First time to Italy with 25 yr old daughter

[mary07054]

My daughter and I are interested in going to Italy on a cruise and need some advice on which cruise to take. Any hellp would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Sandi

[cruisemom42]

Because the ports are ultimately more important than the ship on most Mediterranean cruises, I would suggest that you talk with a travel agent about the best itinerary for you and your daughter. You'll find most cruises don't just visit Italian ports but also include other countries. You'll have to decide if you are more interested in the "Western" Med ports (France, Spain) or "Eastern Med" (Greece, Turkey) in addition to Italy.

 

Even on the best Italian itineraries, you'll only get a glimpse of Italy at each stop. Rome is over an hour from the port (Civitavecchia), and Florence is even further from Livorno. Have you considered just doing a land tour of Italy instead, if Italy is what you're most interested in seeing?

 

Ultimately all of the mainstream lines (Princess, Celebrity, Holland America, Royal Caribbean) offer itineraries. Some of the more upscale lines (Oceania, Azamara, etc) might offer better itinerary choices that include more of Italy. But they'll also likely be more expensive.

 

Just some thoughts...... Good luck in your search!

[D4]

We did our first Med cruise last fall. We were most interested in Rome, so we chose a cruise that started and ended there. We had one night before the cruise and 3 nights after in Rome. We had a fantastic trip, but we really needed more time in Rome. We plan to go back this year and spend at least a week in Rome.

 

So you might look for cruises that start/end in Venice or Rome.

[sunsetbeachgal]

First of all, whatever you do, especially together, will be wonderful. We love Europe, and especially Italy. CruiseMom is right-if you want to concentrate on Italy, then a land tour will give you the most in-depth time in Italy. We have done several Med cruises, but several years ago we rented a villa in Tuscany with several other couples, and that was by far the best way for us to see Italy. But cruising is great too-how about looking for a 7 day cruise, then extending the cruise on land? While I love the longer cruises, these will visit more countries than Italy. And as said, the cruise stops for Florence and Rome are really at least 1-1 1/2 hours from each of these cities. And most folks choose to go to Amalfi. Capri or Pompeii from Naples which is over an hour away too.

[tomko2]

Itinerary is the key and then length of cruise.

 

Our first Med. cruise (12 nights on Legend OTS) left from Rome and included Egypt; we spent a total of 6 nights in Rome as well.

 

Our second Med. cruise (12 nights on Brilliance OTS) left from Barcelona and included an overnight in Venice. We spent 2 nights pre-cruise in Barcelona and 2 nights post in Mainz, Germany.

 

We did lots of reading before each cruise and even used google walking maps to plan out some of our days. Both cruises were incredible and we were happy we pre-purchases some tours and entrance tickets on-line as we were able to by-pass long line-ups.

 

Photos in the link below. Reviews of both cruises under the Review section.

 

What a wonderful Mother/Daughter experience it will be.

Kathy:cool:

[mary07054]

Thank you all for your insight. I kind of thought a land tour might be better too.

Sandi