Which one should I choose?

[toothy26]

Mediterranean cruise:

Jewel of the Seas-Rome,Corsica,Toulon,Barcelona,Valencia,Palma de Majorca,Naples

or

Harmony of the Seas-Barcelona,Palma de Majorca,Marseille,Florence,Rome,Naples

Jewel is 8 days and Harmony is 7

Both would be in September

Thanks for any input.

Edited October 3, 2015 by toothy26
spelling

[Clarea]

Jewel for me. Longer cruise and the ability to see outside.

[toothy26]

Would I be missing out by not seeing Florence or Marseille?

I have been reading that Corsica may not be a very exciting port.

[broberts]

Would I be missing out by not seeing Florence or Marseille?

I have been reading that Corsica may not be a very exciting port.

 

Everyone has different criteria for judging ports.

 

I would lean towards Jewel for the extra night. But Florence and a new ship would likely convince me to choose Harmony.

[Clarea]

Would I be missing out by not seeing Florence or Marseille?

I have been reading that Corsica may not be a very exciting port.

If you have not been to Florence, then that may be something you don't want to miss. For us, we've been there, so the extra day on the cruise means more.

[ken_nyc]

We picked the Harmony for next June!

[toothy26]

We chose the Jewel

[xpcdoojk]

flowrider, I will take Harmony. The problem is so many of the ports require significant bus rides to reach the places you want to visit.

 

jc

[Nado44]

Harmony. Brand new ship with all the bells and whistles. My personal opinion is that Florence is best seen via a land-based vacation and not via cruise. It's also too long of a trip to get there from the ship/coast. I hate sitting on a bus for hours.

 

Jewel. Extra night. Great ship with lots of glass. But not new. Will be rehabbed in April 2016. Great itinerary/ports especially Valencia.

 

I would've chose the Jewel over the Harmony - and save Harmony for the Caribbean or even a TA.

[robmab]

We just came off the Allure with the same itinerary that will be on the Harmony.

 

My advice:

Florence is WAY too far from the La Spezia port. If you want to see Pisa or Lucca, that is doable from La Spezia, but if you have your heart set on spending time in Florence, you will not get enough time during that port stop to actually experience the city. I agree with the poster who said it's better as a land stop.

 

Marseilles is not the most exciting port city either, but I believe it's very similar to Toulon. We took a wine tour of Provence that day, which you could also do from Toulon.

 

With such a port-intensive cruise, you will barely even see the ship. We loved the Allure, but wished we'd done it on an itinerary with more sea days and fewer long days of sightseeing. We were simply too tired to stay up late and go to the shows and parties because we'd worn ourselves out in port every day.

 

I'd probably choose the Jewel because I love the size of that ship (and the thermal suite in the spa is my favorite of any spa on any ship).

Edited October 6, 2015 by robmab

[impatientlywaiting]

The Jewel would win out over the bigger ship all the time for us! Plus it's an extra day! But we prefer the "smaller" ships anyway!

[Ashland]

I would opt for the HOTS....due to more onboard options , dining, promenade etc..

 

Have done similar itinerary on JOS...we had plenty of time In Florence on the ship offered DIY (and usually never a fan of ship offered excursions)...one of our favorite ports...Toulon was our least favorite.

 

While the Radiance class has usually been a favorite of ours (just off ROS and JOS recently) I am starting to miss many things the larger ships offer...and the choice of doing the med on a new ship not a hard choice for me.

 

Excited to have booked the HOTS for March 2017.

[toothy26]

I think we will save the Harmony for another itinerary when we can really enjoy all the ship has to offer. I agree that with so many ports with mainly all day long trips, we will be so tired to enjoy all the ship amenities. Can someone recommend any hotels in Rome or any excursions taken from the ship to any of the ports?

[gibbycat]

I'm taking a Cruise next May and booked Hotel Nerva in Rome. It has excellent reviews and decent pricing.

[papaflamingo]

I would lean toward Jewel. These are both very "port intensive" cruises. You will spend most of your time on shore and will be tired and resting when on the ship. Harmony is really a ship designed as the "destination." You won't really be able to enjoy all she will offer. Having said that, it also depends on price and what YOU want to see. If it's the same price, do the itinerary you find more attractive. But if you are torn, I think the smaller passenger load of Jewel would be a plus for me. Ports can get quite crowded and Harmony will be dumping 6000 passengers in each port, Jewel about 2500.

Nice "dilemma" to have though.