Which Ship and Itinerary to Greece?

Hello All!

I am torn between the three cruises below. I have sailed on Royal Caribbean, but never on MSC or Norwegian. The reviews for MSC don't look great, but I really like the itinerary.

I will be traveling with my boyfriend, we are in our early thirties and like to have fun. We like to have good dining options (especially late night since we tend to stay up late). Activities on board are a plus for days we are at sea or come back to the ship early.

Please help me decide which ship and itinerary would be best. Any feedback you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Norwegian Jade

09/10 Venice, Italy - Depart 6:00PM

09/11 Dubrovnik, Croatia - 2:00PM-9:00PM

09/12 Day at Sea

09/13 Piraeus (Athens), Greece - 8:00AM-6:00 PM

09/14 Santorini Island, Greece - 8:00AM-5:00 PM

09/15 Day at Sea

09/16 Split, Croatia - 8:00AM-6:00PM

09/17 Venice, Italy - Arrive 8:00 AM

MSC Sinfonia

09/10 Venice, Italy - Depart 5:00PM

09/11 Split, Croatia - 8:00AM-5:00PM

09/12 Day at Sea

09/13 Santorini, Greece - 9:00AM-3:00PM

09/13 Mykonos, Greece - 8:00 PM-11:59PM

09/14 Mykonos, Greece - 12:01AM-2:00AM

09/15 Dubrovnik, Croatia - 1:00PM-7:00PM

09/16 Ancona, Italy - 10:00AM-6:00PM

09/17 Venice, Italy - Arrive 8:00AM

Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas

09/10 Venice, Italy - Depart 5:00PM

09/11 Kotor, Montenegro - 2:00PM-8:00PM

09/12 Corfu, Greece - 9:00AM-2:30PM

09/13 Athens (Piraeus), Greece - 12:00PM-8:30PM

09/14 Mykonos, Greece - 7:00AM-4:00PM

09/15 Argostoli, Greece - 12:00PM-7:00PM

09/16 Day at Sea

09/17 Venice, Italy - Arrive 6:45AM

Well, a lot comes down to itinerary in the Med; it's much more important than the ship itself.

But just looking at the ports doesn't tell the whole story either. For example, take a look at the short port times for some of the stops on MSC. You are only in Santorini for 6 hours -- and getting from the ship (tendered) to where you want to go and back can eat up a chunk of that time.

Ditto with Mykonos -- it seems like a lot of time because they break it into two separate days, but really it's only an evening (8pm to 2am).

Ancona is a bit of a throwaway port. It's okay, but it's the kind of port I'd look for on a second (or third or fourth) Med cruise....

Personally, I like the itinerary on the Jade, but if Greek islands are important to you, you only get to one. (Plus Piraeaus, for Athens -- which IMO is a must but very different from the islands.)

The RCL cruise has the most "Greece" of them all. But while Kotor is scenic, it's not as interesting as Split or Dubrovnik -- again IMO. And it doesn't visit Santorini, which is more or less the iconic Greek isle.

So, they all have pluses or minuses. It's a bit up to you as to which ports seem most interesting. But definitely keep in mind those short port times on MSC -- not all of the interesting sites to see are close to the ship.

Thank you so much for your feedback, Cruisemom.

I am leaning towards the Norwegian cruise as well. I like that it stops in Croatia which I heard is beautiful.

The price difference between Norwegian and Royal is about $500 per person right now (Norwegian being more expensive). I am waiting to see if the price goes down some (could be wishful thinking), but in the meantime I am holding the Royal Caribbean cruise.

We really loved Mykonos. However, since you only get either Mykonos or Santorini my vote would be Santorini. Also, Dubrovnik was wonderful. That would leave me leaning towards NCL (even though I like RCL better). Here is a link to some Dubrovnik pictures.

https://markandkareneurope2013.shutterfly.com/pictures/317

I would definitely choose the NCL Jade also. A good amount of time in Santorini, Dubrovnik, and Athens. Hopefully you will do Venice on your own pre or post. Gorgeous and diverse itinerary.

Hello All!

 

I am torn between the three cruises below. I have sailed on Royal Caribbean, but never on MSC or Norwegian. The reviews for MSC don't look great, but I really like the itinerary.

 

I will be traveling with my boyfriend, we are in our early thirties and like to have fun. We like to have good dining options (especially late night since we tend to stay up late). Activities on board are a plus for days we are at sea or come back to the ship early.

 

Please help me decide which ship and itinerary would be best. Any feedback you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

Norwegian Jade

09/10 Venice, Italy - Depart 6:00PM

09/11 Dubrovnik, Croatia - 2:00PM-9:00PM

09/12 Day at Sea

09/13 Piraeus (Athens), Greece - 8:00AM-6:00 PM

09/14 Santorini Island, Greece - 8:00AM-5:00 PM

09/15 Day at Sea

09/16 Split, Croatia - 8:00AM-6:00PM

09/17 Venice, Italy - Arrive 8:00 AM

 

MSC Sinfonia

09/10 Venice, Italy - Depart 5:00PM

09/11 Split, Croatia - 8:00AM-5:00PM

09/12 Day at Sea

09/13 Santorini, Greece - 9:00AM-3:00PM

09/13 Mykonos, Greece - 8:00 PM-11:59PM

09/14 Mykonos, Greece - 12:01AM-2:00AM

09/15 Dubrovnik, Croatia - 1:00PM-7:00PM

09/16 Ancona, Italy - 10:00AM-6:00PM

09/17 Venice, Italy - Arrive 8:00AM

 

Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas

09/10 Venice, Italy - Depart 5:00PM

09/11 Kotor, Montenegro - 2:00PM-8:00PM

09/12 Corfu, Greece - 9:00AM-2:30PM

09/13 Athens (Piraeus), Greece - 12:00PM-8:30PM

09/14 Mykonos, Greece - 7:00AM-4:00PM

09/15 Argostoli, Greece - 12:00PM-7:00PM

09/16 Day at Sea

09/17 Venice, Italy - Arrive 6:45AM

I've never sailed on any of these ships [or on MSC at all] but have sailed on the sisters of both the Jade and the Vision OTS. Based on ship and line, I would choose RCCL's Vision OTS. The food, service, and atmosphere on RCCL was preferable to NCL in my opinion. That said, as others stated, a Med cruise is 95% about the ports and only 5% about the ship/line.

Based on the itineraries, I would still choose Vision OTS. That trip offers 5 ports whilst NCL only offers 4. Whilst it WILL be an exhausting trip, one does not generally take a med cruise to relax; it is meant to be a sightseeing itinerary. I also think the Vision has a more exotic [or at least more interesting] itinerary. Corfu, Argostoli and Kotor feature on far fewer cruises than do Dubrovnik and Santorini. I almost never see Argostoli as a port of call. The MSC trip has terrible hours in the Greek ports so that was a non-starter for me. I've not been to Croatia however I've heard it is lovely but VERY touristy. Montenegro is just starting to become a hot spot for travel and thus you may find it a more peaceful slice of the Dalmatian coast. Kotor was one of the highlights of our recent Med cruise. Both NCL and RCCL offer Athens, which I feel is a must unless you've been before. The major difference is Santorini versus Mykonos. Both are wonderful but if I had to pick only one to return to, it would be Mykonos; the island has a really chic vibe to it, it is much easier to navigate, and it's just as beautiful unless your sole reason of going to a Greek island is to see the blue-domed churches high above the sea.

I just got back from the Adriatic on the Vision's sister ship Rhapsody OTS and the itinerary featured several of the same ports. Ours was a 10 night trip so had 6 ports rather than 5 and 3 sea days instead of one. If you have the extra time, the same itinerary is also offered in Sept but with Zadar, Croatia instead of Ravenna, Italy [which was on the trip I took]. That would give you Croatia on your trip if that is a must for you along with both Santorini and Mykonos [ports are: Corfu, Santorini, Athens, Mykonos, Zadar, and Kotor].