What is your favorite port and why?

[FloridaLaura]

We are in the early planning stages of our 2009 mediterranean cruise. Please let me know your favorite port and why. We are trying to find the perfect cruise for us and need some input on everyone's favorite port. We are in our 40's, we love beautiful scenery, beaches, cliffs, mountains etc.

 

TIA

 

Laura

[cberge]

We are in the early planning stages of our 2009 mediterranean cruise. Please let me know your favorite port and why. We are trying to find the perfect cruise for us and need some input on everyone's favorite port. We are in our 40's, we love beautiful scenery, beaches, cliffs, mountains etc.

 

TIA

 

Laura

 

I am sure you will get a lot of replies,but the main thing to remember is that this is YOUR cruise,and if you get some travel mags and some books you will find a wealth of info YOU can choose from,and then make it your own cruise not someone else's.Just reading your blurb I would look at a cruise from Greece to Rome.

[FloridaLaura]

Thanks Karen, I will be getting some travel books and going thru each one, just thought it would be fun to see what everyones favorite port and why....tia

 

 

Laura

[Moondawgie]

Laura, I love Florence, but I'm an art fanatic.

 

I would say from your description - Naples (Amalfi Coast) for the scenery and Nice for the beach.

 

Have fun planning. It's all part of the experience!

[pcur]

Venice!!!!!!

 

It's magical, but don't go in the summer when it's hot, stinky, and crowded. The light there is amazing because of the water reflection. Take the #1 vapretto up and down the Grand Canal; a feast for the eyes.

[Liv4cruzin]

I have so many favorites. But if I had to pick just one....it would be Istanbul. So much history & beauty. Truly mystical & magical. The Turks are friendly & treat tourists respectfully & very well. The US$ stacks up pretty well against the Turkish Lira. Public transportation is clean, efficient & easy to utilize. My best friend & I felt comfortable wandering about on our own. I could go on & on........

[mountainmare]

If I have to pick one at the moment it is Santorini.

We rented a car--drove through wine country, drove out to the lighthouse, swam at both black and red beach and ended up having dinner cliffside with sunset view in Oia. A perfect port stop.

[texancruzer]

They were all great - each one unique and special.

 

but I would have to say our stops in Italy were amazing. We fell in love with this country !!! The cities, the countryside, the people, the food....

 

We stayed 2 nights precruise in Rome..... loved it. Stopped in Florence for the day..... charming and quaint and relaxed. And then Amalfi coast - well it's just perfect.

 

We enjoyed Dubrovnik, Corfu, 2 stops in So. France (Nice and Provence) and also Barcelona (our disembarking city) where we stayed 1 night post cruise.

 

But plan on getting back to Italy for a land trip...... think I left a little piece of my heart there :o

[FloridaLaura]

Thanks so much everyone, each place sounds so wonderful, I know I want to see each one, to bad I can't miss that much work at once. I like the RCI 7 day Venice, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Santorini, Greece; Corfu, Greece; Venice, Italy that looks interesting. I would try to do a pre cruise 2-3 day in Venice or I would love to do a pre cruise in Rome or Naples and train to Venice the departure day so maybe that is a thought.

 

But than again a cruise w/ the Amalfia Coast must be great too...so many choices uggghhh :)

 

Keep the info coming I love to read about others port experiences and likes.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Laura

[Cruise Junky]

If it's your first trip to Europe, I'd suggest an itinerary similar to the one below..it gives you a really great cross section of cities. This one is on Princess but all cruise lines do something similar. If there was one thing I'd change up on this itinerary would be trade Mykonos for Santorini. If you do a one way ie...Barcelona to Venice rather than return to Barcelona, you'll see so much more.

 

1 Barcelona, Spain 10:00 PM

2 Marseille (Provence), France 8:30 AM 6:00 PM

3 Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM

4 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM

5 Naples/Capri, Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM

6 At Sea

7 Mykonos, Greece 7:00 AM 2:00 PM

8 Istanbul, Turkey 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

9 Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey 12:00 PM 7:00 PM

10 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 6:00 AM 5:45 PM

11 At Sea

12 Venice, Italy 1:00 PM

13 Venice, Italy 5:00 AM

[dileep]

Dubrovnik!

 

But the rest of our itinerary was great too.

[High C's]

If it's your first trip to Europe, I'd suggest an itinerary similar to the one below..it gives you a really great cross section of cities. This one is on Princess but all cruise lines do something similar. If there was one thing I'd change up on this itinerary would be trade Mykonos for Santorini. If you do a one way ie...Barcelona to Venice rather than return to Barcelona, you'll see so much more.

 

1 Barcelona, Spain 10:00 PM

2 Marseille (Provence), France 8:30 AM 6:00 PM

3 Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM

4 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM

5 Naples/Capri, Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM

6 At Sea

7 Mykonos, Greece 7:00 AM 2:00 PM

8 Istanbul, Turkey 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

9 Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey 12:00 PM 7:00 PM

10 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 6:00 AM 5:45 PM

11 At Sea

12 Venice, Italy 1:00 PM

13 Venice, Italy 5:00 AM

 

I couldn't agree more! We did this exact itinerary in 2006 (in reverse) and each moment was more magical than the last! And I also agree that Santorini is preferrable to Mykonos, but I must admit we enjoyed the slow paced day of wandering around Mykonos, without rushing around to ensure we saw everything.

 

Good suggestion, Cruise Junky (as always!);)

[Cruise Junky]

I couldn't agree more! We did this exact itinerary in 2006 (in reverse) and each moment was more magical than the last! And I also agree that Santorini is preferrable to Mykonos' date=' but I must admit we enjoyed the slow paced day of wandering around Mykonos, without rushing around to ensure we saw everything.

 

Good suggestion, Cruise Junky (as always!);)[/quote']

 

You're just being nice because you think I'm buying the first round of Bushwackers ;) which of course, I am :)

[browneyes7]

My DH and I took a 28 day cruise to the Mediterranean, Greek Isles, and Turkey last May. I loved Rome. There is so much to see there. I also loved Florence for the same reason. Santorini was breathtaking. The French Riviera was also gorgeous. We basically loved everything about Italy and France. We are taking another Med cruise this year, but won't be able to see as much as we did on the first one.

 

browneyes7:)

[reverie4401]

We have enjoyed so many ports around the Med it is impossible to rank them. Our favorites are those we were able to explore on our own terms---taking the train from Naples to Pompeii Scavi, doing Monserrat by Barcelona subway to train to tram arriving before the tour busses, or exploring the Vatican Museum on Wednesday morning while every tour was in St Peters to see the pope.

 

So many ports in the Med, and time there can be so intense, that a stop in Madeira is a delightful contrast of spectacular beauty year round. The pace is restful, the people very friendly, relaxed, and happy, and the streets felt safer than anywhere else. Be sure to take the tram up the mountain and the basket ride down. No tour needed.

[sjcs]

Once you go, you'll see exactly just how hard it is to decide on what is the best port......we loved all of those we visited, but ESPECIALLY enjoyed Venice, Rome the Almafi Coast, and the medeivel hill towns that we reached when we pulled into Cannes (Eze, St Paul di Vence, Gourdon) But here is the BEST advice that I can give, where ever you finally decide, seriously consider taking a private tour (ours were with 6-8 people max) when you pull into port. This website is ideal for selecting and arranging them with others that will be on your cruise. As far as price per person and how much you get to see these are WAY better than what you'll get if you book with the ship. (The cost will be a little bit cheaper, not enough savings by itself to justify the extra research, but the experience will be off the charts higher, more than enough to justify the extra time, by far.)

 

I can not over emphasis how much this enhanced our vacation.

 

But in any event, you'll be in for one of the best vactions that you can imagine!

 

Life is good,

 

Steve

[MMDown Under]

Delighted to see your comments, as our cruise calls at Madeira in November during its transatlantic voyage.

 

You have answered our question of what to do at Madeira - thank you.

[Bruin Steve]

We are in the early planning stages of our 2009 mediterranean cruise. Please let me know your favorite port and why. We are trying to find the perfect cruise for us and need some input on everyone's favorite port. We are in our 40's, we love beautiful scenery, beaches, cliffs, mountains etc.

 

First, I have dozens of favorites--all for different reasons...I happen to love archaeology, ancient history, art and architecture...but, those aren't the criteria you have in mind...

 

So, I am going to have a slightly different take on your question...

 

For "scenery, beaches, cliffs and mountains", here is a specialized list...with reasons:

 

Santorini: This may be the most spectacular port on any Mediteranean itinerary. Have you seen the photos of the bleached white houses with blue roofs perched atop a stark cliff? This is the place. The island is the remains of the caldera of a major Volcano that exploded around 600 BC. The entire inside edge of the island is a stark cliff that must be accessed by cable car or steep donkey path...The beaches on the far side of the island are BLACK volcanic sand...

 

Corfu: Beautiful mountainous little island with great beaches...The old city is flanked by two hilltop medeival fortresses...

 

Dubrovnik: A Medeival walled city on a peninsula jutting out into the Adriatic...

 

Kotor: A medeival walled port surrounded by steep mountains...Nearby Budva is an incredible, unspoiled beach resort.

 

All of the other ports have something to offer as well...Venice is incredible...but for its art, architecture and history...And it is just an incredibly unique city...You also, judging from your interests, might want to do a cruise that starts in Venice, but fly, a few days early, into Munich or Frankfurt, rent a car and drive down to Venice by way of Fussen, Lucerne and Innsbruck...

 

Good luck...

[FloridaLaura]

Thanks to everyone who replied, all of the ports sounds beautiful....

 

Bruin Steve..you mentioned flying into to Munich or Frankfort and driving to Venice, is that easy to do for two not too well traveled 40 yr olds lol? It sounds like fun, but where do you begin researching the drive, the hotels, the rent a cars etc.? Any advice would be appreciated!

 

Well the RCI cruise from Venice roundtrip that includes Santorini, Croatia, Turkey etc has so far been the one I am most interested in.

 

Santorini is a tendering port, how often is that port of call missed due to weather or sea conditions? We are probably going in mid october.

 

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

Laura