Mediterranean Cruise recommendation

[ZSO]

Hi,

 

I have been looking thru cruise lines and it all is too much take in. So many choices. Perhaps someone can help me narrow down to a few.

 

We are planning a Med Cruise next year, summer months would be preferred however will consider fall as well. There will be maybe 8 people, ranging from 20 to 60's. We have cruised Princess and Holland line to Alaska, so we are not strangers to what is on board.

 

The main concern lies in which ports... all cruise lines very.

Ideal cruise would be the following ports, Venice, Athens, Ephesus, Istanbul,,

Barcelona and Alexandria would be a plus but not necessary.

Rome would be great to start.

 

Any helpful recommendation would be appreciated..

 

ZSO

[j&l cruisers]

Look to see what Azamara has for these ports. Smaller ships so they can get into some ports larger ships cannot handle.

[cruisemom42]

It may be hard to get all the ports on your wish list in one itinerary. Most of the ones you list are Eastern Med; but Barcelona is in the Western Med. There is one great itinerary on Princess (Grand Mediterranean itinerary) throughout the summer/fall months that seems to include all your "musts": Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Florence, Rome, Naples (Pompeii/Amalfi Coast), Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Athens, Venice.

 

Princess has another good itinerary (usually only offered in the fall) that is 12 days, roundtrip from Rome, and includes Naples , Athens, Istanbul, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Mykonos, and an overnight in Egypt (Alexandria/Port Said). It's an excellent cruise and I can highly recommend it. You don't get Venice or Barcelona, unfortunately, but you do get everything else PLUS Egypt.

[belleretraite]

Hi !

Why dont you take 2 cruises : one in Eastern Mediterranea and one in Western Mediterranea ! We are doing this with Costa (Venice to Venice) and MSC (Genoa to Genoa ) ! You will have the opportunity to experience 2 ships , 2 cruise lines and 2 totally different views of the Mediterranea !

[chipmaster]

Hi,

 

I have been looking thru cruise lines and it all is too much take in. So many choices. Perhaps someone can help me narrow down to a few.

 

We are planning a Med Cruise next year, summer months would be preferred however will consider fall as well. There will be maybe 8 people, ranging from 20 to 60's. We have cruised Princess and Holland line to Alaska, so we are not strangers to what is on board.

 

The main concern lies in which ports... all cruise lines very.

Ideal cruise would be the following ports, Venice, Athens, Ephesus, Istanbul,,

Barcelona and Alexandria would be a plus but not necessary.

Rome would be great to start.

 

Any helpful recommendation would be appreciated..

 

ZSO

 

Princess Grand Med does sales between Venice and Barcelona allowing you to extend your trips with more time in those two beautiful ports. In between they stop in Athens, Naples, Rome, Florence/Pisa, Kusadasi/Ephesus, and Istanbul as the biggies.

 

You'll find fewere that include all you listed including Alexandria. I too searched high and low for one that had Venice, Rome, Florence, Istanbul, Athens, and Alexendria, but couldn't.

 

Happy planning!

[texancruzer]

We just did Celebrity Solstice (brand new ship ;)) and did these ports.

 

Rome-Santorini-Mykonos-Istanbul (overnight)-Ephesus(Kusadasi)-Athens-Naples-Rome

 

realize that Venice is not in this lineup----but perhaps fly into Venice for a day or two and then taking the train to Rome ??? The overnight in Istanbul was a big plus for us. Also we were in port from 7am until midnight in Kusadasi(Ephesus) and that was nice too.....no rushing. The only port that was a time crunch was Santorini (2pm-10pm) but did enjoy the sunset from a restaurant up top on the edge of the cliff in Fira ! Fantastic trip ! Celebrity was wonderful and the Solstice was gorgeous.

[waterski12001]

I agree with the previous posters... the Grand Med on the Ruby Princess... new ship great Itinerary... My fiance and I are booking the July 16th sailing neither of us have ever cruised ... should be an amazing honeymoon!!!;)

[texancruzer]

the Grand Med on the Ruby Princess... new ship great Itinerary... My fiance and I are booking the July 16th sailing neither of us have ever cruised ...

 

 

should be an amazing honeymoon!!!;)

 

 

I agree and CONGRATULATIONS :D

[ZSO]

Thank you all for the suggestion, this weeds out a lot of the options.

I like the princess cruise mentioned and the Celebrity look great too.

 

Is cruising in the fall any better than the summer months?

 

ZSO

[Susan-M]

Temperatures in the fall should be a little more comfortable for sightseeing, and with children back in school, there will be fewer on board.

 

Two cruises that cover your 'ideal list' and start in Rome, are Cunard's Queen Victoria, and Princess' Star Princess. Both are offered in Sept. & Oct. 2010.

[texancruzer]

Thank you all for the suggestion, this weeds out a lot of the options.

I like the princess cruise mentioned and the Celebrity look great too.

 

Is cruising in the fall any better than the summer months?

 

ZSO

 

 

We have not been in the summer months.......for a reason - too hot.

 

We did our first cruise out of Rome VERY late November/early Dec. and loved it ! We arrived the night before Thanksgiving - enjoying a wonderful Italian Thanksgiving dinner :D The nights were cold but the days for sightseeing were soooo nice ! The prices are really good too since this is considered "off season" not only for the cruise but for our pre and post cruise hotel stays. Since we live on the water....we have a canal out back ;), we were not there for beach days......but more to see Europe.

 

Our second cruise out of Rome we did just this past May.... very early May. Much warmer than November but still really nice compared to summer heat. Our day in Ephesus was quite warm but could imagine it being unbearable in July with temps in the 100's :eek: I would be miserable.

 

May and September are the most recommended months with much more tolerable temperatures and less crowds. August is the month that many Europeans take their vacations and crowds can get crazy and many places closed while the owners vacation.