Emerald Princess or Brilliance of Seas for Med?

[cadburysmom]

Hi experienced Med cruisers,

 

Has anyone here been lucky enough to cruise both ships in the Mediterranean? I'm trying to decide between the Brilliance of the Seas and Emerald Princess for my 14 yr old son and I next summer. I'm a Platinum member with Princess so am leaning towards the Emerald Princess but have read so many rave reviews about Brilliance.

 

The similar ports on both cruises sound great but I like that Princess offers Venice. It offers less sea days so I'm wondering if it's too port intensive. The Brilliance cruise we're considering is roundtrip from Barcelona stopping at Monaco-Florence-Rome-Mykonos-Santorini-Kusadasi-Athens-Naples but offers more at sea days which might make for a more restful cruise.

 

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated!!

[trooper 1]

We have not been on the Emerald. After about 25 cruises the Brillance of the Seas is one of our favorite ships. For example, the food delivery system in the buffet is outstanding.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

We have not been on the Brilliance, but would like to some day. I must say; though, that when going to Europe the most important aspect of the cruise is the itinerary. When we did the Med last year on the Grand, the deciding factor between it and the Brilliance was the itinerary. We did the Venice to Barcelona cruise and would do it all again - it was fantastic. However, your point about being port intensive is very true. The deciding factor for us was leaving from Venice. It gave us a chance to go a couple of days early to visit this beautiful city. We will never forget it.

[cadburysmom]

We have not been on the Emerald. After about 25 cruises the Brillance of the Seas is one of our favorite ships. For example, the food delivery system in the buffet is outstanding.

 

Trooper,

 

Thanks for your input and glad to hear about the buffet on the Brilliance. How is it set up?

 

Thanks! :)

[cadburysmom]

We have not been on the Brilliance, but would like to some day. I must say; though, that when going to Europe the most important aspect of the cruise is the itinerary. When we did the Med last year on the Grand, the deciding factor between it and the Brilliance was the itinerary. We did the Venice to Barcelona cruise and would do it all again - it was fantastic. However, your point about being port intensive is very true. The deciding factor for us was leaving from Venice. It gave us a chance to go a couple of days early to visit this beautiful city. We will never forget it.

 

Thanks Poulsbo,

 

I saw Venice 20 yrs ago and would love to see it again. Glad you had such a wonderful cruise. :)

[Esprit]

But then I've not tried RCCL.

 

We sailed into Venice and it was simply amasing. We've booked Emerald again for next year with the sail out of Venice. This has to be in the top 5 most spectacular ports to sail to/from.

 

Peter

[Not an Essex Girl]

HI

 

We went on the Emerald in July and have booked again for next July. We have also been on the Voyager of the Seas and I personally think there isnt any comparision.

 

The Emerald was a great ship, food was lovely and everything about the cruise was realy good.

 

So I would definitly go for the ~Emerald

 

Tina

 

ps See you on board Peter

[PescadoAmarillo]

The Radiance class of RC ship is my absolute favorite, BUT unless the itinerary was a lot better than Princess, I would go with Princess. Why? Princess's self serve laundries and Anytime Dining. That is the kind of itinerary where the ship matters less and flexibility matters more. And it would be nice to carry fewer clothes to Europe knowing you could launder them yourself at a very low cost.

[Hornet]

We're planning on the Mediterranean in 2009 (not sure which Princess ship will be there then). My question is which port - Venice or Barcelona would be best to start in since we plan to visit a couple days before sailing. I thought Barcelona would be better since it's so popular. Sounds like most of you would choose Venice. My DH has never been to Europe and I've been to Venice once, but only for the day. Never been to Spain either.

[mek]

I did this itinerary on the Brilliance two years ago. It was my third Med cruise and I've done Princess in the Baltic. Princess would win hands down with me. I like the food and buffet better on Princess. On the Brilliance I was surprised that the buffet closed down around 9:30 every night and after that it was difficult to get anything to snack on with the exception of room service. Since Europeans tend to eat much later than Americans I thought this was strange. I love the 24 hour dining options on Princess. The Brilliance has traditional dining only - Princess has anytime dining which is especially nice after a long day in port. Fresh water pools are great. Barcelona is a fantastic place - on of my favorite cities, but I would rather start in Venice and spend more time there either pre or post cruise, if I had to choose. Either way you will have a wonderful cruise, especially in Santorini - one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

[tcdtcd]

We're planning on the Mediterranean in 2009 (not sure which Princess ship will be there then). My question is which port - Venice or Barcelona would be best to start in since we plan to visit a couple days before sailing. I thought Barcelona would be better since it's so popular. Sounds like most of you would choose Venice. My DH has never been to Europe and I've been to Venice once, but only for the day. Never been to Spain either.

 

IMO, this one is easy.

 

I've travelled extensively in Europe (both biz and leisure), and Barcelona is my favorite city in Europe, and one of my favorites worldwide. The people, the food and wine, the history and architecture, the weather, the shopping, the culture and nightlife. Fabulous!!

 

Venice today is not the Venice of 50 or even 20 years ago. Most of its population has left the main city, and lives outside in the burbs. Most of the people you see there are tourists and merchants catering to tourists. We joked when there last summer that its sort of like a 'historic Disney World'.

 

Don't get me wrong, the sail into/out of Venice is great and not like any other of the Med ports. And its fun to spend a day or two there sightseeing.

 

But for a true, 'real' city, Barcelona (and the surrounding Costa Brava)beats it hands down IMO.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

IMO, this one is easy.

 

I've travelled extensively in Europe (both biz and leisure), and Barcelona is my favorite city in Europe, and one of my favorites worldwide. The people, the food and wine, the history and architecture, the weather, the shopping, the culture and nightlife. Fabulous!!

 

Venice today is not the Venice of 50 or even 20 years ago. Most of its population has left the main city, and lives outside in the burbs. Most of the people you see there are tourists and merchants catering to tourists. We joked when there last summer that its sort of like a 'historic Disney World'.

 

Don't get me wrong, the sail into/out of Venice is great and not like any other of the Med ports. And its fun to spend a day or two there sightseeing.

 

But for a true, 'real' city, Barcelona (and the surrounding Costa Brava)beats it hands down IMO.

 

Why not do both? On our Venice to Barcelona cruise last year we did three days pre-cruise in Venice and three days post-cruise in Barcelona. It was wonderful.

[Hornet]

tcdtcd and poulsbo ~ Thanks for the replies. I do think spending some time on both ends would be ideal. I thought planning our land/cruise for Alaska was time consuming, but I think this trip will top that.