Which cruise for family of 7 adults

[Debbeg]

I am a first time poster and hoping I am doing this in the right place. We are a family of 7 adults. My husband and I are 60 and our kids and their spouses are between 24 and 30. We want to cruise the Greek islands in either May or July 2025. My daughter recommended Virgin because it’s adults only but I’m concerned it’s too young/party animal for us. That’s how the points guy described it. Can you recommend a 6-8 day cruise that we would all feel comfortable on? My husband and I just did a Tauck River cruise in Europe two months ago (loved it) but that is also not the right age group for my whole family. My kids can’t afford Windstar which is what my husband and I would do. What cruise line would you recommend? Are my concerns about virgin unfounded?  Thank you for any guidance you can provide. 

[tscoffey]

Celebrity is an option. The Infinity is a well-aged ship that does not appeal to everyone. Equinox is a ‘newer’ S-class ship, so may be more appealing.

The Ascent is (currently) the newest ship. If you’re willing to embark/disembark from Rome, there is a 11-day Greek islands cruise that leaves May 26,2025. Edge class ships like the Ascent are very adult oriented, but not over the top as Virgin is perceived to be.

 

[bbelle59]

We are also a family of 7 with similar age ranges.   We opted for Virgin Voyages and are doing a back to back Greece week 1 and Adriatic week 2.  The cost of airfare to Athens ($$$$) factored in to our decision to do the back to back.  And the port times are the best so Virgin Voyages covered all the bases for us.  The younger ones were excited about trying VV and us older folks know that all cruises have something for everyone.  So even though some of the entertainment is more risqué than Carnival for example, we know we can take it in as big or small bites as we see fit.  We are cruising end of July, so I can update you once I’ve travelled.  The funny thing is that our last cruise was all people our age and it made us feel old!  

[Debbeg]

Thanks for responding! We went on a river cruise before this and everyone was older than us. I'm looking for a happy medium. Enjoy your cruise and please let me know how you liked Virgin. For what it's worth, I'm in NC too! We're on the coast. 

[bbelle59]

I’m happy to do so.  My hubby and are in ATL and the rest of our traveling family will travel from JFK.   A word of caution when planning, I got sticker shock on the airfare. For whatever reason, flying to Athens is pricey.  We are staying an extra day because flights to Atlanta on Sunday were stratospheric.  Our current arrangements, which are economy, no frills, are now $2200 per ticket.   I paid a bit less but we are traveling light with carryons and backpacks only.  Virgin will do our laundry for free with their status match offer.  

[sambamama]

Look at Celestyal. They are a new line with somewhat smaller ships. They gear towards having archaeological tours on their ships, and fairly priced. They include beer and wine free with lunch and dinner. Not as plush as other lines, but a nice alternative. 

[mommyx2]

On 7/2/2024 at 8:30 AM, sambamama said:

Look at Celestyal. They are a new line with somewhat smaller ships. They gear towards having archaeological tours on their ships, and fairly priced. They include beer and wine free with lunch and dinner. Not as plush as other lines, but a nice alternative. 

Sambamama- please report back after your Celestyal Greece Cruise. I have never heard of them but just looked and they have great itineraries and pricing.

anxious to hear about your experience.

thanks

[sambamama]

My cruise is at the end of August. I will post a review. I'm sure I will have a great time. If you pre book tours with the ship, you get a nice discount. I did that. I know the ship as it was a previous HAL ship I've sailed on at least twice before. I sail August 31, I think. 

[bbelle59]

Debbeg,

as promised, I’m reporting back after our Greek Island Glow cruise with Virgin for our family of 7 in 4 cabins on 3 different decks and ages ranged from 23 to 64.  Let me start off by saying we were glad we built in extra days on the front end, 3 nights in Athens to recover from our  jet lag.   We loved Athens!   First of all we stayed in Pangrati area which is not touristy.  Loved seeing the daily lives of Atticans.   Just about everyone spoke English and there was no language barrier.  And the restaurants were better and cheaper than in the tourist spots.   We did a private tour of the Acropolis and it was so worth it!   Even in the extreme heat, everyone in our group found this to be worthwhile.  We did all the touristy things too, but it was so hot, we had to pace ourselves.   We boarded our ship on Sunday, and our first stop was Santorini on Monday.   Because we had an early excursion we skipped the pajama party.  In Santorini, we were greeted with fog which occurs only rarely in Santorini, but was a beautiful sight to behold.  Our ship excursion was money well spent because we had no issues whatsoever with the tender, or getting up the hill.  Our bus handled the hairpin turns as we held our breath and looked out at the beautiful scenery.   First stop was Akrotiri ruins, then Oia, then Fira.   It ended in Fira and we chose what time to descend via cable car.   30 minutes in line for a 1 minute ride.   Not bad.  3 in our group chose to walk down the donkey path and they were so frazzled upon their return, I would strongly advise against this as an option.   There were so many donkeys blocking the path they (and others) feared they would be kicked.   Thankfully they avoided this outcome, but they were so shaken, it overshadowed what was a wonderful day otherwise.

Day 3 was Rhodes and what a beautiful island!   We would love to go back and see more.  No excursion planned so we walked the town and on our way up to the castle, we came upon a family whose young daughter was laying on the ground overheated.  We jumped in to help with basic first aid and someone came out with a bag of ice.  The heat was no joke and if we hadn’t stopped to help, she might have gotten worse.   After 20 minutes a medic on a motorcycle arrived and she was in a better state thanks to the assistance.  We found the shopping in Rhodes to be pleasant without the pushiness we experienced elsewhere.  Of course we bought more than we planned.  Silver bracelets, towels, magnets, dresses, oh my!  Day 4 was Bodrum Turkey.  We booked a 6 hour private boat out via Viator and it was great!  Sunshine, boat, swimming, eating, drinking, what more could you ask for!   Loved it.   Well we loved it so much, we missed Scarlett Night!  We were just too tired!   Day 5 was a Sea Day.   Finally a chance to sleep in and do nothing.  Day 6 Mykonos was delightful in the morning.  No crowds.  My hubby and I hiked to the windmills and stopped in a cafe/ bakery for some Spanokopita, yum.  Others in our group went to Delos and some slept in.   The afternoon was filled with our excursion to Superparadise Beach Club.  It was fun, but a bit of a disappointment too.  Drinks were terrible, and I expected a little something different.  Not complaining at all, I think I’d spend the day at a beach club instead of the evening if given another chance.   We got back to the ship later than originally planned and because of this we didn’t  have the energy to head out to clubs and experience the famous nightlife.   The next day we were still in Mykonos so we took the late risers from the day before (the young men in our group) into town to experience the town before we left.  The next day we were back in Piraeus.  Lucky us, we stayed on the ship for the Adriatic ports the following week and we know the legend of Scarlett night and how much fun the pajama party is.

 

All in all it was a wonderful cruise and in no way would I be concerned that Virgin is a party cruise.   Virgins entertainment was great fun and we all loved it..  The food was the best we have experienced on any cruise and full disclosure, we are Platinum with Carnival.  
We loved the ports we visited and the extended port hours.  The ship never felt crowded even though it was full and no kids is a bonus.  On the negative side, the Sea Day activities were not jam packed so major relaxation was the order of the day, and we were ok with that.  And everything you heard about the terrible app and the undersized pool is true. But we used the secondary pool to cool off and the hot tubs at night were delightful.  Last thing was that on the first few nights the music was so loud in the Manor that my son and nephew couldn’t sleep.   Things improved after the room steward reported that EVERY cabin he attended to complained about the noise, so I think some changes might have been made, or consider an inside cabin instead where you can avoid this location.

 

Our blended group all had a lovely time on Virgin and would sail them again in a heartbeat. For the record the group was made up as follows,,,

me and my husband- early 60s ( inside cabin)

my brother- early 60s (balcony)

my nephew- mid 40s (social insider cabin)

my son- 20s (social insider cabin)

my neice and her husband - mid 30s ( balcony)

 

I hope this short review helps you decide to give Virgin a try for the Greek Island Glow itinerary.  
Feel free to ask any additional questions you have.

 

[Debbeg]

Thank you so much for sharing! Sounds like a fabulous trip. We decided to not do a cruise for our next trip but we will consider Virgin for the next one. You answered a lot of my questions. I appreciate it!!