Recommend Cruise line for Mediterranean 7-night Sailing in Fall 2018

We are going to be two couples (50 yrs old) and my adult niece (22) traveling to the Mediterranean region in September or October. I think I've narrowed down that, because we want a little bit smaller ship, we don't want MSC or Costa. Can someone make any recommendations among Oceania, Crystal, or Azamara? Or suggest anything else? We're pretty adventurous and will probably arrange most of our own shore excursions. How about the value for the prices? Full unlimited beverages are important to us. I welcome any guidance, and thanks in advance!

All three cruise lines that you are looking at are very good.

We sail Crystal often so I can highly recommend it.

If you are looking at a sailing late September of this year we actually plan to be on board Crystal Serenity for that cruise and an additional one after that.

Keith

We recently booked Regent. All inclusive including business class airfare.

This is easy pick the one with the best ports for you . A med . cruise is about the ports not the cruise line.

This is easy pick the one with the best ports for you . A med . cruise is about the ports not the cruise line.

Not exactly true if you don’t want to be on a 4,000 pax mega ship where the first language is not English. Some folks don’t care but to others it’s a deal breaker.

Coming from a young cruiser, I do wonder if the 3 lines you mentioned are suitable for a 22 year old. Maybe its worth looking at a line with a balance for all ages?

Have you looked at Celebrity? We did a 13 day cruise around the Med with them and they really did look after us port wise...not mention the ship and service had elegance and an element of entertainment for all ages. Food was my favourite of all lines too. Even though they are not considered a full luxury line they have things like sparkling wine on embarkation.

I think the Constellation (2000 pax) does some 9-10 day sailings that do both sides of the Med (Western Italian ports and Greece/Eastern coastal Europe) that leave or arrive in Venice/Rome.

I know its 7 days you asked for but adding a few more days to your voyage (if possible) would be a plus and would be waaaay cheaper than your mentioned lines for 7 days. Out of all the lines I am about to mention this is the best option I think.

I know less about Princess but they are apparently similar to Celebrity so they are worth a check as they have 7 night Med voyages that also concentrate on Rome then the Eastern Med. The ship sailing them is 3000 pax Crown Princess though so may be a bit big for you.

Holland America also seem to be popular in the Med too. The MS Koningsdam (2500 or so pax) does some 9 night voyages similar to the above.

This is easy pick the one with the best ports for you . A med . cruise is about the ports not the cruise line.

The ship size can make a big difference to which ports are visited and how the experience in port is. When we were on Windstar Lisbon to Barcelona, the ship went up the canal and docked in Seville walking distance from the old town, not an hour and a half away at an ocean port.

To the OP: Take a look at Windstar. Their ships are 150 to 300 passengers. We love the experience with them.

Celebrity is very nice. We also have done MSC and Costa in the Med and enjoyed the experience.

We are going to be two couples (50 yrs old) and my adult niece (22) traveling to the Mediterranean region in September or October. I think I've narrowed down that, because we want a little bit smaller ship, we don't want MSC or Costa. Can someone make any recommendations among Oceania, Crystal, or Azamara? Or suggest anything else? We're pretty adventurous and will probably arrange most of our own shore excursions. How about the value for the prices? Full unlimited beverages are important to us. I welcome any guidance, and thanks in advance!

I’ve cruised all 3 of those lines and based on my experiences, my recommendation would be in this order - Azamara, Crystal, Oceania.

Azamara and Crystal are excellent cruise lines with great service, food and accommodations. All of my Oceania cruises have been mediocre and frankly, not worth the price.

For more entertainment options, you would have to step up to a larger cruise line. In this case, I recommend Celebrity. The downside is more people and more nickel and diming.

I sail Crystal often.

Of the three lines it will be the most inclusive with all wine/spirits/other drinks included.

They offer many Mediterranean cruises of various lengths.

We are actually on a few of them later this year.

I highly recommend them.

All three lines that you mentioned are good choices.

Keith

If the itinerary includes popular ports then it won't matter what size the ship is, what will really matter is how many mega-ships are in those ports on the same day. We did a three week cruise in the Mediterranean in September and several ports were jam packed with cruise ship passengers. In a couple of cases there were five ships in port, and at least four of those were huge.

Try to find an itinerary that goes to different ports.

If you're looking for a smaller ship, you might take a look at the Pacific Princess to see if she has an itinerary that suits your needs. She's lovely and only carries 670 passengers. I've done cruises on her several times in Europe, and she's my ship of choice when there's an itinerary offered that interests me.

Small ship cruising is a very different sort of cruising experience. Everything on the ship is nearby, and your relationship with the crew and fellow passengers is more personal. Getting to know the crew members results in excellent service. Getting off and on the ship in ports is much quicker and easier without the hassle of being part of a large group of other passengers all heading for the same place. The ship can dock in some smaller ports that the bigger ships either don't visit or have to tender the passengers into.