Italy by Cruise Ship

[CMF]

I'm having a hard time finding a cruise that goes down one side of the boot and up the other with lot's of ports of calls. Any suggestions?

 

Charles

[agabbymama]

I'm having a hard time finding a cruise that goes down one side of the boot and up the other with lot's of ports of calls. Any suggestions?

 

Charles

 

Nope, I couldn't find one of those either, so I opted for Grand Princess that will start in Civitavecchia (Rome), Monte Carlo, Livorno (Pisa & Florence), Naples, Santorini, Kusadasi, Mykonos, Athens, Olimpia, Corfu and Venice. Thats 4 stops in Italy. Otherwise you are either going to make a few stops on the East coast or a few stops on the West coast. I didn't find another one that does both. If you really only want Italy, you might look at land vacations rather than cruises.

 

If money is no object, look at Costa, you may be able to put together a cruise of the East Coast, then another one of the West Coast. Good Luck.

[rebeccalouise]

I think you would like the Summit 12 day Western Med. it stops in Livorno, Citivecchia, Naples and Venice. I don't know what other ports you might be interested in though.

 

You may want to combine the cruise with some land travel. I especially like Lake Como and Northern Italy.

[tomko2]

RCI's Brilliance of the Seas leaves from Barcelona and visits: Venice, Florence/Pisa/, Naples and Rome as well as MonteCarlo, Corfu, and Dubronik.

Kathy:)

[slomotion]

I'm having a hard time finding a cruise that goes down one side of the boot and up the other with lot's of ports of calls. Any suggestions?

 

Charles

 

Check out the Emerald Princess out of Barcelona on 5/24/08 (better hurry!)

[Betty Lu]

Check out Pacific Princess - we're on a cruise the end of September from Civitveccia to Venice with several stops in Italy, Malta, and Corsica.

[chipmaster]

I'm having a hard time finding a cruise that goes down one side of the boot and up the other with lot's of ports of calls. Any suggestions?

 

Charles

 

 

Princess does a nice itinerary this year with 3 stops in Italy: Starts in Venice, Athens, Ephesus, Istanbul, Mykonos, Naples, Civitavecchia ( Rome ), Livorno ( Florence/Pisa), Marseille, and ending in Barcelona.

 

Gives you the ability to tack on a few days at the begining and end in two very differet areas. It is difficult as one day in Rome, Florence, Naples and Istanbul is really not enough, but that is the nature of doing it by a boat. All the more excuse to come back again :D :D

 

I haven't seen many other itenerarys that stop in more places but you can fine ones that will start and end in Italy.

 

Happy shopping!

[blambition]

I suggest you look at RCCL Legend of the Seas 13 night Italy and Croatia cruise. They are sailing several dates between now and end of Oct.

Vicki

[JermKy]

Yes, RCCL's Italy and Croatia cruise goes to leaves from Rome, to Portofino, Florence (2 nights), Sicily (Messina), Venice (2 nights), and Naples. It also includes two stops in Croatia. We chose this itinerary because of all the stops in Italy.

[schneidwife]

Azamara has one but it sails next week on the 26th. It's roundtrip Rome, has overnights in Venice, Sorrento and Livorno (not in that order!) and also visits Bari, Ravenna, Taormina, Porto Cervo and Split. I don't know if they are doing this itinerary again but all but one port are in Italy.

[CMF]

It's going to take me a while to process the information but I'm not in a rush since I'm planning a couple of years ahead.

 

This will be a cruise for a family of six that includes a senior of limited mobility and three children that will be 8 [twins] and 5. We think that a cruise is the best way to go to cover a lot of territory without worrying about getting from point A to point B, making multiple reservations, car rentals, driving in unfamiliar territory, etc. I'm worried about how much all of this is going to cost. Do you think we can pull it off for under $10K not including airfare???

 

Charles

[agabbymama]

It's going to take me a while to process the information but I'm not in a rush since I'm planning a couple of years ahead.

 

This will be a cruise for a family of six that includes a senior of limited mobility and three children that will be 8 [twins] and 5. We think that a cruise is the best way to go to cover a lot of territory without worrying about getting from point A to point B, making multiple reservations, car rentals, driving in unfamiliar territory, etc. I'm worried about how much all of this is going to cost. Do you think we can pull it off for under $10K not including airfare???

 

Charles

 

Depending on what you are looking for, NO! There is only one of me and the cost right now is at $4000++, so for 6 people, I think you are looking at a lot more than $10,000. Cruise only you might get for that, but not hotels, transfers, excursions, food, etc. Europe is very expensive even before you take the conversion rate of the dollar into consideration. If you look at hotels at 250 - 350 EUR (that's a lot of money before conversion) then figure about $350-500 per night after conversion. And those are moderate hotels.

[CMF]

Obviously, I am stupendously ignorant on this subject. Hotels? I never even thought about hotels. I just thought we'd land and catch a taxi to the pier then board the ship. Then head directly to the airport after arriving at our final destination. I guess that's not the way to do it huh? And food? I just figured we would eat on the ship and have light lunches during excursions.

 

Realistically, what should I expect to spend on this cruise? Am I better off working with a travel agent? Can anyone recommend a good one? I live in Maryland if that makes a difference.

 

Thanks,

Charles

 

PS My cruise experience is limited to an Alaska cruise. We did not go on any excursions but walked around a couple of the towns and had a great time. The reason for considering an ambitious Mediterranean cruise is that DW wants to visit Italy on her XX birthday and we don't feel comfortable leaving the kids behind for a week or more. So we thought a cruise would be the best way to go if we had to bring them along. HELP!!!

[M76]

Charles,

 

I saw your post so I wanted to reply.

 

The cost depends on the season you would like to travel. If you go on high season like the summer when the kids are off from school you are better off planning six to eight months ahead. For example, my in-laws, husband and I are doing a Med 12 day cruise with Princess in June of this year. We started planning on August, 2007. We purchased our plain tickets last year. Now the same flight and itinerary is $500 ++ pp..crazy, uh...

 

You also want to flight one day before the ships departs to avoid missing the ship. What if your flights are delayed and you miss your connection? The same happens when you leave the ship, what if you miss your plane because you were not able to disembark on time?

 

If you go on low season, you are able to find more hotels and the flights are less crowded and less pricey.

 

I think taking DW to this cruise is very sweet but you have to be more realistic to your budget and time for this cruise. You can do it, but it require lots of planning.

 

Good luck.

 

Maria

[agabbymama]

CMF

 

You have to ultimately decide what you want to do. The Grand Princess cruise I'm taking is 12 days and I got a balcony cabin for $2000. I would imagine ocean views or inside cabins would be more reasonable. If you find only a 7 day cruise, that might be less money too. But Europe is about a 10-11 hour flight, do you want to do that for a 7 day cruise? Lots of questions you have to answer.

 

I'm arriving in Rome for pre-cruise and I found a moderate, clean hotel near the Vatican for $113 per night for a triple room, called Domus Aurelia. Hop on/Hop off bus for sightseeing in Rome is $25 pp with kids being a little less. Transfer from FCO to Rome hotel is $25 pp then transfer from the hotel to Civitavecchia we are sharing with others on our roll call for 30 EUR)s pp (it's about an hour from the airport to Rome and about an hour and a half from Rome to Civitavecchia. Will need breakfast, lunch and dinner in Rome (not sure what that's going to cost but budgeting $50).

 

I started thinking we could do this whole trip for around $3500 pp, but with the devalued dollar, the costs have just escalated horrendously. As I stated earlier I am at $4000 now plus my airfare was $1050. I'm doing only two escorted tours (one on Santorini and one in Kusadasi) at approx $50 pp. Other than that we are going to just do our own thing possibly with ho/ho buses and walking. So these costs I'm giving you aren't elaborate.

 

Again, depending on cabin category you want, I would think you should budget at least $3500 pp and have a cushion in case you run into higher costs. As M76 states you should arrive at least 1 day early and leave 1 day after to allow for any delays (flights, ship etc). If you plan to arrive the same day your ship departs, and you have a flight delay, the ship leaves without you and you are on your own to get to the next port to catch up. If your ship is delayed getting into final port, and you have a plane to catch, you may miss it. It's best to plan ahead for these contingencies.

 

I don't use travel agents anymore, with this website and Internet for info, I just do my own thing. Make a graph chart. Across the top put the cruiselines/ships, then down the side put the things that are important to you (ports, time in ports, size of ship, kind of cabin (I won't go without a balcony), activities for kids, any particular sights you want to see, etc.) Then as you research put an "x" in the conjoining boxes. The more you research, one should stand out with more "x's" and that should be the one you go on.

 

Hae fun researching, planning then taking your trip. Someone on this board has posted, take half the clothes you think you need and twice the money. That's a good rule when traveling to Europe.

[rebeccalouise]

Travel agents aren't bad.

A travel agent may get better rates on some of the chain hotels.

[Crusin6]

CMF

 

You have to ultimately decide what you want to do. The Grand Princess cruise I'm taking is 12 days and I got a balcony cabin for $2000. I would imagine ocean views or inside cabins would be more reasonable. If you find only a 7 day cruise, that might be less money too. But Europe is about a 10-11 hour flight, do you want to do that for a 7 day cruise? Lots of questions you have to answer.

 

I'm arriving in Rome for pre-cruise and I found a moderate, clean hotel near the Vatican for $113 per night for a triple room, called Domus Aurelia. Hop on/Hop off bus for sightseeing in Rome is $25 pp with kids being a little less. Transfer from FCO to Rome hotel is $25 pp then transfer from the hotel to Civitavecchia we are sharing with others on our roll call for 30 EUR)s pp (it's about an hour from the airport to Rome and about an hour and a half from Rome to Civitavecchia. Will need breakfast, lunch and dinner in Rome (not sure what that's going to cost but budgeting $50).

 

I started thinking we could do this whole trip for around $3500 pp, but with the devalued dollar, the costs have just escalated horrendously. As I stated earlier I am at $4000 now plus my airfare was $1050. I'm doing only two escorted tours (one on Santorini and one in Kusadasi) at approx $50 pp. Other than that we are going to just do our own thing possibly with ho/ho buses and walking. So these costs I'm giving you aren't elaborate.

 

Again, depending on cabin category you want, I would think you should budget at least $3500 pp and have a cushion in case you run into higher costs. As M76 states you should arrive at least 1 day early and leave 1 day after to allow for any delays (flights, ship etc). If you plan to arrive the same day your ship departs, and you have a flight delay, the ship leaves without you and you are on your own to get to the next port to catch up. If your ship is delayed getting into final port, and you have a plane to catch, you may miss it. It's best to plan ahead for these contingencies.

 

I don't use travel agents anymore, with this website and Internet for info, I just do my own thing. Make a graph chart. Across the top put the cruiselines/ships, then down the side put the things that are important to you (ports, time in ports, size of ship, kind of cabin (I won't go without a balcony), activities for kids, any particular sights you want to see, etc.) Then as you research put an "x" in the conjoining boxes. The more you research, one should stand out with more "x's" and that should be the one you go on.

 

Hae fun researching, planning then taking your trip. Someone on this board has posted, take half the clothes you think you need and twice the money. That's a good rule when traveling to Europe.

Ditto tp ALL of the above posts. We decided to do this trip for our 20th anniversary and started thinking about it 7 years ago when DD #4 was born! Our costs are as follows; Air $1200 pp booked and paid for 9 months in advance ( price much higher now) non-stop flight of course NYC to FCO. 3 nights pre cruise in Rome $2000 for enough space for a family of 6. Cruise $10,000 for 2 connecting oceanview cabins on the Carnival Freedom 12 nighter (got price reduced just prior to final payment) $450 for insurance ( a must have) $1000 in total for the private site guides we want for the kids plus admission fees at the sites etc (probable more though) $3500 for the private tours at 4 ports for our family of 6 ( Carnival excursions are not cheap either per person) transfers at home and from FCO to hotel and from hotel to port and from port to FCO, $1000 ( families of 6 need suv's or vans) food on port days and in Rome ????? who the heck knows. So do you see what everyone is talking about? I too thought that we could do a trip of this sort for around $15,000 but realistically it will cost around $30,000. You must consider the kids and group tours won't work when the excursions put you in a bus with 50 other people so that is why private tours work for families with kids. My suggestion is wait until the kids are slightly older ( ours will range from 7 to 17 at the time of our trip this summer) keep saving and by all means do a lot more research. Remember you don't need to know all the answers but you must be able to ASK the right questions. So for now consider Disneyworld. We did that for our 10th and 15th anniversaries and have also done their quite expensive but fabulous 7 day cruise (forget the shorter cruises) or maybe do the Canada 5 day from NYC on the Victory or what ever but I can assure you that $10,000 is NOT possible for your family, too many unexpected expenses with kids as you now know from my post. I noticed you said a mobility imparied person, then you will have to arrange for private tours with a van? Personally, we do not leave the kids behind, they want to travel and are good at it. Have your kids travelled this far before? You will need to arrive about 3 days early to get over jet lag and see beautiful Rome or wherever you embark. We always said we would wait until the oldest DD (almost 18) could help out with the youngest on a European cruise, and this is the summer. We also said we would save up for this trip. LOL we were able to refinance and pull out cash from the house at a great fixed rate, so that is how we are doing it. If not now, when? One thing for sure, once they start college their summers may well be spoken for so a family vacation like this is a must for our family this year! GOOD LUCK!:)

[wherewegoinnxt?]

Addictedtraveler is right on the money...no pun intended. We are doing the 12nt RCCL Italy, Greece and Estrn Med cruise 7/10/08 with our 3 children 12, 10 and 5. We have been planning this adventure for 4 yrs. and the costs are piling up, $15,000 and rising.

 

Transfers, 3nt precruise in Rome plus tours of the eternal city, private tours at nearly every stop, new DSLR - a 4mp p&s will not cut it. When all is said done I may not be able to afford souveneirs, therefore the pix will be important LOL!

 

If Italy / Med is really where you want to go. A cruise is the way to do it with children. The days at sea will allow them an opportunity to decompress from touring -- pool time, children's programs etc. You and DW may even find a few well deserved quiet moments for yourselves.

 

 

Money saving tips

 

Off season travel - take the children out of school, you will save a lot of $$$. The benefits of traveling to the places most people will only read about certainly out weigh missing 7 days of kindergarten or 3rd grade.

 

Research, research, research - Know what you want and its value, so that when you see a good deal you can grab it.

 

Book early - decide on the cruise you want to take in advance of being able to actually book. As soon as the booking window opens, BOOK IT!!

(We booked on the first day -March 07-RCCL published their prices for this summer sojourn on the Med. Prices went up within days!!)

 

Booking early also applies to airfare and hotel stays. Our hotel has nearly doubled its price since we booked it last year.

 

Private Tours - (another place where research pays dividends) although sometimes can be more expensive, well worth the convenience whether traveling with children or not. Generally you are able to take in more in less time and when its time to go...you go.

 

Enjoy the Ride!!!

[CMF]

Thank you all for the help. My wife and I spoke about this and we nixed this idea. We don't think we'll get the value we want for the expense traveling with young children and a senior.

 

Charles

[JoeyJoJoShabadu]

I suggest you look at RCCL Legend of the Seas 13 night Italy and Croatia cruise. They are sailing several dates between now and end of Oct.

Vicki

 

and it starts and finishes in Rome where you need 3-4 days to see it all. this is what we're doing this summer, the 13 day.

 

How is $1299 a person not value for 2 weeks!!!

[genni]

Budget is a problem with the USA Dollar - there are cruiselines that allow under 17 to cruise, (pay port costs/services and such , free, but air fair?)

Then there are excusions - private or do your own with local mass-transportation, often a good idea compared to ship offered ones (lunch or not included?)...always keep in mind that the Med.Sea area is max. price during the warmer months - summer...

[agabbymama]

and it starts and finishes in Rome where you need 3-4 days to see it all. this is what we're doing this summer, the 13 day.

 

How is $1299 a person not value for 2 weeks!!!

 

Thats a good price for a 13 day cruise, only problem is it's an inside cabin. But you will find your 2-3 days in Rome is going to cost you almost as much as the cruise. And the OP has 6 to pay for, that would really boost the total price quicky.

[CMF]

 

How is $1299 a person not value for 2 weeks!!!

 

When 4 of the people would be happier splashing in pool in Florida or floating down a lazy river in a water park. And, when the other two people have to cater to the whims and demands of the other four 24/7.

 

Charles

[lambs2]

When 4 of the people would be happier splashing in pool in Florida or floating down a lazy river in a water park. And, when the other two people have to cater to the whims and demands of the other four 24/7.

 

Charles

 

 

 

Charlie,

I know how you feel! My advice would be to wait a few years until it is just you and DW to do your Mediterranean cruise for a big anniversary or birthday celebration. Just a thought...

[YoPhilly]

You mentioned you're looking ahead a few years. You have plenty of time to research. Don't rule out a trip with the kids. Look at off-season. Bank frequent flyer miles. It's do-able.