Finally, a New Mediterranean Itinerary!

[lackcreativity]

Thank you, Viking!! I have been watching (even begging!) for this for ages.

 

Malta, Morocco & the Mediterranean - Roundtrip Barcelona - Cruise Overview (vikingcruises.com)

 

For my money, just a perfect mix of brand new ports and old favorites, with an overnight in Valetta. We will be there!

 

 

[SantaFe1]

I saw this too. And I was so excited.   I just hope we can still do this in a couple of years, as we are booked out through 2025.  Malta is the last place on my bucket list.  

[CCWineLover]

15 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

Thank you, Viking!! I have been watching (even begging!) for this for ages.

 

Malta, Morocco & the Mediterranean - Roundtrip Barcelona - Cruise Overview (vikingcruises.com)

 

For my money, just a perfect mix of brand new ports and old favorites, with an overnight in Valetta. We will be there!

 

 

You bet!  Booked it on Monday when a friend told us about it.

Rooms are going fast our agent said.

Dec 1 we booked.  Nice too to have a roundtrip from Barcelona.

Someone's already done the Roll Calls for the Nov 16 and Dec 1 cruises.

[lackcreativity]

8 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

You bet!  Booked it on Monday when a friend told us about it.

Rooms are going fast our agent said.

Dec 1 we booked.  Nice too to have a roundtrip from Barcelona.

Someone's already done the Roll Calls for the Nov 16 and Dec 1 cruises.

Uh-oh, maybe I should have waited to post this until we had ours booked! Our calendar is clear for 2024 and 2025, so we have flexibility. I do wish there was an overnight in Barcelona to start, but I guess we will have to come in a day or two early just to be on the safe side. I am very excited. 

[LindaS272]

We booked yesterday for March 2025. Such a deal! Glad to see a new itinerary.

[Pushka]

Malta is fabulous. A real surprise port for us a couple of years ago. 

[stu52]

1 hour ago, LindaS272 said:

We booked yesterday for March 2025. Such a deal! Glad to see a new itinerary.

We did too, see you on that cruise.

[Mrs Miggins]

Sorry but not at all excited about this itinerary.  Especially in the winter.   Malta is great but not an unusual stop on many cruise lines. 4 Sea Days with the other ports being standard (lovely I know but hardly new) Have been to Algeria with Viking.  Many onboard were disappointed.  It was an interesting port but I would not return.  I would certainly advise researching the destinations that are new to you as of course I understand they may be exactly what you are looking for.  

The price point from the UK is high considering those dates would generally be considered Quiet Mediterranean Season with prices lower than the rest of the year.  

[longterm]

6 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Sorry but not at all excited about this itinerary.  Especially in the winter.   Malta is great but not an unusual stop on many cruise lines. 4 Sea Days with the other ports being standard

I have to agree with you; perhaps we're not the norm, but we don't want to take a cruise where 1/4 of the days are sea days. If I'm going to spend the day reading and relaxing, it'll be on my couch. 

[lackcreativity]

Mr. Miggins,

As excited as I am to see this new itinerary, I acknowledge that it is not my perfect itinerary. Perfection, however, is only an idea to strive for, and this one fulfills many of my goals. I agree, I would prefer April or October, but I would much rather be chilly rather than sweltering.

 

I have been most anxious to see Valetta since my daughter and son-in-law visited there several years ago, and an overnight is a real bonus. I know other cruise lines stop there also, and I had begun investigating other options. I am sure they would be fine, but we have only cruised with Viking and they remain our first choice.

 

Casablanca and Cadiz are two more new ports of interest. Corsica is unknown to me, so I am anxious to learn more about that stop. Tunis and Algiers seem to have a challenging history of having to be dropped from planned stops, but I would still hope for a chance to learn about these places very different from our usual destinations.

 

There are still a few other ports that I wish might have been included (Genoa, some places in Sicily that are not Taormina, and Palma de Mallorca) but 16 days with a few sea days is just about right for me. I guess I will have to hope our money and health holds out for a while longer for those!

Edited April 8, 2023 by lackcreativity

[lackcreativity]

6 minutes ago, longterm said:

I have to agree with you; perhaps we're not the norm, but we don't want to take a cruise where 1/4 of the days are sea days. If I'm going to spend the day reading and relaxing, it'll be on my couch. 

In theory I agree, but the older I get the more those little breaks in the action are appreciated. And the sea days are spread out, so that helps.

[Azulann]

2 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

In theory I agree, but the older I get the more those little breaks in the action are appreciated. And the sea days are spread out, so that helps.

I  too appreciate the sea days no matter how many. I am not as young as I used to be ! Your cruise  sounds amazing. My last Viking cruise was out of Malta. it is the most picturesque harbor I have ever sailed out of.Malta is full of  great history. Out Viking tour and guide  was great.

I have been to Cadiz twice  , love just walking around  that Spanish town ,and also Corsica. On Corsica, we went to a little cafe down a back street. We  ordered the cheese and meat platter, wonderful. My frined wanted a Chardonnay. The waiter said NO NO, no French, have Corsica wine only.. She did and it was a great wine. Corsica has a very wild terrain once you are out the the major towns.

I have missed Casablanca on three different cruises.  It is always dropped for various reasons. Hope you get thereon your cruise. 

Edited April 8, 2023 by Azulann

[SJD117]

2 hours ago, longterm said:

I have to agree with you; perhaps we're not the norm, but we don't want to take a cruise where 1/4 of the days are sea days. If I'm going to spend the day reading and relaxing, it'll be on my couch. 

 

How interesting — because the opportunity to break up the port stops with four sea days is a key attraction for us. Different strokes for different folks, apparently.

[CCWineLover]

15 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

We booked yesterday for March 2025. Such a deal! Glad to see a new itinerary.

Linda - we'll be sure to give you the scoop after/while we go in early December. 🙂

 

let's both wish for good health in the almost 2 years to go!!!

[CCWineLover]

15 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

Uh-oh, maybe I should have waited to post this until we had ours booked! Our calendar is clear for 2024 and 2025, so we have flexibility. I do wish there was an overnight in Barcelona to start, but I guess we will have to come in a day or two early just to be on the safe side. I am very excited. 

Like you, I have a lot of wishes about this itinerary.  However, as you said, the search for perfection will leave you sitting on the couch IMHO.  Thankfully there is something for everyone in cruising opportunities since the range of opinions and desires spans the spectrum of passengers 🙂

 

As for cruise beginning and ending ports - we always now go in on our own usually 2 to 7 days ahead of time, and try to stay afterwards as well.  Half the fun is exploring the beginning and ending ports and you don't have to do it with Viking.  Plus it is sort of an insurance, given all the airlines issues!

We are just thankful that we have the time to do so - a few years ago, while working, we'd have had to keep cutting it close.

[Mrs Miggins]

I acknowledge I have been spoiled by visiting many lovely ports in the Med and of course they are only a short hop away from London.

I am booked on a 2 week Azamara in June.  Barcelona, Valencia, Cartagena, Malaga, Gibralter, Seville (not Cadiz ship sails up the river to Seville - Overnight, Lisbon Overnight, Vigo,  La Corunna - Bilbao - Bordeaux Overnight.  There are also 3 10 pm departures.

For me there are 4 New ports plus some lovely favourites.  I booked this because of the itinerary.

I like both Viking and Azamara but my June cruise in a suite on Azamara is over £3000 less than this itinerary.  At a lovely time of the year as well.

I hope to book Viking again as they are a class act - although there were a few hiccups on our last Viking cruise in September.

[Heidi13]

11 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Sorry but not at all excited about this itinerary.  Especially in the winter.   Malta is great but not an unusual stop on many cruise lines. 4 Sea Days with the other ports being standard (lovely I know but hardly new) Have been to Algeria with Viking.  Many onboard were disappointed.  It was an interesting port but I would not return.  I would certainly advise researching the destinations that are new to you as of course I understand they may be exactly what you are looking for.  

The price point from the UK is high considering those dates would generally be considered Quiet Mediterranean Season with prices lower than the rest of the year.  

 

I've also been to most of the Meddy ports. When I completed an entire winter season of Meddy cruising, we used Malta as a TAR a number of times, but we never stopped at any African ports other than Alexandria/Port Said. I'll suggest the safety concerns with those ports are just as valid now as they were in the 70's.

 

With the ongoing unrest in Tunisia and Algeria, I'm surprised Viking are adding these ports, as lots of superior options are available that can include an overnight in Malta. No reason they can't stop at the various islands on the north side of the Meddy, then from Gibraltar head down to Casablanca.

 

If memory is correct, the Straits of Gibraltar are only 8 - 10 miles wide, so it doesn't add that much distance to avoid the 2 African ports, which have a high probability of being missed.

[KBs mum]

Why do Viking not stop at Gibraltar? KBs Dad went there for a few days and didn't manage to see all he wanted to. 

A Greek, Italien/Sicilian, Cyprus, Malta, French, Spanish, Gibraltar itinerary would interest us, but we do not (for human rights/feminist/freedom from religion reasons wish to give money to some of the southern Mediterranean countries

[anaco_angler]

Algeria does not seem like a smart option. At the least you will be very restricted in your activities ashore.

[longterm]

2 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

However, as you said, the search for perfection will leave you sitting on the couch IMHO. 

🙂

 

Actually, no... we're headed to Italy on a Rick Steves tour in May, on the Viking Grand European river cruise in October, and Cancun in December... and a few US trips thrown in for good measure! 

 

We haven't tried a cruise yet that has lots of sea days; maybe we'd like it, but since I'm regularly unimpressed with the musicians I hear on Viking cruises, and since we barely drink, we just don't know how we'd find enough to do on board. We are both voracious readers, but we can do that anywhere.

 

I've been tempted to book an Atlantic crossing, but am not getting much interest from my sweet wife in such a trip.

[LindaS272]

This is why we travel with Viking and why we like a balance of ports and sea days
 

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/why-viking/viking-difference/the-thinking-persons-cruise-line.html

 

Not to mention the spa, of course. 😉

Edited April 8, 2023 by LindaS272

[SJD117]

The lines are drawn. Some people like to cruise on Viking, others do not. Some people like sea days, others do not. Some people like transatlantic cruises, others do not. Some people like this itinerary, others do not. Some people like to drink like a fish, others do not. And so it goes.

 

To each his or her own!

[uktog]

I actually like this itinerary and will keep it on the future plans radar.
As one who sees Gibraltar as a one and done (a lovely place spoilt by the daily influx of the cheap booze and fags day trippers from the costas mostly over roasted Brits on holiday) I’m glad this itinerary misses it. There’s lots of other cruise lines that go there including P and O with their jingoistic Brit sail away party. Being docked next to it and having Vindaloo and Three Lions pumping out made me run for earplugs 

So this itinerary may be one for me 

[Hobson1754]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

I actually like this itinerary and will keep it on the future plans radar.
As one who sees Gibraltar as a one and done (a lovely place spoilt by the daily influx of the cheap booze and fags day trippers from the costas mostly over roasted Brits on holiday) I’m glad this itinerary misses it. There’s lots of other cruise lines that go there including P and O with their jingoistic Brit sail away party. Being docked next to it and having Vindaloo and Three Lions pumping out made me run for earplugs 

So this itinerary may be one for me 

I so agree with you.  Having been there twice on a cruise (2nd time we stayed on board) I have no desire to go back.  I have often wondered if there is some part of Gibraltar, that we’ve not seen, which is so much nicer after speaking to some 😏

[uktog]

No it’s very much a one sided rock.  Probably (unfortunately) been there over a dozen times. Last year was the nicest, it was Palm Sunday virtually all the shops were shut which upset many, but we found the Anglican Cathedral and a beautiful service. It’s not in a pretty part of town though