Princess, Holland or Celebrity for Med cruise?

Hope I am posting on the right board. Only river cruised before so this is a first. 2 couples in their fifties and early sixties(if that makes a difference)..have heard lots of positives on Celebrity but not a lot either way for Princess or Holland. Any advice to steer us in the right direction? Not choosing Oceania as I hear it is a bit rocky as it is a smaller ship. Want to test my tolerance.

Many people choose their Med cruise for the itinerary, not necessarily the cruise line. The Med cruises are very port intensive, with many all day excursions.

That being said, the best cruise of our 15 cruises was a 20 day, Eastern/Western Med cruise on Holland America's Noordam. Holland America does the Med very well.

Okay. Not exactly sure what my musts are. Venice, Florence(for Tuscany), Amalfi Coast, Mykonos, Santorini would be musts for me and then other ports recommended from those better travelled in the area. Have been to Nice and Monaco so not musts, have been to Spain although not Barcelona. It is confusing as many of the cruises have similar ports. Our group vacation idea transformed from a 2 week Tuscany stay to a Med cruise so wide open to suggestions.

Hope I am posting on the right board. Only river cruised before so this is a first. 2 couples in their fifties and early sixties(if that makes a difference)..have heard lots of positives on Celebrity but not a lot either way for Princess or Holland. Any advice to steer us in the right direction? Not choosing Oceania as I hear it is a bit rocky as it is a smaller ship. Want to test my tolerance.

Just saying "my two bits" tells my age. I have been on Costa and Princess and am going on Carnival to the Med in the spring. Chose Carnival for the great deal. Going on Princess again next Fall. We loved Princess. Costa was gaudy and everything had to be done in 5 languages. We would pray that they would start in English so we could move on. Some people say the food is better on one cruise line over the other, but if we don't have to cook, who really cares? We plan to try to stay on Princess whenever possible. Military perk, future cruise deal, carnival stock owner perk, they all add up. Not expecting to like Carnival as much as Princess, but the deal was great. Going for 39 days!

Love Princess; love HAL. Just getting started with Carnival. I think Holland America is "slightly" more understated and elegant and Princess has a more easy-going atmosphere. But the differences are minimal and a cruise is what you make of it.

Whichever line your choose, have a wonderful time.

Your choice should be much much more about itinerary and much much less about the cruise line. Figure out where you must go, and eliminate cruises by that. Also, look at the amount of time in ports As long as the ship has flexible dining, you should be good to go.

Begin by figuring out which itinerary or itineraries work best for you.

As part of this find an itinerary that begins in a city you are interested in touring because it is a good idea to arrive a few days prior to the cruise. This ensures that if your flight is delayed or canceled you do not miss the ship, if your luggage is missing there is time to get it to you before you board, provides time to get over the jet lag and allows you to tour an interesting city.

From there then factor in cruise line and ship.

Keith

i agree with most folks its the cruise itinery thats important where you wantt o go and when ,

most cruise lines are the same with each having little differences towards the niche they have set themselves into ,done the med 5 times with princess and going to the aegean on saturday on the crown p.

the med is a great area so who ever you go with enjoy:):)

All 3 are great

I have sailed more than once on all three lines; and I have taken a Med cruise. The other posters are correct; you really should decide which ports are the most important to you then go from there.

Of the three lines I prefer HA hands-down but I do enjoy all 3 of them and wouldn't hesitate to book on any of them. I just prefer what I consider to be the better food and service on Holland. If you are more of a night-owl then HA may not be for you as there isn't a lot to do late night: Princess and Celebrity have more to offer there.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the 3 you mentioned. They're more alike than different.

Roz

Roz and the others are right--the ships are more alike than different, so put on the blindfold and throw a dart. And don't discount Oceania. I just got off a Mediterranean/Atlantic cruise on Marina and the ship didn't rock at all. Nada. It's more about the weather you encounter than the size of the ship.

You have nice choices.

I would read recent member review on the ships you are considering.

I would also visit the ports of call boards to read about the potential ports.

My view is the devil is in the details so now you need to do more detailed research.

Keith

Hope I am posting on the right board. Only river cruised before so this is a first. 2 couples in their fifties and early sixties(if that makes a difference)..have heard lots of positives on Celebrity but not a lot either way for Princess or Holland. Any advice to steer us in the right direction? Not choosing Oceania as I hear it is a bit rocky as it is a smaller ship. Want to test my tolerance.

as said before I also think all 3 are fine, but I would take Oceania over any of them, I think that size is fine for a Med cruise, we did Athens to Rome on a Renasence ship in 2001 ( theses ships are now Oceania)

We sail all three, HAL and X are tied for us, it is based on itinerary and pricing, Princess is our third choice, they have to have a really good deal.

While doing research be sure to check the time of the year you plan on going. July and August can be intolerably hot in some parts of the Med. Plus, some ports are extremely crowded. IMO, the best time to visit the Med. is in May and October.= -- less crowds and pleasant weather.