Mediterranean itinerary help

Hey Cruisers,

First time cruising to the Mediterranean and having a hard time deciding on an itinerary. They are all similar but with 1/2+ different ports in each. Hoping that you guys can give me some personal opinions on why one itinerary would be better than another (ports).

You'll see that the important bit of your post is corrupted.

Just a guess, but probably it includes the name of a travel agent - which is a no-no on Cruise Critic.

Post the ports on each itinerary, plus number of nights, ship or cruise line name, time of year, approx. prices for comparable cabins, & anything else that might help.

Do it here, or start another thread.

Can I suggest before you hit "submit" you hit "preview" to check it reads OK.

JB :)

You'll see that the important bit of your post is corrupted.

Just a guess, but probably it includes the name of a travel agent - which is a no-no on Cruise Critic.

 

Post the ports on each itinerary, plus number of nights, ship or cruise line name, time of year, approx. prices for comparable cabins, & anything else that might help.

 

Do it here, or start another thread.

 

Can I suggest before you hit "submit" you hit "preview" to check it reads OK.

 

JB :)

Hi JB,

The website just didn't accept my previous links for the "insert image" option. I switched to photobucket and the pictures are up now. Thanks for the advice though :)

I would take the cruise from Barcelona RTN. Travelling the Atlantic from Southampton to the Med could be a little rough and chilly.

Bin the Southampton RT - look at the port times - some of them are way too short to enjoy the port properly (guess it's P&O?).

Other than that - relative costs, cruise-lines, cabins etc. all factor in. May will be cooler and less crowded than August. Dubrovnik is very nice though...

Even as a Brit, I would advise against departing from Southampton (unless you really enjoy sea days), that would save you several days each way.

If you're flying from the USA, then not the first one as stated because of the Southampton sailing, and because you miss Venice. I'd leave out the last one as well, because you don't get a full day in Venice, you get two half-days.

The main difference on the others is that one docks at La Spezia, the other at Livorno, for Florence and Pisa. I don't know which is more conveniently placed for either port, so I can't help. I would go for the one nearer Pisa because I want to climb the Leaning Tower.

(I doubt that itinerary 1 is P&O. P&O would know that Gibraltar isn't in the UK, and would not claim to dock in Rome.)

I did a very similar cruise on RCCL to the last 3 you listed, but with a couple of minor differences in each.

As the poster above stated, I would avoid the one that leaves Venice at 2p on the 2nd day.... that's just not enough time, IMO, to experience this city. The other two have you there until 6:30p on the 2nd day which gives you more time (which you will likely appreciate having in Venice).

Our cruise stopped at La Spezia, although it was originally scheduled to be in Livorno when we booked, but this was switched several months out. Livorno is the closer of the 2 ports for those wanting to visit Florence/Pisa. If these cities are important to you, be advised that your time in them will be a bit shorter if your ship docks in La Spezia. We chose not to do a long drive/train to Florence from La Spezia since we knew we would have a long train ride the next day in Civitavecchia. Instead, we took a shorter (15-20 min) train ride to the towns of Cinque Terra.

Finally, as others have mentioned, Dubrovnik is a great stop. I have been there several times (both as a cruiser and on land trips). It's a very "easy" town to visit... not too huge... but with plenty to see.

Have fun whatever you decide :)

Melissa

I would definitely choose one where you get at least part of 2 days in Venice.

I like the one where the ship leaves Venice in the daytime ...... slowly sailing out the Guidecca channel to the Agean past the wonderful views of Venice is an amazing experience.

I also really enjoyed Kotor and Dubrovnik.

And Barcelona is an amazing city.

Looks like I would be inclined to choose the last option on your list, if the was going to be my cruise!!!

Thank you all for the responses so far they have definitely helped in narrowing down some itineraries. We have decided to eliminate the itinerary from South Hampton and the last itinerary that includes Dubvronik because Venice is definitely one of our must-haves of the three. After reading your posts we are going to rough out the May weather to avoid docking in La Spezia but we really hope it does not get switched later on.

Our family now has to narrow down these choices. The ones that include Venice seem to be better than the original one I posted. (There are some much longer itineraries included but after airfare calculation, instead of spending the money on a plane back to the states we would be spending it into more time on the cruise/sea days) :

I am so sorry about how messy this looks. I tried to organize it the best that I can for everyone's visibility/cross-checking. The clutter represents my mind trying to figure out which to choose :p

I love longer cruises, but I have two "concerns" with the last one above (the one for 22 days):

1. (this one is purely my personal opinion) I was on a cruise that stopped in Tunis once (granted, that was in 1996), but it ranks as one of the 2 worst places I have ever been on a cruise (or on any vacation for that matter). I would never want to go back there again and if I was on a ship that docked there, I wouldn't even leave the ship.

2. The rest of the stops sounds great, but you have that one long stretch where you have 8 really intensive port days in a row. I can tell you from experience, I had 5 port intensive days in a row in the Med last year (on a 12nt cruise) and I was exhausted (and I've a fairly healthy, in-shape 40 yr old)!!! Just a heads up for something to consider if you choose that itinerary.

Finally, I would strongly recommend that on any cruise leaving from a Med port (assuming you are flying in from the States), that you plan to arrive a day early and stay overnight in your embarkation city. There are just too many things that can go wrong on a "day of" flight over such a long distance. Personally, I would be a nervous wreck.

I have to say though, I love how you are so analytic about planning... I'm the exact same way....lol!!!!

Best of luck :)

Melissa

Just to provide some counterpoint to the above, I visited Tunis twice in the last 3 years on cruises and really enjoyed it as a stop. However, I love Roman history and ruins. The Bardo museum in Tunis is, hands down, the best museum in the world to see Roman mosaics -- and they are housed in a gorgeous former palace. The entire museum has only in the last 18 months or so been completely renovated.

Tunis is also the site of ancient Carthage and has some nice remains of Roman baths right on the water that are picturesque.

I have to say that I enjoyed my stops in Tunis so much that just this past year I spent two weeks in Tunisia visiting various Roman sites. :)

I love your new Venice to Barcelona options. Would be better if they stopped in Marseille instead of Toulon, but still great itineraries.

Unless you really like sea days I would go with the shorter cruises. We enjoyed our evening in Mykonos but we also really enjoyed seeing Ephesus. Definitely plan on going into Venice or Barcelona at least a day or two early. There is a lot to see in Both cities. What a delemma. Our next cruise is Istanbul to Barcelona which we are really looking for.

Just to provide some counterpoint to the above, I visited Tunis twice in the last 3 years on cruises and really enjoyed it as a stop. However, I love Roman history and ruins. The Bardo museum in Tunis is, hands down, the best museum in the world to see Roman mosaics -- and they are housed in a gorgeous former palace. The entire museum has only in the last 18 months or so been completely renovated.

 

Tunis is also the site of ancient Carthage and has some nice remains of Roman baths right on the water that are picturesque.

 

I have to say that I enjoyed my stops in Tunis so much that just this past year I spent two weeks in Tunisia visiting various Roman sites. :)

Hi Cruisemom42! Thanks so much for providing the OP with a different view of Tunis. Your visits sound so much different and more wonderful than mine....lol! As I said though, my stop was 18yrs ago, it was my first cruise and I took a ship-sponsored excursion (to the obligatory carpet store and Bizarre where I felt like I was being pick-pocketed left and right (but that may have just been the "feeling" since it was so crowded).

We also had to wait in line on the ship to clear customs officials which took some time (they actually had customs officials on board in one of the lounges and we had to take our passport up to a table and have it stamped by them... never had that happen on a cruise since, so it may have been something going on in their country at that time).

If I ever find myself on a cruise with you that stops in Tunis, I might (might!) be willing to get off the ship if you promise to be my tour guide... I love architectural ruins and museums, so what you did sounds more up my alley :)

Melissa

I'd get a travel guide book and read up and do some research on the various ports and then YOU decide which ports are most appealing to YOU. Opinions on ports are very subjective (as I'm sure you noticed relative to the two different "takes" on Tunis. Like I said, it has to go to places that interest YOU.

I would like to thank you all for your recent replies. I was going to multi-quote them but noticed that it would clutter and further confuse anyone trying to follow this thread. Your different opinions about certain points have definitely helped us out. We have been reading up on Mediterranean ports for some time now and wanted your personal opinions which is why we started this thread so thank you for letting us know how you feel about the various itineraries we posted. We have narrowed down our choices and will be finalizing which itinerary soon. Thank you all for the help so far and I will keep checking back on this thread just in case anyone else wants to chime in.

I would delete the one that is in August, because, well, it's August! Ports will be more crowded and it will be much hotter in the Med than the times for the other itineraries.

I would delete the one that is in August, because, well, it's August! Ports will be more crowded and it will be much hotter in the Med than the times for the other itineraries.

My August Med cruise was much cooler than my July one.

The August one also includes some great beach swimming opportunities in Barcelona, Mykonos, and Naples (swimming in the colorful grottos in Capri was an amazing experience for us).

YMMV

I would delete the one that is in August, because, well, it's August! Ports will be more crowded and it will be much hotter in the Med than the times for the other itineraries.

My August Med cruise was much cooler than my July one.

 

The August one also includes some great beach swimming opportunities in Barcelona, Mykonos, and Naples (swimming in the colorful grottos in Capri was an amazing experience for us).

 

YMMV

Thanks for the weather information guys I will keep that in mind when deciding on the final itinerary.

I would ditch the two that are eastbound trans-Atlantics because you'll lose an hour sleep for five nights in a row, and then you'll have the most port-intensive part of the cruise at the end.

Personally, I think the last itinerary you list, the Rome - Ft. Lauderdale, is head-and-shoulders the best. True, no Venice, but you have to leave something to go back to Europe for! I loved Sicily, I'd love to visit Tunis, Madeira is breathtaking, plus it's the longest cruise, which is always a plus. And westbound, you gain an hour's sleep on five nights. And the weather should still be excellent.

I just did the Med in December and I have to tell you that I would not have enjoyed Rome or Pompeii nearly as much in the hot, crowded summer. More for the crowds than the heat. So, I'd rule out the itineraries in August and in June, which is high season. You'll have a better time if you aren't elbow-to-elbow with other travelers in every port, in my opinion.

Please don't forget to tell us what you end up choosing!

I would ditch the two that are eastbound trans-Atlantics because you'll lose an hour sleep for five nights in a row, and then you'll have the most port-intensive part of the cruise at the end.

 

Personally, I think the last itinerary you list, the Rome - Ft. Lauderdale, is head-and-shoulders the best. True, no Venice, but you have to leave something to go back to Europe for! I loved Sicily, I'd love to visit Tunis, Madeira is breathtaking, plus it's the longest cruise, which is always a plus. And westbound, you gain an hour's sleep on five nights. And the weather should still be excellent.

 

I just did the Med in December and I have to tell you that I would not have enjoyed Rome or Pompeii nearly as much in the hot, crowded summer. More for the crowds than the heat. So, I'd rule out the itineraries in August and in June, which is high season. You'll have a better time if you aren't elbow-to-elbow with other travelers in every port, in my opinion.

 

Please don't forget to tell us what you end up choosing!

Hi rdsqrl, Rome - Ft Lauderdale is still in our final list and your insight has definitely bumped it up a few notches. As far as the months are concerned, I will be listening to everyone's advice from both here and website posts to avoid high season and the early summer months BUT it seems like many of the itineraries are sailing during that time and for some odd reason they are cheaper; in fact one of the itineraries in June is cheaper than the rest of the summer. I am trying to figure out why because I thought high season is usually more expensive due to demand. Or maybe because everyone wants to avoid high season that demand is dwindling?

Anyways, I am trying to figure out which is better of these two itineraries as one of them is missing Kusadasi, Turkey. The hours spent docked are similar which is odd. Also the itinerary including Kusadasi is cheaper. It seems like the itinerary missing Kusadasi will be spending that time in Mykonos instead, correct me if I'm wrong:P.s ignore the sail dates

Just wanted to update everyone. We have reserved our itinerary and this is the itinerary we chose:

HOWEVER... Since our agent informed us about our right to cancel (within the certain amount of days) we are still very on the edge of choosing this:

The only downside is that we have only one day in Barcelona and no Venice. So our decision is not yet over unfortunately :(

Just my 2 cents worth, but loved Barcelona and Venice so I would go with your first choice.