Med Cruise: Costa, MSC, or RC

[luckybecky]

My daughter wants to do a mother/daughter Mediterranean cruise for her 30th birthday late this year. We would probably go in November or January.

 

It looks like our primary options for a 7 day cruise are Costa, MSC, or Royal Caribbean. I have not cruised on any of these lines. Interested in your thoughts. Assuming they have an itinerary we like and the price is right (they all seem to be running around $500-$750 or so for 7 nights), which of these lines would you choose, and why?

[cruisemom42]

I would look at the itineraries first. Especially if you are considering November or January, you might want to look for an itinerary that hits more ports in the southern part of the Med, rather than, say, Venice or Marseille, which could be cool and rainy that time of year.

 

One important thing I've noticed with both Costa and MSC, who cater more to a European market in the Med, is that their port stops tend to be shorter than lines catering to US markets. It makes a big difference when you have only 6 or so hours in port as opposed to 10-12 hours in terms of what you can see and do.

[Essiesmom]

I would agree with cruisemom. While you would avoid the crowds at that time, you would not be having the warm weather you may be expecting. There is a reason for all of the cruises from Spain to the Canaries then. Your ports would be further north than San Antonio. It is a good time to visit Egypt, though. Or do a cruise through the Suez Canal. EM

[George C]

I have cruised and like all 3, but as already said I think Americans will be in minority for Europe cruises , I really liked our Mediterranean cruise on rccl in 2016 on rccl

[lamchops]

My daughter wants to do a mother/daughter Mediterranean cruise for her 30th birthday late this year. We would probably go in November or January.

 

It looks like our primary options for a 7 day cruise are Costa, MSC, or Royal Caribbean. I have not cruised on any of these lines. Interested in your thoughts. Assuming they have an itinerary we like and the price is right (they all seem to be running around $500-$750 or so for 7 nights), which of these lines would you choose, and why?

 

 

As the others have already said, I would choose based on itinerary first. We have cruised the Mediterranean on all 3 lines but on different itineraries.

 

My choices in order of cruise line preference would be MSC, RCI, and then Costa. My wife would choose RCI over MSC.

I have just recently cruised the Mediterranean twice on the NCL Spirit and would recommend you take a look at them.

 

I have also done the Mediterranean on celebrity and princess. Choose a Mediterranean cruise based on itinerary and price over a cruise line as they are more port intensive than Caribbean Cruises.

My favorites based on itinerary, price and cruise line are:

Celebrity

NCL

RCI

MSC

Princess

Costa

[wowzz]

I really would try and avoid going in December or January. The weather is variable (to put it kindly) and it gets dark early. If you must go at that time of year, I would choose December, for the Christmas decorations and general festive feel. Much less commercialised than in the US.

 

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[wowzz]

I really would try and avoid going in December or January. The weather is variable (to put it kindly) and it gets dark early. If you must go at that time of year, I would choose December, for the Christmas decorations and general festive feel. Much less commercialised than in the US.

 

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Sorry - just saw that you said November, not December. Definitely go in November, the earlier the better.

 

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[luckybecky]

Thanks all for the excellent and informative suggestions. That's why I love Cruise Critic.

 

We are just in the earliest stages of thinking about this. Her birthday is November 11 and she has been thinking for a few years now about wanting to do a special trip for her 30th. She's single, and had vague plans to do a trip to Australia with a friend. But the friend now says she can't go and my daughter is trying to come up with plan B.

 

Our jobs don't let us take too much time off around the holidays. I'm in health care -- a 24/7 job -- and she's a supervisor at Costco. Obviously the busiest time of year for her. So taking a lot of time off around the holidays is tough. That's why we are thinking first 2 weeks of November, or January. Taking any sort of extended time off in December or including any holiday is just not an option for either of us.

 

We know it will be cold but that's OK. Less crowds would be nice. But I forgot to think about how the daylight hours will be much shorter too. The shorter port times is news to me. I had not realized that might be an issue. However even at that time of year I see a lot of cruises come up when I do a simple search on travel websites. I mean, they are still out there cruising although clearly we would not be doing any beachy excursions.

 

Essiesmom, I get your point. And I have always wanted to see Egypt. But given the current geopolitical climate and threats of terrorism, I'm just not too comfortable with going there.

 

We will keep working on finding just the right trip for her. I would LOVE to cruise the Med again, even in winter. So maybe we can work something out. Keep your ideas and suggestions coming, too! I really appreciate hearing ideas from experienced travellers.

 

Bon voyage!

[FionaMG]

I am wondering if you can swing it to come even just a little bit earlier, say in October? You would have more cruises to choose from (remember that from September to November the US cruise lines begin taking their ships back across the Atlantic to winter in sunnier climes), better weather (January can be particularly miserable here) and more daylight hours (clocks go back across most of Europe on the last Sunday in October, so it gets dark much earlier). Also, some of the smaller ports may be closing down or even already closed for the winter, although that obviously is not the case for the big cities.

[Velvetwater]

January won't be great if you want to experience the Med...many tour operators and smaller places of interest will be closed or have high prices. The weather will be on the chilly side too (Think Spring). This is why Royal is not an option for this month.

 

November things will be closing too but it would be slightly better. Most options will be available.

 

As another poster said, October will be better for weather and things to do. You can happily enjoy the Med and swim in the southern areas. I often used to holiday at this time as a kid and the weather was just perfect.

I cruised before my 30th (for my 30th) and it was fine...it was still my birthday cruise!

 

If you do go in October and don't ant lots of families or kids avoid the week 20th-28th October as British kids have their half term break and a few other European nations will be as well.

[jocap]

January won't be great if you want to experience the Med...many tour operators and smaller places of interest will be closed or have high prices. The weather will be on the chilly side too (Think Spring). This is why Royal is not an option for this month.

 

November things will be closing too but it would be slightly better. Most options will be available.

 

As another poster said, October will be better for weather and things to do. You can happily enjoy the Med and swim in the southern areas. I often used to holiday at this time as a kid and the weather was just perfect.

I cruised before my 30th (for my 30th) and it was fine...it was still my birthday cruise!

 

If you do go in October and don't ant lots of families or kids avoid the week 20th-28th October as British kids have their half term break and a few other European nations will be as well.

Whilst I agree with what you've said, I want to comment about half term holiday... we often went to the Med during that week, and discovered that in both Spain and Greece, the locals were very aware of the UK holiday, and would inform us that their shops/museums/boat trips would be closing down as soon as the UK kids were back in school. Once, in Mallorca, we were told that they would close when (a large TA company which also has cruise ships) left the island after the UK-ers had gone back to school, and on Santorini a boat crew were waiting for us all to go home then they would sail to Athens to wait out the winter...:o

So, perhaps that last week might be a good time to go...:)

[Velvetwater]

Whilst I agree with what you've said, I want to comment about half term holiday... we often went to the Med during that week, and discovered that in both Spain and Greece, the locals were very aware of the UK holiday, and would inform us that their shops/museums/boat trips would be closing down as soon as the UK kids were back in school. Once, in Mallorca, we were told that they would close when (a large TA company which also has cruise ships) left the island after the UK-ers had gone back to school, and on Santorini a boat crew were waiting for us all to go home then they would sail to Athens to wait out the winter...:o

So, perhaps that last week might be a good time to go...:)

 

I think the half term week is a great week in the Med but just warning OP about the kids situation as they may be surprised to find all our lot on package holidays etc :)

 

I teach so seeing kids on holidays is my normal.

 

Maybe its a Middle eastern and Arabic thing (Turkey, Egypt and Tunisa) but some owners told us they would be open for a few more weeks as they can get a bit more trade from people finishing up.