Your Thoughts on Inaugural Cruises

[bluwes]

We did the Dream inaugural in 2009 and the Breeze in 2012. Both times they had run 3 night cruises for local travel trade in europe before they allowed fare paying passengers on board. So everything was ready.

 

we also sailed on the Magic on it third cruise, we didnt notice any difference in the readiness of the ships on their inaugural sailings.

 

Only issue we had was on the Dream, there were lots of non english speakers on board and the muster drill became a farce as they expained everything in russian, french, italian and english. It took forever. Didnt have the same issues on the Breeze,

 

As far as goodies, we got a coffee table book, special pins and on the Breeze a commerative coffee mug as well.

 

We will be sailing on the Vista in its first season , but more likely one of the September sailings as we have a couple of beach breaks booked for earlier in the year.

 

One more thing to point out is the inuagural sailing will embark from Trieste which is a two hour train ride from Venice as the big ships have voluntarily declared they will not sail out of there.

Edited January 23, 2015 by bluwes

[CruisingSoon88]

Ephesus Turkey is an incredible destination. Valletta, Malta is the most impressive arrival/sail away harbor in the Med (except Venice) and a beautiful city to visit. Athens has the monuments and history of western civilization. Hard to pass up any of those.

 

Naples would be nice because of the opportunity to tour the Amalfi coast, but I'd trade it for those three. We've been to Heraklion, Crete. It was enjoyable but not anything special compared to a lot of med ports. We haven't been to Palermo, but we did like Messina a lot. So I agree with your assessment of the two itineraries.

 

You didn't mention Dubrovnik. Is it on both? Dubrovnik is a hidden gem on med cruises. Almost no one who hasn't been knows much about it. Everyone who has will tell you what a happy surprise it was to them.

 

Thank you for this information. I had no idea about Valleta. I was hoping that people would chime in about these ports because I am just now beginning to research and am admittedly lacking in my European port knowledge. :)

 

Yes, Dubrovnik is on both sailings. Both dates also visit Marseilles, Livorno and Rome. I appreciate everyone's responses.

[CruisingSoon88]

We did the Dream inaugural in 2009 and the Breeze in 2012. Both times they had run 3 night cruises for local travel trade in europe before they allowed fare paying passengers on board. So everything was ready.

 

we also sailed on the Magic on it third cruise, we didnt notice any difference in the readiness of the ships on their inaugural sailings.

 

Only issue we had was on the Dream, there were lots of non english speakers on board and the muster drill became a farce as they expained everything in russian, french, italian and english. It took forever. Didnt have the same issues on the Breeze,

 

As far as goodies, we got a coffee table book, special pins and on the Breeze a commerative coffee mug as well.

 

We will be sailing on the Vista in its first season , but more likely one of the September sailings as we have a couple of beach breaks booked for earlier in the year.

 

One more thing to point out is the inuagural sailing will embark from Trieste which is a two hour train ride from Venice as the big ships have voluntarily declared they will not sail out of there.

 

Just curious about your remark about Trieste. Should this be a concern? I did a mock plane ticket estimate using similar dates for this year since they do not reserve that far ahead. DH was concerned that multi-city tickets would be more than round trip to Barcelona. Surprisingly, the tickets were about $300 less per person flying to Trieste and then back from Barcelona. Who knows if this will still be the case next year, but I was happy to see that they were less.

[RD64]

Regarding airfare to Trieste - at least from Toronto, Canada - it is usually cheaper to fly to Trieste than Venice. I usually go Toronto - Munich - Trieste, and find it very convenient. The connecting flight is through Air Dolomiti. There are also connections from Frankfurt I believe.

[old sole]

Thank you for this information. I had no idea about Valleta. I was hoping that people would chime in about these ports because I am just now beginning to research and am admittedly lacking in my European port knowledge. :)

 

Yes, Dubrovnik is on both sailings. Both dates also visit Marseilles, Livorno and Rome. I appreciate everyone's responses.

 

You're welcome.

 

I would recommend the Rick Steves guidebook "Mediterranean Cruise Ports". You can find it on Amazon or any bookstore. The first half of that book covers cruiselines and cruising in general and has very little new information for moderately experienced cruisers, but the second half has great detailed information on points of interest in each port, tips for getting around, and good practical advice on dealing with guides, what you can do on your own, etc. I found it extremely helpful in my pre-cruise research prior to both of our med cruises.

[afamnheidi]

I did the Dream's 1st cruise out of Europe in 2009. I had a blast. Many of the ports we stopped at had custom signs welcoming the ship on her first cruise. I do agree though, a 13 day cruise with that many ports is extremely tiring. I remember my day in Naples/Capri/Pompeii was twelves hours of walking everywhere (with some buses in between)! I couldn't even go to dinner after that shore excursion. I simply went to bed so I could wake up for the next day's shore excursion. Also, all the hot tubs were not working for at least 1/2 of the trip so I couldn't even rest my sore tootsies in hot bubbles.

 

BUT it was still amazing. I have thousands of pictures from that trip and so many good memories! I'm ready to do it all again with my husband on May 1st 2016 because we're booked in Havana Cabana #5215!! Can't wait!

[krismas_tina]

I went to Europe for the first time on the Sunshine in 2013. Best vacation of my life. Some people prefer to travel to Europe on land vacations, but for our first time it was perfect. We didn't have to worry about transportation or hotels or much of anything. And we discovered what our favorites were.

For so long, I had dreamed of traveling to Venice. It just looked so magical. It turns out I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. But, I ended up falling in love with Barcelona, somewhere I had never wanted to visit.

I have no experience on inaugural cruises, but I think the Sunshine was the exception rather than the rule. And if little things are not perfect or finished, it probably won't matter. You will be so caught up in the magic of Europe (and probably so exhausted at night) that you may not even notice.

I hope you get your cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[afamnheidi]

I went to Europe for the first time on the Sunshine in 2013. Best vacation of my life. Some people prefer to travel to Europe on land vacations, but for our first time it was perfect. We didn't have to worry about transportation or hotels or much of anything. And we discovered what our favorites were.

For so long, I had dreamed of traveling to Venice. It just looked so magical. It turns out I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. But, I ended up falling in love with Barcelona, somewhere I had never wanted to visit.

I have no experience on inaugural cruises, but I think the Sunshine was the exception rather than the rule. And if little things are not perfect or finished, it probably won't matter. You will be so caught up in the magic of Europe (and probably so exhausted at night) that you may not even notice.

I hope you get your cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I agree with Venice... I don't know why its so glorified. Both times I've been it was packed with people, stinky, and covered in trash and graffiti. The water in the canals is a hideous green color, looks like sewage.

[CruisingSoon88]

Thanks for all of your comments and advice. I agree with many of you saying that sometimes the places that you always thought would be awesome turn out to be a little disappointing. I think this is true even in the Caribbean. I always wanted to go to Aruba and then when we went I was just like ok here we are. It was beautiful, but I think we build up these far away fantasy places in our head so much that they can't live up to our expectations.

 

I am making progress with DH. He cracks me up being uncomfortable with the unknown. He started cruising when he was young with his parents so cruises and the Caribbean are very familiar. Europe is a different story. He's like how will we get to the ship and where will we stay the night before? I told him that it is just a different continent, not a different planet. They still have hotels and taxis there. LOL

 

I think we are past worrying about it being the inaugural. Most likely it will be minor things if any that are not perfected. Like you guys have said, we will probably be too tired to notice. All of you that have shared positive experiences about your inaugural cruises have helped a ton. Thanks again everyone!:)

[CruisingSoon88]

You're welcome.

 

I would recommend the Rick Steves guidebook "Mediterranean Cruise Ports". You can find it on Amazon or any bookstore. The first half of that book covers cruiselines and cruising in general and has very little new information for moderately experienced cruisers, but the second half has great detailed information on points of interest in each port, tips for getting around, and good practical advice on dealing with guides, what you can do on your own, etc. I found it extremely helpful in my pre-cruise research prior to both of our med cruises.

 

I will definitely pick this up. It sounds like it will be very useful for us. Thanks again!

[sprint180]

I am looking at booking the June 3rd sailing and was curious if it would be done on time also. Can't wait to see. Seems like forever away but will be here soon.

[rocking-m-cruiser]

I agree with Venice... I don't know why its so glorified. Both times I've been it was packed with people, stinky, and covered in trash and graffiti. The water in the canals is a hideous green color, looks like sewage.

 

and they definitely don't know how to do spaghetti....Ha ha ha...just kidding. :)

[13cheermom]

I have to totally agree with you on Venice, when we sailed on the Sunshine in Oct. 2013, we felt the same way. Most of all the people there were so rude and uninviting of all the European ports we visited. Dubrovnik is a hidden gem and loved it so much. Of course everyone has their own opinion, my advice is to do some research and find what interests you and your family the most. Florence was also a wonderful place to explore on your own and very enjoyable. Anywhere on the Almalfi Coast was breathtaking and the pictures are still on my wallpaper on my phone. Hope you enjoy whatever itinerary you choose, it is a great way to explore Europe for the first time, or actually I would cruise again. Can't beat the hotel waiting for you every day when you return from that long day excursion.