Newbie - where do I start?

[Sunraven]

Hi Everyone, I'm starting to plan a cruise, and would like some feedback.

 

So far we know the following:

 

1. We're going to do a Med cruise

2. At least 7 nights

3. Ports we're interested in include Barcelona, Santorini, Rome, Florence, Venice - we'll settle for 3/5 or 4/5. Are there any ports that I missed that we should try to see given this is our first time to Europe?

 

 

What I'd like to know is:

 

1. Which port is worth spending an extra day exploring? I figure if I can figure this out then we can use that port as our embarkment/disembarkment port and spend a few extra days there. Does that make sense? [sorry I'm new to this]

 

2. When is the best time to book a cruise to get the best prices? We were thinking of going in Sept/Oct 2006.

 

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

-Michelle

[cruisinthemed]

read, read and read some more. these board are full of info. read about the different cruise lines, the different ships, the ports, excursions, etc. i am planning my cruise to the med for july. we are going on the jewel out of barcelona. visiting messina, sicily, naples, rome (civitavecchia) port is about 70 min. to rome,florence/pisa (livorno), nice (villefranche) france and back to barcelona. it is a new ship. it leaves u.s. for barcelona on the 30th so we are anxiously waiting reviews from its cruise over there. i also understand royal caribbean cruises over there, maybe someone else will give you more input. good luck, happy planning and ask questions. shelly p.s. welcome to the boards!!