barcelona or santorini

[lolo73]

Hey we are deciding on take the ruby sept 1-09 that ports out of barcelona, is going to Mykonas greece but not santorini, the other one leaves on aug 8 and starts in rome but goes to santorini but no barcelona.... any suggestions out there??

[Aussie Gal]

Having been to both Barcelona and Santorini twice it is a hard call. One is a big city with lots to see and do in a day. We love Gaudi's work and have been up one of the spires in his unfinished Cathedral - Sagrada Familia - we also been through some of his houses and his park. We also love the Ramblas, the old city and just walking around and taking in the atmosphere.

 

Santorini is completely different. It is a very barren and dry but it has so much charm. It can be extremely hot there as there is little shade but I do love sitting at a restuarant on the edge of the Caldera having a drink or something to eat and just looking out over the water. Also a short bus ride away is Oia which is a pretty village and not quite so touristy.

 

You have to make a decision as to whether you want to visit a city - one that is completely different to any other Spanish city as it is so European, or do you want to visit a special Greek Island but full of tourists as there are usually a couple of ships in port plus a daily ferry.

 

Jennie

[Bruin Steve]

More importantly, one of them visits Istanbul, the other doesn't...And Istanbul is incredible...

 

So, it's Barcelona to Venice with Istanbul and no Santorini...or Rome to Venice with Santorini and no Istanbul...

 

Ummmm...I love Santorini, but I'd go with Istanbul and Barcelona...

 

Of course, the other question is...does it have to be the Ruby? Does it have to be Princess? Are you cruising for the itinerary or for the ship?

 

There are itineraries that include Barcelona AND Santorini...if that's what you want...Here's one on Oceania...which does Barcelona AND Santorini AND Istanbul:

 

Ship: Regatta Sailing Date: April 04, 2009

 

Day Port Arrive Depart

1 Barcelona, Spain 8:00PM

2 Palma de Mallorca, Spain 8:00AM 2:00PM

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

4 Monte Carlo, Monaco 8:00AM 10:00PM

5 Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy 8:00AM 8:00PM

6 Olbia/Porto Cervo (Sardinia), Italy 8:00AM 6:00PM

7 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 7:00AM 8:00PM

8 Amalfi/Positano, Italy 8:00AM 4:00PM

9 Cruising the Mediterranean Sea

10 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 8:00AM 8:00PM

11 Santorini, Greece 8:00AM 6:00PM

12 Rhodes, Greece 8:00AM 6:00PM

13 Kusadasi, Turkey 8:00AM 2:00PM

14 Istanbul, Turkey 12:00PM

15 Istanbul, Turkey

 

Of course, rather than being on a 113,000 gross ton ship with over 3,000 passengers, you'd be on a 30,000 gross ton ship with less than 700 passengers--far less crowded...

 

And there are other choices out there as well...One thing for certain, no matter what cruise you choose, you are NOT going to get to everywhere you might want to go...There's just far too much to see in the Med...

 

Another answer is to choose a cruise that doesn't go to Barcelona but to book flights that stop in Barcelona...spend a couple of days there and then fly on to your embarkation port...Many frequent flyer progrms allow you intermediate stops for no additional points...That's how we visited Madrid on our way to a cruise out of Dover and visited England on the way home from our Crown Princess cruise out of Copenhagen...

 

Good luck...

[Ruste]

I love Santorini but after sitting on our balcony and watching the passengers from 8 ships come ashore by tender I'm not sure it is a place I would visit on a cruise. Once ashore you have to get up to the town either by foot, donkey or wait your turn for the gondola. It looked like a lot of time waiting for a short time ashore. I should say this was the middle of October so I have no idea what it would be like in the peak of the summer season. We were told that up to 15,000 people get off the ships in a day and there can be up to 12 ships visit on the same day.

 

Barcelona was a great place to visit by ship.

[sidari]

It may be worth picking a cruise out of venice? that includes Corfu the Greenest of any of the Greek isles (but we are biased towards it) ...:D

Barcelona is a Great city with lots always going on although with the Venice sailing you sometimes get an overnight to explore...:) not sure if you do with the others.

[chasetf]

I love Santorini but after sitting on our balcony and watching the passengers from 8 ships come ashore by tender I'm not sure it is a place I would visit on a cruise. Once ashore you have to get up to the town either by foot, donkey or wait your turn for the gondola. It looked like a lot of time waiting for a short time ashore. I should say this was the middle of October so I have no idea what it would be like in the peak of the summer season. We were told that up to 15,000 people get off the ships in a day and there can be up to 12 ships visit on the same day.

 

Barcelona was a great place to visit by ship.

We musta lucked out.... there were only two in two when we were there and I though we had a long wait for the ride up.... plus it seemed crowded in town..... But 8 ships or 12 ships :eek:

[chasetf]

Hey we are deciding on take the ruby sept 1-09 that ports out of barcelona, is going to Mykonas greece but not santorini, the other one leaves on aug 8 and starts in rome but goes to santorini but no barcelona.... any suggestions out there??

My suggestion would be the Rome start (if you have never been there) ..... so you could do a pre-cruise there. Rome cannot be seen in a day. ;)

[lolo73]

Thanks so much for the info. Have you been to Mykonos in Greece?? if so how is it??

[Aussie Gal]

We have been to Mykonas a couple of times. Once when we called in for the day on a cruise and the other time was when we stayed 5 nights there. We enjoyed both visits.

 

It has a quaint port area and if you care to catch a bus, there are some lovely beach areas.

 

There is of course the famous windmills and the pelican.

 

Jennie

[SingerEsq]

Excellent question ... have been to both and love both. They're completely different as others have said. I wend with the Ruby from Rome, which stops in Santorini. Unfortunately it does not stop in Istanbul (which is one of my favorite cities). But at least we get to go to Kusadasi (Ephesus). Barcelona is a beautiful city, so if you can't get there on this cruise, get there another day!