Please Help: First Mediterranean Cruise

[botbien]

Hello,

 

I am planning our first Mediterranean cruise for June 2023 and would like to hear your suggestions of cruiseline and itinerary as the information is overwhelming.  We would like to visit Santorini and Rome for sure.  What else?

 

Thank you very much.

[CruiserBruce]

Med cruises are very port, history, culture and architecture driven. Time in port tends to be longer...lots of things to do. Not many sea days. Lots of extended tour opportunities. But all worth it, in the long run.

 

It sounds like you are aiming to what is referred to as the Eastern Med. Most cruise lines do them. If you have a favorite cruise line, expect their standard product in Europe. Start there.

 

Also do reading on the other ports boards here.

[mapleleaves]

There's no shortcut to finding the best itinerary and cruiseline for your trip;  you'll just have to do some research like the rest of us .

Visit your library and borrow a few travel books. There are books specific to cruising. I bought Rick Steve's book  "mediterranean cruise ports' and Anne Vipond's 'mediterranean by cruiseship'.  Learn about all the different ports, their sights and activities, then it will be easier to make a decision about an itinerary. 

As you look at itineraries, be mindful of port times; you want to be in port long enough to participate in planned activities.

Look at forums like Celebrity, NCL, RCI, Princess, etc  and watch for trip reports.  They're a great source of information. 

Have fun with your research and planning!

[carlmm]

You got very good advice to do a lot of research to find the perfect match.

Yet, if you are overwhelmed anyway, there is the other option to keep it simple: You know two places you like to see, thus use one of those online agencies where you can enter ports as a research criteria, take a rough look on the offers and choose the line that first most to your idea of cruising.

For a first cruise here all ports will provide some great experience.

[marazul]

Can't emphasize enough about port times. Quite often they are price related.  Some cruises may  cost a little less,  but they may be in port for only 4 or 5 hours.  Others may do something crazy like Ephesus in the morning and Patmos in the afternoon. 

Compare the itineraries and the time in each port.

[Hlitner]

12 hours ago, botbien said:

Hello,

 

I am planning our first Mediterranean cruise for June 2023 and would like to hear your suggestions of cruiseline and itinerary as the information is overwhelming.  We would like to visit Santorini and Rome for sure.  What else?

 

Thank you very much.

Rome is a huge city and worthy of many days, not just a truncated port day with hours spent just getting to and from the port.  So you might want to limit your search to a cruise that either embarks of disembarks at Rome (Civatavecchia) and then extend your trip a few extra days to stay and begin to appreciate Rome.

 

Hank

[Yesimapirate]

On 6/17/2022 at 10:25 PM, Hlitner said:

Rome is a huge city and worthy of many days, not just a truncated port day with hours spent just getting to and from the port.  So you might want to limit your search to a cruise that either embarks of disembarks at Rome (Civatavecchia) and then extend your trip a few extra days to stay and begin to appreciate Rome.

 

Hank

I completely agree.   Although I'd take it further. 

 

There's so much history and culture in Italy that I wouldn't do it with a cruise through Greece.  You're litterally looking at the Roman civilization, the Renaissance and modern history.   There of the longest, most studied and important areas of history.   Its overwhelming and amazing.   I can't imagine adding Greek history, religion and culture to it.

 

My feeling is split them into 2 trips,  spend some time refreshing yourself on the history and then go, explore and have a better time because of a deeper understanding. 

[ski ww]

Does cost/time influence your choice? Do you have time / money for 7,14,21 day cruise? Will you be back for another cruise? Take a longer cruise and see a bit of everything, or a shorter cruise & see a couple of places. There is so much to see & experience in the Med. What ever you decide enjoy your cruise.

[Over from NZ]

On 6/18/2022 at 1:56 AM, botbien said:

Hello,

 

I am planning our first Mediterranean cruise for June 2023 and would like to hear your suggestions of cruiseline and itinerary as the information is overwhelming.  We would like to visit Santorini and Rome for sure.  What else?

 

Thank you very much.

As others have said.. 1 day in Rome won't cut the mustard lol. Our first cruise over there, we made sure to start and finish in different ports. It ended in Rome and then we had 3 nights there before flying home. That was 'just' enough to squeeze in quite a few of the major things. We started in Athens and went to Santorini day 2. Funnily enough, we're going back June 2023. I would recommend stacking a few cruises against each other and see what has the most of your 'must see' ports. You won't get them all in one go and will need to sacrifice some. 

[botbien]

Thank you every one for your inputs.  It's very helpful. I think we have to do another cruise just for Greece.  For the 2023 summer, we will visit Italy, Spain and France.  Happy travels.