Who else is looking forward to the Med in 2007?

[MVPinBoynton]

Karen,

We feel the same way about the Med. That is why we booked it again and will be there in just 98 days. :) You must be quite disappointed. We have done a lot of other itineraries since our first Med cruise, but we still think of it as the best itineraries.

[Host Karen]

Mike, I was disappointed about cancelling our cruise on Millie, but honestly, I was more disappointed that Brilliance was chartered after I had booked "our" aft cabin on a mid-September Venice itinerary. With luck we'll get back on her in the Med sometime soon.

 

You and Carol have been to many of the places I would like to visit. I've read many of your reviews but see I will have to read your British Isles/Norwegian fjords review for some pre-booking information. :)

 

Karen

[rman738]

We did a 12 night cruise from Civitevecchia, Italy last summer on the Carnival Liberty. We especially loved the Pompeii and Sorrento tour as well as Taormina, Sicily. Dubrovnik, Croatia was extremely nice. This year we decided to go again, however, to the Greek Isles out of Civitevecchia on the Celebrity Galaxy. We're traveling with 3 other family members. All of us really want to see Santorini and Mykonos. This time we plan to see Capri and go back to Taormina, Sicily. We did a lot of large group excursions arranged by others last year and they were fantastic. Our tours were more personal with only 6 to 12 people per group and were a lot less expensive than thru the ship. Our only continual worry was getting back to the ship on time, however, that proved to be no problem. We plan to see Santorini thru the ships tour this year, as I've heard getting up to the towns can be impossible if there are several ships in port. I've checked already, and we have 4 other ships in port with us that day. Anyway, hope all of you have a great trip.

[dileep]

It's ironic that I started this thread and then had to cancel our Med cruise planned for this year due to work.

 

I remember that you were considering the 10 Sept Celebrity cruise that we were booked on but then switched to Royal Caribbean! Sorry to see that you had to cancel out completely. We are looking forward to the Greek Isles on the Star Princess.

[palmettogirl]

My wife and I just received our confirmation ? we will be sailing on the Millennium 10/21 ? 11/4/07 from Venice to Barcelona. It will be our 15th anniversary present to ourselves!

I am looking forward to the many diverse ports and the overnights in Venice and Rome.

 

Hey Claims Cruiser! Come join our thread - we are going on the same cruise and have been having fun getting our own tours together..so come join us!

[palmettogirl]

It's ironic that I started this thread and then had to cancel our Med cruise planned for this year due to work. :o We were planning to reschedule for 2008, but now friends of ours are considering a Norwegian fjords cruise, which we haven't done yet. I wish I could take a month off from work and do the fjords followed by the Med. That would be an awesome vacation and save a trip across the pond.

 

For those of you who haven't been to the Med yet, you're going to have a fabulous time. It was the most tiring and most interesting vacation we've taken yet, and I can't wait to get back there one day.

 

Karen

 

You will love the Norwegian Fiords!!!!!! We did the Celebrity Constellation cruise in July last year (France, Ireland, Scotland, N. Ireland, Norway & Denmark) and loved it...the air was so pure, the fiords were the aqua blue color with the waterfalls at almost every turn....get to the front of the ship going in or to the back of the ship going out...Gerainger and Bergen were my favorite stops. Have fun!

[MVPinBoynton]

Karen,

I would imagine you would be very unhappy about losing an aft balcony cabin. Quite a bummer. We will have our first one on the Grand Princess during this Med cruise. The British Isles/Norwegian Fjords cruise is quite nice, you will enjoy it. Come to think of it all of of the itineraries we have been on have been quite special and I highly recommend all of them; however the Med is the best. I am looking forward to doing another review for that region, especially now that I have digital SLR with various lenses. Have a ball on your next cruise.

[NAS-KARR]

Did 5 countries, 10 cities in 2 continents on PRINCESS and LOVED IT. Going back again in 08 on OCEANIA to 10 other ports of call......that's how much we love the area and people.

Have yourselves and great cruise e

CIAO,

[elynch]

Hi all,

We are booked on the Millie for 10/07/07. Can't wait. Our itinerary looks great.

 

Elaine and Robert

[Host Karen]

I remember that you were considering the 10 Sept Celebrity cruise that we were booked on but then switched to Royal Caribbean! Sorry to see that you had to cancel out completely. We are looking forward to the Greek Isles on the Star Princess.

 

Actually, it was the reverse. Booked our favorite aft on BOS only to have the ship changed to a charter a few days later. It was then that we switched to Millie, but I wasn't happy with the higher price despite the excellent itinerary. With any luck, we'll get on BOS in the Med in 2008 or 2009. Have a great time in the Greek Isles on Star Princess!

 

You will love the Norwegian Fiords!!!!!! We did the Celebrity Constellation cruise in July last year (France, Ireland, Scotland, N. Ireland, Norway & Denmark) and loved it...the air was so pure, the fiords were the aqua blue color with the waterfalls at almost every turn....get to the front of the ship going in or to the back of the ship going out...Gerainger and Bergen were my favorite stops. Have fun!

 

We've been thinking about this itinerary for a few years, but something else always seemed to come up. I probably would have put it off for another year, but two wonderful couples we've sailed with previously have indicated their interest in doing this itinerary next year. How can we refuse? I'm hoping to do something on RCCL. Now that we've finally reached Diamond status, I'd like to try out the concierge lounge! Thanks for the tips. Useful regardless of the ship.

 

Karen,

I would imagine you would be very unhappy about losing an aft balcony cabin. Quite a bummer. We will have our first one on the Grand Princess during this Med cruise. The British Isles/Norwegian Fjords cruise is quite nice, you will enjoy it. Come to think of it all of of the itineraries we have been on have been quite special and I highly recommend all of them; however the Med is the best. I am looking forward to doing another review for that region, especially now that I have digital SLR with various lenses. Have a ball on your next cruise.

 

Mike, it was a sad day, especially since my TA booked our cabin within an hour of the sailing opening up. I'll be certain to check out your review, but I'm sure you're correct -- nothing will beat the Med. DH would love that camera. I bought him a Sony digital SLR prior to our Med cruise and he loves it. It takes fabulous photos, although he is still in the learning phase. Of course, it doesn't help that he only gets it out when we go away. I suppose we need to go on more vacations. :)

 

Karen

[harrtchr]

We are book on navigator of the Seas for June 16th western med.

 

We sailed on Brilliance also in 2005. Rome and Athens are two places I will never forget. To walk where the Caesars and Pericles walked. It was a WOW moment.

 

I am looking for fellow passengers to join our June 16th meet and mingle at

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=415826

[Cruise Junky]

We were doing the Med. in 07 but just cancelled and are doing a land trip instead. 3 weeks total, Paris, St. Paul de Vence each for three nights and then a week in Provence and a week in Tuscany before flying home from Rome. Can't wait to see these places in depth.

[LILynn]

We were on the Grand Princess last year and we went to Italy and Greece. I was the trip of a lifetime. We loved Princess and Italy and Greece and we decided we wanted to go again this year. I started looking at the different ports each ship went to and wound up choosing the Holland American Prinsendam. We leave 9/22 from Amsterdam. We go to Belgium, London, Tarragona and A Coruna in Spain, Gibralter, Porto and Lisbon in Portugal, Stet France, Monte Carlo, Florence and then end in Rome. We wanted something different this year so we chose this cruise and are really looking forward to it.

 

Lynn

[nyciglr1]

Just about to hit the "book now" button our our RCL cruise over Thanksgiving week - Splendour of the Seas! Looking forward to doing all the research and prep for the trip. :)

[mitaxi]

I did the 12 day Med - Venice on the Brilliance last summer with my two recent teen graduates....loved the ship and the trip.......SO this year going back on the Briliance with my sister on a shortened itnerary...

[travelgirlie]

Hi everyone! It is just great to look forward to any vaca, especially abroad! I have taken a lot of time to read these lengthy threads and enjoyed all of it. First, let me thank everyone who takes the time to offer info to others, including myself, concerning the unknown:confused: . Last November was my first Med cruise. My SIL and I travel well together and it allows my brother to stay home and eat junk food without voices! Anyway, we went to Rome, Greece and Villefrance on Galaxy and we fell in love. Right now I am in the process of booking two more cruises. Sept 2-14 from Barcelona to Istanbul. The price is $1278 for inside on NCL. I don't feel that NCL is the best, but with such a port intensive itinerary I like the idea of dining when ready. We prefer inside so that we can travel more and spend more during the cruise. In this cruise, we only have 2 days at sea and we expect to be resting for the next ports. I am saying all this to hear other points of view, so I apologize if the conversation is getting stale. When I told people last year that we were going on November 10 they wanted to know "why in Nov" I explained that I wasn't going to Europe to explore the beaches, although I am a beach bum, I was going to see things. I also felt that 60-70 degrees was the perfect temp to do this. One problem with Nov was that a lot of the shops were closed (off season) but there was really no way that we could have went everywhere in one day anyhow--so, it was one decision we were spared. Also, I was told that if we thought that the lines (Sistine chapel & Iffuzi gallery, especially) were tough in November--I certainly wouldn't want to be standing for hours when the temps were in the 90's.

 

Also, someone on these threads mentioned that Athens & Rome was their favorite by far--I can understand why in Rome, but I haven't yet been to Athens. Please tell me what you liked so much about it. Do you think that if you saw the change of the gaurds in Monaco that it would not be as exciting?

 

Now, we intend to stay in Barcelona for 4 days pre and 4 days in Istanbul post. I booked the rooms from venere.com and went by their reviews. Again, as long as the place is clean we really scout out the hotel location. Is there a better way to decide this?

 

After checking the airfare I realized that returning from Istanbul we stop in Paris for a couple hours. We want to stay there for a few days. I called the airline (Delta) and I was told that we could not stay more than 12 hours. Now-- I have talked to many people that had a stop and took advantage of it like it was no big deal. Maybe I didn't ask for the important details. I thought that you could stay and then take the remainder of the flight days later, based on availibility. Please tell me if someone else thought the same thing or if the rep didn't know what she was talking about (it happens occasionally).:rolleyes:

 

The 2nd cruise is with Legend of the Seas on November 6. We have inside cabin for $949. We will stay in Rome pre cruise for 4 days. Our hotel, Smeraldo, was recommended from a CC informant:p . They told us that the location is right in the middle of everything (walking distance of Trevi fountain), and reasonably priced. I feel like if I were able to spend a year in Rome I still would not have seen everything. This time we will repeat Naples--which is fine because we missed Capri and the Amalfi coast. Also we repeat Mykonos, but because we get there in the afternoon we are planning lunch on the waterfront watching the windmills and the graceful & beautiful pastel-beaked pelicans. OK, I will close for now. I look forward to any input that you are willing to throw out! Ciao!

 

As far as transportation from airport to ship--I cringe when I see what the cruiseship charges PER PERSON. That is a good reason to look on CC for other travellers to buddy up with in order to save $. Even if it costs the same, at least you leave in a van, not a bus and you depart when the group is ready, not when the bus fills up!:eek: