European Cruise-Need Help In Planning

[Italy52]

We are trying to plan a cruise for our 25th wedding anniversary. We would like to go back to Europe again. We cruised the Med. in 2001 with Renaissance and loved the entire experience. A concern to us is finding an itinerary where we wouldn't have to do a lot of tendering or taking transport long distances to get into town. With our Med. cruise, we had very little tendering and most places were in close proximity to where ship was docked. We thought about Princess' Western Europe/British Isles itinerary but it looks like the trip could get quite costly due to city transportation costs. Does any one have any suggestions for us? Thanks in advance for your help.

[Jacqueline]

mmm. Well when we did the Med on the Grand the only tenders were in Venice and in Monte Carlo.
You might check out Oceana if you liked the R ships, as they have one of them and do Europe in the summer. I have been getting emails from them but havent checked the pricing.
To some extent long distances to town are really itinerary choices- ie Livorno for Florence. You really need to sit down with the various itineraries and see whats best for you.
Dont forget HAL and Celebrity. HAL has more unusual itineraries than most.

Jacqueline
Constellation 3/20/04
HAL Westerdam 7/30/04
Tahitian Princess August 2003
Grand Princess Western Caribbean 2003
Brilliance of the Seas Baltic 2002
Ocean Princess- Alaska 2001
Celebrity Zenith- Bermuda 2001
Grand Princess Med 2000

[Italy52]

Jacqueline From your listing above, I see that you choose RCCL and Princess for your European cruises. Did you choose separate lines because of their itinerary? Or, because of their service. Last year, we went to the Caribbean on a HAL ship and enjoyed it very much. This year, we chose Princess for our Caribbean and also enjoyed it very much. My husband was wondering if one line does Europe better than another. As far as Oceania is concerned, we will definitely be checking it out. We have received some brochures from them since we are past Renaissance cruisers. I must admit though, prices are high compared to some of the other cruise lines on the market. However, we haven't ruled them out. Thanks for your help.

[Jacqueline]

In 2000 we picked Princess becuase the Grand was new and we had heard great things from those who had gone before us. Also, we travel with my three children as well as my father. This was a terrific trip. We had a great CD, Keith Cox, perfect weather, stimulating ports, etc.
My MIL wanted to do the Baltic for her 80th birthday in 2002. Since it was the summer after 9/11, there were not a lot of ships deployed in Europe. My choices were a new RCI ship or Celebrity. No Princess ships in the Baltic that year at all. Celebrity was a little longer 14 as opposed to 12 days. I thought that it might be a younger crowd and a bit more geared to the family. It was- the Brilliance had her inaugural season at that time. Lovely ship. Great DR service.
What I would say as a shortcoming on both these ships at the time (and I believe that things have changed on Princess) is that there was no onboard lecture series which to me was a serious fault. But there was always a port of call shopping talk to get us to the recommended shops !
So my long answer is we are driven by itinerary first and ship second for Europe. The HAL trip we have planned for this summer stops in entirely different ports than we did previously- ROtterdam, Le Havre, Vigo, Lisbon, several stops in Spain as well as Sardinia, Sicily and Malta. I know that this is a flag ship forum series and have heard good things about the quality.
It also has a children and teens center which is why I chose it over the Princess ship that was doing London to ROme (either the Regal/royal ?) because it is older and not well set up for family travel. Prices were much higher for this ship than for the Westerdam when I booked back in October.
We also enjoyed the old R ship when we did Tahiti last summer.
All in all I would be the least likely to book RCI again. Not that it was bad, I just prefer Princess and Celebrity. The product is a bit more polished, IMHO.

Jacqueline
Constellation 3/20/04
HAL Westerdam 7/30/04
Tahitian Princess August 2003
Grand Princess Western Caribbean 2003
Brilliance of the Seas Baltic 2002
Ocean Princess- Alaska 2001
Celebrity Zenith- Bermuda 2001
Grand Princess Med 2000

[Italy52]

Jacqueline Thank you for your response. You have given me some good information that will help us narrow down our choice of ships. Wishing you smooth sailings and happy memories in your upcoming trips.