ports.

 

 

 

Our current itinerary does not include Rome.  The only stop in Italy in Venice, which is where it ends.  We have the NCL air promo, which only allows us to come 2 days early and fly out 2 days after.  That's one of the reasons I'm not sold on them.  I'd rather see more of Italy and fly in earlier than 2 days so we can see as much as possible.  Overall, I think it's a pretty good itinerary.

• Athens (Piraeus)Greece
• SantoriniGreece
• MykonosGreece
• ZakynthosGreece
• CorfuGreece
• KotorMontenegro
• DubrovnikCroatia
• SplitCroatia
• VeniceItaly
• Venice (Trieste)Italy

 

17 minutes ago, cw2go said:

Agree with @Happy Cruiser 6143 

 

I'll add...Venice, Rome and Florence would be my recommendations for an Italy starting point. 

Patty 

 

The cruise we currently have booked is only going to Venice.  It's primarily focused on Greece.

 

12 minutes ago, SbbquilterUT said:

Apex docked at the Centraal Station area this summer - easy walk to everything and tram if you want to use it.  Can highly recommend the Iceland/Ireland cruise.  Then we tacked on Norway to make it a very nice trip.

 

We are talking about doing a land vacation in Iceland next year.

 

10 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

I would look at all of them, but you'll be doing the equivalent of a cruise ship excursion if you try to visit all of them in a week. I'd visit either Venice or Florence (Florence if you want to go to Tuscany), and Rome, But all three becomes a bad version of "If It's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium"!

It looks like if we keep our current cruise (would have to switch dates though), we'd be better off buying our own tickets so we could fly in early to explore Italy pre-cruise (or post cruise, whichever way it works out).

[Emmandjay]

Another area not yet mentioned is Scandinavia and the Baltics.  It's a shame cruises can't go to St Petersburg any more, but Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallin, Copenhagen and Norway's fjords are all interesting to visit and all are places where the ship docks close by.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

The fact that your current itinerary only allows two days pre- and post-cruise is a major problem.  The way to leverage the time and money invested in overseas flights is to stay in Europe longer.  Although I will tell you that those Adriatic ports on that cruise are spectacular.  Maybe do some comparison shopping with Celebrity Air.  They will generally have better deals than booking directly with the airlines, but it is important to comparison shop.  Where you get the real bargains is on the open-jaw tickets--flying into one airport and returning from another.  On a couple of cruises I took starting in Barcelona and ending in Venice, I saved over $4,000 on the return trip from Venice (used miles for the trip to Barcelona).

[kwokpot]

5 minutes ago, Emmandjay said:

Another area not yet mentioned is Scandinavia and the Baltics.  It's a shame cruises can't go to St Petersburg any more, but Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallin, Copenhagen and Norway's fjords are all interesting to visit and all are places where the ship docks close by.

While I agree a Baltic cruise is wonderful for the first timer in Europe I wouldn't recommend a Baltic cruise. Western/Southern Mediterranean cruises are generally what people consider a 'Europe' cruise so if one is going to spend the time and money it would be the best to go where one really had always wanted to see.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

12 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

The fact that your current itinerary only allows two days pre- and post-cruise is a major problem.  The way to leverage the time and money invested in overseas flights is to stay in Europe longer.  Although I will tell you that those Adriatic ports on that cruise are spectacular.  Maybe do some comparison shopping with Celebrity Air.  They will generally have better deals than booking directly with the airlines, but it is important to comparison shop.  Where you get the real bargains is on the open-jaw tickets--flying into one airport and returning from another.  On a couple of cruises I took starting in Barcelona and ending in Venice, I saved over $4,000 on the return trip from Venice (used miles for the trip to Barcelona).

I agree that 2 days isn't enough time.  If we reschedule with them, I do think I we will book air on our own so we can come and go as we please.  

Edited December 15, 2022 by NCteacherlovescruising

[cruisemom42]

You asked "is it a mistake to see Italy and Greece before France and Spain"?  

 

In my opinion, it's an excellent order to see these countries in. Greece and Italy are --for better or worse -- the cradle of civilization for most of the western world. Seeing them first, you will start to see first-hand and understand how the early and Classical cultures there shaped other, later cultures in Europe. Remember, ALL of the Mediterranean countries at one time were a part of the Roman empire... 

 

I do agree that you should look for a cruise that begins and ends in Italy if possible, and spend as much time there before and after your cruise as you can possibly eke out. Traveling and seeing these places as part of a land trip is a very different experience to seeing them on a daytrip from the ship. (Not least because you can see the towns after most of the daytrippers leave, and you can enjoy delicious local food.)

 

[Jeremiah1212]

I would suggest the Best of Italy & Croatia or the 11 night Italy, Greece & Turkey. That one offers probably the most diverse ports. You get Greek beaches, tons of history, Ephesus is fantastic, and a lot of time in Istanbul. It looks like it skips Sicily for 2024 but it’s still definitely worth a look.

[bigbenboys]

Eastern Med is my favorite area for cruising. While there are many things to see in Rome, I really enjoyed Borghese Gallery and Museum. Santorini to have my feet or body clean by fish. We sailed the Adriatic Sea with Azamara and was surprised how similar Montenegro and Croatia were.

[cw2go]

3 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

I would suggest the Best of Italy & Croatia or the 11 night Italy, Greece & Turkey. That one offers probably the most diverse ports. You get Greek beaches, tons of history, Ephesus is fantastic, and a lot of time in Istanbul. It looks like it skips Sicily for 2024 but it’s still definitely worth a look.

Agree!

Great glimpse of Italy, Gk Isles and Turkey. 

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

27 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

I would suggest the Best of Italy & Croatia or the 11 night Italy, Greece & Turkey. That one offers probably the most diverse ports. You get Greek beaches, tons of history, Ephesus is fantastic, and a lot of time in Istanbul. It looks like it skips Sicily for 2024 but it’s still definitely worth a look.

 

The 11 night Italy, Greece & Turkey is at the top of my list.  I'm trying to get my friends to take a look at it.  Not only do I love the itinerary, but an overnight in Turkey is a huge bonus!  I wish they did this in more ports.

 

17 minutes ago, cw2go said:

Agree!

Great glimpse of Italy, Gk Isles and Turkey. 

 

 

So do I!  As I mentioned above, it's at the top of my list.  

[Jeremiah1212]

11 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

The 11 night Italy, Greece & Turkey is at the top of my list.  I'm trying to get my friends to take a look at it.  Not only do I love the itinerary, but an overnight in Turkey is a huge bonus!  I wish they did this in more ports.

It’s a very busy trip. We just did it in September. Lots of port time so I wouldn’t attempt to cram too much in. You’re just not going to see it all. The other good thing is that all of the stops are easy to DIY at a fraction of the cost of ship tours. 

[dani negreanu]

 

For a first time trip to Europe, I'd start with Italy, Spain and Greece ("beginners").

 

I consider Iceland, the fjords and the Baltics as "advancers".

 

[Crazy planning mom]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

We are planning to fly in at least 2-3 days early and stay at least 2-3 after so we can see some other places, especially in Italy!  The cruise we currently have booked starts in Athens and ends in Venice.  Not sure if we're keeping that one or switching to Celebrity.

 

 

Greece and Barcelona both sound fabulous!  We are thinking about doing a land vacation in Iceland next year. 

 

 

I'll keep this in mind, thanks!

 

 

Hopefully my husband will want to return to see other places.  So far all our cruises have been in the Caribbean.  While we'd rather start seeing some other places, it's quite a bit more expensive when these long flights are involved.  

 

 

Our current itinerary does not include Rome.  The only stop in Italy in Venice, which is where it ends.  We have the NCL air promo, which only allows us to come 2 days early and fly out 2 days after.  That's one of the reasons I'm not sold on them.  I'd rather see more of Italy and fly in earlier than 2 days so we can see as much as possible.  Overall, I think it's a pretty good itinerary.

• Athens (Piraeus)Greece
• SantoriniGreece
• MykonosGreece
• ZakynthosGreece
• CorfuGreece
• KotorMontenegro
• DubrovnikCroatia
• SplitCroatia
• VeniceItaly
• Venice (Trieste)Italy

 

 

The cruise we currently have booked is only going to Venice.  It's primarily focused on Greece.

 

 

We are talking about doing a land vacation in Iceland next year.

 

It looks like if we keep our current cruise (would have to switch dates though), we'd be better off buying our own tickets so we could fly in early to explore Italy pre-cruise (or post cruise, whichever way it works out).

Definitely, skip the NCL airfare if you stick with them this way you arent stuck with 2 days pre and post.

Edited December 15, 2022 by Crazy planning mom

[NCteacherlovescruising]

8 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Definitely, skip the NCL airfare if you stick with them this way you arent stuck with 2 days pre and post.

It's SO cheap though!!  Only $1500 for both of us flying from Charlotte, NC.