Advice please

Hi,

Our eldest son graduates from Highschool in June. We want to reward him for a great job in Highschool and obtaining a college scholarship. We had planned for my son and a few of his friends to spend some time in Europe this summer but due to the instability those plans fell apart. I decided I would take him to Europe on a cruise which is a compromise but to be honest with two younger brothers it will be a special trip to spend together before he goes off to college.

I have been searching the different itiniaries and though I really like a few of a Princess Cruiselines itiniarys my son likes the CCL Vista 10 day that leaves on June 21.

We have a lot of cruising experience but not to Europe or the Mediterranean.

The itiniary is as follows:

Athens, Greece Depart

Izmir (Ephesus) Turkey

Rhodes, Greece

Fun Day At Sea

Valletta, Malta

Messina Sicily Italy

Naples (Capri/Pompeii), Italy

Rome (Civitavecchia) Italy

Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy

Marseilles (Provence) France

Barcelona, Spain Deembark

My questions are any overall information or advice about this itiniary. It is defiantly a busy 10 days for sure.

Advice on airfare. I have a few apps that show prices of flying into one city/country and departing from another.

We would plan on flying to Athens a few days before hand to get use to the time change and to explore Athena.

We dembark in Barcelona and plan on staying a few days and possibly taking the train to visit other places while in Europe? Where would you suggest to go?

My TA told me me we need a Visa for Turkey but is it safe to travel there? I know this is catch 22 question but are other travelers staying away?

As I mentioned I have looked at a few RCI cruises that start in South Hampton and travel to Itlay etc. there is also a RCI cruise that only visits the UK, Ireland and Scotland etc.

My son wants to see some od the world before starting his college studies.

Any and all advice is welcomed please.

I can't help with most of your questions, but FYI:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/turkey-travel-warning.html

There is an active travel advisory for Turkey from the US State Dept. Most cruise lines have been cancelling their calls there as well. CCL hasn't yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do.

You don't need a Visa for Turkey for this particular cruise/port.

Turkey (or the port cities) seems to be safer to me than Paris but nevertheless I do think it's likely Carnival will follow suit with the other cruise lines and cancel their stop in Turkey.

There's no real special app for all flights. Check google flights. Also, some people have reported good pricing using Carnival's flight program.

There's an active roll call for that 6/21 cruise out of Athens.

BTW - if you're spending just a few days post cruise, I'd spend them all in Barcelona. Your son (and you too) will have a fantastic time there.

I think it is just a matter of time before CCL cancels the Turkey stop as Princess, Celebrity and all NCL brands have all cancelled Turkey stops through the end of 2016.

I think it is just a matter of time before CCL cancels the Turkey stop as Princess, Celebrity and all NCL brands have all cancelled Turkey stops through the end of 2016.

Princess is a Carnival brand and hasn't yet canceled nor has Royal Caribbean.

Not sure where you are departing from but look at Norwegian Airlines. They have very reasonable rates from the US to Europe.

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Hi,

 

Our eldest son graduates from Highschool in June. We want to reward him for a great job in Highschool and obtaining a college scholarship. We had planned for my son and a few of his friends to spend some time in Europe this summer but due to the instability those plans fell apart. I decided I would take him to Europe on a cruise which is a compromise but to be honest with two younger brothers it will be a special trip to spend together before he goes off to college.

 

I have been searching the different itiniaries and though I really like a few of a Princess Cruiselines itiniarys my son likes the CCL Vista 10 day that leaves on June 21.

 

We have a lot of cruising experience but not to Europe or the Mediterranean.

The itiniary is as follows:

 

Athens, Greece Depart

 

Izmir (Ephesus) Turkey

 

Rhodes, Greece

 

Fun Day At Sea

 

Valletta, Malta

 

Messina Sicily Italy

 

Naples (Capri/Pompeii), Italy

 

Rome (Civitavecchia) Italy

 

Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy

 

Marseilles (Provence) France

 

Barcelona, Spain Deembark

 

My questions are any overall information or advice about this itiniary. It is defiantly a busy 10 days for sure.

 

This is really not a busy itinerary for a European cruise. They are all about the ports and not about the ship as is typical in the Caribbean. What you will find is that you want more time ashore, and want more port stops.

 

Advice on airfare. I have a few apps that show prices of flying into one city/country and departing from another.

 

We would plan on flying to Athens a few days before hand to get use to the time change and to explore Athena.

 

The time change going East is not really much of an issue after the first night that you are there. Two whole days in Athens is plenty to see the historical sites, and the New Acropolis museum. If you want to add other museums you will need a third day.

 

We dembark in Barcelona and plan on staying a few days and possibly taking the train to visit other places while in Europe? Where would you suggest to go?

 

My TA told me me we need a Visa for Turkey but is it safe to travel there? I know this is catch 22 question but are other travelers staying away?

 

Some lines have canceled all stops in Turkey this year. Izmir is a stop for Ephesus. While there is always a risk of problems it is a relatively safe area today. A visa is NOT needed for cruisers who are only making day stops in Turkey.

 

As I mentioned I have looked at a few RCI cruises that start in South Hampton and travel to Itlay etc. there is also a RCI cruise that only visits the UK, Ireland and Scotland etc.

 

My son wants to see some od the world before starting his college studies.

 

Any and all advice is welcomed please.

Personally I would prefer something that spends more time in Greece and the Adriatic, but all in all this is a nice cruise. Open jaw flights in and out of Europe are pretty common, and should not cost much more if any than a round trip. If the costs difference is a lot see would it would cost to take a one way back to Athens. It might be a bit cheaper but probably not enough to make it worth the hassle.

From Barcelona, I would travel by train to Paris then on to Berlin.

For Barcelona:

Stay in a hotel on or near Las Ramblas. We like Hotel 1889.

Take a tour of Gaudi's buildings and Parc Guell

Be sure to go to the Bouqueria Market (buy food, take lots of photos it is amazing!)

Eat at a tapas bar.

For Paris:

Stay near the Louvre at Hotel du Louvre

Eiffel Tower

Louvre

Notre Dame

Then Versailles:

Stay at Trianon Palace

Palace of Versailles

Then on to Berlin. There is so much to do in Germany - go to HItler's Berghof (The Eagles Nest), see what is left of the Berlin wall, go to the site of a former concentration camp, go to the Black Forest - try the Black Forest ham and Black Forest Cake there, buy a cuckoo clock, the Rhine wine region or visit the castles along the Rhine. Really, you need to think about what interests you and your family.

This looks like a good itinerary, and if your son prefers it all the better.

I recommend checking your roll call so you can see what others who will be cruising with you have going on.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2156610

Any additional time you can spend on the ground before and after the cruise, all the better.

Congratulations to your son and have a great time in Europe! :)

Get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports. He will tell you what there is to be seen in the ports in the time you have, and how to do it on your own. This might particularly interest your son. On his website, Steves' has free audio tours for download to ipod/mp3 and maps to print out to go along. Particularly for Athens, Rome, Florence, Pompeii...EM

Take the train from Barcelona to Madrid. Personally, with only a few days I would not want to spend them on the train or in the airport. If you leave early enough in the morning you will have time for sightseeing in Madrid. If you have an extra day you can do a day bus trip to Toledo on express bus from bus terminal. This is what we did and the airfare to Rome and home from Madrid was significantly less expensive than home from Barcelona when we went. Also hotels were less expensive in Spain when we went.

I think your family will find many interesting things to do in Barcelona. I would check this out before making my flights.

I must say this would be a very generous graduation present.

While it may not be a busy itinerary for a European cruise, it is a very busy itinerary. Excursions from some of your port of calls will be daylong trips. As long as you are prepared for it...it can be very exciting but also exhausting.

That being said, if you are up for it, I would agree with SuiteTraveler and take the train to Paris. I believe there is a TGV train that takes 6 hrs. Whether you want to go on from there would be up to you, but you would be rushed to see much in Paris in less than a few days. The cruise stops only allow visitors a brief glimpse of each city. The time you are spending before and after the cruise are when you will truly be able appreciate these great city centers.

Have a wonderful trip

I can't help with most of your questions, but FYI:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/turkey-travel-warning.html

 

There is an active travel advisory for Turkey from the US State Dept. Most cruise lines have been cancelling their calls there as well. CCL hasn't yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do.

The advisory you quote only advises staying away from a few specific areas in Turkey (namely those near the Syrian border) and has not been changed or updated since early September....

There is an article on CC from a few days ago regarding Turkey -- at the moment, more cruise lines are still planning to visit there than to stay away in 2016.

I think it is just a matter of time before CCL cancels the Turkey stop as Princess, Celebrity and all NCL brands have all cancelled Turkey stops through the end of 2016.

No, Steve, not Celebrity.

They cancelled overnites in Istanbul long before the attack, because of a shortage of berths due to repair/refurbishing work at the cruise port.

They continue to include Turkey in their itineraries.

The only major line to scrub Turkey has been NCL.

Whether others follow is debateable, and of course will depend on both any future atrocities and whether bookings slump. The latter seems unlikely at the moment.

Gamecock

- European cruises tend to be port-intensive. Folk don't cruise Europe for the ship, they cruise for the destinations.

- as per a previous post, no Turkish visa is needed for a port-of-call visit.

- if Izmir is cancelled there are a number of substitute ports - perhaps a Greek island or Cyprus or Villefranche (for Monte Carlo) or one of the Balearic islands.

- Yes, a day or two in Athens. In any case you'd want to fly in at least a day early in case your flight plans go pear-shaped.

- And an extra day in Barcelona. Perhaps a relaxing day or two in one of the Costa Brava resorts, though few are "real Spain". Or visit Girona (that's Girona, Spain - not Gerona, Italy ;) ) Places like Paris or Switzerland are much more distant, but perfectly do-able.

- sailing to the Med from Britain can make a lot of sense to us Brits, because it avoids the grief of airports and airplanes. But it's not so great for you - you're gonna have to fly anyway, and sailing from Southampton adds a number of sea days.

- sailing round the UK has its merits, but it's not "worldly". You'll get many more flavours from a Med cruise.

JB :)