First Time to Europe Need Advice!

[queeng]

I have finally persuaded my DH that a Mediterranean cruise will be the perfect way for us to visit Europe for the first time. Now how to find the best cruise rates. We took our first cruise this summer with a trip to Alaska on the Dawn Princess. It was wonderful. We used A TA that had been recommended by a friend. She was helpful especially since it was our first cruise but we paid full price for everything and the air connections weren't that great. After finding this sight and all the great info it has I was hoping to get some advise on how to bring the price down some. Should I book it myself? Should I go through another TA? I have been on Expedia and sights like that and see what look like pretty good deals there. Any thoughts on that? Is that a good way to do it yourself? We live in Hawaii and will have to quite a bit of flying before we even get to Europe so should I use her for this part only? I am thinking I can do this. Am I delusional? hahaha On the Alaska Cruise we did a land tour nice but.... I would much rather do this on our own this time. A few days pre and post sounds good. I feel a little scared to take on all this but with the great info here I bet I could do it. Any input you have for me would be greatly appreciated.,

Mahalo,

Ginger

[lucyjohnz]

We've done 8 cruises with 7 of them done with online agencies. They all had phone services and we haven't had any major problems with any of them. The ones we've used are buycruises, cruisesonly, cruise411 and cruise-n-more. Buycruises and cruise411 offer better prices than booking your cruise with the cruiseline itself and we've really liked buycruises. On most cruises, Cruisesonly charges what the cruiselines charge but sometimes have better deals.

 

The other question is: when to cruise and how long. If you cruise to the Med in May or September/October, you'll save a lot of money and miss the crowds and the heat. If you do a 7-day cruise on a older ship (RCL's Spendour), you'll save a LOT of money over a 10-day or 12-day cruise. However, you'll see 2-4 less ports and you'll be REALLY rushed. Pre- and post-cruise days could help. We're doing a May 28th cruise on the Splendour and paying far less than half the price of the 12-day cruise on the RCL Brilliance.

 

As for airfare, you can always look at Orbitz or go directly with an airline. British Airways seems to go anywhere in Europe and they also have an online pricing system.

 

Good luck!

[Leejnd4]

Hi,

 

I for one don't think you're delusional, because if you are, I am! I do LOVE to research vacations, and I can tell you what works for me, in a general sense. First, let me say that a lot depends on how much time you are willing to invest, because finding the best deals does take some leg (or should I say finger!) work. But I find I can get better pricing on everything myself, including cruises, flights, lodging and shore excursions. I shop around on the internet mostly, and then call TA's for competitive bids on cruise fares.

 

For airfare I generally go to all the discount websites until I find the best price, and have even been known to use Priceline name-your-price on occasion, even though many shy away from them due to not knowing your actual flight times until you commit to buy. Some people have mentioned concerns that they would be sent to mulitple out-of-the-way stops, or have rediculous times or layovers, but I haven't found this to be the case. You can specify upfront how many stops you are willing to have, and whether or not you are willing to do a red-eye (although this doesn't apply to Europe, as they ALL are red-eyes ;).) I have read of some bad experiences with Priceline air travel, but it hasn't happened to me. Also, you now have the option of name-your-price or choose-your-flight-times, which will be a little more expensive.

 

If you are going on a point-to-point cruise and have to fly into one city and out of another, then you HAVE to choose your flight times. I just booked an 11-day Med cruise from Funchal, Madeira to Rome, and got my tickets for literally hundreds less on Priceline choose-your-flight than I found anywhere else.

 

If you want to price-compare on a number of websites, just google "discount airfare" and lots of sites will come up.

 

Regarding the cruise itself, as lucyjohnz mentions, there are many discount websites that will offer a much better deal than going direct through the cruise line. Google "discount cruises" and you'll see plenty. What I did for the cruise I just booked was basically price it out on every single one I could find. Then I called a TA from a site that claimed it would "beat any cruise price", figuring that if they mean it, they'll do it. And they did! I got another $80 off the lowest priced bid I'd gotten anywhere. Some people might say that's taking a huge chance as there are many disreputable TA's out there, but in my experience I don't need much from a TA other than the booking itself, so I don't see the problem.

 

Of course, this assumes that you know exactly what cruise you want to take. If you need help in that regard, you may be willing to pay the higher rate to get a little more handholding from a TA. For me that's not necessary, because I figured out in advance when I wanted to travel and what general area, then I just started searching all the cruise lines for the itinerary and price range that looked best to me.

 

There is a WIDE range of prices you will find out there, based on numerous factors. I agree that it is best to go at the beginning or end of the season, as you will find fewer crowds and, IMO, better weather (I prefer the milder temps of Spring and Fall myself, as I'm not looking for a beach or pool vacation in the Mediteranean), and the prices will be lower. My upcoming cruise is in May. Of course you also have the choice of inside, outside, veranda, suite etc, which dramatically affects the price. Be sure when you are comparison-shopping that you are comparing apples to apples in terms of the cabin. I just booked my cruise on Radisson Seven Seas, one of the elite "luxury" cruise lines, for about the same price as I was going to pay on Celebrity, one of the higher-end mass-market lines. Now, if you look at the two cruises it appears that the Radisson cruise is vastly more expensive, but we were already going to select a mid-range suite on Celeb. What I found out is that the LEAST expensive cabin on the Radisson ship is larger, nicer and has a better balcony than the one we'd selected on Celeb, for only slightly more money. But then we learned that on Radisson, most wine/alchohol and all tips are included, so that cancelled out the price difference right there!

 

Regarding lodging, again I spent many hours at the computer looking at a gazillion websites. I was looking for nice but basic accomodations for two nights pre-cruise, so I ended up using Travelocity for a Best Western in Funchal. For the three-night post-cruise stay I wanted more of a B&B or country Inn experience, so I spent hours searching Italian B&B registries, making liberal use of the Google translation feature. I ended up finding this amazing CASTLE in a tiny Medieval hilltown only a couple hours north of Rome, but enough off the beaten path that it was amazingly affordable -- only 80 Eu a night for a gorgeous suite, inside a CASTLE (!), with sitting room, wood-burning fireplace, kitchenette, etc.

 

If you'd like me to send you the links to websites that I've had good luck with in finding great cruise deals, email me at leejnd@adelphia.net.

 

For port excursions, I think you will find consensus in here that you can find much better deals on your own. If you scroll back through this board you will find many threads that talk about various tour operators with whom people have been very happy. One I keep hearing about along the French Riviera is Revelation tours at http://www.revelation-tours.com. My cruise is stopping in Marsailles and Monte Carlo, so I am currently looking into some tours with them.

 

One more thing -- obviously you want to know the quality of something before you select it. I've found http://www.tripadvisor.com to be of value, as they have many user-written reviews, especially about lodging, as well as links to web reviews from sites such as Fodors.

 

I hope this helps some! Personally, I enjoy the research almost as much as the trip itself. (Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it does help to pass the time between vacations!) :D

 

Have fun!

 

LeeAnne

[queeng]

:) Thank you so much for all the information you have shared. I am still researching but I like the itinerary on the Millenium. Now trying to find the best deal.

Mahalo,

Ginger

[MaseratiCruiser]

:) Thank you so much for all the information you have shared. I am still researching but I like the itinerary on the Millenium. Now trying to find the best deal.

Mahalo,

Ginger

 

Ginger, I have links to some of the popular tour operators and a really good place for a cruise deal. You can email me at powderspot@aol.com and I would be glad to send you the information I have found to date. Ron

[drandyl]

Ginger...

 

Since you live in Hawaii, you might want to consider a repositioning cruise that leaves from the states and ends in Europe. That would reduce some of your flight time. For example, we are booked on the Grand Princess from Galveston to Rome for 16 nights 4/16/05. The cruise continues on to Venice through the Greek isles (back-to-back) but we will leave in Rome. We will then spend about 12 days doing our own land tour through Tuscany, Venice, and flying out of Milan. I was able to get a great cruise rate, after much research, and I will be happy to share this with you. If you would like more info, feel free to email me at alacouture@sbcglobal.net

[vivian02]

Can't believe all the great information you folks are coming up with. There is a way to make searching airfares alot easier. I like using expedia and letting sidestep kick in which will usually seach 30 to 40 sights out there for the cheapest fares. Got lucky last week and booked a flight from Phoenix to Munich next June for $499 plus taxes and fees. I took the flight insurance just to be cautious with some of the Airline difficulties. Turned out the site was orbitz and after booking wound up with business class on Air France. If you don't know what side step is I would recommend going to side step.com and reseaching it. The download time is short and it sure has paid off for me. I buy all my cruises by agents.(Online) I buy all my flights online, no agents. Do your homework and save alot. Did Splendor of the Seas last May/June and loved it. Rome is wonderfu. We will probably take a short trip from Munich down to Rome next June for a couple of days and finish up Southern Germany after that. Tim

 

Norwegian Sky Alaska 5/03

Norwegian Star Hawaii 11/03

Royal Caribbean Splendor of the Seas Meditterean 5/28/04

[queeng]

More good informaiton. I have been working on the air portion too and will certainly try sidestep.

 

I am waiting to hear back from a TA about cruise fares and then I am booking!!

Hoping to do Milennium Oct 15 2005. That seems to be a good fit for us.

Anyone have info on which side of the ship is better does it matter?

Love this board.

Mahalo,

Ginger

[tak2]

Ginger,

 

I've booked starboard(right)side on Oct13,05 (the one you're interested in)as the ship sails into Venice pier on Canale della Giudecca, with St. Mark's Square on your right. Check out the satellite map: www.spaceimaging.com/gallery/top1001/venice_italy.jpg ,( there's an underscore between venice and italy)and you can see the pier at far left.

Tak

[jfalco]

Dear Ginger:

 

My DH and I booked 3 days ago on the Millie for 10/15/05. This will be our first trip to Europe. We can't wait until next year. We will ahave a lot of things to look up. Maybe we can research things together.

 

Renee from NJ

[ajpack]

Hi Renee.....Are you sure it's the 15th of Oct. on the Millie? We're going on Oct. 13th on the Millie---I think Royal Caribbean Brilliance sails on the 15th. Anyway, if you are on our ship---welcome! :) We have a great group going. We're on the same deck as Tak2--cabin 7144.

 

Ginger and Renee----come on over to the roll call and chat.

 

Anne

[Cruise Junky]

Hopefully you guys can book for the Millennium...sure hope is the 13th :) We're in 7199.

[queeng]

I am working on it. I have it narrowed down and waiting to hear from one last TA!

 

Excitment Excitment!

[tak2]

I am working on it. I have it narrowed down and waiting to hear from one last TA!

 

Excitment Excitment!

If you are considering pre and post cruise stays, the popular hotels get booked up pretty fast. For example, Locanda Orseolo( where Anne and us will be at )has only 15 rooms, and may not have too many canal view ones left. In Barcelona, we( Cruise Junky, Anne , and us) have all booked Atrium Palace, currently the subject of a couple of active threads. I feel very fortunate to have secured bookings at those highly sought after hotels, thanks to helpful ideas from this message board.

[queeng]

I just heard from a TA who was recommended by someone on this board that she can get me an even better deal if we go Oct 5th on the Grand Princess. It has a little different itinerary but goes from Venice (my must, must see place) to Barcelona. It hits Turkey instead of some of the Greek places. (You can see I am not familiar with the area). I am really torn!!!!! :eek: I realize that it is our decision ultimately but all the input I can get from you cruisers would be so greatly appreciated. You are all so generous with time & tips I have been blown away and humbled

 

I love that my biggest problem today is which cruise to pick!! How lucky are we?

Mahalo,

 

Ginger

[Cruise Junky]

There's a great comparison somewhere by BruinSteve on the two cruises. I'll see if I can find it for you.

[Cruise Junky]

From Bruin Steve....

 

take it this is the itinerary which you are considering:

 

1 Venice, Italy

2 Venice, Italy 1:00 PM

3 At Sea

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

5 Kusadasi (for Ephesus), Turkey 7:00 AM 1:00 PM

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

7 Mykonos, Greece 12:00 PM 7:00 PM

8 At Sea

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

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

11 Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy 6:30 AM 6:00 PM

12 Marseilles, France 7:00 AM 5:00 PM

13 Barcelona, Spain 3:30 AM

 

Compare this to the Celebrity 13 night itinerary (July 16, 2005):

 

Sat venice, italy

Sun venice, italy 3:00 pm

Mon dubrovnik, croatia 7:00 am 5:00 pm

Tue at sea

Wed piraeus (athens), greece 7:00 am 7:00 pm

Thu santorini, greece 7:00 am 11:15 pm

Fri mykonos, greece 7:00 am 11:00 pm

Sat at sea

Sun naples, italy 9:00 am 9:00 pm

Mon civitavecchia (rome), italy 7:00 am 7:00 pm

Tue livorno(florence/pisa),italy 7:00 am 7:00 pm

Wed villefranche (nice), france 7:00 am 11:59 pm

Thu at sea

Fri barcelona, spain 7:00 am

 

Both ships visit Athens, but Celebrity is in port until 7, Princess only to 5:45...

Both visit Mykonos--Princess basically gives you the afternoon, Noon to 7 while Celebrity is there from 7 until 11 at night...

Both visit Naples, 7 to 7 (P) or 9 to 9 © ...

Both do Rome--both 7 to 7

Both do Livorno--6:30 to 6 (P) or 7 to 7 ©...

 

Then, the different ports:

Princess does Istanbul, Kusadasi and Marseilles...

Celebrity does Dubrovnik, Santorini and Villefranche...

 

If you really want to see Turkey, then Princess is the way to go...but, realize, you are only getting a morning in Kusadasi...the ship leaves at 1:00 pm...and 8 to 6 is a short time to see Istanbul...

Celebrity's ports are pretty interesting...and they give you full days in each...and stick around in Santorini and Villefranche until LATE...

 

Remember to look not only at the ports visited, but the times in port...

 

Another thing to remember about Turkey is, yes, some lines are shying away from it now for political reasons, but also remember that some had it scheduled and then yanked it off the itinerary close to sailing for those same reasons...

 

I guess I also favor Celebrity as a personal preference...My one Princess cruise in Europe (Baltic/Russia in 2001) was somewhat disappointing...the demographics were elderly, the amenities, entertainment and service were substandard...and I noticed too many short cuts in the routing, choice of port facilities, itinerary and port times...Also, the ship seemed to virtually shut down by 10 each night...

 

Also, if Turkey is a preference, you might also want to check out siome of Celebrity's Galaxy sailings... Of course, those are more the Greece/Turkey regional type...

 

Anyway, whichever you choose, I'm sure you'll enjoy...

__________________

[MaseratiCruiser]

I love that my biggest problem today is which cruise to pick!! How lucky are we?

Mahalo,

 

Ginger

 

 

Ginger,

 

I am in the same boat as you, as far as never having been to southern Europe. Because of this, I wanted a cruise that gave me the biggest sampling of the entire area, so I chose the Princess Grand Med cruise. I love the fact that Italy is so well covered on this cruise, with stops in Florence, Naples, Rome and Venice. Plus you also get Athens Greece, (with an additional stop in the Greek Isle of Mykonos) Barcelona and the French Riviera! One of the main things I wanted to see (besides Venice) and experience was Turkey. This cruise goes to the historic cities of Istanbul and Ephesus, Turkey. These two cities are rich in biblical/ancient history.

 

From what I hear, the Greek Isles cruises are equally as fantastic, but more laid back. I figure when I am older and slower (no offense to anyone), I will visit these ports on another cruise. For now though, I want to see and experience as much of Mediterranean Europe as possible, so I chose this cruise which is a bit more demanding but covers a broader spectrum.

 

Check out my original posting "Grand Med or Greek Isles?" on Cruise Critic, where there are some great suggestions from other Cruise Critic members.

 

Have fun deciding.

 

Ron

[queeng]

Well the decision has been made. ..... After reading and researching ALOT!!! We think we would like to see Turkey. Santorini looks so beautiful. The physical beauty of the Greek Islands looks amazing but we live on a Volcanic island that is right up there with beautiful places so we decided to go a little more exotic. Believe me I never even thought of Turkey before this! But after reading and checking out websites my husband and I both agree that we would like the adventure.

 

The two cruise ships both sound wonderful. We both loved the last Princess cruise we took and expect this one to be even better.

 

Again I thank everyone for his or her input. It was WONDERFUL. So helpful.

 

And we are getting a great deal on this cruise too from a tip from a member of this board (Thanks, Ron)

 

Now I can't wait to start working on all the air and pre and post stuff. It makes the time between cruises go faster!

 

Mahalo nui loa,

 

Ginger

[tommui987]

I do a lot of research on the boards - cruise critic being the first one. If I find a good bargain on a cruise, I would mention it to my TA who usually matches the price.

 

Air - I also research this through various websites and also find out whether the cruise line might have one as well simply because being met at the airport, your luggage taken care of etc. takes a lot of stress out of your life.

 

My wife and I have taken a Baltic cruise with NCL and a cruise of the western Med (Barcelona to Athens) on the Crown Odyssey.

 

The biggest bugaboo of the trip is flying from HNL to SFO or LAX, staying at the airport for about two hours before hopping on the plane from the west coast to London or Paris, depending on your ship.

 

(Next year, I'm hoping to upgrade to New York - visit our daughter and from there fly to Europe).

 

Do consider a pre and post extension. If you are going to fly all the way from Kona to Europe and it is your first trip to Europe, take advantage!

 

Incidentally if Athens is on your schedule, the Hotel Plaka is owned by the same family that use to run the Volcano House!

[tommui987]

Well the decision has been made. ..... After reading and researching ALOT!!! We think we would like to see Turkey. Santorini looks so beautiful.

 

Didn't see you latest post - this one - when I shot in a reply.

 

Santorini and Kailua-Kona is like comparing apples and oranges!

 

My wife and I are life-long residents on Oahu (other than schooling on the east coast) and I am over 70 and my wife is getting there. But we loved Santorini and look forward to seeing the eastern Med including Istabul.

[dbh62ark]

I've been on many European itineraries (several time to the Med, etc.), and I strongly prefer Turkey over Greece. Greece is very nice--my favorite is Mykonos--but Istanbul is exotic, beautiful, mysterios, and exciting. It is a little rough around the edges like Lisbon, but is it amazing. If you do a pre-cruise stay, I highly recommend the Sari Konak at http://www.sarikonak.com/. We wanted to stay in the historic Sultanamet area, and the rooftop view of the Bosphorus (sp??) are incredible.

 

Ephesus and the coastal areas are also awesome. I wouldn't have missed the Acropolis, Plaka, etc. in Athens, but I'm not enthralled with Athens since it is fairly dirty, crowded, and hot. A day there is plenty. But two thumbs up to Istanbul for sure.

 

Happy travels,

Donna

[patticake1448]

Aloha, Queeng!

 

I live on Oahu and just came back from a great 10-day Med cruise booked by Non-Stop Travel on King St. I'm sure you'll find all you need on-line, but i sure did like being able to call them with the million questions i had. they did a great job, and we had a wonderful cruise! if you have any questions, you can e-mail me at missy1448@hotmail.com. good luck!

[WCAB]

Ginger,

 

My husband and I are doing this same cruise in May on the Grand. We begin our cruise in Barcelona. We did a "holy land" cruise about six years ago and had a fantastic time. I can hardly wait.

 

Carol

[slgjhg]

Hi Ginger,

 

We ended a cruise in Istanbul in 2000 and stayed for 4 days, 3 nights. Loved it, it is an amazingly beautiful city. The hills, the water the history, and the people. We were lucky enough to be there again this fall. We saw the city at a totally different time of year, Sept. vs. Feb. big difference with all the foliage, etc. What wasn't different was how very much we enjoyed this city.

Bacially, I would have the same comments about Ephasis except it will astound you because of the sofistication that is so obvious and the historical importance of the City.

 

We inquired and posted lots on the "Ports of Call" boards. I was delighted with the guide I hired, Levant Solmaz, who other CC's had used and recommended.

 

Have fun with all of the details and enjoy.

 

Regards,

 

Shannon