Itinerary review: NCL Greece/Egypt/Turkey v Princess Greek Isl.

[newbie280106]

Hello there,

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon and are considering a Med. cruise. Right now the two options which seem most interesting are the Grand Princess Greek Island and the NCL Jewel "Athens to Istanbul". Has anyone been on these cruises or similar ones, and if so what did you like/not like about the itinerary/stops/excursions etc.

The Princess itinerary looks a bit more relaxed in terms of the stops and also seems to have less distance travelled which is good for me as I have a bit of sea sickness. Unforunately the cruise is almost all booked up so we might not be able to get a balcony (which was going to be our honeymoon splurg). The NCL itinerary looks more exotic and interesting but perhaps less restful. Detailed itineraries are below. Any comments? Thanks

 

Princess

1 Venice, Italy

2 Venice, Italy

3 Dubrovnik, Croatia

4 Corfu, Greece

5 Katakolon (Olympia), Greece

6 Athens (Piraeus), Greece

7 Mykonos, Greece

8 Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

9 Rhodes, Greece

10 Santorini, Greece

11 At Sea

12 Naples/Capri, Italy

13 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

NCL

Thu Athens (Piraeus)

Fri Katakolon

Sat Corfu

Sun At Sea

Mon, Tues Alexandria

Wed At Sea

Thu Iraklion

Fri Santorini

Sat Mykonos

Sun Ephesus (Izmir)

Mon Istanbul

Tue Istanbul

[vivian02]

At one point this last August I had considered both of these cruises for next year. Both have some very interesting itineraries and althought I have done a 7 day Meditterean Cruise on the Jewel already I would consider keeping all options open. The Norwegian cruise does take you to the port of Cairo where the Princess Cruise does not. I think you have to take into account the following factors. Jet Lag. Pre-stay hotels and port. Post-stay hotels and port. Time of booking (May vs Summer). I really suggest finding a decent airfare before making up your mind. If I am right I think you will find it more feasible to fly into Venice than Istambul. Not only that but which port will be the easiest to get to the ship? I think you are on the right track, you just have alot of questions that need answering. By the way I did not book either of these cruises. I did booked a 12 day cruise that will take us down to Cario from Rome. Good luck in making your decision. Tim

 

Norwegian Sky Alaska 5/2003

Norwegian Star Hawaii 11/2003

Royal Caribbean Splendor of the Seas Meditterean 5/2004

Holland America Oosterdam Mexican Riviera 12/2006

Norwegian Jewel Meditterean 05/2006

[newbie280106]

Tim,

Thanks for your reply. Im not too concerned about flights and such as they're fairly equal in pricing and such.

Our main concern is comparison of two boats/dining/service. I've been reading some faily negative reviews of NCL re. service (it seems that tipping is automatic so nobody is trying) and the food (waiting for a table and mediocre food).

What was your experience with the Jewel?

BTW - which cruiseline are you doing your 12 day Rome to Cario with?

[mylove]

Why not look at Celebrity,were doing a b2b next nov and dec each being 14 days.the nov 24th price starts at 900.00 something wow for 14 days,its itenary is:

Athens

ephesus

istanbul 2 days

at sea

rhodes greece

limasol,cyprus

at sea

alexandria,egypt

at sea

heraklion,crete

at sea

rome

at sea

barcelona,spain

Our cruise is starting nov 10th through dec 8th the first part of our cruise is a little different than this one but this one is a better deal right now

[newbie280106]

The celebrity cruise sounds great but not available in the spring and since this is for our honeymoon we'd like to go shortly after the wedding. Thanks for the info though.

We're also now considering a second Princess itinerary since the Greek isl one is almost all booked up. This one hits Barcelona, Marseille, and Instanbul but misses many of the greek stops (santorini, rhodes, olympia).

The NCL itinerary is more interesting but we've been reading so many bad reviews about them that I'm hesitant. Princess has a better reputation and the itinerary has less distance travelled (which is good for my sea sickness) but it's more expensive and we'd be in a worse room.

Gosh, it's hard to decide!

[vivian02]

Newbie,

From reading the information you are giving us I am under the assumption you will be flying out of England. If that is the case consider yourself very lucky because airfare for Canadians and Americans just keeps getting more and more expensive.

As for those negative reviews you have heard about I wouldn't get too worked up about it. Every time I take a cruise on Norwegian I always hear someone complaining. Example last summer there were some really bad reviews on Norwegian for "Pride of Aloha". I had a friend who took his new bride to Hawaii and they had just a wonderful time. Our cruise on the Jewel was pretty nice. The crew was new and although not experienced we looked past the inexperience. It seem everytime we ordered at dinner they got the orders mixed up. Fortunately with freestyle cruising you could just order another dinner plate. Another thing that made this cruise nice was the fact that you could got to dinner or lunch anytime you wanted. I remember being on RCC on our first Meditterean Cruise and it seemed everyone wanted late dining. My wife and I had early dining and were well wined and dined. (Just the two of us at the table) One thing I noticed on the Jewel was the theater. Very well designed theater with hardly any colums or beams blocking your view. Yes tips are added to your creditcard so it did made tipping easy.

The specialty resturants are well worth the extra money but I would recommend making reservations when you first board the ship. Norwegian did let people sign up for "Freestyle disembarkment" You could leave the morning of disembarkment without having to place you luggage in the hall the night before departure. If you could haul your luggage by yourself it was OK. Sure made leaving the ship easy. Do note that you did get the feeling of "your need to leave the ship as soon as possible". I tend to think Norwegian is a Cruiseline that does not do everything for you and you have to plan ahead. You will have to stand in some lines. You will see some shows that will not appeal to you. You will always be able to find a chair to sit in. You will not always find a excursion open to your liking. Sometimes there are Itinerary changes. You might have to wait 20 minutes to 30 minutes for a tender. If you can get past this then you will like sailing with Norwegian.

I managed to get a good deal on RCC Legend of the Sea sailing out of Rome on May 19. Always wanted to see the Grand Pyamids. Tim

[newbie280106]

Tim - thanks for the detailed info on your NCL experience.

I'm Canadian so yes it is expensive to fly but when I said I'm not worried about the flights I meant that I've found similar prices for getting to both of these cruises.

Thanks again

[tom_uk]

Hello!

 

I don't have any experience of Princess, but I have been on a short NCL cruise, on Norwegian Jewel. I wrote a brief review of it here:-

http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/yourfav/yfc_ncl_jewel_2.asp

 

As I say I've never cruised with Princess, although I have been with Celebrity. I think there is an enormous difference between Celebrity/Princess on the one hand, and NCL on the other, and that's the Freestyle dining approach. I'm not going to recommend one or the other (although my own preference is plainly stated in the review) but it does make for a different style of cruise, in my opinion. It's probably more inportant than the difference between the ships.

[txjolie]

I prefer Princess to NCL. State rooms tend to be a good bit larger. As for the itinerary, the Princess has more Greek Isles. and better ports I thinkk. You will have a great time no matter which one you choose. ENJOY!!!!

Jolie

[mountainmare]

Just to throw in my thoughts, we just did the Millennium 12 day med cruise. For the first time cruiseing I did not like the ship (just personal opinion, nothing wrong with the ship) but the itinerary could not be beat--the ship doesn't matter that much. Looking at the itineraries that you are considering I would lean toward the NCL--it makes more sense culture wise. One thing that was hard one the Millie cruise was everyday you were switching the feel of the country, on Princess Venice, Dubrovnok, Naples and Rome--while incredable places just don't fit. AND you could overnight at the Pyramids on NCL!!!

[Juliadlf]

You may want to look at what days you'll be in the ports for each of the itineraries before deciding. Some things you may want to visit might be closed.

They are both great itineraries.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Julia

[Summertimescallingme]

I think you should really choose by port preference, especially since the Greek Isle/ Egypt is such a port intensive cruise. We have sailed on the Jewel to the caribbean, and although it is not my favorite ship, it was good enough to choose it for the Egypt trip in May. Good Luck.

[Jade13]

are great. I suggest you also check Holland america Line. The Westerdam is doing a 10 day this summer (or 20 day two back to backs). The Line is very classy and this ship has over 50% balconys, plus a Verandah Sale going on right now until Feb. This itimerary goes from Rome. The Veendam has goes from Venice. I can vouch for the Veendam as we were on it last year ro Alaska. It does not have as many balconys. also consider the extras. Hal has free room service so you can have breakfast on your balcony every morning without an extra cost.

[Floflegs]

Look at Royal Caribbean. We are doing a B2B in June on Splendour but it is also available earlier and There are some other ships/itineraries that might suit.

[LILynn]

Hi Newbie

 

I did the Princess cruise this past September with almost the same ports you listed. It was the most amazing 2 weeks - I had the trip oof a llifetime. We loved every port in Greece and Italy. I cannot say anything about the other itinery since I have not been to most of those places.

 

We did not have a balcony on the cruise - they were all booked by the time we decided to go but I have to say that I did not miss it. We were in port all day - usually off the ship between 7:15 and 8:00 and the sea days we spent by the pool. I do not know when we would have actually found time to use the balcony!

 

I have to say of all the places we were Venice was my favorite followed by Rome and Santorini. I cannot imagine a more romantic place to be on a honeymoon than Venice!

 

I am sure that you will have a great time no matter which ship you pick!

 

Lynn

[VicKen]

We are booked on the Jewel 19 May and chose it for the itinerary. My TA (who happens to be traveling with us on this one) always has told me choose the itinerary first not the cruise line. My DH is crazy about things eqyptian. We have been on Princess and Celebrity and I liked them both but I am looking forward to seeing what FreeStyle dining and NCL is like.:rolleyes: