Greece with 21yo daughter

[mgtyson]

I want to book a cruise for my daughter's college graduation this May/June and we are thinking Greece/Italy.  I have never been to Greece and she really wants to travel out of Venice.  I am not sure which cruise line is best for us.  I want something fun for her but not to raunchy for me.  We have cruised some, I love Holland America and am not a fan of Carnival in the US.  I have never traveled Norwegian but haven't heard the best reviews.  Any thought or advice?

[CruiserBruce]

Europe is about the ports, so HAL will work fine for you and your daughter.

[JohninDC]

We were happy with our cruise last summer on RCI Rhapsody out of Venice - stops in Croatia, Montenegro and two ports in Greece.  Read lots of reviews on this board and shop around.  Be sure to spend at least 1-2 days in Venice before your cruise - amazing, beautiful city.

[awatt]

Also make sure you check out the itinerary and how much time spent in each port I.e. are you there for a full day or for 5 hours.

 

With  a 21 y.o. I would choose Royal or NCL

[cruisemom42]

Sailing out of Venice is a wonderful experience but be aware that Venice has temporarily limited the size of ships that can go in through the Giudecca Canal to the port there. So you won't be looking at the really mega-ships.  

 

If you look at lines such as MSC or Costa (Italian lines), be sure you look at the amount of time spent in port (as someone else already mentioned). These lines are known for having shorter port times. Maximizing your time in port is key because you will usually want to be back on board an hour before sailaway, especially if you're doing private tours or venturing off on your own.

[littlelulu01]

I took my daughters on a two week mom/daughters med cruise out of Venice on the Ncl Jade in 2015.  Had lots of Greek and Italy ports plus some extras such as Croatia and Turkey.  We had a fantastic time.  We sailed end of May into June.  Perfect weather but a little hot for some tour days.  Always so nice to get back to our nice clean ship and fresh sheets/comfy beds after long hot days.  One daughter had just finished her year study abroad so she wasn’t 21 and the other daughter was just over 21.

 

Ncl had a program for young adults around my girls age range. Fellow passengers skewed a little more my middle age range but Ncl did an excellent job with the much smaller college crowd. The whole group was only about 20 -30 in this age range and they were a great group/fast friends.  I had originally  picked the sailing as a way to collect daughter and her massive amount of luggage and return her to the states. The extended port times and relatively low number of other ships in port was what sold me on Ncl.

 

Was extremely easy to diy.  It was not a party ship and much of what you read about all the extra charges on Ncl are much easier not to incur on the port intensive Europe sailings.  If you’re in port almost every day all day and doing intense excursions on your own, you’ll likely not be wanting an unlimited “free” beverage package and all the fees associated with it. The bigger Ncl ships with all the extra pay entertainment... choices don’t sail out of Venice.  With all the world class food available in port many eat a lot off the ship instead of spending a bunch on ship’s specialty dining.  Internet with many carriers now available to USA customers so they can get by without expensive ship  internet packages. When I sailed with the kids we had an obstructed ocean view and it was ample space for us three.  We spent a fraction compared to land based.  Subsequently sailed with husband in a suite on similar itinerary but with just myself and girls would have been a waste of $ to spend extra on the room. 

 

Have fun deciding.  Have also sailed holland America (not Europe) and they’re great too. A little older crowd though.  I think they also have some excellent itineraries for Europe. 

[colleenanddoug]

Hi. 
Going to Italy and Greece in April on NCL Spirit- Any suggestions for excursions? We have been to Italy in 2016 on a land tour so really looking for suggestions for the Greek Isles.
Thanks.