Itinerary Help!

[Jacaluke]

We've never sailed the mediteranean before and have the opportunity to do a cruise next year (2025) but with 2 different itineraries.  Could I please receive feedback on the following:

 

14 nights on Nieuw Statendam - Departing Sept 20 2025

Barcelona; Valletta; Alexandria (Egypt) overnight; Cyprus; Rhodes; Bodrum; Istanbul; Athens.

We have 2nights in Barcelona and Athens at the start and end of the cruise

 

10 nights on Norwegian Breakaway - Departing 3rd June 2025

Barcelona; Cannes; Livorno (overnight); Rome; Naples; Messina; Valletta; Cagliari; Palma de Mallorca; Barcelona

We have 2 nights Barcelona prior to cruise

 

I love both itineraries for their differences.  What we don't see this time we will prob go back and do again another time.  My only concern with the June itinerary is the crowds.  I have checkec Cruise Mapper though and for a lot of the ports the Breakaway is the only ship in port on that particular day which is good.

 

We have sailed on both HAL and NCL before and love both.  It will just be my husband and I are we are late 40's/early 50's.

 

Any comments/suggestions would be welcome, thank-you.

 

[CruiserBruce]

Personally, I find the N. Statendam itinerary far superior. It's a longer cruise, better weather time of year, and IMHO, a far better group of ports.

[PurpleTraveller]

I like the first itinerary on the Nieuw Statendam better. Rhodes is one of my favourite Greek Island ports, Valletta is a great place to visit with a lovely sail in and out and after spending four days in Istanbul in July I have a new favourite city. Lots of fantastic places to see and experience at each port. You also get to spend time in two different cities at each end of the cruise.

 

Edited Wednesday at 11:00 PM by PurpleTraveller

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, Jacaluke said:

Could I please receive feedback on the following:

I think a longer itinerary, with more exotic locations, on a nicer ship makes the HAL itinerary standout for me personally. Admittedly the Breakaway is not my speed in terms of size-- Nieuw Statendam carries nearly 2000 less passengers. 

 

2 hours ago, Jacaluke said:

I love both itineraries for their differences.  What we don't see this time we will prob go back and do again another time. 

I think here is where you answer your own question-- the ports where NCL visits (Rome, Cannes, Livorno, etc are infinitely easier, and frankly more enjoyable, to visit on your own. Egypt, Bodrum, etc are harder to do on a land vacation and this itinerary solves that. 

[EtaC]

I don't know about Cannes, but Livorno and Civitavecchia are basically entry ports for more interesting inland locations about two hours away (Pisa and Florence for the first, Rome for the second). I've never been to Alexandria so I can't comment there. I can say that both Rhodes and Valetta are wonderful stops that can be easily done on foot or with Uber/cab rides to more remote locations. 

 

I will second the recommendations for HAL and the Nieuw Statendam. The 2k she carries is about an ideal size. Big enough to have a lot of entertainment and food options but not so big as to feel like a ship vice a floating Vegas resort. I did her maiden voyage in 2018 and kind of fell in love. 

 

And with all due respect for Barcelona, Athens is a more interesting city. Acropolis > Sagrada Familia.

Edited Thursday at 01:54 AM by EtaC

[edinburgher]

18 hours ago, Jacaluke said:

My only concern with the June itinerary is the crowds. 

Europe in general is becoming more and more crowded year on year, and you can expect crowds in the most popular cities/towns in both June and September on both itineraries.. The slight advatange with late September is that it should be cooler than June, but climate change means weather patterns have become more unpredictable.

[marazul]

The first one is a lot more interesting.

[Jacaluke]

Could you also please look at this third option with Celebrity and give me your thoughts - thank-you:

 

3rd Itinerary

 

10 nights on Celebrity Ascent - departing May 16 2025

Rome; Katakolon; Corfu; Dubrovnik; Split; Bar (Montenegro); Messina; Naples; Rome

We have 2 nights in Rome prior to cruise.

 

[marazul]

2 hours ago, Jacaluke said:

Could you also please look at this third option with Celebrity and give me your thoughts - thank-you:

 

3rd Itinerary

 

10 nights on Celebrity Ascent - departing May 16 2025

Rome; Katakolon; Corfu; Dubrovnik; Split; Bar (Montenegro); Messina; Naples; Rome

We have 2 nights in Rome prior to cruise.

 

Still number 1.

Save the others for your next cruise. There are hundreds of cruises with those combinations of ports.  However, it is very unusual to have Alexandria and Istanbul in a cruise. Beginning in Barcelona and ending in Athens is way better than round trip one port. 

Don't overthink it. You have a winner.

Edited Thursday at 11:25 PM by marazul