Can't decide! Grandiosa or Seaview - Oct. or Dec.!

[traveltripper]

Hi everyone - hoping some insight here can help us decide. We are between two cruises. We are 2 adults in our mid-40s, no kids. This will be our 5th cruise and 3rd time to Europe. We've traveled on land to London, Paris and Amsterdam and cruised the Baltic region (Scandinavia and Russia).

 

Cruise #1: MSC Seaview, leaving Rome on 10/23/19

Ports (6) - No sea days: Cannes, France; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Barcelona, Spain; Ajaccio, Corsica, France; Genoa, Italy; La Spezia, Italy

 

Cruise #2: MSC Grandiosa, leaving Rome on 12/08/19

Ports (5) - 1 sea day: Palermo, Sicily, Italy; Valletta, Malta; Barcelona, Spain; Marseille, France; Genoa, Italy

 

We are torn between wanting the nice new Grandiosa (and Cirque de Soleil!) and the possibly better weather of the Seaview itinerary. I love both itineraries, but am leaning toward Cruise #1 in October due to hitting La Spezia (Cinque Terre). I should mention that the MSC Divina also sails in Oct but it wasn't as appealing to us as the other ships.

 

Thoughts?? HALP! LOL

[hamrag]

Seaview gets my vote, better itinerary and better weather...Cinque Terre is stunning!

[traveltripper]

7 minutes ago, hamrag said:

Seaview gets my vote, better itinerary and better weather...Cinque Terre is stunning!

 

Thanks! Honestly, I think I'm being lured by the fancy newer ship and Cirque du Soleil. Funny too, because these trips are so busy that at night we really just like dinner, hot tub, and sleep!

 

Wondering about how nice the Seaview is however...it is fairly new, yes?

[hamrag]

2 minutes ago, traveltripper said:

Wondering about how nice the Seaview is however...it is fairly new, yes?

 

Yes, less than a year!

[traveltripper]

I checked Weather Underground, temps do look a lot nicer in Oct. Anyone else have thoughts on the topic or itinerary?

[traveltripper]

Just found a Grandiosa trip on 11/24/19. Think the weather is still better in Oct.? We are in Denver so would like to avoid cold. And by cold, I mean we are at a high of 32 today. BRRR.

 

The itinerary may not be as good. Same as the Dec. itinerary: 

Ports (5) - 1 sea day: Palermo, Sicily, Italy; Valletta, Malta; Barcelona, Spain; Marseille, France; Genoa, Italy

[CruiseIreland]

I would choose Seaview for the following reasons:

1. Sail earlier, better weather, calmer seas(usually)

2. No sea days, which are, to me, a bit of  a waste, and 

3. 6 ports rather than 5. You can always stay onboard if you're inclined.

Repeat # 1. Ken

[portofrome]

I did the Seaview cruise last November and I will be on Grandiosa this year on December. I dont care about the weather because November and December are almost the same here in the Mediterranean. Book the cruise that you think is right for you!

[traveltripper]

3 minutes ago, CruiseIreland said:

I would choose Seaview for the following reasons:

1. Sail earlier, better weather, calmer seas(usually)

2. No sea days, which are, to me, a bit of  a waste, and 

3. 6 ports rather than 5. You can always stay onboard if you're inclined.

Repeat # 1. Ken

 

Very good points. Honestly, it's not like we don't have Cirque du Soleil in our home city. And it's not like we haven't seen it in Las Vegas, Nevada. I get sea sick and wear the patch. But I still like calmer seas. I agree on sea days. Although sometimes I think they are a nice break. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.

[traveltripper]

2 minutes ago, portofrome said:

I did the Seaview cruise last November and I will be on Grandiosa this year on December. I dont care about the weather because November and December are almost the same here in the Mediterranean. Book the cruise that you think is right for you!

 

Hi! How did you like the Seaview? Pretty busy itinerary, huh? Curious how you liked the ports and if you have any words of wisdom or caution.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I did this same research and chose the Seaview [in late September].  Cinque Terre was one of the big draws – but ironically we have decided not to do it as a shore excursion because you can only see a little bit of it and it will be at its worst [with 1000s of other cruise passengers clogging the tiny streets and paths].  We will go back on a future trip and spend several days in Cinque Terre, so we can enjoy the villages in the evening when all the cruise pax have gone.   Instead we are doing the ship's Lucca & Wine Tasting excursion, followed by a DIY walk around La Spezia.  

 

But the rest of the itinerary is still really good:  

•  we're starting/ending in Barcelona and spending several days there pre-cruise [to cover jet lag, lost bags, and sightseeing];

•  Ajaccio, Corsica, ship's excursion Discover the Calanques;

•  Genoa, ship's excursion Genoa & Palazzo del Principe, then DIY in Genoa to go inside the Cathedral and Aquarium;

•  La Spezia, as mentioned ship's excursion Lucca & Wine Tasting at Montecarlo, then DIY walk around La Spezia;

•  Civitavecchia, not going to kill ourselves trying to get to Rome, instead ship's excursion Tuscania and Tarquinia, followed by DIY walk around Civitavecchia;

•  Cannes, DIY train to Antibes and DIY walk around Cannes;

•  Palma de Mallorca, DIY rental car to Valldemossa, Miramar, Son Marroig, Deia, Robert Graves Museum, Soller, and Fornalutx [as suggested in Cruise Critic Ports of Call forum];

•  Barcelona, disembarkation and flight home.

[All the 'DIY walks' are Rick Steves walking tours from his Italy and Provence books]

 

We generally avoid ship's excursions [too crowded, too expensive, too many potty and shopping breaks] – but because people will be starting their cruise at different ports, it seems that Cruise Critic roll calls don't work for MSC in Europe – and many of these stops are at odd times or in smaller ports so I couldn't find third-party group tours to join.  At least the MSC excursions seem well priced.  I just hope I don't feel trapped in a cattle car every day! 

[portofrome]

36 minutes ago, traveltripper said:

 

Hi! How did you like the Seaview? Pretty busy itinerary, huh? Curious how you liked the ports and if you have any words of wisdom or caution.

I usually spend all my birthday on board in the Yacht club of the Msc ship and the Seaview is very nice ship! Port calls are good and very easy to visit on your own. Shows were nice but I do prefere the cirque du soleil shows and this is why my next cruise will be on thd Grandiosa...

[Fostelo]

I picked the seaview in October then im doing Grandiosa the following april 😊

[traveltripper]

Hi Hostjazzbeau: I love your plans/itinerary. We are starting in Rome. Similar to you, we plan on spending a few days there, then boarding the ship.

 

We rarely do the ship excursions and really love doing Rick Steves' walks. Cinque Terre is a big deal for me so I'd want to hike between the towns and train around. I read somewhere that you can get a day pass and take the train often.

 

To the others that posted, yeah, Cirque du Soleil is a big deal to me, but I don't pay this kind of money to do that when I can see it in my hometown or close by. Also, I'm usually so tired from touring the cities that watching a show won't be fun for me. That said, I'm jealous for those booked on the Grandiosa! I'm also wary of cruising in December. We live in snowy Colorado and really really don't want cold weather. Have fun everyone!

[Fostelo]

I sailed seaview last july for 2 weeks round the med and honestly you will love this ship it’s probably the best ship I’ve sailed, last year seaview was sailing the same itinerary as the Grandiosa one , this year it’s a new itinerary for seaview and one of the reasons i chose to sail seaview again in October from cannes. I will be doing the usual med loop on Bellissima in 87 days for 2 weeks and Grandiosa june next year ( sorry i put april in previous post🙈 getting mixed up with my Virtuosa sailing april 2021). I must also say that seaview is a wonderfully designed ship for quiet relaxing places in the sun and gives amazing views of sunsets and sail aways. Msc has a great video on a utube of seaview 🤫😊👌🏻

[Até]

I would also pick cruise #1.  Not just based on the better time of year and itinerary, but also based on ship class.  I'm already nervous about a future booking due to overcrowding reports on Meraviglia, I would really think twice before booking a Meraviglia+ ship (Grandiosa), or at least wait to see some reviews.  Seaside class handles the number of people fairly well in my opinion.

[traveltripper]

Thanks Fostelo and Ate!! It's a hard choice for me because Cruise #2 has Marseille and Malta. But Cruise #1 has more ports, better chance for weather, and La Spezia.

 

Appreciate the thoughts on the ship class.

 

Our Baltic cruise was on the Princess Regal. It was awesome. No crowds, and every night we sat in the hot tubs resting our feet. We aren't big partiers and really enjoyed dinners and walking around the ship.

[Fostelo]

Seaview is perfect for evening strolls along the outdoor promenade 👌🏻

[traveltripper]

4 hours ago, Fostelo said:

Seaview is perfect for evening strolls along the outdoor promenade 👌🏻

In late October? Sure hope so because I'm just about 99% sold on this trip. :)

[traveltripper]

Hey! So we did book the Seaview in late October, boarding in Rome. But we are considering switching to the Barcelona embarkation port since flights are much better there. I've tried emailing MSC to no avail (no surprise there). Anyone know if this switch can be easily done? I checked and it seems they have plenty of cabins available. 

[Preziosa]

Hurry up and change to Barcelona, it s is much Easyer to board in Barcelona. Taxa from airport to Romes harbour is Very expensive.

[hamrag]

19 minutes ago, traveltripper said:

Hey! So we did book the Seaview in late October, boarding in Rome. But we are considering switching to the Barcelona embarkation port since flights are much better there. I've tried emailing MSC to no avail (no surprise there). Anyone know if this switch can be easily done? I checked and it seems they have plenty of cabins available. 

 

Cabin availability is not the issue...what matters are the terms & conditions of your contract! They will allow you to do this, but there will be an admin fee as a minimum. WCS is you lose the deposit, and have to rebook!

[traveltripper]

Ah, really good point. I always forget about the T&C. Hope I don't have to rebook. We used a 10% coupon...

[lesley_willis1971]

On 3/5/2019 at 12:09 PM, traveltripper said:

Just found a Grandiosa trip on 11/24/19. Think the weather is still better in Oct.? We are in Denver so would like to avoid cold. And by cold, I mean we are at a high of 32 today. BRRR.

 

The itinerary may not be as good. Same as the Dec. itinerary: 

Ports (5) - 1 sea day: Palermo, Sicily, Italy; Valletta, Malta; Barcelona, Spain; Marseille, France; Genoa, Italy

I'm on this sailing, so it gets my vote!! Lol But in all seriousness, I went to these same ports in 2014 in November and the weather was perfect.

[OceansOfTravels]

I just did the Grandiosa itinerary on the Seaview 😉

 

Seaview is easily my favorite ship to date, so I'm going to have to go with that. Very large, very modern, and lots to do onboard. Plus, that itinerary has some better stops, and if you're looking to save money, better places to do it, since at least for me, I found that the itinerary the Grandiosa is on is muuuuuuch better if you are putting out money for expensive excursions. The itinerary that you would take on the Seaview has ports where the beach is the draw, which will likely be much cheaper than a long tour to something like Pompeii, Sorrento, Taormina, Avignon, etc. Plus, you mention better weather is a draw, so take advantage! The Cinque Terre is gorgeous, and you could use your Genoa day as an impromtu "sea day" and splurge while in La Spezia for the gorgeous italian coast. Def another vote for the Seaview option