Which Mediterrean Itinerary is your favorite?

[DDEMOM]

My husband have been looking at the various European itineraries. I originally wanted to book the Barcelona to Venice 12 night, however this is no longer offered by Celebrity. We are considering 10- 12 night itineraries and would like to include Venice, Florence, Rome and Greek islands. I have been to Europe but my husband hasn't. Also, does anyone have any ideas for pre or post cruise 3-4 day tours of Italy since we don't want to take our luggage on the trains and prefer not to rent a car. Thanks in advance.

[cruisestitch]

Know that the most frustrating thing about these itineraries is that you only get 8-10 hours in a port, and after almost every one you will say "we could have spent a week there". That's the trade-off, you only have to unpack once, but you don't get enough time in any given port.

[realnice46]

My husband have been looking at the various European itineraries. I originally wanted to book the Barcelona to Venice 12 night, however this is no longer offered by Celebrity. We are considering 10- 12 night itineraries and would like to include Venice, Florence, Rome and Greek islands. I have been to Europe but my husband hasn't. Also, does anyone have any ideas for pre or post cruise 3-4 day tours of Italy since we don't want to take our luggage on the trains and prefer not to rent a car. Thanks in advance.

 

We have done many different itineraries hard to say favorite. I think you have to pick a few favorite ports and then try to find cruise to fit.

We love Venice, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Mykonos, Santorini.

If you start or end in Barcelona definitely spend 3 or 4 days there, same if you begin or end in Rome or Venice. These all deserve extra days.

You could do easy day trips from Rome, this way you would use Rome as your base.

[WestLakeGirl]

Remember that Florence isn't on the sea coast. You'll have at least a 90 minute drive each way to get there

[Nanatravel]

My husband have been looking at the various European itineraries. I originally wanted to book the Barcelona to Venice 12 night, however this is no longer offered by Celebrity. We are considering 10- 12 night itineraries and would like to include Venice, Florence, Rome and Greek islands. I have been to Europe but my husband hasn't. Also, does anyone have any ideas for pre or post cruise 3-4 day tours of Italy since we don't want to take our luggage on the trains and prefer not to rent a car. Thanks in advance.

 

The itinerary (one way) from Barcelona embarking and debarking in Venice is great. Since Celebrity is not doing it, have you thought about trying Princess? We have enjoyed their itineraries as well. Balcony cabins are smaller with no sofa but we have had a nice time.

[scifimonkey]

One of Barcelona, Istanbul, Rome or Venice would be my suggestion for start/finish points as all will support 3 to 4 days pre or post cruise stay with loads to see. If I had to choose one it would be Venice. There are many delightful smaller ports however, Rhodes, Mykonos, Valletta, Dubrovnik, Korcula, Santorini and others which are staging posts for great tours, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Livorno (Florence), Naples (Pompeii,Vesuvius, Capri, Sorrento), Messina or Catania ( Taormina, Etna and Syracuse). That still leaves Athens, Valencia, Monte Carlo, Gibraltar, Lisbon not to mention the British Isles and the Baltic cruises...............If the weather is good and you plan ahead almost all the ports that Celebrity use have something interesting to do and many will support repeat visits as you are naturally limited by the time you have. There is so much to see that the danger is that you will rush around trying to catch it all and come back needing a vacation. Plan some easy stroll and lunch days or a beach day into a port intensive itinerary or pick one key sight as a must see in each place and treat anything else as a bonus. You may find that those sea days that initially seemed like wasted sightseeing opportunities, are essential recharging points.

The most amazing thing about Europe is the variety crammed into such a relatively small space, different languages, currencies, histories and cultures almost every day. I would venture to say that especially with your husband being a first time visitor, whichever cruise you pick you will have a blast and the delight of a cruise is, that if you do have a not so good day then, there will be something entirely different coming along tomorrow.

Enjoy!

:)

[pi45]

Most are great...

Probably would avoid Turkey at this time. Not very pro-American government, although most people are nice.

[scifimonkey]

Most are great...

Probably would avoid Turkey at this time. Not very pro-American government, although most people are nice.

 

But they love everyone with money to spend! Particularly dollars! I would not be concerned, the people are great whatever their government might say.

[Hlitner]

We would probably vote for any cruise itinerary that included an overnight in Istanbul, Venice, and a full day visit to Santorini. After those 3 ports...little else would matter :)

 

Hank

[dabear]

THE NEXT ONE. Actually, we've done the eastern and western med cruises & we love them all. We do have another one in the fall of 2015.

Edited December 3, 2014 by dabear

[SPacificbound]

Royal Caribbean has cruises departing Barcelona that call on the Italian ports.

[nekzaadvakil]

My wife and I cannot get enough of the Mediterranean. We've been on 4 Med cruises since 2010 and we've seen nearly every port that there is to see. Ports like Barcelona, Rome, Venice are absolutely awesome, there is alot to see in these places and 1 day is not enough, so its best to spend a few days before or after the cruise in these ports.

 

Santorini, Kotor, Valetta(Malta), Rhodes, Kusadasi & Messina are just wonderful places that you just could go to every year! You can spend the day there and get a really nice feel of the place. I love the fact that you can wake up in a new port EVERYDAY!

 

Here are a few options you may like:

 

Option 1:

Have a look at the Celebrity Equinox itinerary on Oct 15, 2015. It starts in Barcelona, covers Rome, Santorini, Mykonos, Valetta, Naples, Athens, Kusadasi and has 4 sea days as well. Its also a modern and large ship (we've been on its sister ship the Silhouette, and loved it)

 

Option 2:

14 Night Italy & Turkey on Celebrity Constellation on 19th July.

Starts in Venice with an overnight in Venice and ends in Rome, so you can do a few days in both cities. Covers some amazing ports - Santorini, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Istanbul (overnight), Athens and Dubrovnik! And it has 3 sea days to catch a breadth from the port intensive itinerary. The only con is that its not on an S class ship (we love them) and this ship is smaller. However no large cruise ships are allowed in Venice now so if you intend to cruise into/ out of Venice this is the best choice.

 

Time to start planning my next cruise now!

[Despegue]

The reply regarding the advice to avoid Turkey is just silly and frankly does not know what he/she is talking about.

 

Turkish Holiday destinations, including Kusadasi, Izmir and Istanbul are perfectly safe for all Nationalities.

Thousands of Americans visit Turkey on a daily basis, there is NO travel warning issued for any Turkish Holiday destination and the Turkish people are some of the most hospitable folks around.

The Turkish government is NOT anti-America.

Turkey is a SECULAR country by the way.

 

I feel safer in Turkey than in some parts of the USA for many reasons.

[Banjo]

I have only taken 2 Celebrity cruises in the Mediterranean both were outstanding.

 

First was on the Solstice that departed from Barcelona in the Fall, '12 that did the Western Med. The highlight I thought was the Dalmatian Coast and the overnight in Venice. The 2nd was on the Reflection that departed from Civitavecchia in the Fall '13 that did Eastern Med. The highlight of that cruise was the Athens, Ephesus and the over night in Istanbul. BTW, we wandered the streets and markets of Istanbul and had no problems. We found the Turks to be very nice.

 

The only negative we found on the cruise was dealing with Civitavecchia. It is good expensive distance from Rome. Fortunately I rented a car (drove around Italy a few days prior to the cruise) and was able to turn the car in a block or two from the gate to the terminal areas. Also when arriving we had a long queue just get on the shuttle to Reflection's departing terminal.

Edited December 3, 2014 by Banjo

[Hlitner]

Not sure why anyone would want to avoid Turkey. It is a fascinating country and we have always found the Turks to be good hosts. In fact, on our strong recommendation our DD and her BF recently spent 2 weeks traveling in Turkey and totally loved their trip. Having traveled extensively to over 100 countries (on cruises and land trips) the city of Istanbul ranks as one of our personal top 5 cities in the world. And ballooning over Capadocia is an amazing experience (although this is not something that can be done from a cruise).

 

Hank

[rua642]

Since your husband has never been to Europe I would book a cruise out of Civitavecchia. This way you can spend a few days pre or post cruise exploring Rome. No other city on the Mediterranean has as much to see or do as Rome. BTW there are many wonderful ports on a Mediterranean cruise and, whichever you choose, you'll have a great time.

[StartrainDD]

We've done two - 12 nights. Roundtrip Barcelona and Roundtrip Istanbul. We enjoyed both, but if I had to pick one the roundtrip Istanbul (Constellation) was the better cruise.

 

Why? The distances from the port to "What you want to see" are very long on the Eastern Med trip. This makes for long and exhausting port days. The Turkey/Greece ports are pretty much everything is near the port, in some cases, walking distance. Never more than 15-30 minutes by car/bus.

 

I second the comments above - we really enjoyed both Turkey (all the ports - spend extra time in Istanbul if you can) and Greece. Never felt threatened at all although riding the public trams in Istanbul is certainly an experience!:eek:

[ondeckatsea]

We've done 3 Med cruises and are looking forward to our 4th this October. They are all wonderful and we would repeat any of them but we did love Dubrovnik and Kotor, Montenegro. Kusadasi in Turkey was also very special, especially to see Ephesus. Each time we have been to the standard ports like Livorno, Naples and Civitaveccia we have found a different thing to see. Excuse my spelling!

[AquaAdventurer]

Remember that Florence isn't on the sea coast. You'll have at least a 90 minute drive each way to get there

 

But certainly well worth the effort - and you could stop at Pisa on the way. We focused on time in Florence and don't regret it.

[AquaAdventurer]

. . .

 

The distances from the port to "What you want to see" are very long on the Eastern Med trip. This makes for long and exhausting port days. The Turkey/Greece ports are pretty much everything is near the port, in some cases, walking distance. Never more than 15-30 minutes by car/bus.

 

I second the comments above - we really enjoyed both Turkey (all the ports - spend extra time in Istanbul if you can) and Greece. Never felt threatened at all although riding the public trams in Istanbul is certainly an experience!:eek:

Appreciate that bit of info. Haven't done Eastern Med yet but want to.

[ptrpanpens]

Definitely start or end in Istanbul, then plan to spend at least 5-6 days there in this amazing city. It is the only city that has more beautiful sail away views than Venice, IMO. Overnight is not nearly enough time to enjoy everything this city has to offer. I cannot wait to get back for a longer stay even though I was there almost a week in october. And it is totally safe. i walked around by myself at all hours with no problems. Everything is open until very late. And prices are way cheaper than any large city in Europe.

 

If not Istanbul, I would choose the Adriatic itinerary, also outstanding, with an overnight in Venice.

[royalcruz]

We did an eastern itinerary this year and my favorite port to wander around was Mykonos. The architecture was so cute and we enjoyed the cafes. There was lots of shopping too. Nice pre/post ports are Rome, Venice, and Barcelona. These cities are easy to tour on your own with good maps.

Edited December 4, 2014 by royalcruz