What cruise would you take?

I'm at a bit of a crossroads....and am looking for ideas.

We usually plan a European cruise for the summer but I am at a loss.

Our past summer cruises:

2012 -Mediterranean Romance -Nieuw Amsterdam

2013- Fjords ,Highlands and Ireland-Eurodam

2014-Baltic Adventure -Eurodam

2016- Northern Europe-Iceland -Rotterdam

With the unrest in the Med the only ship is the Westerdam and I am a bit meh right now.

Any suggestions on an itinerary that I might be missing? I feel I've done the Baltic/Northern Europe for now and won't consider something Med that doesn't go to Livorno.

At this point I just can't find anything that fits the bill taking into account I am a working girl that needs a 12-14 day adventure.

I'd love some input if anyone has a fresh take.... :)

Edit - we did Canada New England summer of 2015 so that's out

Is there anything Adriatic? And it's not ocean cruising, but have you considered a river cruise? Often around that timeframe.

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Is there anything Adriatic? And it's not ocean cruising, but have you considered a river cruise? Often around that timeframe.

 

Alaska's fun for me.

 

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I'm at a bit of a crossroads....and am looking for ideas.

 

We usually plan a European cruise for the summer but I am at a loss.

 

Our past summer cruises:

2012 -Mediterranean Romance -Nieuw Amsterdam

2013- Fjords ,Highlands and Ireland-Eurodam

2014-Baltic Adventure -Eurodam

2016- Northern Europe-Iceland -Rotterdam

 

With the unrest in the Med the only ship is the Westerdam and I am a bit meh right now.

 

Any suggestions on an itinerary that I might be missing? I feel I've done the Baltic/Northern Europe for now and won't consider something Med that doesn't go to Livorno.

 

At this point I just can't find anything that fits the bill taking into account I am a working girl that needs a 12-14 day adventure.

 

I'd love some input if anyone has a fresh take.... :)

 

Edit - we did Canada New England summer of 2015 so that's out

Round trip crossing from NYC to UK and back on the QM2....do it during their special fashion week voyage next August.....or one of many river cruises....

Expand your horizons beyond just HAL....and you will find an entire world of options. Just as an example, the Sea Princess (based in Australia) does a July 1...15 day cruise between Brisbane and Perth. Or the opposite on July 15. And there are plenty of interesting Med itineraries once you start looking at other cruise lines.

Back in August, while we were on the Zuiderrdam, we had cocktails with another American couple who told us how they had nearly 800 days on HAL....but said they were bored with cruising. They told us that they only cruised on HAL and loved the line. But they had not been on any other line in over twenty years. DW suggested that if they varied their cruise lines they might find the differences in menus, shows, vessel design, etc. might solve their boredom crisis. Not sure they were convinced :). We should mention that after our next HAL cruise (booked) we will be 5 Star Mariners...which means we generally enjoy HAL. But we have also cruised on 13 other lines, have cruises with Celebrity and Princess within the next 6 weeks, and have also done river cruises on 3 continents. In fact, that is another option for you (River Cruises). I should mention that even though we will have cruised over 100 days in just 2016....we have many future options....because we do not limit ourselves to a single cruise line.

Hank

I'm at a bit of a crossroads....and am looking for ideas.

 

We usually plan a European cruise for the summer but I am at a loss.

 

Our past summer cruises:

2012 -Mediterranean Romance -Nieuw Amsterdam

2013- Fjords ,Highlands and Ireland-Eurodam

2014-Baltic Adventure -Eurodam

2016- Northern Europe-Iceland -Rotterdam

 

With the unrest in the Med the only ship is the Westerdam and I am a bit meh right now.

 

Any suggestions on an itinerary that I might be missing? I feel I've done the Baltic/Northern Europe for now and won't consider something Med that doesn't go to Livorno.

 

At this point I just can't find anything that fits the bill taking into account I am a working girl that needs a 12-14 day adventure.

 

I'd love some input if anyone has a fresh take.... :)

 

Edit - we did Canada New England summer of 2015 so that's out

With only one Med cruise, I'd recommend another one. There are so many different worthwhile ports. (I think at last count I've visited around 50 different Mediterranean ports over the years....!) As Hank says, there are other lines than HAL with ships in the Med; many of which are very similar to HAL. Plus, with the busy itineraries, the ship should be of less importance than the itinerary.

Not quite sure why you mention Livorno as a "must have" port. If you want to see Florence or other towns in the area, it would be quite easy to spend a few days there before or after a cruise leaving from Rome or Venice. (High speed trains make getting to/from major cities in Italy pretty painless.)

If Livorno is a must, take a look at the Rotterdam's sailing in April 13, 2017 - Barcelona to Rotterdam. It's 16 days but you could always make arrangements to get off in LeHavre to make it 14 ;)

Western Europe with some interesting ports that aren't always on itineraries.

(Bcn, Marseille, Monte Carlo, Livorno, Civi, Cagliari, Gibralter, Huelva, Lisbon -overnight, Vigo, Portland, LeHavre, Rotterdam)

As suggested - look at other cruise lines.

Have your TA send you brochures of the other cruise line's Med itineraries.

We're doing Koningsdam April 30th for 14 nights to the Med and northern Europe. We embark in Rome and our first port is Livorno. We disembark in Amsterdam. A very interesting itinerary! Take a look. We're very excited to try the new ship, as well.

Woke up this morning thinking some more about the OP's post. Am wondering who wrote the rule that you can only go to a place one time :). DW reminded me that we have cruised in the Med far more then 40 times (we have lost count of our total cruises and where they have gone). And every time we go to the Med countries we discover new things ). Just consider the Port of Naples where you could go a dozen times and never repeat how you spend your day. Or we could go to Livorno 20 times (we have actually been there more) and never run out of things to do and see. In fact, we have also spent weeks in that area on DIY driving trips and never been bored. As to Canada/New England cruises, despite living in the Northeast USA....that is still one of our favorite itineraries (I can always find another restaurant to enjoy lobster for lunch).

Hank

We would do a Med cruise.

We would determine our preferred itinerary. Then we would shop three or four cruise lines/ships for the best itinerary/price paying close attention to how long the ship stayed in each port. Our preference would be to arrive early/sail late.

As others have suggested, River Cruises, Black Sea, Holy Land. The other option is the Pacific, Asia, if you don't mind the long flights to & from. There is a lot of unrest around the Med. right now if that is a consideration. Also as others mentioned try different cruise lines. What ever you decide, Bon Voyage & Happy Cruising.

Allan

Is there anything Adriatic? And it's not ocean cruising, but have you considered a river cruise? Often around that timeframe.

 

 

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thanks PatsyAnne a river cruise has come up, I think it's something I need to giver more serious thought to.

Woke up this morning thinking some more about the OP's post. Am wondering who wrote the rule that you can only go to a place one time :). DW reminded me that we have cruised in the Med far more then 40 times (we have lost count of our total cruises and where they have gone). And every time we go to the Med countries we discover new things ). Just consider the Port of Naples where you could go a dozen times and never repeat how you spend your day. Or we could go to Livorno 20 times (we have actually been there more) and never run out of things to do and see. In fact, we have also spent weeks in that area on DIY driving trips and never been bored. As to Canada/New England cruises, despite living in the Northeast USA....that is still one of our favorite itineraries (I can always find another restaurant to enjoy lobster for lunch).

 

Hank

You are so right, and that's what had me wanting to go back to the Med this summer- there is so much to see. I did have my heart set on a Mediterranean Empires cruise but that sort of faded with the unrest. Livorno is a priority because we missed that stop on our first cruise and to go and see it seems like such a priority. You are making me rethink.......

Thank you everyone for your kind and thoughtful responses!

I think I was stuck in a type A rut there. See it all see it now, compressed thought pattern.

I'm not judging anyone here just pointing the finger right at me. :(

I'm 47 and I'd like to think I have a fair bit of time to do and see what I want I guess I have just been blessed with a world to see and I'm hooked. Not to mention that cruising makes it so easy.

I'm going to keep looking with fresh eyes now to all possibilities but I do really like the HAL product.

Again all of you and your wealth of experience is much appreciated. I'm glad I can throw a dilemma out there and get such great reposnses.

In the meantime I've booked a Mexican Riviera Cruise in Feb to change things up.

How about a simple 7-day cruise (that might include Livorno or not). When done with that cruise, rent a car and visit some of the interior of Europe. That might include going into the far north of Italy, Milan or Lake Como. Then into Geneva and a flight home.

Jim