European help needed!!

I'll agree with the general consensus.

For a first European cruise, aim for the Mediterranean, and from a Mediterranean port.

I'd highly recommend a Baltic cruise, perhaps out of the UK if you want to combine it with a visit to Blighty, but put that on the back-burner for now.

Talisker & kmurph make a good point about Rome, something which doesn't apply to most Med ports.

Most cruise ship visits are just for a day, usually a pretty standard 8am to 5.30pm. A big big part of that day, mebbe four to five hours in total, is spent travelling between ship and city and leaves woefully insufficient time to even blast round the main sights.

So choosing a cruise which starts or finishes in Rome means you can spend a few days there pre or post-cruise.

And you don't have to choose an out-and-back cruise.

There are a number of one-way cruises, such as Venice to Rome, which give you the opportunity to spend time in both cities. Flights are no more expensive - choose your airline's "multi-city" or "open jaw" return option.

Most Med cruises are 10 to 14 days.

And add time at your start & finish port/s.

So we're all telling you to pretty-well double your time on this vacation.:D

But I wouldn't spend time, money & airport misery (hate the places) crossing to your side of the Pond for a vacation of less than two weeks, and most folk from north America take the same view. ;)

Have fun choosin', have fun cruisin'

JB :)

I think you need to decide where you REALLY want to visit in the Med, not where to sail from as your coming along way over to Europe.

Once you know where you want to visit then decide on the port , Barcelona is the easiest to get too but its only an hours drive from the airport to the port in Civitavecchia, perfect for the Eastern Med . The only port we haven't sailed from is Venice so I cant comment on that but we have sailed into it, it was breath taking

As Brits we now sail from Southampton, we find this the easiest for us and we don't mind the extra days at sea to get down to the Med, you can also sail to the Baltics and Norway from there.

I don't envy you, there's so much to see but whatever you choose you'll have a wonderful time.

I agree with this. Get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports, and another of Rick Steves' Northern Europe Cruise Ports. Study them and decide what ports you really want to visit. Then go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com and find some of those ports on the middle list (destinations). Then choose the time you want to travel. It will tell you who is calling there and the itinerary. But don't panic and try to do it all this time. Plan as if this is the first step (cruise) in exploring Europe. It isn't necessary to do it all the first time, as if it will be your only time. And don't stress about the cruise line/ship. European cruises, especially Med cruises are very port intensive...Only one sea day in a 12 day cruise. The ports are what is important, not the ship. But since you are D+ on Royal, you might want to consider Celebrity. EM

"Easiest" means different for all of us.

Easiest starts with convenience of flight choices from your home to embarkation port and flights home from debark port.

For us, (Boston), easy was Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Athens, Rome among other cities as we could get decent flights. We loved our land vacations in Europe even more than our cruises but the cruises were amazing. I highly recommend most any of them. :)

I will say before we booked out of Barcelona in Sept we had also debated going out of Rome the flight through Choice Air seemed to be quite a bit cheaper going to Barcelona so that helped us decide for this trip.(we were paying for 6 tickets!) Also with all of us having work schedules a Thursday departure out of Rome just wouldn't work we needed a weekend departure time. We honestly didn't care where all we visited we just wanted to see anything besides the Caribbean. The places we didn't go to are places I can try to make it the next time:)

If you can go for a longer period of time go for it! You can also go on Trip Advisor and check out the different ports and what there is to do and make a decision on what sounds most interesting to you as everyone has their own likes and dislikes!

To add another factor into the mix - Europe has excellent railways. You can easily disembark from a port and be in a different country in a day. (e.g. Venice to Austria, Switzerland or Southern Germany). Opens up a myriad of possibilities.

We have been to the Med. numerous times -- not always on a cruise. Unlike most posters, we would pick anywhere other than Barcelona. While a lovely city, there is a high probability that you would be the victim of crime (mainly pick pocketing). Warnings are generally given on a cruise when Barcelona is a port stop. It is easy to keep your valuables on the ship, not take a handbag or much money. However, if you are spending the night there, you need to be ultra cautious.

I am not an alarmist. One only needs to Google the top ten places in the world for pick pockets and you will find Barcelona (Rome as well). They are experts there. They will "accidentally" spill something on you and, while trying to "help you" clean up, their partner get your $$$. We love Barcelona for many reasons but would not choose to embark on a cruise there.

Our top place to spend the night and then embark on a cruise would be Istanbul followed by Southampton (England). Any of the Baltic ports are also good. Athens isn't too bad -- definitely better than Barcelona. While the city of Rome has the same issues as Barcelona, the ship leaves from Civitavecchia which is quite safe.

Just wanted to put in my two cents based on many years of experience.

We flew from Phoenix to Chicago to Rome. Spent 2 nights then cruised for 7 nights. Came back and spent another night in Rome. We knew we wanted to see the Vatican and all other Rome popular places. These are port intensive cruises. We did Athens with RCI and most others we booked with private groups. Spent a lot of time on CC with our Roll Call. Used TripAdvisor a lot! I would like to do Barcelona next but will never regret Rome and Greece first!

We did exactly the same thing. First trip to Europe for us.There were 5 of us so we booked private excursions using the tour guides recommended on CC and TripAdvisor. Rome is fabulous. We used Bob's Limo Service to take us from FCO Airport to Rome hotel, then to take us to the port in Civitevecchia, then port back to Rome and finally back to FCO. They give a discount for 4 transfers. Made things incredibly easy or us. Loved it so much we did it again last year when the ship had a different itinerary. Dream trips...both. Loved every minute of every port.

The senseless repetitive rumour that Barcelona is a place to avoid due to pickpockets doesn't make sense. I am Spanish and travel there every week fot ages. Never have any problem. Of course it happens if you behave in a "tourist" way. Not in a more alarming rate of any similar city in the world. And pretty safer than most american cities.

Sorry but Barcelona is no better or worse than any other city anywhere in Europe were from the uk and have been on many cruises and land based holidays. We were robbed in lisbon friends have been robbed in Rome Paris Florence Venice in fact all over ,you just have to be very aware of where you are and remember they are looking for tourists who let there guard down for a second.

At the same time don't be alarmed by hearing of the pickpockets I'm sure it's the same in any city worldwide. Watch out for helpful strangers ... Emmm :rolleyes:

Gamblin'gal

Interested to hear what cruise you are now considering to do:)

The senseless repetitive rumour that Barcelona is a place to avoid due to pickpockets doesn't make sense..

Sorry but Barcelona is no better or worse than any other city anywhere in Europe

Agreed. I tire of alarmist nonsense that I see on these pages. :rolleyes:

There are no reliable statistics for crimes against tourists, other than the unsurprising revelation that for petty-crime anywhere in the world tourists are a high-risk group.

Yes, the general consensus is that Barca tops the European list (unless you count the Vatican City as a separate entity, cos its reputation is a lot worse), but Paris then Rome then London then Amsterdam then Naples aren't far behind.

And if you take care and are aware in those cities only, you increase your chances of being pick-pocketed elsewhere.

In any tourist location, take usual care and precautions - the miscreants will find plenty of less-savvy tourists to target. Vigilance without paranoia.

Just MHO

JB :)

I love Barcelona. When we cruise from there, we fly in a couple of days early and stay at Hotel 1898 on La Ramblas - downstairs they have a spa with a thalisotherapy pool, steam room and sauna that you can use for free if you are a guest of the hotel and then on the roof, there is a great tapas bar with a fantastic view of the city. BUT...there are lots and lots of great restaurants in walking distance and of course, this is close to the port. The other advantage of this hotel is that it is near (like 1 building away from) the Bouqeria Mercat - oldest market in Europe which is a tourist attraction in and of itself - take your camera - it is amazing! I buy ham, gourmet cheeses and bread there when we arrive because sometimes, due to the time change, I will wake up at 2am starving hungry. So it is great to have something in the hotel room to eat, if needed. There is also a Starbucks close to the hotel - which was useful for my husband who has to have his Starbucks coffee. On La Ramblas, you can easily find stores to buy wine, bottled water and soda pop if you wish to buy that and bring onboard with you. You can also buy souvenirs and see the "human statues." One tip is to not carry a purse or bag of any kind. There are pickpockets, just like in any big tourist city. I put my money and credit card somewhere that is very inaccessible to pickpockets and without a handbag, they move on to someone easier to rob. I also dress like I am from there (in business casual clothes - typically a knit dress, sweater and European walking sandals), never wear any jewelry except a cheap fake wedding ring and don't carry a map. So I look like I'm walking with purpose and know where I am going. My husband and I stay off public transportation. We've never been robbed or even come close to being pick pocketed. My husband wears business casual traveler clothes such as the Scott E-vest - http://www.scottevest.com You can get a private tour of Barcelona from Viator and then also take a Cava tour outside of the city. It is absolutely wonderful.

http://www.hotel1898.com

http://www.boqueria.info

My other advice is that for all ports, do your research and figure out what you want to see, then get online and find others in your roll call who want to do private tours. Arrange your private tours in advance. Private tours are less expensive than the ship tours when you share them with others AND you get to see about twice as much as the ship tours do. The other advantage is small group tours can bring their buses into the various towns and cities or close to the tourist attractions, whereas, the ships's tours large buses often cannot go into these areas and must park quite some distance away, so there is more walking with the ship's tours. Also, with the ship tours, you are often in a group with someone who can't move fast and the tour can only move as fast as the slowest person, which might be someone on a walker. The private tours are far less exhausting due to the fact they can take you right to where you want to go and because you can move faster, you can actually enjoy each tour and take time out to have lunch in a locals restaurant - which is part of the fun.

For a first timer to Europe, I would highly recommend Barcelona. Great city to visit before and after a cruise. Easy to get from airport to port and city.

We have done at least 12 or more European cruises over the years. Have cruised out of Venice many years ago, flew into Milan and took a private car service to Venice (expensive); Istanbul, easy to do again, does require a visa if flying into Istanbul/Turkey and boarding a ship; Rome, as stated by others here, port some distance from the port, when we do cruises from Rome we stay at the Rome Airport Hilton over night and use Romecab.com to book a private car service just did so, costs $130 euros plus tips each way:from Southampton England, we also use a private car service Smithstotheairport which we book on line and we stay at the Marriott airport hotel one night each direction.

Ref Barcelona, we have visited this city about 5 or 6 times. Each time we go we stay in a different location. We have tried all the Hiltons (one in the financial center and the other near the convention center, both nice). Once we stay at the ARTs Hotel on the Mediterranean a delux hotel 5 star, expensive but we got a good deal. Other times we have tried hotels at the airport for the convenience. Basically, we shop around for the best rates we can find. We don't prefer to stay in the tourist area generally, so we look for other options. Barcelona is a city that is easy to get around via taxi and public transportation.

I would sail out of Barcelona for a first timer to Europe. Second I would book at least a 12 day cruise. If you are going to spend money getting there get your moneys worth. Three book a May cruise.... the airfares are much cheaper and the weather is really nice. Once you have done your first Med cruise then shoot for the port of Rome which can be complicated but loads of fun to see. Be sure to take some euros with you and remember there are a variety of fairly priced hotels in Barcelona. Be sure to fly in a couple of days early and really enjoy this wonderful city by the sea. Tim

I echo all the sentiments of a first timer to Europe. Sail out of Barcelona. So easy to embark and disembark. I spent 14 months researching the ports of call and read all about Barcelona being the pick pocket capital of the world. I was so stressed out and it was unnecessary.

Don't flash cash, jewelry, cell phones or expensive cameras. Wear wallets under your clothing or safety pin your pockets closed. You will be fine!

Our trip of a lifetime sailed from Barcelona to Rome, Naples, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Ephesus and Malta.

It was a 12 day on Equinox and beyond our wildest dreams.

Whatever you decide, pick up a copy of Rick Steve's Guide to Med Cruise Ports, research, do your homework, join your roll call and enjoy every minute!

Happy Sails!

This reminds me of the experts, writing about travelling to the US. This travelling "experts" wrote in some guides, that one couldn't get on the subway in NY at any time.

Once I got to NY, I found that the advice of locals is better than experts who normaly write their expert advises sitting down thounsands of Km away from the destination. Here the people of Barcelona hasn't got the faintest idea that they are the capital of pickpocketing in the wolrd.

Believe they have other issues

Barcelona is beautiful and not to be missed and close to port; however, fellow CC members were pick pocketed of all their Euros by cabbie!

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We have been to the Med. numerous times -- not always on a cruise. Unlike most posters, we would pick anywhere other than Barcelona. While a lovely city, there is a high probability that you would be the victim of crime (mainly pick pocketing). Warnings are generally given on a cruise when Barcelona is a port stop. It is easy to keep your valuables on the ship, not take a handbag or much money. However, if you are spending the night there, you need to be ultra cautious.

 

I am not an alarmist. One only needs to Google the top ten places in the world for pick pockets and you will find Barcelona (Rome as well). They are experts there. They will "accidentally" spill something on you and, while trying to "help you" clean up, their partner get your $$$. We love Barcelona for many reasons but would not choose to embark on a cruise there.

 

Our top place to spend the night and then embark on a cruise would be Istanbul followed by Southampton (England). Any of the Baltic ports are also good. Athens isn't too bad -- definitely better than Barcelona. While the city of Rome has the same issues as Barcelona, the ship leaves from Civitavecchia which is quite safe.

 

Just wanted to put in my two cents based on many years of experience.

Gosh we have visited Barcelona about 5 or 6 times (stayed as long as a week) in the past 10 years, did not see an issue with pickpockets there, any more than any other major city we have visited. We do not spend a lot of time in the tourist areas though as a general rule any where we visit.

Regardless, I have seen but not been a victim of pickpockets in Lisbon, Paris, London, Istanbul, once read that Madrid was a high crime city, once again we did not have a problem.

When we travel we need to pay attention anywhere and everywhere.

For many years, I worked in San Francisco... know the pickpockets hang around tourist areas there too.