European Cruise - limited time in ports?

We have cruised the Carribean and Mexico 9 times. We try to do our own excursions as I want to maximize my time in what interests us. We have also done two European land tours. While they were fast paced, we got to experience towns in the early am or evening. We particularly liked that part of the tours.

In 2018, we will be celebrating our 40th anniversary. We are looking at an Oct 17, 2018 Celebrity Eclipse cruise out of Barcelona. Ports are Palma De Mallorca, Messina Italy, Mykonos Greece, Athens, Santorini, Rhodes and Valletta Malta.

We have never been to any of these places. The itinerary looks amazing but I am concerned that the shore excursions don't allow enough time at the sites.

For those that have been to Europe, do you feel that a cruise allows enough site seeing time within the brief docking period?

I know I am giving up the off hours by a cruise. These ports appear to give first class shore excursions but do you get a true European experience via a cruise ship?

Since we have cruises a lot, the ship time is NOT a high priority to us. I keep flopping between different land tours and this exciting Eclipse itinerary. Appreciate any comments. Thanks.

Palma De Mallorca, Spain

Pal De Mallorca, Spain

No, of course you don't really get a chance to know the ports at which the ship calls. You get a fast taste of the place. Think about the major US cities. How could you possibly experience Boston, NYC, Miami, San Francisco in only a few hours in port? Even if you had the whole day, it's a you could hardly see anything. If you want to feel you have visited and seen a city (port) you must take stay on land, either a land tour or a pre-cruise, post-cruise stop.

It's the difference between getting your own ice cream cone and really enjoying the whole flavor immersion or licking someone else's cone and saying, yeah, it tasted good. :cool:

You have described the reason that many passengers research each port prior to sailing and endeavor to locate local tour guides and companies.

The example of Pompeii comes to mind....you can take a ship excursion with a large group or you can find your way to the train that goes directly to the main gate, pay your entrance fee and employ one of several guides who frequent the entrance area to provide guide services for tourists.

Cruising is a trade off of some benefits for the drawback of having little time in ports. You mentioned that you have cruised to the Caribbean and Mexico (as have I). I live in Puerto Vallarta a few months a year (for the past dozen years) and see cruise ships come and go...from my balcony. As a cruiser you get to do an excursion or perhaps explore the city. As a resident I live in the city, have my spot on the beach, eat in dozens of restaurants every winter. etc. It is an entirely different experience. And its the same in Europe. Places like Athens and Rhodes are certainly worthy of more then a quick port stop...but that is what you get when you cruise. Our daughter loves staying on Santorini, and she feels sorry for cruise ship visitors who only get a few hours on the island. When she goes, its for many days or longer.

We have explored Europe on dozens of cruises....and also have done many extended driving trips in Europe and the UK. Each kind of travel has its pros and cons. While we still love to cruise in Europe....we really love our time on land. So most of our cruise trips are combined with extended land time...but we do have the luxury of time. So since you are looking at cruising out of Barcelona, consider flying into Europe a few days early. You can simply fly to Barcelona and spend a few days exploring that part of Spain....or perhaps fly into Paris, spend a few days, and then work your way down to Spain.

Hank

You just have a glimpse when on cruise. This becomes more evident if the site that will give you a "true European experience" is hours away from the port, making your time to explore even more limited. Land tour will give you the experience you expect.

Ok..I'll ask the other side.

You picked a cruise that has some ports that don't need days to get a feel (except Athens). Yes, one can spend a week in each port. But, if this is a big trip, most of those ports will give a good overview. You will definitely get a feel of Greek culture with four stops.

If you can, spend some time in Barcelona before and after and view that as intensive for that city. Or, perhaps fly into Madrid and train into Barcelona to give Spain more "Mojo" on the itinerary.

We've been to Europe many, many times (land and cruise) and look for cruises that have bite size ports, with big city embarkation or disembarkation (preferably two different) where we want to spend extra time on land.

Ok..I'll ask the other side.

 

You picked a cruise that has some ports that don't need days to get a feel (except Athens). Yes, one can spend a week in each port. But, if this is a big trip, most of those ports will give a good overview. You will definitely get a feel of Greek culture with four stops.

 

If you can, spend some time in Barcelona before and after and view that as intensive for that city. Or, perhaps fly into Madrid and train into Barcelona to give Spain more "Mojo" on the itinerary.

 

We've been to Europe many, many times (land and cruise) and look for cruises that have bite size ports, with big city embarkation or disembarkation (preferably two different) where we want to spend extra time on land.

The "bite sized" ports are exactly why I pick this cruise. Thanks for all the comments. We are facing a tough decision. We would stay in Barcelona an extra nite but I had not thought of Madrid. Maybe Madrid and Barcelona could be our land tour. Europe is so different than a small Carribean island. So much to see, so little time.

Europe is so different than a small Carribean island. So much to see, so little time.

Not being snarky...but this is so obvious, but so many people miss this key point. Caribbean cruising has absolutely no relationship to European cruising. So many great cities, countries history and sights in Europe. The Caribbean is mostly warm weather, beaches and seas.

We love Europe, and seek to see Europe from ships, and on land tours. Fortunately, Europe is really very easy to visit..although many fear traveling there. Like you said, so much to see, so little time.

The "bite sized" ports are exactly why I pick this cruise. Thanks for all the comments. We are facing a tough decision. We would stay in Barcelona an extra nite but I had not thought of Madrid. Maybe Madrid and Barcelona could be our land tour. Europe is so different than a small Carribean island. So much to see, so little time.

The Greek Islands are probably the area that lends itself best to cruising. We started with land vacations in Britian and France, but, our first cruise was the Greek Isles...many years ago. We loved them and have them circled for a return (coupled with a longer stay in Santorini and Athens) but that "taste" has held us for a long time.

You're on the right track....just pick where you want to start in Europe. The bug will bite you and you'll start planning you next adventure.:)

BTW..I'm probably in the minority, but Spain is my favorite country.

You just need to weigh what's important to you. Other than the year my daughter got married, I've done a European cruise every year for the last several. On each and every one of them, I've spent extra time in the embarkation port so where the cruise embarks is very important to me. I'm cruising the Western Med in Sept and the cruise has two ports of embarkation: Barcelona and Rome. I cruise out of Barcelona last year (spending six days pre-cruise) so I chose the Rome embarkation for this one as I've never been to Rome. I'll spend 8 days there before boarding the ship.

The con is spending only a day in each port, but the pro is that I get to see so many! Is it enough time? absolutely not! But, it's the way I love to travel--it's so easy! Weigh what's important to you, do a pro and con list. Personally, I don't think you can go wrong no matter whether you cruise or take a land tour. :D

A cruise is a way of getting a taste - but only a taste. If you are satisfied with that go for it. One consideration is that a call at a port small enough to see much of in the few hours available is also small enough to be overwhelmed by the thousands on your ship - and possible additional thousands on other ships calling the same day.

Mykonos and Santorini in particular - as well as others - are small enough to experience in a few hours - but that experience will largely consist of sharing these small gems with thousands of others.

You can fly between Barcelona and Mallorca for 35 - 40$/each way.

If you would like to spend more time there.

We will be doing a European cruise for the 5th time this October. With airfare being so expensive, we have always added time pre and post cruise to maximize the cost. That's when we get a true experience of the country. On a cruise, I get a taste of the area which helps me plan future holidays. While on land and in port we tend to try to see as much as we can. The ship forces us to relax from 5pm onboard. If we didn't include a cruise, I would need another holiday before I went back to work.

Cruises while I'm still working and extended land vacations when I retire. That's the current plan anyways.

I like your itinerary and hope you enjoy visiting those cities as much as we have.

Do you have your heart set on those particular ports? The reason I'm asking is that a river cruise, in my opinion, gives you more of a "true European experience". There's a lot of time spend in river ports, and in many of them the boat dumps you right off in the city, which is exactly where you want to be.

Roz

We loved our Mediterranean cruise in 2005! We went to Turkey which we never would have been brave enough to go there alone.

Some cruise lines spend more time in ports than others ...some overnight in embarkation/debarkation ports so you can spend extra time in those ports

shop around

One's expectations just need to be altered. Sometimes, just spending a few hours wandering a neighborhood is the best way to use the time, and sometimes, picking one attraction and exploring it fully is all you can get. Don't expect to see it all. It does seem like a shame to visit an amazing destination and only spend a few hours there, but it's a different way of travelling that could be equally rewarding.

Ok..I'll ask the other side.

 

You picked a cruise that has some ports that don't need days to get a feel (except Athens). Yes, one can spend a week in each port. But, if this is a big trip, most of those ports will give a good overview. You will definitely get a feel of Greek culture with four stops.

 

If you can, spend some time in Barcelona before and after and view that as intensive for that city. Or, perhaps fly into Madrid and train into Barcelona to give Spain more "Mojo" on the itinerary.

 

We've been to Europe many, many times (land and cruise) and look for cruises that have bite size ports, with big city embarkation or disembarkation (preferably two different) where we want to spend extra time on land.

We just booked a cruise on NCL Epic next April for 7 days going out of Barcelona. DID exactly this....fly in Tues b4 cruise on Sunday then fly out Tuesday after cruise. It will give us exploration time on both ends. Very excited and any particular recommendations are welcome! Sites, restaurants, local establishments, etc! We have AAA and are thinking of using them for booking excursions....smaller groups and still guarantee getting back to ship on time.

You just need to weigh what's important to you. Other than the year my daughter got married, I've done a European cruise every year for the last several. On each and every one of them, I've spent extra time in the embarkation port so where the cruise embarks is very important to me. I'm cruising the Western Med in Sept and the cruise has two ports of embarkation: Barcelona and Rome. I cruise out of Barcelona last year (spending six days pre-cruise) so I chose the Rome embarkation for this one as I've never been to Rome. I'll spend 8 days there before boarding the ship.

 

The con is spending only a day in each port, but the pro is that I get to see so many! Is it enough time? absolutely not! But, it's the way I love to travel--it's so easy! Weigh what's important to you, do a pro and con list. Personally, I don't think you can go wrong no matter whether you cruise or take a land tour. :D

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Have yo considered a European river cruise instead? We've taken 7. We've taken 1 "ocean liner" European cruise, but several repo cruises, more so for the ship experience rather than the few ports it calls on prior to the trans Atlantic sail. For us, European "ocean liner" cruise does not offer long enough time in port, you pretty much only experience port cities, and if not it's a couple of hour bus/train ride, you rarely if ever get to experience evening/night life, and you pretty much choose a couple of the cities sites, as you don't have time for more. If you're not a real explorer and just a taste of the city/country will suffice, then do it, but for us it's just not enough to experience where we are. A river cruise does allow much, much more of a cultural experience.

We have cruised the Carribean and Mexico 9 times. We try to do our own excursions as I want to maximize my time in what interests us. We have also done two European land tours. While they were fast paced, we got to experience towns in the early am or evening. We particularly liked that part of the tours.

 

 

 

In 2018, we will be celebrating our 40th anniversary. We are looking at an Oct 17, 2018 Celebrity Eclipse cruise out of Barcelona. Ports are Palma De Mallorca, Messina Italy, Mykonos Greece, Athens, Santorini, Rhodes and Valletta Malta.

 

 

 

We have never been to any of these places. The itinerary looks amazing but I am concerned that the shore excursions don't allow enough time at the sites.

 

 

 

For those that have been to Europe, do you feel that a cruise allows enough site seeing time within the brief docking period?

 

 

 

I know I am giving up the off hours by a cruise. These ports appear to give first class shore excursions but do you get a true European experience via a cruise ship?

 

 

 

Since we have cruises a lot, the ship time is NOT a high priority to us. I keep flopping between different land tours and this exciting Eclipse itinerary. Appreciate any comments. Thanks.

I've done a fair amount of work-related travel in Europe with time on my own to explore. I've done a couple of cruises in that neighborhood. My recommendations: take a deep breath. Read a lot of history. Read good guide books like Anne de Vipond or Rick Steves. Decide what one thing intrigues you about a given port or region. Get a DIY or commercial or ship tour that allows you to explore that one aspect in a day. Then plan to go back to see more another time... Or not. A cruise is a great way to sample, supplement with land cruises before, after, or totally separate.

E.g., we spent 2 weeks in Venice and Northern Italy in 2007. Going back for a Greek Island cruise out of Venice next month. Plus an extra week in Venice afterward.

We treat a cruise as a sample of the area that will tell us if it is an area we want to explore by land on a later trip.

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We treat a cruise as a sample of the area that will tell us if it is an area we want to explore by land on a later trip.

 

 

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A very good point. Did that with the Baltics and then returned to Norway and Sweden for more on land. Did the Med as a way to hit all the ancient ruins as we had been to many of the countries previously. As some have noted , do not try to see "everything" in a day. Better to pick one area of a town to see that n depth.