Which Cruise (Itinerary) Would You Choose?

[wangy26]

We are a family of 4 with two young adult daughters going to our first Mediterranean cruise. We have cruised 3 times before (all on Celebrity) to Caribbean and Alaska. We like good on board food and interesting port of call. I am contemplating the following two choices. We have never been to any of the port of call in the following two itineraries. For guaranteed balcony the price per night is very similar and the bonus offer is also similar for these two cruises. For the criteria I listed above which one would you choose? Which ship is better in overall quality? Which itinerary is better in terms of port of call?

 

 

Your help would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

 

 

Choice 1

Queen Elizabeth – 14 Nights(June 20 to July 4)

 

Ports of Call

Arrival

Departure

Day 1 Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

-

9:00 PM

Day 2 At Sea

-

-

Day 3 Kerkyra (Corfu), Greece

9:00 AM

5:00 PM

Day 4 Kotor, Serbia and Montenegro

8:00 AM

6:00 PM

Day 5 Dubrovnik, Croatia

8:00 AM

5:00 PM

Day 6 At Sea

-

-

Day 7 Venice, Italy

8:00 AM

12:00 AM

Day 8 Venice, Italy

12:00 AM

8:00 PM

Day 9 At Sea

-

-

Day 10 Korcula, Croatia

8:00 AM

5:00 PM

Day 11 At Sea

-

-

Day 12 Heraklion (Iraklion), Greece

9:00 AM

5:00 PM

Day 13 Rhodes, Greece

9:00 AM

5:00 PM

Day 14 Kusadasi, Turkey

7:00 AM

5:00 PM

Day 15 Piraeus, Greece

7:00 AM

-

 

Choice 2

Celebrity Reflection – 11 nights (June 2 to June 13)

 

Ports of Call

Arrival

Departure

Day 1 Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

-

5:00 PM

Day 2 At Sea

-

-

Day 3 Santorini, Greece

2:00 PM

10:00 PM

Day 4 At Sea

-

-

Day 5 Istanbul, Turkey

7:00 AM

-

Day 6 Istanbul, Turkey

-

1:00 PM

Day 7 Kusadasi, Turkey

11:00 AM

8:00 PM

Day 8 Mykonos, Greece

7:00 AM

6:00 PM

Day 9 Athens, Greece

6:00 AM

6:00 PM

Day 10 At Sea

-

-

Day 11 Naples, Italy

7:00 AM

6:30 PM

Day 12 Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

5:00 AM

-

[Hlitner]

Interesting choices. We have oft cruised on Celebrity (Elite Plus) and have also been on the Queen Mary 2. Although I would almost want to pick Celebrity on general principles (we love the line), given the itineraries you choose we would go with the Queen. And here is why? A big deal on Med cruises (and we have done many) are the times (and days of the week) in port. So let me start with what we do not like about the Celebrity cruise. The Kusadasi hours are not really good since it can get pretty hot in the afternoon and that late arrival is not to our taste. It is the same with Santorini where we do not ever like those late arrivals....since it is a tender port and just getting ashore can take 2 hours. Some do like the fact that you can stay for sunset in Oia, but even that can be problematic with the late sunset and the hassles getting back to Fira where you have to get down to the tender pier by 9:30 (and that is crazy). And it is the same with Istanbul where the overnight is fine, but the 1pm departure makes that 2nd day more then half useless.

 

The Queen port times are superior in nearly every way. But the unasked question is what days of the week you will be in various ports. So keep in mind that Sundays are an issue nearly everywhere because many shops are closed. And Mondays are a problem in Italy where they think of it as an extension of Sunday. In the case of Istanbul, Sun, Mon and Tues all have their issues with various closures.

 

We suggest arriving at least 2 days early so you can enjoy some time in Rome and if you doing the Queen you might want to try and an extra night in Athens.

 

Hank

[wangy26]

Thank you so much for the info. That is why I ask questions on this board with so many knowledgeable and helpful people. I would never think about the difference between early and late arrival.

 

Can you tell me why you always prefer Celebrity to Cunard cruise line? Is there something that I should know about the Cunard cruise line?

[Essiesmom]

I also like the QE itinerary much better, but they are sooo different. As far as cruise lines, you will find QE to be much more formal than Reflection. However, having sailed both lines, I think the food on Celebrity is better. I just was not impressed with selection on QE last year. EM

[wangy26]

Thanks again for your help! Since we have never been to Rome or Athens I am thinking about spending extra 3 days in Rome before and extra 2 days in Athens after the cruise. Will this be enough time to see both places?

[Essiesmom]

For me, yes. But for many others, no. We are not museum people, although we love churches and do a moderate amount of ruins. I walked my sister all over Rome, with the help of a map and Rick Steves'

[kadey]

We are doing our 4th Med cruise this May,but none have been on the lines you are looking at. We have done Celebrity in the Caribbean and we do have young adult children who have traveled with us. Both trips look great but I really lean towards the Celebrity cruise…

1. less formal than Queen Elizabeth.

2.IMHO the ports are more varied are much better on the Celebrity itinerary.Santorini is one of the most beautiful and picturesque ports I've ever visited. It is actually the reason we have selected this years cruise so that we can go back to this amazing island. Just pulling into Istanbul is an experience you and your kids will never forget and yet you get to get off the ship and experience something so totally differ than your own world. The port of Naples offers a wide and wonderful array of places that are possible and easy to visit in one day. We did Pompeii,Sorrento and Positano in one day from Naples. I feel these ports alone are some of the major highlights of a great Med trip. The other ports on this itinerary are also fantastic.Kusadasi has Ephesus/terrace houses and Mykonos is such a beautiful town,winding streets with windmills, shops and fabulous restaurants . I believe it also was just voted to have one of the top beaches in the world on their island.Climbing the Parthenon in Athens is something no one in your family will ever forget!Again, a city not to be missed!

The only port I'd feel badly missing by not doing the Queen Elizabeth cruise would be Venice. My solution would be to fly into Venice and vista there before taking a very easy train right to Rome. I always remember my daughter saying to us ,as we started going through the Venice canals to our hotel, that she had seen Venice in books but could never imagine how different and beautiful it was in real life!

 

3. Lastly, the Celebrity trip is earlier. It can get really hot in these places. We did a June 4 trip a few years ago and it was close to 100 in Athens. The end of june into July could really be sweltering. Much easier to tour earlier in the season.

 

Again, I think both trips look great. However, I personally have strong feelings that the Celebrity itinerary gives you the best highlights of the Med. on a ship both you and and kids will love.

[cruise_bunnies]

Both sailings have something, but it's up to you to see what you consider most important.

 

Some thoughts:

 

Cunard vs Celebrity

Formal vs less formal

 

On these itineraries

Cunard vs Celebrity

earlier port times vs later port times

later in season vs earlier in season

2 ports in Croatia vs mostly Turkey/Greece/Italy

broader amount of ports/countries vs mostly Turkey/Greece/Italy

smaller ports vs bigger ports (I think, don't know all of the ports)

 

With prices being more or less equal, I'd choose Cunard, because I would prefer to see more different places and I like waking up earlier. I also would love to see Venice as they are saying that sailing there will be more and more difficult.

 

But to be honest, neither of these choices would be what I'd like for a Med cruise. Have you look at the 1st of July cruise or 20th of June from HAL? It features Spain/France/Italy/Tunis, with one of the most beautiful cities in Spain (Barcelona) and is a mix of busy and relaxing ports. They have others too, more focused on Greece/Turkey.

 

When I think of the Med, I think of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece. I don't much prefer Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro etc.

[Hlitner]

Thank you so much for the info. That is why I ask questions on this board with so many knowledgeable and helpful people. I would never think about the difference between early and late arrival.

 

Can you tell me why you always prefer Celebrity to Cunard cruise line? Is there something that I should know about the Cunard cruise line?

 

I should add that we agree with another poster that the Celebrity ports are a bit more varied, and even more desirable to our own taste. But even the best ports will suffer when the ship arrives or departs at the wrong time or wrong day of the week. We do really love Santorini, but would prefer to love it by 10 or 11 AM rather then fighting to get tendered ashore in late afternoon.

 

As to preferring one cruise line over another, that is probably one of the most subjective issues in all of cruising. Read the various cruise line boards and every line will have their "cheerleaders" and "detractors." We have found that, in cruising, everything is quite dynamic and changing all the time. A line or ship we might prefer one day, might implement cut-backs and not be so good tomorrow. In the past few years it seems like all the cruise lines have made major cut-backs in the interests of saving money and enhancing profits. Our last 3 Celebrity cruises (taken within the past 20 months) have been very satisfying in terms of overall service, food, and even entertainment. When we cruised on the Queen Mary 2 we were somewhat disappointed in their Lido (buffet) food and layout (like a large hospital cafeteria) and many passengers seemed unhappy with the formality of the ship. On a 6 night "crossing" we had 3 formal nights (and they enforced the dress code in the dining room and ballroom), 2 semi-formal (men "must" wear a tie) and only 1 smart-casual night. Since we have not been on the Queen Elizabeth we cannot be sure if they do this same kind of formal regiment...but it is something to check-out and consider for many cruisers. But we would not hesitate to again cruise on Cunard if we liked their itinerary and pricing.

Hank

[jocap]

This is probably the last year for large cruise ships to be allowed to sail into Venice. This is an unforgettable experience, and one that has people racing to do before big ships have to moor elsewhere. You also have an overnight in that city. That would be my main reason for choosing the QE ship.

[Essiesmom]

Actually, the QE & QV will still fit under the limit for ships sailing into Venice after Nov. 2014 (as do all HAL ships). The ships Celebrity currently sailing the eastern Med. exceed that limit, as do the Princess ships (except Pacific/Ocean which occasionally visit the Med.). Of course, all politics is local, and who knows what reasoning will prevail in Venice six months from now. EM

[wangy26]

I didn't know the impeding ship limit to Venice. That would definitely be a big swing factor. Thank you all for such valuable information and knowledge.

[mousey]

..."With prices being more or less equal, I'd choose Cunard, because I would prefer to see more different places and I like waking up earlier. I also would love to see Venice as they are saying that sailing there will be more and more difficult.

 

But to be honest, neither of these choices would be what I'd like for a Med cruise. Have you look at the 1st of July cruise or 20th of June from HAL? It features Spain/France/Italy/Tunis, with one of the most beautiful cities in Spain (Barcelona) and is a mix of busy and relaxing ports. They have others too, more focused on Greece/Turkey.

 

When I think of the Med, I think of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece. I don't much prefer Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro etc."

 

I agree with this poster and I think that younger people would appreciate these ports more. Having said that...I think either of the two would be awesome. Then again, I've never been on a cruise I didn't love...and I've been on many and sailed all over the world.

 

Do some research on the various ports and have a family meeting to decipher what everyone thinks about them and what everyone's top choices and priorities are.

 

Whatever you decide...I hope you and your family have an awesome cruise!:D

[wangy26]

Thank you all for very informative comments. We have decided to go with the QE cruise mostly for the itinerary. Hope the food on QE is comparable to the one on Celebrity. We don't mind formal dress part and would like to try a new cruise line just for a change.