What unusual ports would you like to see in the Med?

We have cruised and visited the Mediterranean many times. I keep wishing for more unusual ports. This year we noticed a few new ones on other lines but weren’t able to take advantage of them. Though I nearly booked for Chios alone. I am so tired of Dubrovnik, Katakalon....

So here goes. Some I’ve visited, others are hard to get to. My dream Med cruise:

Thessaloniki, Thassos, Volos, Skiathos,

Skopelos, Chios, Patmos, Samos, Rhodes, Symi, Cyprus, Chania, Ios, Milos, Folegandros, Paros, Naxos, Koper, Korcula, Trieste.

I better stop now! Order could vary. But Trieste to Thessaloniki or vice versa? Most have ferry ports so? Wonder if HAL ever looks at suggestions?

I would be happy even with some of them.

We have cruised and visited the Mediterranean many times. I keep wishing for more unusual ports. This year we noticed a few new ones on other lines but weren’t able to take advantage of them. Though I nearly booked for Chios alone. I am so tired of Dubrovnik, Katakalon....

 

So here goes. Some I’ve visited, others are hard to get to. My dream Med cruise:

 

Thessaloniki, Thassos, Volos, Skiathos,

Skopelos, Chios, Patmos, Samos, Rhodes, Symi, Cyprus, Chania, Ios, Milos, Folegandros, Paros, Naxos, Koper, Korcula, Trieste.

 

I better stop now! Order could vary. But Trieste to Thessaloniki or vice versa? Most have ferry ports so? Wonder if HAL ever looks at suggestions?

 

I would be happy even with some of them.

Most of the Greek Islands cannot dock cruise ships. Even when they have a nice ferry facility, these are often reserved exclusively for ferries. We have visited quite a few small Greek Islands (think places like Paxos, AntiPaxos, etc) that want no part of the cruise industry. To be blunt, large cruise ships would quickly ruin those islands.. One has to just look at St Thomas...to see how the cruise industry can destroy the best of a place. The cute local boutiques and linen shops have been replaced with such eyesores like Diamonds International, Tanzanite International, Fake Jewelry International (I made this one up...but its coming), Royal Caribbean, Colombian Emeralds, etc. You can even find some of these eyesores in remote Alaskan ports (they open for the cruise season and close when the last ship is gone).

So as very frequent cruisers, and also frequent land travelers (often by rental car) we have mixed emotions. Yes, we love to see new ports. But we also hate to see the cruise industry ruining some of the most charming places in the world. This has become a big issue in Venice and now its an even bigger problem for the Cinque Terre villages (we think Italy should ban all cruise ships in La Spezia). Anyone who has been to Santorini when the island is overrun with cruise ship passengers (when they have multiple ships in port) knows about the issue. For those of us who actually stay on the island of St Maarten, it is well known to avoid Phillipsburg and Orient Bay on week days...because of all the cruise ship passengers (there are fewer ships on weekends). Believe it or not...but there are actually some St Maarten beaches where there are zero cruise ship passengers :) (we won't tell),

Hank

We have cruised and visited the Mediterranean many times. I keep wishing for more unusual ports. This year we noticed a few new ones on other lines but weren’t able to take advantage of them. Though I nearly booked for Chios alone. I am so tired of Dubrovnik, Katakalon....

 

So here goes. Some I’ve visited, others are hard to get to. My dream Med cruise:

 

Thessaloniki, Thassos, Volos, Skiathos,

Skopelos, Chios, Patmos, Samos, Rhodes, Symi, Cyprus, Chania, Ios, Milos, Folegandros, Paros, Naxos, Koper, Korcula, Trieste.

 

Agree 100% about Cyprus. That island is quite safe for tourists. Also, why is there no love for Israel from HAL? What about the Port of Ashdod for either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem?

Maybe not "unusual" ports, but I would like to see HAL going to Vigo, Ibiza, Ajaccio and Cagliari on more of their Med cruises.

We also love he Greek Islands. The very last thing we want see is cruise ships arriving at Sifnos, Naxos, Skiathos.etc. It would ruin the islands.

I guess I hadn’t thought of the downside. I wouldn’t want to ruin anywhere and I agree. We spend a lot of time on the big island and know to avoid certain places when the ships are in!

But, I too have felt Santorini amongst others, is overrun and was thinking they could try some unusual ports. We have spent several months in the Greek islands on land trips and love them. Unfortunately some package tourism has already had a huge impact. Trieste, Thessaloniki, and some of the larger islands such as Samos might be options. I would hope some variety could be added as some other ships visit Chios, Volos, Korcula, and Koper. Perhaps with a smaller ship as well.

Silver, Cunard does Ajaccio and Cagliari, which is why we chose them last year.

As I said before I would be happy with even some of them.

Agree 100% about Cyprus. That island is quite safe for tourists. Also, why is there no love for Israel from HAL? What about the Port of Ashdod for either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem?

Israel is one of the countries that cruise lines skip if there is the slightest hint of "trouble." If you want to go to Israel don't plan on doing it on a cruise - you might not get there.

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Berlin

We have seen much smaller ships in port on our visits to Korcula. We like it but I do not think that it could handle the infux of people from a cruise ship.

We have spent a fair amount of time touring on the Greek Islands and the Croatian coast by ferry hopping. It is the absolute best way to see the islands and it is by far our favorite way. We have also done a number of Med cruises. From our perspective, the latter is the worst way to see the Greek Islands or the the Croatian coastal areas.

Many of the places we have been fortunate enough to visit would be ruined if cruise ships were to start calling.

Berlin

If you want to do Berlin, go and stay there. Its not worth a several hour train ride (each way) from Warnemunde (Rostock) on Baltic Cruises, to see Berlin for a half day. We spent 2 days in Berlin and are planning on going back at some time for another couple of days.

I'd like to see Malta added back to HAL Cruises. We spent some time there during a 1999 Med Cruise and have always wanted to go back and see more of the island.

Cheers,

Maybe not "unusual" ports, but I would like to see HAL going to Vigo, Ibiza, Ajaccio and Cagliari on more of their Med cruises.

HAL does visit Vigo, but not on Med cruises. It's not really in the Med per se.

It's included in Western European cruises.

And a great spot to visit. We really enjoyed the Western European itinerary in April this year.

there is lots more to Europe than just the Med ;). JMO of course ;)

I would prefer HAL to keep to the ports already used instead of ruining yet another lovely spot with the onslaught of a few thousand day trippers...

If you want more ports, try a small ship, like Voyages to Antiquity or a charter yacht. I'm looking at a cruise on a yacht next September in the Adriatic islands of Croatia. It is through my favorite offerer of Adventure travel experiences for Women. No more than 20 on the yacht. I did my Nile Cruise with them - 16 of us on the Nile Adventurer (that was a very elegant, boutique boat we shared with 2 other groups, 60 people total)

As for Israel, U S State Dept. issues warnings about Israel and sends alerts to the cruise companies. Now we are seeing this with Istanbul. If cruise ships did not heed these advisories, cruisers would wonder why the ships are stopping at the dangerous ports. It is usually for safety and of course, liability insurance.

As for overcrowded ports, I won't get off anymore in St. Thomas and Nassau. I will just remember the good times I have had at these ports before Mega-ships! I figured 20,000 passengers on ships the last time we were in Nassau on Koningsdam. We were the smallest ship!

Kazu, I agree there is more to Europe! We prefer to do most by land trips, but love the Med cruises.

Slider girl, great suggestions! I need a yacht!

Iancal we love The Greek islands and mostly do them on our own too. So many islands!

I live in Alicante in South East Spain. The city has built a new cruise terminal but very few ships call there.

If any of you have been there you will know what a lovely city it is.

Likewise, just a bit north of us is Valencia. This is another city that gets overlooked by cruise lines.

I love these kinds of posts. They are fun, interesting, and usually free from drama. :D

DH and I had done a good amount of travel in Europe but most of it had been by land as some places are just easier to get to overland. Then we started taking some cruises on the continent and found that many other places are better reached by sea. Also, many of the departure ports are great for pre- and post-cruise stays which we love. So, whilst we've only done 1 Med cruise and 1 Baltic cruise, the idea of more exotic/less-visited ports would be a huge draw as we love to explore places we may not think about visiting on a land trip.

I'm still really itching to visit Egypt so calling at Alexandria again would be nice. Also, though technically on the Atlantic side of the straight, Tangiers would be a really interesting port and could be easily added to western Med itineraries.

We called at Ravenna, Italy on RCCL and loved that it is a less visited port without huge crowds. Maybe HAL could find a smaller Italian port in that manner....Bari perhaps?

Maybe Chanak, Turkey if the lines ever return to the country in the near future. It is close to the ruins of Troy so would likely be a big draw.

On a side note, during my last trip on QM2 I purchased a book about Cunard cruise ports in the 1930s. They visited Algiers back then and referred to it as the Paris of North Africa with a "mix of Bohemian French and Ottoman cultures." I wonder if any of us will see Algiers as a cruise port again in our lifetime.

Some great ideas for Israel, Spain and Italy.

We visited Ravenna by land, and were amazed by the mosaics. What a lovely place.

Bari is in a very interesting area.

We visited Tangiers many years ago and it was fascinating.

I love these kinds of posts. They are fun, interesting, and usually free from drama. :D

 

DH and I had done a good amount of travel in Europe but most of it had been by land as some places are just easier to get to overland. Then we started taking some cruises on the continent and found that many other places are better reached by sea. Also, many of the departure ports are great for pre- and post-cruise stays which we love. So, whilst we've only done 1 Med cruise and 1 Baltic cruise, the idea of more exotic/less-visited ports would be a huge draw as we love to explore places we may not think about visiting on a land trip.

 

 

 

I'm still really itching to visit Egypt so calling at Alexandria again would be nice. Also, though technically on the Atlantic side of the straight, Tangiers would be a really interesting port and could be easily added to western Med itineraries.

 

 

 

We called at Ravenna, Italy on RCCL and loved that it is a less visited port without huge crowds. Maybe HAL could find a smaller Italian port in that manner....Bari perhaps?

 

 

 

Maybe Chanak, Turkey if the lines ever return to the country in the near future. It is close to the ruins of Troy so would likely be a big draw.

 

 

 

On a side note, during my last trip on QM2 I purchased a book about Cunard cruise ports in the 1930s. They visited Algiers back then and referred to it as the Paris of North Africa with a "mix of Bohemian French and Ottoman cultures." I wonder if any of us will see Algiers as a cruise port again in our lifetime.

I will be visiting Algiers aboard the Viking Star in January 2018 so the answer is yes.

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I live in Alicante in South East Spain. The city has built a new cruise terminal but very few ships call there.

 

If any of you have been there you will know what a lovely city it is.

 

Likewise, just a bit north of us is Valencia. This is another city that gets overlooked by cruise lines.

Love Alicante! We visited there last year on a Spain-intensive cruise. The fortress, the beaches, Guadalest... Look forward to our next visit!

If you want to do Berlin, go and stay there. Its not worth a several hour train ride (each way) from Warnemunde (Rostock) on Baltic Cruises, to see Berlin for a half day. We spent 2 days in Berlin and are planning on going back at some time for another couple of days.

 

I'd like to see Malta added back to HAL Cruises. We spent some time there during a 1999 Med Cruise and have always wanted to go back and see more of the island.

 

Cheers,

Malta IS back!! We stayed there for 2 days with the Westerdam last month--chose that itinerary specifically to get to Malta again.. But it's now "discovered"--there were FIVE ships in port...

Holland has a nice run up the eastern Adriatic--Corfu, Kotor, Koper, Korcula, Split, Dubrovnik, sometimes Hvar--and overnights in Venice so a quick jump to Trieste.

If you want to do Berlin, go and stay there. Its not worth a several hour train ride (each way) from Warnemunde (Rostock) on Baltic Cruises, to see Berlin for a half day. We spent 2 days in Berlin and are planning on going back at some time for another couple of days.

 

I'd like to see Malta added back to HAL Cruises. We spent some time there during a 1999 Med Cruise and have always wanted to go back and see more of the island.

 

Cheers,

I agree on Berlin, we spent 5 days there in October and did not see it all.

We are on Oosterdam next apr 30 out of Venice and have an overnight in Malta, moving next day to Gozo. I chose this cruise for that, Sarande, Albania and had both Split and Dubrovnik.

Malta IS back!! We stayed there for 2 days with the Westerdam last month--chose that itinerary specifically to get to Malta again.. But it's now "discovered"--there were FIVE ships in port...

I agree about Malta. We were there the end of October on the Prinsendam with one other ship, and it was more crowded than it has ever been. When you see a Diamonds Interenational in a port, you know it has been discovered! :eek: Fortunately, the rest of the island outside of Valetta and Gozo, have not been discovered.

We rented a car for the two days, and took the ferry to Gozo the first day. It is so different and uncrowded, I hope it remains a tender port. We got the second day in Malta because it was too rough to tender at Gozo.

We also explored quite a bit of Malta, and enjoyed the off the beaten path places. Since most of the resorts were closed for the season, the rest of the island could be more crowded during the season.

Well the best way to see the smaller ports is by sailboat. You can Med Moor in front of the little tavernas. Ferry is probably second best. The cute port towns face the water. I can recommend Corsica - we liked it. What ever happened to Cueta? It was on some nice Holland Med trips in 2016. The whole concept of visting Africa - Tangiers, etc. seems exotic. We miss Turkey - I think the danger to tourists is overblown these days compared to other places. Hvar is great. One thing- I don't mind most ports- you just need to find the right place in each. One of our best trips was Canada new England and we had microbrews in each town.

Glad this thread got brought to the top again as I somehow missed it first time around....

I love sailing with Voyages to Antiquity specifically because they offer so many ports that are not often found on the itinerary of larger ships/mass market lines. Some of the delightful ports I've visited on their ship include:

Croatia: Zadar

Albania: Sarande (before everyone else went there)

Greece: Ithaca, Skiathos, Monemvasia, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Thessaloniki

Turkey: Canakkale, Tasucu, Antakya, Antalya

Cyprus: Limassol

Tunisia: Tunis, Sousse

Morocco: Casablanca, Tangiers

Egypt: Safaga, Sharm-el-Sheikh

Unlikely to be featured again anytime soon: Beirut, Tartus and Latakia (Syria)

Still trying to get to: Algeria, Libya