Can't decide!

[new2crusng]

DH and I Finally settle on a cruise line and region (Med, obviously), and we are limited to summer months because of my job, so we are faced with choosing between 3 itineraries. Anyone with experience in these ports of call, your input would be much appreciated. I am so torn! If you had to do ONLY one, which would you pick?

 

10 nights:(if we did this one, we would do 3 more nights in a city on our own post-cruise, probably Venice or Monte Carlo)

Athens (2 days)

Santorini

Rhodes

Mykonos

Nauplion

Ephesus

Bodrum

Istanbul (2 days)

 

12 nights:

Rome

Sorrento

Taormina, Sicily

Mykonos

Nazareth

Jerusalem

Giza

Cairo/Port Said

 

Santorini

Athens

 

14 nights:

Rome (2days)

Sorrento

Taormina, Sicily

Ravenna

Dubrovnik

Trieste, Italy

 

Florence (2 days)

 

Venice (2days)

 

So if any of you have done these itineraries, and if you have a preferece, I'd love to know your thoughts.

[Alter Ego]

But, I would choose the one that goes to Egypt. That's one place I really want to see before I die, and if the cost or the dates or anything else are not an issue, that's what I would pick.

 

I haven't been to most of those ports, so I have no real experience. But I would absolutely pick the one that goes to Egypt - I think they pyramids are something everyone should see and it's probably most convenient to do it on a cruise ship. (That cruise also has a nice mix of other countries thrown in)

[chipmaster]

DH and I Finally settle on a cruise line and region (Med, obviously), and we are limited to summer months because of my job, so we are faced with choosing between 3 itineraries. Anyone with experience in these ports of call, your input would be much appreciated. I am so torn! If you had to do ONLY one, which would you pick?

 

10 nights:(if we did this one, we would do 3 more nights in a city on our own post-cruise, probably Venice or Monte Carlo)

Athens (2 days)

Santorini

Rhodes

Mykonos

Nauplion

Ephesus

Bodrum

Istanbul (2 days)

 

12 nights:

Rome

Sorrento

Taormina, Sicily

Mykonos

Nazareth

Jerusalem

Giza

Cairo/Port Said

 

Santorini

Athens

 

14 nights:

Rome (2days)

Sorrento

Taormina, Sicily

Ravenna

Dubrovnik

Trieste, Italy

 

Florence (2 days)

 

Venice (2days)

 

So if any of you have done these itineraries, and if you have a preferece, I'd love to know your thoughts.

 

 

Why have you settled on a specific cruiseline? Shouldn't the ports and dates take more importance then whether you sail cruise line A or ship B. There are a few cruises I know that hit some of your non overlapping cites from all 3 of your options, that ended up to be my choice ;)

 

I was totally overwhelmed in trying to pick based only on ports. I made a list of which were the most desired and which cruise ship hit the most. You could pick the one with the lowest score ( IE most desirable port getting a 1, second a 2 and so on) In my case we were a party of 11 so averaging among 11 people was a bit messy and I got to choose. I personally would have loved to do the holy lands, but that wasn't the interest/priority of my fellow travelers so that was one compromise.

 

Like another poster Egypt and the Pyramids was top on my list and the rest of my travelers agreed that was something they all wanted to see someday. But you also need to decide about port logistics as well. After considering that and desire to hit places like Athens, Venice, Rome, Florence/Pisa, Istanbul, etc. etc. We ended up on something else.

 

Unless you get an overnight or overland I think Cairo is the most logistically difficult more so then say even Rome or Florence. Cost of the tours, safety concerns eventually made it less valued, though still a dream of mine to go. But if the whole trip is about the Pyramids then its clear to.

 

Moral of story, only you can decide.

 

But if it was me, I'd take the second one, 12 days the Holy lands. If an overnight is possible then you get enough time to see the Nile, the pyramids, the museum, and more with out the rush of doing it in one day.

[new2crusng]

We settled on a cruise line after looking at several in out price range that visited Med ports in May or June of next year. DH saw that most of the lines/ ships we were looking at were HUGE, and he said he wanted a smaller, more laid back atmosphere with smaller ships and no formal nights, so we opted for Azamara.

[CintiPam]

We did a similar itinerary to your first choice for our first-ever cruise last September on Oceania (Istanbul to Athens) and absolutely had a wonderful trip, although I am sorry that itinerary does not include beautiful Dubrovnik. Istanbul is a fantastic place to visit for several days post-cruise as well, a gorgeous city important for two thousand years. Check out my port reviews at the end of my review found on this link:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=48450.

 

I personally would not do your third choice, which IMO would be much better as a land trip in Italy (Taormina, Trieste and Ravenna not being such primo tourist sites, and having more time for Venice, Florence, the rest of Tuscany, Rome and the Amalfi Coast).

 

I have not been to Egypt, so will not comment. I have visited Israel many times, and I am certain you would enjoy any time spent there.

 

Good luck with your decision!

[jff50]

DH and I Finally settle on a cruise line and region (Med, obviously), and we are limited to summer months because of my job, so we are faced with choosing between 3 itineraries. Anyone with experience in these ports of call, your input would be much appreciated. I am so torn! If you had to do ONLY one, which would you pick?

 

10 nights:(if we did this one, we would do 3 more nights in a city on our own post-cruise, probably Venice or Monte Carlo)

Athens (2 days)

Santorini

Rhodes

Mykonos

Nauplion

Ephesus

Bodrum

Istanbul (2 days)

 

12 nights:

Rome

Sorrento

Taormina, Sicily

Mykonos

Nazareth

Jerusalem

Giza

Cairo/Port Said

 

Santorini

Athens

 

14 nights:

Rome (2days)

Sorrento

Taormina, Sicily

Ravenna

Dubrovnik

Trieste, Italy

 

Florence (2 days)

 

Venice (2days)

 

So if any of you have done these itineraries, and if you have a preferece, I'd love to know your thoughts.

If you have a city that you are really interested in exploring (in more depth than you would be able to during a port stop), I'd include that as a city of embarkation/disembarkation. I have been really interested in getting to explore Istanbul and Barcelona. Was very excited to find a NCL cruise that sails from Istanbul (3 extra days pre cruise) to Barcelona (2 extra days post cruise).

[jff50]

But, I would choose the one that goes to Egypt. That's one place I really want to see before I die, and if the cost or the dates or anything else are not an issue, that's what I would pick.

 

I haven't been to most of those ports, so I have no real experience. But I would absolutely pick the one that goes to Egypt - I think they pyramids are something everyone should see and it's probably most convenient to do it on a cruise ship. (That cruise also has a nice mix of other countries thrown in)

I find it hard to get excited about Egypt on a Med cruise--not enough time unless you embark/disembark in Egypt. I really want to see Egypt on a land tour that includes a Nile river cruise and a side trip to Petra

[Bruin Steve]

10 nights:(if we did this one, we would do 3 more nights in a city on our own post-cruise, probably Venice or Monte Carlo)

Athens (2 days)

Santorini

Rhodes

Mykonos

Nauplion

Ephesus

Bodrum

Istanbul (2 days)

 

12 nights:

Rome

Sorrento

Taormina, Sicily

Mykonos

Nazareth

Jerusalem

Giza

Cairo/Port Said

Santorini

Athens

 

14 nights:

Rome (2days)

Sorrento

Taormina, Sicily

Ravenna

Dubrovnik

Trieste, Italy

Florence (2 days)

Venice (2days)

 

First, I fully understand your settling first on the cruise line...I think Azamara is a great choice (note also that Oceania is VERY similar--same ships, noformal nights, open seating...so you may want to consider their offerings in the same context)...As to the summer months, we are faced with the same issue since my wife works for a school district and we deal with their schedule. We have done a few variations of Med cruises and are on another next month with Oceania (Barcelona-Tunisia-Malta-Crete-Alexandria-Port Said-Ashdod-Haifa-Cyprus-Kusadasi-Istanbul)...

 

Really, which you pick sometimes has more to do with where you have or haven't been already, where you expect to go next time (you will want to return), what you like to see and do, etc. so, what any of us think may have more to do with our desires than yours...but, that said, here is my take on each itinerary and port...

 

Oh, wait, first one more note: Whichever itinerary you choose, I would encourage you to tack on at least two nights on the front end--to recover from jet lag, time zone changes, travel fatigue and to insure against flight delays, missed connections and lost luggage--and also to get a chance to spend some time in your embarkation city...

 

Okay, here goes:

10 nights:

Athens (2 days)

Santorini

Rhodes

Mykonos

Nauplion

Ephesus (I assume you dock at Kusadasi)

Bodrum

Istanbul (2 days)

Two days in Athens and also visiting Nafplion can be a bit repetitive...especially if you use my plan and get to Athens early...Santorini and Rhodes are great islands--scenic and interesting, Mykonos a little less so--but nice for a beach day or just a relaxing stroll through town. Ephesus is impressive and Istanbul is just incredible...I take it there are very few "at sea" days--which, with the heat of summer and the long days touring are often welcome...

 

12 nights:

Rome

Sorrento

Taormina, Sicily

Mykonos

Nazareth

Jerusalem

Giza

Cairo/Port Said

Santorini

Athens

Rome is a great city for a pre-cruise, Sorrento gives you a chance to see either the archaeological site of Pompeii (which is amazing) or to tour the small towns of the Amalfi Coast. Taormina is just okay, as is Mykonos. Obviously, the highlight of this trip is Israel and Egypt. Neither Nazareth nor Jerusalem is a port--I assume they dock in Haifa and Ashdod. Ashdod means you spend the day touring Jerusalem (Unfortunately not enough time on a port stop to get down to Masada and still spend enough time in Jerusalem--but Jerusalem is incredible. From Haifa, forget Nazareth--ugly town and not really that much there. For our cruise, we're still debating touring Caesarea and the central coast or Megiddo (Armageddon) and Beit Shean in the Southern Galilee--lots of choices here. I assume "Giza" really means a stop in Alexandria...We are using our Alexandria day to tour there and our Port Said day to head down to Giza, Memphis and Sakkara. A choice of many is to do an overnight in Cairo and return to the ship the following day in the second port. But, between Israel and Egypt, you have four fascinating days--that still aren't enough...

 

14 nights:

Rome (2days)

Sorrento

Taormina, Sicily

Ravenna

Dubrovnik

Trieste, Italy

Florence (2 days)

Venice (2 days)

This one is pretty much a circle around Italy and may seem repetitious in many respects...you can get to a lot of these places on a land tour of Italy...Ravenna, Venice and Trieste are all pretty close together...I'm assuming with two days in Florence (the port is actually pretty far away in Livorno), you're visiting Florence one day, other sites in Tuscany the next. I love this itinerary...and I would take it sometime--but I guess I have pretty much been everywhere and would just look at it as a relaxing cruise...I would not take it if it were my first big trip to Europe...

 

So, I guess I would vote, with the rest, for #2...It has the most variety, a couple of the most incredible ports...Works for me...

 

Good luck...

[cruisemom42]

I'd eliminate #3 from consideration as not the best choice of itinerary unless you are primarily interested in Italy.

 

That leaves the first two -- looking at what is left out vs. what is included, I realized that #1 does not include Rome, which would be a shame to miss, but does include Istanbul, another very fascinating city that you would miss on #2. The first cruise does include some duplication with Athens/Nauplion and Bodrum/Ephesus (same basic geographic areas).

 

I'd probably choose option 2. For my first Med cruise I chose one with an overnight in Egypt. For many people on my cruise just seeing the pyramids and a few highlights in Cairo was enough, and if you do an overnight you will get the taste of Cairo. (For me it was an instantaneous realization that I would have to go back and do the full land tour....:D). We did not do Israel, but it's certainly high on my list of places to visit.

[sweetestpea]

I would pick #2 but since I'm doing the Holy Land/Celebrity 2010, I guess that is where my preference would lie. ;) Egypt is on my bucket list and I love the idea of 2 days/overnight (exhausting I'm sure) to see the major sites in Cairo. I'm sure it's just enough to scratch the surface but I have a feeling it will be the perfect amount for me.

 

Such a personal thing but I personally think Rome is a great place to start/end a cruise. I've been to Rome many times and really, I don't think I will ever see/do it all but I definitely think that it's a must see/do. I've been to Athens, Mykonos & Santorini and think that those along with Israel/Egypt make it an amazing itinerary. You will have an amazing time! Good luck with your decision.

[Susan-M]

Based on our past visits to many of these ports, I too would choose #2.

 

However, before making a decision, I would encourage you to read about the ports on these itineraries to see which ones interest you the most, in order to select an itinerary that most appeals to you.

 

The CC Port section has some good information on individual ports.

 

A site I like for on line research is: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/

 

A book recommendation (for a brief overview of Med ports): Mediterranean by Cruise Ship, by Anne Vipond.

 

Just to clarify, re itinerary #3, is it an overnight in Rome (Civitavecchia) or an overnight in Sorrento?

 

Azamara is a great choice of cruise lines ... we were very impressed with them last October in the Med. However, our Celebrity Med cruise was exceptional for itinerary, for a first Med cruise (Barcelona, Villefranche, Florence, Rome, Naples, Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, Dubrovnik, Venice).

 

It's a lot to think about, but worth taking time to make the right decision .... good luck!:)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

If you choose #1 (and the Greek islands is a great choice), do your post-cruise in Istanbul. It's a fabulous city and you can easily spend 3 or 4 days there. We spent 6.

 

I don't think I could handle Egypt in the summer, and it would be a rather brief exposure to a place I really want to see, but on land or by river cruise.

 

I also like #3--it's the "Best of Italy", right? I've looked at that one myself--a floating hotel while seeing Italy sounds great to me.

[new2crusng]

Ok, after your overwhelmingly helpful suggestions, We have chosen to go with #2, the "holy land" cruise. This will be our first ever cruise, and we have had crazy time narrowing down where we want to go, the ship, the line, etc, but I think we finally have a winner. The idea of seeing the Colosseum and the pyramids are what sold my husband, plus this way, we can take and extra night or 2 in both Rome and Athens and see more of 2 cities that were very high priority for us. And we also like the idea of beach time in Mykonos, wine tours in Santorini, etc.

 

As to the Israel ports, yes, its Haifa and Ashdod. I have actually spent quite a bit of time in both Jerusalem and in Haifa before, about 12 years ago. I think that we will probably do a guided tour so that DH can see Jerusalem, and then probably do Haifa on our own, maybe even do lunch with friends who live there (how cool would that be?!).

 

Now all that's left to do is call the TA. SO EXCITED!!!:D