Mediterranean cruise for 2016 season

Hi my husband and me are looking at doing a Mediterranean cruise next year so we would love to hear your opinions of those that have cruised the Mediterranean what Cruise line/ship is your favourite.

Is it best to look at a fly/cruise/stay deal

Best way to book with agent or self etc

I'd like to do a back to back will it be too much (hubby isn't fond of long cruises where I'm the opposite :-)

Any info is greatly appreciated

We came back two weeks ago from a Celebrity med cruise. It was so good it's made me wonder if I've done the right thing doing a NZ cruise on Explorer. We went to the Greek Islands and Istanbul overnight on the Equinox, long stops even when tendering and the overnight evening tour and time to explore made a huge difference, I know some lines don't stop very long at some med ports, it's really worth checking if you want to see the destination properly. I loved Celebrity, it was a very comfortable ship, never seemed crowded and the staff were fabulous, I even liked the buffet arranged as stations. However I think the line depends on what you are looking for, or your own preferences and we have had great cruises on several lines.

Some thoughts on Med cruises...

As said above , some cruises do not stop long at the ports so check for a cruise that gives you at least a couple of long stops in a port.

Med cruises are known as port intensive , a new port each day, so look for a cruise that has a few sea days in the itinerary to give yourself a break.

Back to back cruises are an ideal way to see the Med. Even more so if you can get the 2 cruises to start and finish at the same port, eg Barcelona to Venice then Venice back to Barcelona , both with different ports of call.The return flights should be easier and hopefully cheaper.

We did Celebrity Constellation med cruise last year from Amsterdam to Istanbul. Then b2b Black sea Istanbul to Istanbul had extra days in Amsterdam and Istanbul before flying home. Had a wonderful time even with the change of itinerary for the Black sea. Had a few sea days in-between to rest up. DH still keeps telling everyone what a wonderful time we had. Did quite a few tours with CC members on both legs.😃

We have a B2B next April/May on the Constellation, they are very port intensive but do have sea days at the end of each cruise. The first is Italy, Turkey and the Greek Isles and the second is the Dalmation Coast and Italy. The only repeat port is Naples which is great as one day we will see Capri and the other the MT Vesuvius, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.:D

We have done back to back 14 night out of Venice with NCL twice and are booked again on the Norwegian Jade September 2016. We really love this itinerary as it has a good balance of ports and time at sea. NCL have the "Dress up or not" philosophy which is great when you are travelling such long distances and saves on having to take formal gear. We don't have any complaints with food and entertainment. We find overall their pricing is very good value and book with NCL direct. When we cruised in 2013 we had no trouble getting them to honour a significant price drop prior to final payment. For our 2016 cruise, we have the unlimited beverage package and $400 OBC included.

We did B2B on Splendour Of The Seas last year. The first leg started and ended in Venice and the second leg was Venice to Barcelona. It was one of our best holidays but it was tiring! We had a few days in Venice before the cruise and a few days in Barcelona at the end. It is very port intensive with only a couple of sea days. Because we had never been to the Med before we did full excursions in each port.

We booked our own flights because we made stops in Singapore and the UK on our way to Venice.

I have just finished 21 days of Mediterranean cruising. 14 days on the emerald Princess and 7 days on Allure of the Seas. Princess went from Athens over to Istanbul and the across to Rome. Allure went from Rome to Barcelona and back to Rome.

both were port intensive, with only three seas days out of 14 on the Princess one and 1 day out of 7 on the Allure one. The only day in port that was noticeably short was Palma de Mallorca, with all on board being 3.30 pm. That stopped us going to the town of Soller, which was away from the coast.

It was tiring,especially with meet times for roll call organised tours often being at about 8 am. But, we got to see lots of places. After the Princess cruise, we went to the island of Sardinia to chill for a week.

We came back two weeks ago from a Celebrity med cruise. It was so good it's made me wonder if I've done the right thing doing a NZ cruise on Explorer. We went to the Greek Islands and Istanbul overnight on the Equinox, long stops even when tendering and the overnight evening tour and time to explore made a huge difference, I know some lines don't stop very long at some med ports, it's really worth checking if you want to see the destination properly. I loved Celebrity, it was a very comfortable ship, never seemed crowded and the staff were fabulous, I even liked the buffet arranged as stations. However I think the line depends on what you are looking for, or your own preferences and we have had great cruises on several lines.

That sounds great, I hadn't considered Celebrity as I had heard a lot of good reports for HAL for the Itineraries but now I think having a few sea days just to kick back will keep my husband sane. Thanks for the great info :)

Some thoughts on Med cruises...

As said above , some cruises do not stop long at the ports so check for a cruise that gives you at least a couple of long stops in a port.

Med cruises are known as port intensive , a new port each day, so look for a cruise that has a few sea days in the itinerary to give yourself a break.

Back to back cruises are an ideal way to see the Med. Even more so if you can get the 2 cruises to start and finish at the same port, eg Barcelona to Venice then Venice back to Barcelona , both with different ports of call.The return flights should be easier and hopefully cheaper.

 

Thanks for the info will look into cruises with a few sea days and longer stays, any suggestions of a line ?

My suggestion is to choose your "must visit" places, ie, Mykanos, Santorini, Rhodes. Not all lines go to the same places. I went on Princess and loved it. As said by others though, most if not all cruise lines have port intensive cruising around the Med. When I disembarked Crown Princess I was disappointed to realise that I had seen very little of the ship, as we were off every day, back tired and early to bed.

I have booked Azamara Journey for their Greek Island cruise which I have labelled my "Shirley Valentine" cruise - it only visits Greek islands which on my previous visit were my favourite ports.

I'm sure whichever cruise line and itinerary, you will have a wonderful cruise. My favourite cruise of the 35+ cruises taken to date.

Yes, everyone has differing priorities, so pick the cruise or cruises that best suit you for the itinerary, timing and cost/standard. Note that you could always do a cruise and then some stay in a city/resort and then do a subsequent cruise and you get the ports you want and the relaxation.:D

My suggestion is to choose your "must visit" places, ie, Mykanos, Santorini, Rhodes. Not all lines go to the same places. I went on Princess and loved it. As said by others though, most if not all cruise lines have port intensive cruising around the Med. When I disembarked Crown Princess I was disappointed to realise that I had seen very little of the ship, as we were off every day, back tired and early to bed.

 

I have booked Azamara Journey for their Greek Island cruise which I have labelled my "Shirley Valentine" cruise - it only visits Greek islands which on my previous visit were my favourite ports.

 

I'm sure whichever cruise line and itinerary, you will have a wonderful cruise. My favourite cruise of the 35+ cruises taken to date.

All of the responses have been invaluable I had been looking at cruises where you arrived in a new port each day, I mainly want to visit Greek Islands and Italy.

:-)

All of the responses have been invaluable I had been looking at cruises where you arrived in a new port each day, I mainly want to visit Greek Islands and Italy.

 

:-)

Join us on the Connie, starts in Rome and goes to Venice via the Greek Isles and Turkey - 29 April 2016.

Join us on the Connie, starts in Rome and goes to Venice via the Greek Isles and Turkey - 29 April 2016.

Oh you never know :-) do you find it's best to book everything yourself or go with a all inclusive package air/cruise/stay ?

Oh you never know :-) do you find it's best to book everything yourself or go with a all inclusive package air/cruise/stay ?

As said above, check out all the deals. Sometimes a fly/cruise/stay deal will give good value. It will also give you ideas on what you could do. Whenever we have gone that far we have included a stopover, eg Hong Kong Singapore, Bangkok , and we usually arrrive at the embarkation port at least 2 days before the cruise and have a pre cruise stay.

On one occasion we told our TA what we were looking for and she made up a package using their firms special deals...flights Hotels etc.

Another consideration ....if you choose an English or American cruise line , everything will be in English , whereas others may be Multi language on board , Italian German etc. English will be used , but you have to wait until they announce everything in up to 5 languages first.For many that is an attraction, for others a frustration.

As said above, check out all the deals. Sometimes a fly/cruise/stay deal will give good value. It will also give you ideas on what you could do. Whenever we have gone that far we have included a stopover, eg Hong Kong Singapore, Bangkok , and we usually arrrive at the embarkation port at least 2 days before the cruise and have a pre cruise stay.

On one occasion we told our TA what we were looking for and she made up a package using their firms special deals...flights Hotels etc.

 

Another consideration ....if you choose an English or American cruise line , everything will be in English , whereas others may be Multi language on board , Italian German etc. English will be used , but you have to wait until they announce everything in up to 5 languages first.For many that is an attraction, for others a frustration.

 

good points, in regards to language, note that the shows and music (lyrics)may also be in German or Italian

.

Have you considered HAL's new Koningsdam?

We are looking at a 24 night cruise in September 2016 out of Amsterdam or Rome.

As a cheaper shorter alternative we are considering Norwegian Spirit 12 nights out of Barcelona.

We've cruised Norwegian before and enjoyed the casual atmosphere and dining, and have heard HAL might be a bit more formal.

Have seen no competitive pricing for either so will probably book direct once we decide.

We have just booked a 12 night cruise out of Barcelona on Brilliance of the seas for sept 2016. It is a very good intinerey. Would love to hear if anyone has any recommendations for hotels in Barcelona. We plan to have 3 days pre cruise.

Thanks for any help.

We have just booked a 12 night cruise out of Barcelona on Brilliance of the seas for sept 2016. It is a very good intinerey. Would love to hear if anyone has any recommendations for hotels in Barcelona. We plan to have 3 days pre cruise.

Thanks for any help.

I haven't been to Barcelona as yet, so cannot help but see if there is a roll call and perhaps there is someone with information. Otherwise try the Ports of call forum.

We have completed a Western Med on RCL Liberty of the Seas - Barcelona, through Monaco, Livorno (Florence) and Rome - loved it.

Last year - Eastern Med on Celebrity Equinox, Venice, Dubrovnik, Ephesus, Corfu, Santorini, and ending in Istanbul. Loved that even more and we rebooked another cruise on Equinox straightaway for this year, but more Western again.

We came back two weeks ago from a Celebrity med cruise. It was so good it's made me wonder if I've done the right thing doing a NZ cruise on Explorer. We went to the Greek Islands and Istanbul overnight on the Equinox, long stops even when tendering and the overnight evening tour and time to explore made a huge difference, I know some lines don't stop very long at some med ports, it's really worth checking if you want to see the destination properly. I loved Celebrity, it was a very comfortable ship, never seemed crowded and the staff were fabulous, I even liked the buffet arranged as stations. However I think the line depends on what you are looking for, or your own preferences and we have had great cruises on several lines.

I back up the above. 7 weeks out from doing our third Med cruise on Celebrity Equinox.

Some ports we will have done 3 times but some new ones on this next cruise.

Only reason we dont do longer than 14 days is that we gain too many kilos.

It is a long way to go for a short holiday so we always add land trip, example, 18 days self drive tour of Italy after this cruise and 3 days pre cruise Istanbul. Also consider couple days stop enroute I.e. Dubai, Singapore. Airfares dont seem any extra with a stopover. Dont be afraid of cruises that depart and finish at different ports , no need to fly to/from same Airport.

We have just booked a 12 night cruise out of Barcelona on Brilliance of the seas for sept 2016. It is a very good intinerey. Would love to hear if anyone has any recommendations for hotels in Barcelona. We plan to have 3 days pre cruise.

Thanks for any help.

We are booked on Royal Princess in July/August 2016 finishing in Barcelona and have booked at Hotel Jazz based on feedback in the forums

We are booked on Royal Princess in July/August 2016 finishing in Barcelona and have booked at Hotel Jazz based on feedback in the forums

Thanks for that, yes We thought the Jazz looks good. It is to early to book yet though for us. It is on a short list so we will keep a look out. Did you book it on line or through travel agent?

Thanks for that, yes We thought the Jazz looks good. It is to early to book yet though for us. It is on a short list so we will keep a look out. Did you book it on line or through travel agent?

We booked online through hotels.com will pay to book early as it's very popular and we got a great price for next August.