Italy Cruise or Land ?

[Harley167]

I am Looking for recommendations for Italy-Greece. Is a cruise worth it? Which cruise line is best? How many days  do you recommend? 

[CruiserBruce]

Define "best". That means many different things to different people. Yours is far too broad and vague a question. We don't know you, your interests and your limitations to tell you what is "best" for you.

 

Many people do 10 day cruises in the area. Do you have a line you have cruised with before?

 

Land trips are almost always the better way to see places, as you get a far better introduction to the country.

[cruisemom42]

If you really want to see a specific country or region, I always think a land tour is better. You often have several days in the most important cities or locations, plus you get to experience places at night, when many tourists have gone. That plus increased opportunities to eat and drink like a local.

 

If you're just looking at a sampler of places that you may come back to and do in more depth at a later date, a cruise isn't a bad place to start.

 

[ldubs]

Both!  We like adding a cruise to either begin or end a land tour.  Next up is cruise R/T Rome followed by a stay in Sicily.  Earlier this year we did a land trip to Porto & Lisbon followed but a cruise R/T Barcelona.   European train systems and relatively short regional flights make this very doable.     

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

Both!  We like adding a cruise to either begin or end a land tour.  Next up is cruise R/T Rome followed by a stay in Sicily.  Earlier this year we did a land trip to Porto & Lisbon followed but a cruise R/T Barcelona.   European train systems and relatively short regional flights make this very doable.     

 

Heh.

 

We like to add a land trip to either begin or end a cruise!

🙂

 

We at least almost always spend an extra night or two in the general port city/area before and after, and usually end up with one of those being a more extensive stay.

Thus far, we've never gone straight from an airport to a ship or from a ship to an airport.  And we prefer to do more than just the "one night" before/after a cruise.  We especially try to spend even more extra time locally before a cruise if there is any concern about missing the cruise, such as with winter weather or such.  Much better to spend a few days in the general area of the port city before a cruise than to spend that time with an airport shutdown, fretting about making the cruise....

GC

[YourWorldWithBill]

4 hours ago, Harley167 said:

I am Looking for recommendations for Italy-Greece. Is a cruise worth it? Which cruise line is best? How many days  do you recommend? 

As others here have said, the decision depends on so many factors. How long do you want to cruise? Which ports to do want to visit? More days means more sites to see. Most of us posting on these threads love cruising, so we probably all feel that a cruise is worth it; one room, many countries or cities, all meals, no unpacking...  yet we all have our own preferences.

 

Small ship or big ship? Visit the main tourist cities, or smaller ports? How important is the cruise line's food or different restaurants? How much entertainment do you expect on board?

[Harley167]

So many things I had not thought of ! Thanks fir the replies ! I think we would do a cruise while staying a couple days before or after in Rome 

and see what we like and maybe come back to a particular area we liked !we have cruised on the main lines celebrity carnival Norwegian and royal thus far !

thanks fir your feedback!

[donaldsc]

My suggestion is to book a cruise that starts in Italy and ends in Greece.  Get to Italy 2 or 3 weeks before the cruise and do a land tour of Italy.  Stay in Greece 2 or 3 weeks after the cruise and do a land tour of Greece.  Best of both worlds.

 

DON

[mom says]

I agree with donaldsc's suggestion of a Rome to Athens cruise (or vice versa) rather than a RT Rome cruise. Gives you different opportunities at either end of the cruise. Especially if you are going to limit yourself to only a couple of days before and after.

[navybankerteacher]

7 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

…

 

If you're just looking at a sampler of places that you may come back to and do in more depth at a later date, a cruise isn't a bad place to start.

 

Ideally on a cruise between two ports - spending a few days on each before/after so you have a real chance to experience the area. Barcelona-Rome, Rome-Athens, Istanbul-Athens would all work. That way a two week trip, centered on a 7 day cruise, would give you a much better taste than a two week cruise.

[George C]

We did a 12 day cruise from Barcelona a few years ago with 9 ports including 5 in italy fantastic vacation.

[eyecantwait]

We spent a few days in Rome before a transatlantic cruise in November. The weather was perfect and the sights weren't mobbed. Pretty fabulous!

[wineoclock]

Also look for a cruise that has an overnight. We’ve done overnights in Venice, Israel & Istanbul. Gives you more than a taste. We’ve stayed in hotels when we’ve had overnights so gives you more of a flavour. 

[SPacificbound]

On 8/6/2023 at 11:39 AM, Harley167 said:

I am Looking for recommendations for Italy-Greece. Is a cruise worth it? Which cruise line is best? How many days  do you recommend? 

"Worth it" is in the minds of the beholder(s).  If you have the time, do both.

 

We did land first, but have been back to the same areas many times on ships.