Which Cruise?

[OnlyMe]

We are trying to decide which cruise would be best for us for late August / September and have it narrowed down to two NCL cruises.

 

The first is Greece & Turkey with this itinerary:

Venice

Dubrovnik

At Sea

Piraeus (Athens)

Izmir (Ephesus)

Nafplion

At Sea

Venice

 

The second option is Greek Isles:

Venice

Split

Corfu

Santorini Island

Mykonos

Irklion, Crete

At Sea

Venice

 

We will be travelling with out 2 year old and while DH is edging towards the Greece and Turkey one I'm edging towards the Greece one ... not sure why exactly as we've only just started looking into it BUT ... am kind of thinking there might be more variety for our 2yo on the Greece one ... can anyone help and advise on the cruises and ports please?

 

Thanks for any help!

 

I'm going to post this on the Other Med board also:)

[cruisemom42]

I wouldn't worry too much about variety for your child; either itinerary offers plenty variety and (with all due respect as a mother myself) your child is only two.

 

For myself, I'd prefer the first itinerary. However, something to factor in is what you are planning to do in port and how you'll get around. The walls in Dubrovnik are fantastic, but not negotiable with a stroller, for example. In Piraeus it's about a half hour into Athens. From Nauplion you have an option to tour Epidavros and Mycenae, but that might be a lot for a two-year-old.

 

On the second itinerary, you have several ports that lend themselves more to taking it easy (walk around town or go to beach), such as Mykonos, Corfu, and Santorini.

[OnlyMe]

Hi Cynthia, thank you so much for your reply!

What I meant by variety I suppose is the the first cruise has stops in Cities and at ruins while the other has some with a mix of beach so was sort of thinking that might be better to let him have some time running around etc rather than going from one sight to another .... bu I'm probably wrong on that and am very open to being corrected:o

 

The dates we are looking at are August 28th or September 25th for the Greek Isles one

or September 4th or September 18th for the Greece and Turkey one

 

We did a Canary Islands cruise in January with our little fella and it was a perfect mix - some beach and some cities and cities with parks etc etc ... if you have any more advice I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks so much!

Only

[Wendy The Wanderer]

There is a little beach in Napflion, but it's rock. I vote for the Greek itinerary, with what you said about a "mix" in mind.

 

The Greeks love small children, so wandering around Iraklion, Corfu or Mykonos is always an option if you can't find a nearby beach.

[OnlyMe]

Thanks Wendy!

The more I'm looking at the stops the more I'm thinking the Greece one is the best one for us.

The only thing is, hubby has just thrown the cat among the pidgeons and now the September 25th cruise wont suit and with prices so high the only one that we could manage with that itinerary (in our chosen cabin category) would be the August 28th one .... now what I'm wondering is how hot / humid will it be at the end of August / beginning of September? Manageable????

 

Also, we would be 'into' hiring a car and I'm wondering how easy/easy to drive it would be to do in any of the ports?

[cruisemom42]

Thanks Wendy!

The more I'm looking at the stops the more I'm thinking the Greece one is the best one for us.

The only thing is, hubby has just thrown the cat among the pidgeons and now the September 25th cruise wont suit and with prices so high the only one that we could manage with that itinerary (in our chosen cabin category) would be the August 28th one .... now what I'm wondering is how hot / humid will it be at the end of August / beginning of September? Manageable????

 

Also, we would be 'into' hiring a car and I'm wondering how easy/easy to drive it would be to do in any of the ports?

 

It will be hot, but if you confine yourself on the islands to an easy beach day or a bit of a wander in town (or scenic drive) you should be okay.

 

I haven't actually done it (don't enjoy driving) but I've read numerous times on these boards that it is easy to rent a car and drive around Corfu and Santorini. Mykonos is pretty small; not sure it would be worth it to rent a car. Just walk around the town or take the bus or taxi to a beach.

[MANURULES]

It will be hot, but if you confine yourself on the islands to an easy beach day or a bit of a wander in town (or scenic drive) you should be okay.

 

I haven't actually done it (don't enjoy driving) but I've read numerous times on these boards that it is easy to rent a car and drive around Corfu and Santorini. Mykonos is pretty small; not sure it would be worth it to rent a car. Just walk around the town or take the bus or taxi to a beach.

 

I agree.

For me renting a car in Santorini would depend upon how much time I have on the island.

I will allow for 2 hours on arrival to get off the boat by tender, get to the

top and rent/sign the rental papers and find your way to a beach,lets say Kamari.

Then 2 more hours to drive back,return the car ,and get on the tender again.

If the stop on the island is 6 hours or less, I would not do it.

Regardless make certain you have an International drivers license.

They are readily available at your local AAA office for $20.00 or so.

Even though you will be able to rent a vehicle without it ,

you do not want to be caught without one ,in case of a traffic stop,or accident.

Santorini is small and drivable.We have done it many times.

If you take the wrong turn you will probably have to ask a local how

to get back.