Sun Princess 7-days Rome to Athens - May 2025

[IndyKid]

So my wife has been dropping little hints for some time about visiting Italy and Greece, it's something we've discussed in the past but never real seriously. We've never vacationed outside of North America, and we've only done cruises to Alaska and the Carribean.  So last evening while I was at work I did some research and found an itinerary that tics all the boxes - it's on the Sun Princess May 3rd - 10th next year, 7-days from Rome to Athens with stops in both countries and Turkey to boot. I've decided that this will be the perfect Christmas gift for her, as I never know what to get her. 

 

As I mentioned, we've never been to Europe, so this thread is aimed at those with experience in that area. My questions are:

 

What kind of weather should we expect? Hoping it will be warm but not blazing hot yet.

 

How crowded, both on the ship and in the ports?

 

I picked May in part to minimize the number of children on board, after spring break but before school is out. Any thoughts?

 

Visas needed? How to apply for them?

 

Any other advice, things to definitely do and not do.

[SCX22]

If you can swing it, I highly recommend staying doing pre/post cruise stays in Rome and Athens.  You need at least 3 days to see of Rome, but 5 is better; the Vatican and the Vatican Museums take up a day alone.  Athens can be seen in 3 days.  You already flew all that way; you might as well stay a few extra days.  Also note, that the port for Rome is Civitavecchia and is 1 1/2 to 2 hours from Rome and the port for Athens is Piraeus which 20 to 30 minutes by car from central Athens.

 

Europe, especially the Med, is a zoo between May and October.  The pick up starts in March/April for spring breakers (or Easter Holiday as they call it in Europe) and the crowds don't really die down until the end of October.  It's the reason why there's a backlash against over tourism by many European cities.  Despite the cold and and rain, Europe is blissful from November to March which is the slow season.  Not crowded, but the mass market lines have very few cruises to the Med during these months, so you don't really have a choice but to cruise during peak season.  March/April and September/October used to be considered swing season, but everyone seems to have found out about this and want to go during these times as well.  We lucked out last year when the Enchanted Princess had it's last Med itinerary in November.  We were on her for 20 days and the ports were the least crowded I've ever seen, weather in the high 60s and low 70s, and the port experience was great despite the spotty ship experience.

 

Europe is getting warmer and warmer as is most places in the world.  Heatwaves are a common annual occurrence throughout Europe.  The weather in the Med in May is not as hot, but still hot, but the chances for rain are still moderately there.  The heat really contributes to your exhaustion levels, so, IMO, it's better to plan to do a little less than more.  That's coming from a DIYer in port.  You'll be OK if on a ship excursion.

 

As far as visas/electronic travel authorities, you'll have to wait and see. The European Union is supposed officially begin the ETIAS electronic travel authority requirement for US passport holders in 2025.  The program has been delayed for years.

 

Cruising gives you a nice taste of Europe, but I still highly recommend doing land trips to Europe to complement cruising.

[dog]

OP - sounds perfect!

👍 stay pre/ post.

Beginning of busy season- so not as crowded as June, July, August and hot but not too bad.

The ports of call forum and your roll call thread will give you a lot of help.

 

I’ve done this cruise a few times and loved every minute of it.

[skynight]

I would suggest you fly into Rome at least a few days early. An overnight flight from Indiana has got to be very difficult and you will require some time to rest before boarding. You may also wish to tour Rome a few days prior to your cruise. The port, as mentioned, is 90 to 120 minutes north of Rome. If you book a Princess pre-cruise hotel package Princess will arrange to pick you up at the airport, transport you to the hotel, then transport you to the ship. While the Princess packages are expensive, in this case it is probably worth a look. It would be similar in Greece. 

[IndyKid]

Thank you everyone for all the input so far. @SCX22, I would love to do pre/post cruise stays but my schedule won't allow that, as I'm not retired yet. @skynight, I'm planning to fly us over to Rome 2 days before embarkation, although with the flight length and time difference we'll arrive sometime in the morning of the day before. And we're definitely using Princess to arrange the room the night before and all the transfers.

[Leo37]

2 hours ago, IndyKid said:

Thank you everyone for all the input so far. @SCX22, I would love to do pre/post cruise stays but my schedule won't allow that, as I'm not retired yet. @skynight, I'm planning to fly us over to Rome 2 days before embarkation, although with the flight length and time difference we'll arrive sometime in the morning of the day before. And we're definitely using Princess to arrange the room the night before and all the transfers.

European rather than American here but let me just say that while several days in both cities pre and post is ideal, that isn't always possible. Even if it's "just" 24 hours in Rome, it's an amazing city. Choose one thing you particularly want to see and enjoy that. Even just soaking in the atmosphere is enjoyable. For Athens, Princess can arrange a disembarkation tour for before your flight.

[IndyKid]

Thank You @Leo37. I just got off the phone with my travel agent, we're going to stay for a night in Athens after we disembark and then fly home on Sunday, so I won't miss another day at my job. We also will arrive in Rome in the morning 1 day prior to embarkation, so we'll try to soak up what we can there as well.  

[coldweather]

Agree with @Leo37  pick your priority in Rome and see that.  One thing to consider, Rome has a few hop on hop off buses. Most of the tourist sites in Rome are fairly close together. You can ride the circuit of the Hop on Hop Off bus and get off a 1 or 2 places you really want to explore.  I also had luck book short tours of specific locations using Viator. Enjoy.

[luckyinpa]

On 8/19/2024 at 3:09 AM, SCX22 said:

If you can swing it, I highly recommend staying doing pre/post cruise stays in Rome and Athens.  You need at least 3 days to see of Rome, but 5 is better; the Vatican and the Vatican Museums take up a day alone.  Athens can be seen in 3 days.  You already flew all that way; you might as well stay a few extra days.  Also note, that the port for Rome is Civitavecchia and is 1 1/2 to 2 hours from Rome and the port for Athens is Piraeus which 20 to 30 minutes by car from central Athens.

 

Europe, especially the Med, is a zoo between May and October.  The pick up starts in March/April for spring breakers (or Easter Holiday as they call it in Europe) and the crowds don't really die down until the end of October.  It's the reason why there's a backlash against over tourism by many European cities.  Despite the cold and and rain, Europe is blissful from November to March which is the slow season.  Not crowded, but the mass market lines have very few cruises to the Med during these months, so you don't really have a choice but to cruise during peak season.  March/April and September/October used to be considered swing season, but everyone seems to have found out about this and want to go during these times as well.  We lucked out last year when the Enchanted Princess had it's last Med itinerary in November.  We were on her for 20 days and the ports were the least crowded I've ever seen, weather in the high 60s and low 70s, and the port experience was great despite the spotty ship experience.

 

Europe is getting warmer and warmer as is most places in the world.  Heatwaves are a common annual occurrence throughout Europe.  The weather in the Med in May is not as hot, but still hot, but the chances for rain are still moderately there.  The heat really contributes to your exhaustion levels, so, IMO, it's better to plan to do a little less than more.  That's coming from a DIYer in port.  You'll be OK if on a ship excursion.

 

As far as visas/electronic travel authorities, you'll have to wait and see. The European Union is supposed officially begin the ETIAS electronic travel authority requirement for US passport holders in 2025.  The program has been delayed for years.

 

Cruising gives you a nice taste of Europe, but I still highly recommend doing land trips to Europe to complement cruising.

 

wow you arent kidding about the april may cruises.  13 day land sea on the Sun for italy are sold out for 2025.  there is a 13 day May 18 available but from what you said, the sites will be a zoo then. i think we may have to kick it to 2026 and do april. or is that a crazier time and oct 11 2026 is the best date? we have total freedom on dates.

 

we have no issue paying for princess to do the land portion planning for us and found this combo perfect for us newbies to italy. we just want to get our feet wet and do the touristy things. then maybe go back another year for more in depth.

 

if we stick with the preplanned princess excursions for the venice florence rome days, will those involve just waiting in line with everyone else or do the cruise lines have magic powers to get in places quicker? Ive read on some smaller luxury lines they apparently book something but unsure what or if it really is anything special or it's just marketing that they arrive before opening etc.

 

also wondering what hotels princess uses in the 3 cities. i know virtually nothing about italy but i have read in general smaller rooms (dont care about that) but lack of AC or maybe other things that we are used to even if we just stay in a holiday inn at home may not be the norm in italy.

 

 

 

 

[SCX22]

1 hour ago, luckyinpa said:

wow you arent kidding about the april may cruises.  13 day land sea on the Sun for italy are sold out for 2025.  there is a 13 day May 18 available but from what you said, the sites will be a zoo then. i think we may have to kick it to 2026 and do april. or is that a crazier time and oct 11 2026 is the best date? we have total freedom on dates.

 

I defer this question back to you.  It's really dependent on whether you want to wait another year to visit Europe and the itinerary.  The Greek Islands, French Riviera, and Cinque Terre shut down by the end of October.  You, for example, won't get the party vibe in Mykonos or Santorini in mid-October.  The slow down starts in October, but there' still a lot of people.  As a DIYer, I've noticed that hotel rates in October are still high as compared to November.  Comparing that to the past, hotel rates used to begin to taper down mid September.

 

1 hour ago, luckyinpa said:

if we stick with the preplanned princess excursions for the venice florence rome days, will those involve just waiting in line with everyone else or do the cruise lines have magic powers to get in places quicker? Ive read on some smaller luxury lines they apparently book something but unsure what or if it really is anything special or it's just marketing that they arrive before opening etc.

 

I'm a DIYer in port and don't really join Princess excursions.  What I can say is that it really all depends on the attraction.  Most times "Skip the Line" still entails waiting in a line because so many people purchased "Skip the Line" tickets.  The Acropolis, for example, has a dedicated entry for those on tour groups.  The St. Peter's Basilica does not; the only way to skip the line at the Vatican is to pre arrange a tour with the Vatican Scavi to see the Vatican Necropolis and St. Peter's tomb, where at the end, you will take the staircase underneath the Baldachin/main altar into the Basilica.  When we were in Genoa last November, we took the train to Milan and had pre-booked tickets months in advance to see Da Vinci's Last Supper painting.  We ran into the Princess excursion at the site; we were on our way out, they were in line to get in and stuck out like a sore thumb because of their stickers.  

 

I get that DIY is sometimes daunting, but I highly recommend giving it a shot.  Planning is half the fun and you save money.  European trains and metros are very efficient.  You can tell I really like Rick Steves vision of Europe.  I don't really need ultra luxury or high end experiences; I'm more for the down to earth ones.  I always travel with a laptop.  Sometimes pre-purchasing tickets directly from the attraction helps.  In Bilbao last November, we pre-purchased tickets to the Guggenheim directly through their website while on the ship.  We skipped the long line to purchase tickets and went directly to the entry gates.  

 

1 hour ago, luckyinpa said:

also wondering what hotels princess uses in the 3 cities. i know virtually nothing about italy but i have read in general smaller rooms (dont care about that) but lack of AC or maybe other things that we are used to even if we just stay in a holiday inn at home may not be the norm in italy.

 

I don't do cruise tours, so I can't answer.  What I can say is expect small hotel rooms in Europe, period.  Hotel room air conditioning is pretty standard in Southern Italy, Greece, Southern France, Spain, and Portugal because they get the heat.  In Scandinavia and the UK, not so much because they are known for having dreary weather for most of the year.