20 days mediterranean - too long?

[SimoneRoisman]

Has anyone been on these 20 or 24 days Med Cruises HAL offers? Is it too long?

[hammybee]

Too long compared to what?

 

The 20 day intineraries are fabulous and I think most folk wish they had time.....

 

Given the port intensity, I think it unlikely one will become bored.

 

I can't imagine a more cost effective way of spending 20 days in this region than on a cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Although we haven't done a 20 day European cruise (back-to-backs). we have done quite a few in the Caribbean and Mexico/Sea of Cortez and we do not feel that they are too long.

 

Just got off a 23 day cruise - time went by too quickly with all the different ports.

 

Go for it!!

[kakalina]

I also must ask compared to what? I have done up to 45 straight days and wish I could afford to do more consecutive days then that.

We can amuse ourselves which is important on a longer cruise. Go for it and have a wonderful time.

[Druke I]

I for one love longer cruises, but prefer ones that are not too port intensive.

 

Love trans-Pacifics particularly, although we did do a very enjoyable 25 night cruise November 06, Istanbul to Singpore via the Suez on Oceania's Nautica.

[Two if by Sea]

I think the correct question is not "too long compared to what" but "too long for whom?"

 

Surely there have been many folks who felt a 20-day cruise was too long, but my guess is that most of them don't read Cruise Critic.

 

My cruising experience is limited, but in terms of vacationing in general, I have never felt that a 3-week vacation was too long. We took a 4-week vacation once and that DID feel too long -- by the fourth week we were really feeling like we wanted to be home again.

 

On the one cruise I've taken, which was a port-intensive one-week cruise (a port every day for the first 5 days, and last day at sea) I was too tired to enjoy the final port. But that doesn't mean the cruise was too long. I was in no hurry to disembark. If the sea day had been day 5 instead of day 6 it might have been perfect.

[AWED23]

:cool: Everyone is different. We prefer 21 days as a minimum..Port days vs. sea days?...The ideal cruise for me would be 2 sea days alternating with 1 full day in port...Oh, I also want 1 formal night out of 7. And a table for two at the early seating on the starbord side, forward section, of the Prnsendam's dining area.:) Say table 7,9 or11....That is a good start.....:D

[ugminer]

I've only done 7's but can't imagine any length being to long as long as the vacation and budget could stand it. Wonder if I could get a grant to explore the possibility of to long a cruise?:rolleyes: :D :eek: Deb

[CDRMark]

If you can afford both time and cost, and have the stamina (they are typically port intensive), no, not too long. Figure 24-48 hours on each end for travel/sightseeing and you are pushing a month

We were looking at the Noordam 20 day out of Rome, but had to cancel due to other timing issues. It seems like a super cruise.

I echo the prior posters..."Waddaya mean 'too long?'".

Cheers

Mark

[Jade13]

Has anyone been on these 20 or 24 days Med Cruises HAL offers? Is it too long?

 

It is too long for us (still working, children & pets but 20 days plus sightseeing is too much), but since the itinerary is great we did 10 days this year and the other half in 2008.

 

Also, be aware that HAL looks at these as two separate cruises and for those who stayed on the shows were the same with the exception of one night. They were not happy.

[Kane]

I'm glad I stumbled onto this fascinating thread. I think it ... with a single point ... has identified the "types" of cruisers. Specifically, those who cruise as a (luxurious) mode of transportation and those for which the ship is the primary "destination".

 

We've been on six cruises in the last 24 months or so, including port intensive and sea-intensive cruises. The extremes were a port-intensive one of 14 days with only 2 sea days, the opposite was 11 sea days with no ports. My wife would not enjoy a port-intensive 20-day, and I would go nuts with 20 sea-days ... basically, 20 days can be an eternity to some folks depending upon their make-up.

 

We just got off an 18-day with 5 port days ... still too many sea days for us. I'm sure, however, there is a balance. Our next attempt with be a 17-day, with 8 sea days ... about 50/50. OP just has to find the optimum balance by trial-and-error. Fortunately, the trial-and-error process is quite enjoyable.

 

In conclusion, and getting back to the original question of the 20 day threshold, my "experiments" have told me ... and only me ... that 20 days may be my limit. The "message" raises itself on or about the 15th day when, sitting down to the evening meal, the offerings on the gourmet menu have lost its excitement and appeal.

[Jade13]

We were looking at the Noordam 20 day out of Rome, but had to cancel due to other timing issues. It seems like a super cruise.

 

Mark

 

It is and we can't wait to do the other 10 days in 2008. It would have been more cost effective to do all 20 days at once but we were fortunate to be able to use FFmiles to Rome two years in a row. The cost of the tours is the same either way.

[Jade13]

I'm glad I stumbled onto this fascinating thread. I think it ... with a single point ... has identified the "types" of cruisers. Specifically, those who cruise as a (luxurious) mode of transportation and those for which the ship is the primary "destination".

 

We've been on six cruises in the last 24 months or so, including port intensive and sea-intensive cruises. The extremes were a port-intensive one of 14 days with only 2 sea days, the opposite was 11 sea days with no ports. My wife would not enjoy a port-intensive 20-day, and I would go nuts with 20 sea-days ... basically, 20 days can be an eternity to some folks depending upon their make-up.

 

We just got off an 18-day with 5 port days ... still too many sea days for us. I'm sure, however, there is a balance. Our next attempt with be a 17-day, with 8 sea days ... about 50/50. OP just has to find the optimum balance by trial-and-error. Fortunately, the trial-and-error process is quite enjoyable.

 

In conclusion, and getting back to the original question of the 20 day threshold, my "experiments" have told me ... and only me ... that 20 days may be my limit. The "message" raises itself on or about the 15th day when, sitting down to the evening meal, the offerings on the gourmet menu have lost its excitement and appeal.

 

 

It also matters which ports. The Med is so port intensive especially if you want to see as much such as driving 2 hours each way from Liverno to get to Florence (and long ways in Sicily too because of traffic, and going from Naples to the Amalfi Coast) whereas a Carribean intensive would be more relaxing in my opinion with walks around towns and shopping or snorkeling etc.

[RuthC]

I love long cruises and consider 20 days to be in the medium-length range. But I also love sea days, and I don't believe this cruise has many of those.

 

So, is this cruise "too long"? I think it would be if you tried to do it all. If you can break it up with 1/2-day excursions mixed with full-day, and some days where you just do as the spirit moves you, it should be a great cruise. :)

[SimoneRoisman]

Hi everybody,

For too long I meant too tiresome. Med cruises are port intensive and I wouldn´t like to stay in the ship while in ports.

[m steve]

It seems very port intensive and the day trips are quite expensive but we expect to do this once then back to the 10 specials. I don't think we are the transAtlantic type with lots of sea days.

[NorthernNeighbour]

Hi everybody,

For too long I meant too tiresome. Med cruises are port intensive and I wouldn´t like to stay in the ship while in ports.

 

We likewise thought we would not want to stay onboard ship while on a port-intensive cruise. But on a Med cruise we decided to skip getting off at GENOA (been there, done that) and we had a very good day just staying on the ship. There were some others passengers who did the same -- we had the run of the ship (no crowds) and excellent service from the staff.

 

We like those long sea voyages. Next time we go to Europe -- I'm looking for a repositioning cruise (with lots of sea days) which we will do with a back-go-back cruise of wherever they go next! If some of the ports don't interest us, we'll just stay onboard and have a great time with the ship to ourselves. It's like having your own private (grand) yacht for a day!

[cdkempton]

We love the longer cruises. Been on a couple 34-36 days that were great. Our next is 28 days with 19 ports. Hope this old bod can keep up with the pace. This is a bit more port intensive than I usually would like but the price was right and, for the most part, the ports are new to us.

BTW, I noticed you're from Rio. That's where we'll be for three days before we sail on the Rotterdam 4/4/08. We love Rio. :)

We don't really mind sea days at all and could do a cruise to nowhere for 3 weeks and be very happy. Happy Holidays!!!