Jillybear

I just re-booked ours from an oceanview to an obstructed veranda. I saved $1,000 and received a $400 OBC. Have to say I am pretty happy with this. We gave up the signature drink package (on a Mediterranean cruise who has time to drink!) and Dinner in the Pinnacle (which was fully booked up anyway!)

Amsterdam is an amazing city. You will need 5 nights for complete sightseeing. Buy the Holland Pass. It's great value

What's the Holland Pass?

Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions. We booked our 22 day ms Koningsdam Cruise from Amsterdam to Rome! Couple days ahead in Amsterdam and another week in Italy at the end!

We are going for 20 days next April. Looking forward to hearing the ins and outs. Can you also post the daily's, deals and cost of internet.

This is our first time on HAL.

Hi All,

I am looking for suggestions on a Mediterranean cruise that will take in Spain, Italy and Greece. Any suggestions. We are looking to go in April 2018.

Thanks for your help!

J

You also need to know that shore excursions in the Med are very expensive. The best way to do them is to get with the cruise critic group for your sailing and arrange private excursions. These are typically 6 - 8 people and they cost a fraction of what ship's excursions cost. The ship's excursions are typically bus loads of 40 or more and they travel at the speed of the slowest passenger - often someone on a walker. With the private excursions you see more and get to do what you want.

 

With that said, my advice is to choose the least expensive cruise and the least expensive cabin you are comfortable with. The ship will only act as a floating hotel for this cruise. I have only seen 1 show on a cruise ship in my 3 times in the Med because I have been too exhausted after doing mega touring from 7:30am or 8:30am to 5:30 or 6:30pm and just wanted dinner and then to lie down and went to sleep pretty early only to get up the next morning and do the same thing. Days at sea - you may only get 2 - 3 in a 14 day cruise and probably you will either spend them in the spa getting a desperately needed massage or in bed resting up.

 

BTW, prior to the cruise, it is a good idea to do some training if you are not really used to extensive walking and get yourself up to walking at least 5 miles a day. So much of what you see in the Med requires extensive walking often over uneven terrain.

 

We did the Med on NCL Jade twice and Celebrity Eclipse once. Eclipse had better MDR food, but the ship went to bed by 10pm every night (no wonder!) We had suites on the Jade - a Haven Courtyard Penthouse with Balcony and an Owner's Suite on the second cruise and the 2 bedroom Family Verandah on the Celebrity Eclipse. We loved the suites on the Jade but I don't know that I would cruise in anything less than a penthouse on NCL ships. One thing we really appreciated about the NCL ships was that they are Freestyle, which means there are no real formal nights - saved a lot of room in suitcases! We also liked all the different specialty dining restaurants (extra fee.) The Family Verandah on Eclipse was big - 500 sq ft - the second largest cabin on the ship. It was good to have all the space for a 2 week cruise, but the furniture was not very comfortable. However, the food in the MDR was really good. One funny thing about that cruise, it was in early May and we are in our 50's but were among the youngest on the ship by at least 2 - 3 decades and we seemed to get special attention from the crew because of this. LOL! Anyway, what was notable to me about that particular cruise was that at every port - even the very first one, some unfortunate people were being taken off the ship in ambulances. We even had a helicopter med-evac on the final night of the cruise (most ships only have 1 - 2 of these per year as they cost well over $100,000.) I heard that 6 people died onboard during that cruise and saw one very elderly lady possibly have a TIA in the MDR one night. A wheelchair was quickly brought to take her to the ship's doctor. I never saw any of these types of goings on for either Jade cruise, since most of the people seemed to be in their 30's - 50's with some kids and college age people. From what I understand, once school is out, the situation on Celebrity becomes more a mixture of people. But NCL is definitely a more family oriented line than Celebrity. On the other hand, the food in the MDR on Jade is not as good as on Celebrity.

Wow what a great amount of info! We are not huge foodies...I'm just happy to have someone else cook!:) I never have complaints.

We have cruise inside and ocean view and thought we might do a balcony for this cruise. It's about $2000 more as we are looking at a 28 day cruise!

I went with the advise above and looked at the itinerary via the supplied website and we really like the itinerary the Royal Princess offers for the 28 day cruise. I am however, quite disappointed with the size of the veranda suite. They look quite small in comparison to other lines. Does anyone have experience with the Royal Princess?

We are early risers and early to bed. We only caught one show on our last cruise. It's about the destinations for us and our floating hotel. My thought this time is not feeling cramped in a suite for 28 days. Do you or anyone else out there have experience in the Veranda suite or the 28 day cruise?

Keep the advice coming please, it's very helpful!!!

To help you make your choice...or perhaps confuse you more, get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports and read up on the ports available to you... EM

Thank you! I will look into this!:)

hi,

the Norwegian Jade does one week Greek Isles and one week Adriatic.

Going out of Venice on Saturday.

Did the Adriatic 3 years ago. Was great.

Loved the port is Croatia. If you go to Split you Need to visit the "krk Nationalpark"

thank you! Love the advice on what to see. I am keeping a journal to keep it all organized so we can decide what to do when it comes time!

:)

Thank you both...this is very helpful!

Hi All,

We are at the beginning stages of planning a Mediterranean cruise. We want to go for a minimum of two weeks or longer and looking for some recommendations.

Which offers the best bang for your buck?

Thanks ahead of time for all your input.