Which itinerary is best?

[Caliterp07]

Help! I'm so overwhelmed with choices! Due to school/work schedules, we have a very limited time frame we can cruise in, so that helps narrow it down, but I still have several different options. We're looking at late September/early October, if it matters.

 

The passengers will be my husband and me (mid 20's) and my parents. All are physically capable and eager to run around town and explore things. Ruins and history are a huuuuuuge plus in my book (studied Greek and Latin in high school, so it'll be really cool to see all that stuff first hand!).

 

Are any of these itineraries duds? Some of the times seem so weird--I'm used to the Caribbean where you dock in the morning and leave in the afternoon. These evening ports are throwing me.

 

THANK YOU!

 

Options:

 

Option 1: Costa Victoria

1 Venice Italy 6:00 p.m.

2 Ancona, Italy 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

3 At Sea

4 Santorini, Greece 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

4 Mykonos, Greece 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

5 Piraeus (Athens), Greece 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

6 Corfu, Greece 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

7 Dubrovnik, Croatia 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

8 Venice, Italy 9:00 a.m.

 

Option 2:

Costa Fortuna

1 Venice, Italy 5:00 p.m.

2 Bari, Italy 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

3 Katakolon (Olympia), Greece 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

4 Santorini, Greece 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

4 Mykonos, Greece 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

5 Rhodes, Greece 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

6 At Sea

7 Dubrovnik, Croatia 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

8 Venice, Italy 9:00 a.m.

 

Option 3:

MSC Musica

 

1 Venice, Italy 6:00 p.m.

2 Bari, Italy 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

3 Katakolon (Olympia), Greece 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

4 Santorini, Greece 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

4 Mykonos, Greece 8:00 p.m.

5 Mykonos, Greece 2:00 a.m.

5 Piraeus (Athens), Greece 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

6 Corfu, Greece 2:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

7 Dubrovnik, Croatia 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

8 Venice, Italy 8:00 a.m.

[Susan-M]

The first one has short times in port; if you want to maximize your time in ports, then I would give this one a pass.

 

The second one misses Athens, which I think is a big negative, unless the strikes/protests continue or escalate, in which case, it could turn into a positive. It's such a great city though that I think it's worth having it on your itinerary...unless you'll be able to go back for a visit another time.

 

I like the itinerary for the third one, but the stop in Mykonos is so late that it doesn't seem worth it. However, the extra time in Santorini vs. the other two itineraries is nice. This one also gives you the most time in Athens...and although still a bit of a short day for Athens, it's enough time to visit the Acropolis and a couple of other sites such as Temple of Zeus, Agora and a walk through the Plaka.

[Caliterp07]

Thanks, Susan!

 

You pretty much confirmed my initial thoughts. I can't imagine traveling all the way to Greece, and then missing Athens! We may end up going back in a couple years, but of course there are no guarantees in life!

 

Since all 3 have a late Mykonos port, I think I have to write that off and pick based on the other ports. One day I will be filthy rich, and charter my own ship...THEN we'll have the right itinerary ;)

[cberge]

Help! I'm so overwhelmed with choices! Due to school/work schedules, we have a very limited time frame we can cruise in, so that helps narrow it down, but I still have several different options. We're looking at late September/early October, if it matters.

 

The passengers will be my husband and me (mid 20's) and my parents. All are physically capable and eager to run around town and explore things. Ruins and history are a huuuuuuge plus in my book (studied Greek and Latin in high school, so it'll be really cool to see all that stuff first hand!).

 

Are any of these itineraries duds? Some of the times seem so weird--I'm used to the Caribbean where you dock in the morning and leave in the afternoon. These evening ports are throwing me.

 

THANK YOU!

 

Options:

 

Option 1: Costa Victoria

1 Venice Italy 6:00 p.m.

2 Ancona, Italy 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

3 At Sea

4 Santorini, Greece 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

4 Mykonos, Greece 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

5 Piraeus (Athens), Greece 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

6 Corfu, Greece 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

7 Dubrovnik, Croatia 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

8 Venice, Italy 9:00 a.m.

 

Option 2:

Costa Fortuna

1 Venice, Italy 5:00 p.m.

2 Bari, Italy 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

3 Katakolon (Olympia), Greece 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

4 Santorini, Greece 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

4 Mykonos, Greece 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

5 Rhodes, Greece 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

6 At Sea

7 Dubrovnik, Croatia 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

8 Venice, Italy 9:00 a.m.

 

Option 3:

MSC Musica

 

1 Venice, Italy 6:00 p.m.

2 Bari, Italy 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

3 Katakolon (Olympia), Greece 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

4 Santorini, Greece 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

4 Mykonos, Greece 8:00 p.m.

5 Mykonos, Greece 2:00 a.m.

5 Piraeus (Athens), Greece 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

6 Corfu, Greece 2:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

7 Dubrovnik, Croatia 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

8 Venice, Italy 8:00 a.m.

For no particular eason other than it seems a good cruise I chose curtin NO 1.You get a day to rest,you get Athens and not an overnight in Mykonos.

[MANURULES]

Oh,Good Lord!!

This itinerary is pure rubbish.

Especially the first 2 options.Are you locked in with this line for some reason?

[Hlitner]

Ok, I will risk being flamed to give you my opinion. We would not go on any of those cruises...even if they were close to free!! Why? The times in port are absolutely awful. We have seen this with Costa and some NCL cruises and have never understood why they do those kind of itineraries. As an example, 4 or 5 hours in Santorini is almost useless as you must wait in queue to get up the cable car. And when it gets near the time to leave, most passengers will want to take the funicular back down to the tender pier and there will be a line meaning you have to get in line at least an hour before you need to leave. A half day in Dubrovnik makes even less sense since you need some time to get from the pier into town. So, we would say all the itineraries are "duds" and suggest you find a different cruise.

 

Hank

[Susan-M]

Ok, I will risk being flamed to give you my opinion. We would not go on any of those cruises...even if they were close to free!! Why?

 

Not a flame, but just wanted to say that before I posted above, I was tempted to suggest another cruise line with hopefully an itinerary that had more time in port. I checked to see what was available during the time that the OP wants to travel, with a Venice to Venice itinerary, for one week and could find nothing else in the price range they are looking at, that would have been better than what she has found. If they are open to a cruise that isn't Venice/return, then that will open up more possibilities.

 

In Santorini, since they are all active, walking down the steps if the cable car line is long, shouldn't be a problem. (We did this, and while it is a 20 minute down hill walk ...it's better than queueing for 1 hour in the line.) The line going up will depend on how quickly they get off the ship and/or how many cruise ships arrive at the same time that they do.

 

I don't think Dubrovnik requires more time ... the port is only a 10 minute ride from the walled town, and half a day there is sufficient.

[Caliterp07]

Thanks for the honesty! I really appreciate it.

 

I'm not tied to those lines at all (or Venice either). The only thing that's dictating our choices is my grad school schedule. I have to be in DC on September 25th and October 15th. As long as we can cruise between those dates, I'm open to anything. My parents don't have much more than a week of vacation time, so if we want them to come it has to be a 7-8 day cruise.

 

What does a "good" itinerary look like? Are there ports that are skip-able?

[Hlitner]

Thanks for the honesty! I really appreciate it.

 

I'm not tied to those lines at all (or Venice either). The only thing that's dictating our choices is my grad school schedule. I have to be in DC on September 25th and October 15th. As long as we can cruise between those dates, I'm open to anything. My parents don't have much more than a week of vacation time, so if we want them to come it has to be a 7-8 day cruise.

 

What does a "good" itinerary look like? Are there ports that are skip-able?

 

We should reiterate that our issue is not with the ports (they are good ports) but rather with the time in the ports. The best port in the world is not very good if you do not get the time to enjoy yourself ashore. You have to keep in mind that some ports, such as Santorini, are tender ports and it can easily take more then an hour to simply get ashore.

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

I'm going to suggest in all honesty that if you are so limited -- both with your actual dates and with the amount of time you can spend on the cruise -- you consider an alternative.

 

Many 7-day cruises short you on time in port. I agree with Hank that it's very frustrating (to me anyway) to get to a port and have only a 2-3 hour window to look around. These aren't Caribbean ports, there are often major sights to see in each place.

 

Why not just take that week that you have and do a trip to somewhere like Rome or Athens, instead of doing a cruise?

 

Several times I've spent a week in Rome and that gives you about a perfect amount of time to spend seeing the sights in Rome itself and maybe even a daytrip (or two if you're ambitious) outside the city. For example you can do Naples/Pompeii on your own in a long day. Or you can do Tivoli/Hadrian's villa, or Ostia Antica (like Pompeii but MUCH closer to Rome and MUCH less crowded...)

[MANURULES]

I'm going to suggest..........................peii but MUCH closer to Rome and MUCH less crowded...)

 

Great advice.

I also need to clarify that its the time spent at each that sinks those trips for me.Nothing wrong with the ports themselves.

 

Look at either Rome and visiting on day trips the coast just to the south,Florence etc....,or Athens

and a day or two visits to an island or Nauplion (a must and the best trip from Athens for my money).

You could visit Mycynae, Epidaurus,and beautiful full of history Nauplion on a day trip,or better an overnight.

[chipmaster]

I think others have already said it, great set of ports, all of these have horrible times. If you are European and don't care so much for needing a full day in port and are just their to enjoy the ship and a brief stop in each port for a meal and light sigthseening okay ( I hope the price is very very good ). I'd want/insist on a cruise where you get a full day, at least 8-10 hours in port. There are so many cruise lines sailing these days check them all out. There are a few internet travel agencies too with very nice search data bases where you can put 5 ports in or something and get all cruises that sail them. Do a bit of search, with the internet and a couple of these oline resource you can do much better than these 3 options.

 

Happy planning

 

Help! I'm so overwhelmed with choices! Due to school/work schedules, we have a very limited time frame we can cruise in, so that helps narrow it down, but I still have several different options. We're looking at late September/early October, if it matters.

 

The passengers will be my husband and me (mid 20's) and my parents. All are physically capable and eager to run around town and explore things. Ruins and history are a huuuuuuge plus in my book (studied Greek and Latin in high school, so it'll be really cool to see all that stuff first hand!).

 

Are any of these itineraries duds? Some of the times seem so weird--I'm used to the Caribbean where you dock in the morning and leave in the afternoon. These evening ports are throwing me.

 

THANK YOU!

 

Options:

 

Option 1: Costa Victoria

1 Venice Italy 6:00 p.m.

2 Ancona, Italy 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

3 At Sea

4 Santorini, Greece 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

4 Mykonos, Greece 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

5 Piraeus (Athens), Greece 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

6 Corfu, Greece 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

7 Dubrovnik, Croatia 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

8 Venice, Italy 9:00 a.m.

 

Option 2:

Costa Fortuna

1 Venice, Italy 5:00 p.m.

2 Bari, Italy 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

3 Katakolon (Olympia), Greece 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

4 Santorini, Greece 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

4 Mykonos, Greece 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

5 Rhodes, Greece 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

6 At Sea

7 Dubrovnik, Croatia 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

8 Venice, Italy 9:00 a.m.

 

Option 3:

MSC Musica

 

1 Venice, Italy 6:00 p.m.

2 Bari, Italy 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

3 Katakolon (Olympia), Greece 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

4 Santorini, Greece 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

4 Mykonos, Greece 8:00 p.m.

5 Mykonos, Greece 2:00 a.m.

5 Piraeus (Athens), Greece 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

6 Corfu, Greece 2:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

7 Dubrovnik, Croatia 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

8 Venice, Italy 8:00 a.m.

[cberge]

Ok..I will jump in again...I answered her question re which cruise as she seemed to note a time constraint..yes,short times in port,but maybe ok for a quick cruise with family.Not the way to go,but in a pinch ok.Anyway,with said time constaints I agree with cruisemom 42...do a land trip and save a cruise re these ports for when you have more time.Land trips centered around a city can be a lot of fun and a lot less stressful than trying to "see all" on a cruise.There are a lot of great deals out there now in traveland:)

[Caliterp07]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the honesty--it's really helpful. The cruises aren't cheap in the least, so if we go we want it to be worth it!

 

Back to the drawing board, I guess!

[MercedMike]

Costa and MSC are both good lines -- but are you aware that they both are much more "European" in reputation than lines like Princess, HAL, or RCI? That may be very much to your taste. OTOH some people are put off by the international mix of passengers and the repetition of announcements in many languages and the different cultural customs and attitudes.

 

Princess, HAL, and RCI will are all very "Americanized" lines and will suit some passengers better. It depends on what your expectations are.

[Bagbabe53]

Costa and MSC are both good lines -- but are you aware that they both are much more "European" in reputation than lines like Princess, HAL, or RCI? That may be very much to your taste. OTOH some people are put off by the international mix of passengers and the repetition of announcements in many languages and the different cultural customs and attitudes.

 

Princess, HAL, and RCI will are all very "Americanized" lines and will suit some passengers better. It depends on what your expectations are.

 

There also small ship cruises. We're taking one in late July with Variety Cruises on the Harmony G after a four-day stay in Santorini for my DH to chill out a bit (he works killer hrs in his own business). Small ships have their pluses and minuses of course. You get more time on the islands and there's more flexibility, etc.; however, the risk is in that smaller boats itineraries are more affected by high winds and storms than big ships, and I am aware of this.

 

Secondly, there's another option people on the Frommers boards recommend: why not pick an island you find interesting that's near some others, spend the week there, taking day trips by ferry to nearby islands? I know this is a cruise bd, but maybe a standard cruise should be saved for another time and place.

 

Make sure you insure your trip! With everything that's going on in the world these days, it will give you greater peace of mind. Let us know what you decide, and how the trip went for you guys.