Recommendation for a cruise from Venice

We will be in Venice from May 6th to May 22, 2016 and I'm evaluating cruises from that port.

We've never cruised before ( apart from a repositioning one-night cruise Vancouver – Seattle ).

We saw two 7-day cruises that piqued our interest from RCI:

1. Venice, Kotor, Corfu, Athens (Piraeus), Mykonos, Argostoli, Venice (May 7)

2. Venice, Duborvnik, Kusadasi, Santorini, Katakolon, Venice (May 14)

Briefly checked out NCL and Costa as well. Costa seems to have so/so reviews.

There will be 4 adults cruising. 2 adults, 2 seniors. Not into partying on the boat at all.

Any recommendations for either of these cruises out of Venice?

Are there any other cruises that you'd all recommend out of Venice?

Should I worry about booking now or wait ( seems to be offering decent deals right now, 50% off second passenger )?

We likely will sharing a room... is this feasible? I know it's personal preference, but given 4 people, should be get an ocean view or balcony?

Am I posting this in the right forum?

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Venice is not in Greece. Perhaps the Mods will move it to the general Ask a Question board, or the Italy board.

Having been to almost all of those ports I would probably take the May 14 cruise. Like those ports a lot. Just my opinion.

By the way, you will be getting on a ship, not a boat.

Yep, I realize this. However, most of the cruises from Venice are Greek ports of call.

May I ask why you like those ports and which of them are the most interesting? Is it the history, the towns, excursions, the natural scenery?

And I see mixed opinions about booking early vs. late. Given that our flights are booked already, is it better to book the ship early?

Please excuse my use of 'boat' instead of 'ship'. :embarrassed:

Hi Blue means go,

My sister and I just booked a cruise out of Venice. We're pretty excited about this port. Which hotel did your family choose?

By the way some of us don't mind the use of the term boat, no need to be embarrassed.

Hi Blue means go,

 

My sister and I just booked a cruise out of Venice. We're pretty excited about this port. Which hotel did your family choose?

 

By the way some of us don't mind the use of the term boat, no need to be embarrassed.

We haven't chosen a hotel yet as we don't know which cruise yet. Is your cruise on RCCL? Is your cruise in the Greek Islands?

 

May I ask why you like those ports and which of them are the most interesting? Is it the history, the towns, excursions, the natural scenery?

 

Please excuse my use of 'boat' instead of 'ship'. :embarrassed:

Overall historic and scenic value goes to the May 14th cruise, again, in my opinion. Athens is great, but the rest of the route is better on the May 14th cruise.

A few thoughts. Ships carry boats. So your cruise ship will carry life boats.

See if you can book a slightly longer cruise. See if Princess has something.

Keith

See if you can book a slightly longer cruise. See if Princess has something.

 

Keith

So what price should I be paying for a 7-day or 10-day cruise?

Looks like Princess only goes out of Athens or Rome. Rome is doable, as it's only 3h by train from Venice.

So what price should I be paying for a 7-day or 10-day cruise?

 

You realize that cruise ships have from 10-20 different cabin levels, each with it's own separate fare. Those fares vary cruise to cruise, depending on season and demand. Sales and discounts can vary this fares as well.

I agree about the second itinerary. It's really well rounded and has beautiful sites, culture and high. The only drawback is no Athens. You get to go to Epheseus which has some of the most well preserved Greek ruins in the world (much better preserved than Athens). You can get a reasonably priced tour as well. Duborvnik is also exceptionally beautiful.

Perhaps I misread but are you planning to have all four in one cabin? The price is per person regardless of how many. You would need a larger suite with two bathrooms to really be comfortable. Adjoining cabins could also work well and could very well be less expensive than a large suite.

Read the fine print and compare multiple cruiselines. Sometimes those 50% or 2 for 1 deals are not really deals.

If you have not cruised before and the itinerary is very port intensive then I would recommend a smaller ship. Fewer pax, larger staterooms, less walking and smaller ships usually mean more upscale and sometimes all-inclusive.

most likely with 4 adults in a balcony room, 4 people will be pretty crowded...someone would have the bed, and two would have a pull out couch...I would seriously consider adjoining rooms...and most of the time, the balcony can be opened so you can douse both of them through a door. If you are not partiers...., then I would look at Princess or celebrity....Costa has a lot of Europeans on the ship, and RCL has lots of younger families...NCL has a mixed bag and excellent entertainers. I believe, someone can correct me, but I think you can still smoke on Costa ships if that is important to you....or not...look at all of the reviews, demographics, and make the choice of ship that you think will work for you....

We haven't chosen a hotel yet as we don't know which cruise yet. Is your cruise on RCCL? Is your cruise in the Greek Islands?

Yes our cruise is on RCI. out itinerary includes leaving from Venice then visiting 2 ports in Croatia and 2 ports in Greece.

cruise staterooms are already tight and putting 4 adults in one room would be a challenge. On many ships the 3rd or 4th person may be on a pullman bunk bed. Seeing that you are traveling with senior citizens then you better make sure the other two are spry enough to hop up onto a bed.

I just looked at the cabin square footage fro RCI Vision of the Seas which is the ship you are considering and it is 164 square feet total! Go get a tape measure and see how small that is.

If you want to get a feel, check out this video on youtube. You will notice that there are only 2 people in this room, now throw 2 more people and their luggage.

cruise staterooms are already tight and putting 4 adults in one room would be a challenge. On many ships the 3rd or 4th person may be on a pullman bunk bed. Seeing that you are traveling with senior citizens then you better make sure the other two are spry enough to hop up onto a bed.

 

I just looked at the cabin square footage fro RCI Vision of the Seas which is the ship you are considering and it is 164 square feet total! Go get a tape measure and see how small that is.

 

If you want to get a feel, check out this video on youtube. You will notice that there are only 2 people in this room, now throw 2 more people and their luggage.

 

Thanks so much for the tips. I was always under the impression that you pay for the first two and the 3rd and 4th are a reduced rate and thinking we wouldn't spend much time in the room, but yes it does look tight.

Right now RCCL is offering 2nd passenger 50% off. Prices around $750 for an Inside Cabin and $900 for an Ocean View. Seems reasonable to me.

Thanks so much for the tips. I was always under the impression that you pay for the first two and the 3rd and 4th are a reduced rate and thinking we wouldn't spend much time in the room, but yes it does look tight.

 

Right now RCCL is offering 2nd passenger 50% off. Prices around $750 for an Inside Cabin and $900 for an Ocean View. Seems reasonable to me.

You realize those prices are per person, not the total price for the cruise.

yes, of course. And I think the price is also including the promotional price. I just don't know what is considered a decent deal for this cruise.

For example, an interior stateroom ( 132 sq. ft ):

Guests 1-2: $767 USD

Guests 3-4: $539 USD

TOTAL: $2612 ( $653 pp )

A Large Ocean View Stateroom (

Guests 1-2: $983

Guests 3-4: $689

TOTAL: $3,344 ( $836 pp )

A Superior Preferred View Stateroom ( 193 sq. ft. ):

Guests 1-2: $1,103

Guests 3-4: $689

TOTAL: $3584 ( $896 pp )

For two rooms, it's an extra $500–800

Would these be considered about average prices for this cruise or a decent price?

A Family Stateroom isn't bookable online, but at 400+ sq. ft is probably expensive.

For 2 interior rooms it is an extra $456. Well worth it! A view or balcony is worth it, too but many people don't think so.

I say book early! Then watch the prices if they go down call and get the price drop.

We booked last Nov for and Oct cruise on the Splendour out of Venice for 2 inside cabins one will have 4 adults in it (2 adult kids) and the other will have 2 adults in it.

Cruise is Kotor, Corfu, Pireaus, Argostoli and Mykonos

The cabin for 4 -$2500

Cabin for 2- $1347

price has dropped almost $1700 since I first booked after going up for quite some time.

I do think it may be hard for an older person to climb up on the Pullman beds, I'd suggest just getting 2 insides either side by side or if you luck out getting a connecting room!

3rd and 4th guest are a reduced rate! So if you are on a strict budget and feel the 2 younger adults can get onto the Pullmans it is doable. I was trying to get a picture up (but can't remember how to do it) showing a room for 3 if you had 4 it would be another one from the ceiling. You could also keep the bottom bed apart which would give you a little more room

Getting back to the original question, I recently returned from a cruise that visited many of the ports. I would vote for 2 because of Dubrovnik and Santorini. BUT when you get to Santorini you must go to Oia. We also enjoyed visiting ancient Olympia

On the other hand Athens and visiting the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus was on my bucket list also

Bottom line if Ancient Athens is on your bucket list as a must, choose 1. There are taxi tours you can arrange that will bring you to all the major sites and back to your ship all within your timeframe. But if you are ambivalent go with Dubrovnik and Santorini

Getting back to the original question, I recently returned from a cruise that visited many of the ports. I would vote for 2 because of Dubrovnik and Santorini. BUT when you get to Santorini you must go to Oia. We also enjoyed visiting ancient Olympia

 

On the other hand Athens and visiting the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus was on my bucket list also

 

Bottom line if Ancient Athens is on your bucket list as a must, choose 1. There are taxi tours you can arrange that will bring you to all the major sites and back to your ship all within your timeframe. But if you are ambivalent go with Dubrovnik and Santorini

Yeah, we haven't been to any of those places, and although I'm into history, the rest of the party is more into scenery and interesting towns. Mykonos looks gorgeous, but I've heart Dubrovnik is amazing as well.

Being new to cruising, I just saw... 6 ports vs. 5 ports... so the 6 ports must be better.

As for the pullmans, chances are, my wife and I would take those beds anyhow and let her parents take the singles, though one option is to get one Ocean View room and one regular room. The balcony would be nice, but price REALLY jumps for balcony suites.

We're also buying in Canadian dollars... which means that those prices are going to be more due to the weakness in the Canadian Dollar. Ick!

Just have to figure out which cruise the rest want. Maybe we'll get one interior room and one Ocean room across the hall. LOL!

3rd and 4th guest are a reduced rate! So if you are on a strict budget and feel the 2 younger adults can get onto the Pullmans it is doable. I was trying to get a picture up (but can't remember how to do it) showing a room for 3 if you had 4 it would be another one from the ceiling. You could also keep the bottom bed apart which would give you a little more room

I noticed that this ship seems to have more sofa beds than pullmans. Is there a "better" bed, for comfort and convenience. Mobility isn't an issue as if it were pullmans we'd give the single beds to the seniors.

I just know that growing up, our sofa bed was always horrible to sleep on.

I have yet to find a comfortable sofa bed!! My daughter said the Pullmans are pretty comfortable!

I've not been to any of the ports yet, but I figure as long as I am going to a new place I am happy.

I have yet to find a comfortable sofa bed!! My daughter said the Pullmans are pretty comfortable!

I've not been to any of the ports yet, but I figure as long as I am going to a new place I am happy.

Good points. It sounds like the rest of the party would rather do the cruise first after a long flight and really wants to go to Athens... so it's almost decided.

Here's a fun fact. Because the BOGO only applies to the 2nd passenger ( and not the 4th ), we may get one ocean view ( hopefully with pullmans ) plus one inside cabin.

Interior stateroom ( 132 sq. ft ):

Guests 1-2: $767 USD ( BOGO )

Guests 3-4: $539 USD

TOTAL: $2612 ( $653 pp )

A Large Ocean View Stateroom (

Guests 1-2: $983 ( BOGO )

Guests 3-4: $689

TOTAL: $3,344 ( $836 pp )

One of Each:

Guests 1-2: $983 ( BOGO )

Guests 3-4: $767 USD ( BOGO )

TOTAL: $3,500 ( $ 875 pp )