Which Line is Best for European Cruise?

[Sailaway123]

We have sailed 25 times to the Caribbean, Mexico, Panama Canal and Canada. Our little tour group in now interested in doing a European Cruise ( in the Med). The age range is 40-60 years old, we are non-smokers and very active. We would like some thoughts, experiences and commets from our fellow cruisers before making our choice. :confused:

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

EJ

[Wormy53]

We are in your age bracket and active. We have been to Europe twice on Princess and enjoyed both. I really like the anytime dining option. Sometimes you get back to the ship so late - and don't have to rush for dinner! It is very port-intensive so this help a lot. They have the best "mix" for us with ambience and service. Enjoy!:)

[paul929207]

We have taken 5 European cruises with Princess and loved them all.

[punkmuse]

we did a 14 day meditteranean cruise with Royal Caribbean and it was hands down the best vacation we have ever been on.

 

there were plenty of things for everyone to do of all ages and activity levels.

[AF-1]

did a med cruise with RCI in 2007, and had a wonderful time. Am doing a 12 day "best of europe" in may on RCI. Will let you know how it goes.

[chipmaster]

We have sailed 25 times to the Caribbean, Mexico, Panama Canal and Canada. Our little tour group in now interested in doing a European Cruise ( in the Med). The age range is 40-60 years old, we are non-smokers and very active. We would like some thoughts, experiences and commets from our fellow cruisers before making our choice. :confused:

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

EJ

 

 

The best line is the one that has the best dates/price and visits mosts of your top / favorite ports.

 

Yes, there are real differences between Carnival, RCL, Princess and the other mainstream lines, but those difference will be small and picking one over the other for a small precieved difference instead of getting one of your groups want to do ports is a mistake in my opinion.

 

Europe is all about the ports, list the most desired ports from 1 to n, and find the cruise that hits the most with the right price and schedule for your group. I'll bet that the larger problem will be getting everyone to agree on the ports then the cruise line.

 

good luck!

[fann1sh]

You mentioned you're non-smokers. For individual cruise line smoking policies, please take a look at:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=225

[nparmelee]

Itinerary in Europe means everything, ship and line are secondary at best. We've started to prefer Oceania because they offer itineraries we really like and only allow smoking in 2 locations on ship and are very strict about it. My suggestion is to pick two cities you really want to visit, plan a few pre and post cruise days in each and find a cruise that you like that goes between them to ports you are interested in.

[sdagenais]

My husband and I are scheduled on RCC's Italty and Croatia trip this year. RCC is not our preferred cruise line but we want to visit Italy. This itineary allows us to spend adequate time in Italy at an affordable room and board rate without extensive land travel schelping luggage. And, when in Italy, a few days rest at sea on any cruise line is an added perk. Since I can't find any other cruise that provides the same Number of days in the ports I want to see, RCC's Legend of the Seas will be our ship.

 

Since your group has experienced the joys of cruising, get together and decide where you want to go and how many days you want to be at sea and go from there. I'm sure whatever your group decides, you'll have a wonderful time.

[pris993]

We have done cruises in Europe on Princess, Celebrity, Crystal, and Holland America over the years. Each cruise was fantastic.

 

Like others have said these cruises are very port intensive. So pick the cruise ports you are most interested in seeing.

 

We always cruise primarily on "new" ships. Once we went on the Royal Princess when it was 12 years old, still in very good condition.

 

For first time cruisers to Europe who are considering a Mediterranean cruise we often suggest looking at cruises going in and out of Barcelona and Athens because it is so easy to get between the airport and port in these two ports, less costly too in transfer transportation.

[eandj]

Looks like the OP has cruised Carnival the most..must like it??? If so, might want to try RCL. I'd say the closest to Carnival. My first rec was going to be a smaller ship to avoid lines, crowds etc. however with the past history, I wouldn't worry so much. Princess too would be great.

 

ITINERARY and time spent at each desireable port is VERY important.

[jocap]

We have sailed 25 times to the Caribbean, Mexico, Panama Canal and Canada. Our little tour group in now interested in doing a European Cruise ( in the Med). The age range is 40-60 years old, we are non-smokers and very active. We would like some thoughts, experiences and commets from our fellow cruisers before making our choice. :confused:

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

EJ

Have you looked at the cruise lines which "live" in Europe, such as MSC (Obama's home for a big conference soon), Costa, P&O and Cunard's Victoria (all part of the Carnival empire)? We favour NCL, which has Jade in the Med all year round, and Jewel and Gem in the summer. Their freestyle suits us after all the port intensive days. The 2 trips we did on Jade these last few months had people from many countries on board, but chiefly from North America, and also a mixed age range. Enjoy planning!-jocap.

[Sailaway123]

Thanks to all !!!! It seems that everyone is pretty much saying the same thing, pick the ports and then find the right ship.

 

So far Italy and Croatia are on everyone's list. Greece would OK as well.

 

Should we try to fly in and out of the same port?

 

Looks like the port days are long, so is late dinner best?

 

Did anyone use private tour guides, instead of the ship excursions or just going out on their own? If so, can you suggest any good ones?

 

Right now the itinerary on RCCL Brilliance of the Seas matches up the best. Has anyone been on this ship recently? We recently did Explorer of the Seas. Loved that the ship had a great mix of passengers, Brits, Irish, Scots, Americans, Canadians, and many more.

 

Some of us have been to Europe on land tours and agree that not having to schlep the luggage each day is differently a plus.

 

Thanks again for all your replies,

EJ

[eandj]

Thanks to all !!!! It seems that everyone is pretty much saying the same thing, pick the ports and then find the right ship.

 

So far Italy and Croatia are on everyone's list. Greece would OK as well.

 

Should we try to fly in and out of the same port?

 

Looks like the port days are long, so is late dinner best?

 

Did anyone use private tour guides, instead of the ship excursions or just going out on their own? If so, can you suggest any good ones?

 

Right now the itinerary on RCCL Brilliance of the Seas matches up the best. Has anyone been on this ship recently? We recently did Explorer of the Seas. Loved that the ship had a great mix of passengers, Brits, Irish, Scots, Americans, Canadians, and many more.

 

Some of us have been to Europe on land tours and agree that not having to schlep the luggage each day is differently a plus.

 

Thanks again for all your replies,

EJ

 

Yes, the Brilliance is very popular.

 

If you decide on the itinerary, go to the Europe ports of call board and head for the Med cruise section. You'll find tons of recs. ANd if you book, you can go to your ship's roll call board to book private tours with others. We'll be on Celebrity's Summit in the fall...Barcelona to Venice. A couple days at eextra pre and post cruise makes for a 16 day vacation.:)

 

As far as dinner seatings....early dining is at 6:00 ish. 8:30 for late. We choose the early schedule, but will skip dining room sitting if we're running behind. We don't eat at 8:30 at home and like to stick close to our regular hour dinner with enough evening left before ending our day. Especially on cruises of over 10 days. We sleep well! It's all what you prefer. And how long you want your day to be.

[Sailaway123]

Hi eandj

 

Funny you should mention Celebrity Summit. I just received their brochure and was looking at the 12 Night Mediterranean Legacies Cruise. Really like the ports on this one.

 

EJ

[chipmaster]

Thanks to all !!!! It seems that everyone is pretty much saying the same thing, pick the ports and then find the right ship.

 

So far Italy and Croatia are on everyone's list. Greece would OK as well.

 

Should we try to fly in and out of the same port?

 

Looks like the port days are long, so is late dinner best?

 

Did anyone use private tour guides, instead of the ship excursions or just going out on their own? If so, can you suggest any good ones?

 

Right now the itinerary on RCCL Brilliance of the Seas matches up the best. Has anyone been on this ship recently? We recently did Explorer of the Seas. Loved that the ship had a great mix of passengers, Brits, Irish, Scots, Americans, Canadians, and many more.

 

Some of us have been to Europe on land tours and agree that not having to schlep the luggage each day is differently a plus.

 

Thanks again for all your replies,

EJ

 

On our last European cruise, Princess, we also had lots of Europeans and South Americans. I think all the lines will likely have a good international flavor versus Caribbean and Alaska.

 

I highly recommend doing private tours and skipping the ship sponsored tours. Some ports are easy to DIY, others you really need a tour to get the most out of them, Rome comes to mind. On private tours you'll time and get the most bang for the hours in port! Since you are part of a larger group you should also be able to save money too!

 

Port days are long but with our private tour plans we are back on the ship by 5pm on most days and were eating by 6:15. We actually loved Princess anytime dining as it was perfect and eating late would have meant getting to bed too late for the next early day, often up by 6:30am for getting off the boat by 7:15am on many days :eek:

 

A tour / ship worth considering is Princess Grand Med. It starts and ends in two different cities, gets you extra days in two nice cities; Venice and Barcelona. In between you get Athens, Rome, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Florence/Naples, and one in France ( Cannes/Marsailles ) or Monte Carlo.

 

Happy planning

[Kagehitokiri]

So far Italy and Croatia are on everyone's list. Greece would OK as well.

 

 

huh, cant seem to find any seabourn or seadream itins like that.

 

the world seems like it might be tough to break down too >

14 May 2010 Santorini

15 May 2010 Naxos

16 May 2010 to 17 May 2010 Zakynthos

18 May 2010 Captain's Choice

19 May 2010 to 22 May 2010 Kotor

23 May 2010 to 25 May 2010 Rovinj

25 May 2010 to 28 May 2010 Venice

29 May 2010 to 30 May 2010 Rab

30 May 2010 to 31 May 2010 Novalja

31 May 2010 to 1 Jun 2010 Split

2 Jun 2010 Korcula

3 Jun 2010 At Sea

4 Jun 2010 to 6 Jun 2010 Siracusa

7 Jun 2010 to 8 Jun 2010 Captain's Choice

9 Jun 2010 At Sea

10 Jun 2010 to 11 Jun 2010 Civitavecchia (Rome)

12 Jun 2010 to 13 Jun 2010 Portofino

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

carnival was great