Help me choose: Greek isles vs Croatia

Ncl Jade: Venice, Dubrovnik, sea, Athens, Kusadasi, sea, Split, Venice

or

Ncl Jade: Venice, sea, Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, Katakolan, Sea, Venice

We are a family of 4, 2 boys 12 & 14. First time to Europe and the boys really want to go to Athens(inspired by Percy Jackson books). We are trying to go with another family who want to do the Greek islands, but open to possibly going elsewhere. We probably won't be able to afford another trip back to the area so this would be our one shot to see the acropolis. The Greek heavy itinerary seems nicer, but it does not go to Athens. How does Croatia compare with the Greek islands. We are limited by time and money, so 7 day cruise is max.

There is one other itinerary that looks good from RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas(Rome, sea, Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, Katakolon, sea Rome), but it'll be about $2000 more expensive. Thoughts on sailing out of Rome vs Venice?

Thanks for any input!

My vote is for the first one you posted. a little bit of everything there,and who know...you may go back sometime in the future.If the cruise out of Rome stretches your budget I would not do it. You can someday go to Rome and do a nice land trip. Just my thoughts.

Here is a link to my pictures from a cruise that covers a number of the ports. If you are only going once, it is hard to pass up Athens. Also, Dubrovnik is a great place to go. But then, so are Santorini and Mykonos. Good luck.

https://markandkareneurope2013.shutterfly.com/pictures

Wow; tough. I haven't been all those places, but I'll provide my two cents' worth. I've been to Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, and Rome. I'm going to Kusadasi, Santorini, Athens, Dubrovnik and Venice this fall. I absolutely fell in love with Santorini (especially town of Oia) and I also liked Mykonos a lot, too. I've heard people love Dubrovnik, but Split less so. Athens is, of course, one of those "gotta see" places, although after one visit, I'm not jumping for absolute joy about repeating it this fall. However, since you've never been, and family members are interested, I suppose you should just ignore my hesitation on recommending Athens.

As you may know, Kusadasi, Turkey is mostly a stop to visit the ruins of Ephesus. I think Katakolon is similar (ruins) but I've not been there, so I really don't know. My impression of Corfu is that it is beautiful and not trampled with tourists, but perhaps people want more than that; not sure. Split is new to me and while I hear Croatia in general is beautiful, I don't know much about Split. People generally love Dubrovnik, however, and there is a lot to do there, too. This is just personal opinion based on where I've been or researched, and my own travel style preferences (mostly photography, plus travel on buses and poking around) but I lean towards the first itinerary except that for me, it has a big omission (drop dead gorgeous Santorini). So I don't know what I would choose.

It sounds like you may not be able to spend extra time in expensive Venice, but if you do, I'd be glad to summarize what I know about the hotel situation there. It's a bit complicated as everything is on the water. I always go in a day early if possible, to have time in case something happens, and to have some time to shed some jetlag. Venice is quite unique, and you want to see more of it than the port...

Third itinerary doesn't appeal to me as much as first two, and don't think it would be worth the extra money to me. Never flown in/out of either Venice or Rome, so can't help there. Also never cruised either NCL or RCCL, so have no clue if one or the other is better.

Generally, I think you'd want a good, decent day in most places, so if there is one itinerary that isn't so good on that point, that might tip the scale for me. For Santorini, you have to tender from a good ways out, which takes time, and then you have to get up the mountain, which also takes time. Not sure how big the Jade or other ships are, but the bigger the ship, generally I worry about not getting off the ship right away, especially if tendering is involved. You'd want maybe 8 AM - 4 PM as a minimum, with 8 - 6 better. Athens requires a good day as it takes an hour to get from the port to the historical area. Mykonos is easy; Kusadasi is 30-40 minutes from Ephesus. I always look at number of sea days, too, as I prefer port-intensive itineraries. At least with the first two itineraries, the sea days are equal, and nicely spaced out, which is good.

I like the first itinerary much better than the second one, but I am a big fan of ancient history and great ruins -- not so much a fan of natural scenery.

Corfu didn't do much for me, but it's a pleasant stop. The only thing that would give me pause about giving up the second itinerary would be the stop at Katakolon, which is the gateway port to ancient Olympia. (Which, if your boys are into Ancient Greece and the gods, would be a good site to visit....)

Count me as one who preferred Split to Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik seemed much more touristy to me, whereas in Split I find it fascinating that the entire town is built INSIDE and including the remains of the palace of a Roman emperor. (Take the time to visit the basements; it's fascinating).

Kusadasi has arguably some of the best ruins among the typical cruise stops at Ephesus -- you will be wowed.

Just to correct one thing said earlier -- Athens is only about 30 minutes from the port of Piraeus, not an hour, if going directly by taxi or car. And there are several ways to get there on one's own.

we did both trips as a back to back last year

I enjoyed both weeks but would vote for the Croatia itinery

Dubrovnik is lovely,Split less so but we had a tour that took us to the nearby medieval walled city of Trogir which is lovely and relatively unspoiled

Athens for the Acropolis and Kusadasi for Ephesus provide the ancient monuments and the Wow factor

On the other itinery it's more about relaxation ,beaches and scenery

Katakolon for Olympus is interesting but doesn't compare to Acropolis and Ephesus

another point to bear in mind that the Greek itinery doesn't leave the Eurozone so Italian VAT of about 12% applies to shop purchases all cruise not just out of port area

Havent been to Split or Katakolan…….but have been to all the rest.

With boys that age I would choose the first one.

Dubrovnik has the cool "wall" and old town to explore.

Kusadasi would call for a visit to Ephesus which is very cool.

While Corfu and Mykonos are pretty neat too - the other two beat them out on the "coolness" scale - very important for 2 teens.

Our fast answer is take both cruises :). Having to choose is really tough, especially if all other issues (like price) are somewhat equal. We tend to lean towards the first itinerary for a few reasons (which are certainly debatable). Kusadasi is an amazing port where you can take a tour (we recommend booking a private excursion) to Ephesus and perhaps to the nearby Virgin Mary House. The ruins at Ephesus (visitors should always pay a little extra to see the Terrace Houses) are among the best in the world and the history would be educational for the kids. And it is the same with Athens where you can make a quick visit up to the Acropolis and also enjoy just walking around the city.

The 2nd itinerary is also fine, but we do not think that Corfu measures-up to a lot of other ports. And Katakolon is also not among our personal favorites as the primary activity is to visit Olympia which we find somewhat disappointing (other then their fine museum). On the other hand, Santorini is a gorgeous island and Mykonos can be used as a great beach day or for a visit to nearby Delos.

Whichever cruise you choose we strongly recommend spending at least 2 nights in Venice. Yes, it is somewhat expensive, but when you consider the cost of getting there it makes sense to have enough time to enjoy Venice and some of the other islands in the Lagoon.

Hank

Wow! Thank you everyone for your very helpful responses. Some of you were so detailed, I enjoyed reading the responses twice and three times so I don't miss anything.

So for now, the winner is intinerary #1. Yay! I still somehow feel I'll be missing alot, because in an ideal world, I would have lots of time and lots of money to do all these wonderful places justice. Gotta take what I can.

Since another family is involved, we'll probably be kicking things around until everyone is satisfied, but I will certainly share with them, what you all have shared with me. Kudos to you all!

We, a family of 4, all adults, chose the Croatian/Athens itinerary (#1) as well.... My 29y/o is pysched as well as game of thrones backdrop is Dubrovnik ( or something to that effect)...RCl splendor of the seas sails similar itineraries from Venice, Perhaps check them out.. The only caveat out of sailing out of Venice is that the airfare is outrageous and the Venetian hotels are pricey as are the restaurants..But that's Venice .....

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Here is a link to my pictures from a cruise that covers a number of the ports. If you are only going once, it is hard to pass up Athens. Also, Dubrovnik is a great place to go. But then, so are Santorini and Mykonos. Good luck.

 

 

 

https://markandkareneurope2013.shutterfly.com/pictures

I don't want to hijack the thread, but it wanted to thank you for posting your gorgeous photos! We did the same cruise in 2013, and I loved reminiscing. Your photos are so much better than mine. You must have a better camera and a better eye!

To the op: either itinerary would be great! If the kids are interested in Athens, I would go with the first one. Dubrovnik is stunning!

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Although dealing with Venice departures can be tricky there are some good options. USAIR runs a daily non-stop flight from Philadelphia to Venice and we have usually found this to be a great option. As to Venice hotels, one does need to carefully shop around. For us, we are usually happy just staying at Ca Doge (located right in the Piazale Roma). From the airport we just hop on the low cost ATVO express bus and then its a 2 min walk over to our hotel. When its time to cruise we just walk another 2 min to the People Mover and are soon at the Port.

Hank

I think you did well to chose the 1st Itinerary, even though it misses out gorgeous Santorini. IMO Ephesus is probably the best Greco-Roman site ever, do make sure to visit the terrace houses as well as the Virgin Mary's house. We did a tour with Hello Ephesus last June, $50/pp for a full day trip, including a simple but delicious lunch, great value I thought. In Dubrovnik your sons would enjoy climbing the walls, views to die for, will sort of make up for Santorini.

Yes, there isn't much to see in Katakolon but going to ancient Olympia was a huge thrill for me, one could imagine the ancient games taking place there so many millennia ago, the sense of history was inspiring. Corfu was more about nature, but made a good change for DH who tends to get "ruined" out pretty fast:)

Although dealing with Venice departures can be tricky there are some good options. USAIR runs a daily non-stop flight from Philadelphia to Venice and we have usually found this to be a great option. As to Venice hotels, one does need to carefully shop around. For us, we are usually happy just staying at Ca Doge (located right in the Piazale Roma). From the airport we just hop on the low cost ATVO express bus and then its a 2 min walk over to our hotel. When its time to cruise we just walk another 2 min to the People Mover and are soon at the Port.

 

Hank

We took the USair flight. Arrived in Venice before 9am, were on the boat before noon, had lunch and were at St. Mark's square about 1:30. We bought a 24 hour Vaparetto pass, which worked out. Taking the vaparetto down the Grand Canal at dusk yielded some great pictures.

I don't want to hijack the thread, but it wanted to thank you for posting your gorgeous photos! We did the same cruise in 2013, and I loved reminiscing. Your photos are so much better than mine. You must have a better camera and a better eye!

 

To the op: either itinerary would be great! If the kids are interested in Athens, I would go with the first one. Dubrovnik is stunning!

 

 

 

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Glad you like the pictures. I don't know that I have a better eye. I work on the premise that if you take enough pictures, you are bound to get some good ones.

We are booked on RCI Splendour of the seas out of Venice going to Kotor, Corfu, Athens, Mykonos and Argostoli

We are taking our 2 adult daughters (28 & 24) and SIL

I had looked at Norwegian and would have considered switching as it was cheaper by quite a bit but the whole family voted for Royal they said if we are paying that much for a flight we should see as much as we can see and not have an extra sea day!

FYI- If you book through Royal you can use Choice Air and flight usually run $100-$200 cheaper than you can get on your own, and if you check 1 way flights it was actually even cheaper!

Last Sept. we flew to Barcelona with them and after diligently watching flight prices dropped in March by almost $400 pp when paying for 6 people quite a savings!!

To the OP: Itinerary 1, hands down, Athens is amazing, Dubrovnik is stunning, & the Terrace houses in Ephesus (Kusadasi) are not to be missed, have a great time!

Bump...just now looking at options for a Greek Islands cruise with a family meet-up in Dubrovnik and these comments are all very helpful.

Bump...just now looking at options for a Greek Islands cruise with a family meet-up in Dubrovnik and these comments are all very helpful.

This is tough :). There are only two companies (both in the very expensive ultra-luxury class) cruising out of Dubrovnik and they are Sea Dream Yacht Club and Ponant Yacht Cruises. The problem is that Dubrovnik is just not used as a debarkation port by any of the larger ship cruise lines. That being said, Dubrovnik is one of the great ports of the world for those who want to charter a yacht (not really a bad deal for a family).

This means you would have to make your way to a major port such as Athens to get a mass market cruise. One might ask why Dubrovnik is not used as a major debarkation port and we suspect it is simply because they do not have the necessary logistics (i.e. large port facility, good international airport, etc) to support the industry.

Hank

I couldn't decide which one to do either - so we are doing both as a B2B this summer. Might as well get as much out of the vacation as possible since airfare is so expesive. Is that an option for you?

I would go with the first one. Athens is a 'must see' and Ephesus was simply amazing!!

If it helps, here are my reviews of the ports that I have been to.

Athens

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2141162

Kusadasi, Turkey, for Ephesus

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=45610162

Dubrovnik

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/dubrovnik-croatia.html

Venice

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/venice-overnight-call-part-1-sailing-in.html

NCL Jade is good. We just sailed on her last Dec.