Looking for best luxury cruise liner for the Mediterranean in October

My friend and I take a trip every fall and this year we would like to take a luxury cruise of the Mediterranean to inclue Greece, Turkey, Italy. We have looked at several cruise lines and have yet to determine if there is truly a vast difference b/t Cunard, Princess, Crystal, Holland Amarace and Azamara. :confused: We have previously only sailed the Caribbean so we are looking forward to any input.

Thank you,

It looks like you are comparing premium cruise lines with luxury cruise lines. Crystal is the only cruise line categorized on "luxury" on your list. The others are Silversea, Seabourn, Regent and Seadream. It might be difficult to make comparisons, but, perhaps you could go to the Crystal board, for instance, and start a thread "Crystal vs. Azamara", then the Azamara board and do the same thing. . . . with as many cruise lines as you wish.

You will no doubt get some opinions on this board, however, you may do better on the individual boards. Keep in mind when you make comparisons that some cruise lines are all-inclusive (some even include airfare and/or excursions). So, while the prices may seem high at first, when you calculate what is included, it makes the comparisons a bit more even.:)

You might also want to do a search to see if those comparisons exist, as they most likely do.

My friend and I take a trip every fall and this year we would like to take a luxury cruise of the Mediterranean to inclue Greece, Turkey, Italy. We have looked at several cruise lines and have yet to determine if there is truly a vast difference b/t Cunard, Princess, Crystal, Holland Amarace and Azamara. :confused: We have previously only sailed the Caribbean so we are looking forward to any input.

Thank you,

Several of the lines you mention would probably not be universally thought of as "luxury". I suggest you dip into each of these line's individual forum and ask your question in each, i.e., how that line differs from others in its category (leaving the category for the regular posters on that forum to decide). This should help you make an informed choice.

Regards,

Chuck-

We are looking for our first luxury cruise this summer/fall to Mediterranean too. We have narrowed it down to Crystal or Regent. 9 days/7 ports with Crystal and 7 days/8 ports with Regent. Cost looks the same if you add 2 land days with Regent and do mid range excursions via the cruise line for about 5 locations. So hard to decide. Let us know what you book.

My friend and I take a trip every fall and this year we would like to take a luxury cruise of the Mediterranean to inclue Greece, Turkey, Italy. We have looked at several cruise lines and have yet to determine if there is truly a vast difference b/t Cunard, Princess, Crystal, Holland Amarace and Azamara. :confused: We have previously only sailed the Caribbean so we are looking forward to any input.

Thank you,

Other than Crystal, none of the lines you mention are in the luxury market. The luxury lines include Regent, Sea Dream, Crystal, Silversea and Seabourn. Cunard, Holland America, and Princess are mass market lines while Azamara and Oceania are one step above the mass markets, but not at all in the luxury division.

We are looking for our first luxury cruise this summer/fall to Mediterranean too. We have narrowed it down to Crystal or Regent. 9 days/7 ports with Crystal and 7 days/8 ports with Regent. Cost looks the same if you add 2 land days with Regent and do mid range excursions via the cruise line for about 5 locations. So hard to decide. Let us know what you book.

I would base your decision on the itineraries - not just what ports each ship visits, but the amount of time in port (late afternoon visits, early mornings?), whether the ship tenders or docks and how much time is at sea (if that is something you like - my guess is Crystal will have more time at sea).