More itinerary advice

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I'm having such a hard time making a decision. 

 

I love this round trip Rome itinerary for the following reasons:

 

1. It begins and ends in Rome, which is a place we want to spend 2-3 days, not a few hours, and because I can get a direct flight from Charlotte to Rome.

2. I think we would like Cinque Terre.

3. We could easily go to Tuscany and Venice post cruise.  Would most likely fly home from Venice.

 

What I don't like as well:

1. It goes to Palma and we would prefer Malta.

2. We would miss the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii

 

Itinerary as follows:

Rome 

at sea

Palma 9 AM-11PM

Barcelona 8-5

Cannes 8:30-5:30

La Spezia 7-6

Rome

 

I love this round trip itinerary from Naples for the following reasons:

 

1. It goes to Malta!!  Need I say more?

2. We could go to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii pre-cruise.

3. It's on the World Europa which looks like a really cool ship!

4. It goes to Malta!  lol

 

Disadvantages:

1. I would prefer round trip from Rome for convenience and planned on staying at the Albergo del Senato and don't think they take reservations for 1 night.

2. No La Spezia, but Malta would make up for that.

3. We would see Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast but would have to decide between Florence and Venice post cruise.  (We would still go to Rome post cruise, but probably just for one night since it's also a port of call)  I guess is we miss Venice, we could always plan a Venice/Greek cruise in the future, but probably wishful thinking.

 

Itinerary as follows:

Naples

Messina 9-7

La Valletta, Malta* 8-5

at sea

Barcelona 9-6 

Marseille 7-6

Genoa 8-4 - Is this enough time for an excursion to Portofino?

Naples

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by NCteacherlovescruising

[Vineyard View]

That is pretty much what happens with cruises. There is no one itinerary that is perfect. The only real solution is multiple trips. We’ve taken a number of Mediterranean trips, land and sea, and we still have more boxes to check. 
If you have scoured all the cruise lines, and these are the same ones you keep coming back to, the really helpful feedback you have received is a great tool for you to use in making your decision. Maybe look also at 2025 itineraries and see if there is another one you could target for the following year to complete your initial list. I say ‘initial’ because once you get a taste of these countries, your list will likely keep expanding!

 

And do take extra time if you can in Tuscany. It’s stamp to memory. 
 

Also, realize that the port for Rome is 70 miles from the city so be sure to secure transportation. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

58 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

That is pretty much what happens with cruises. There is no one itinerary that is perfect. The only real solution is multiple trips. We’ve taken a number of Mediterranean trips, land and sea, and we still have more boxes to check. 
If you have scoured all the cruise lines, and these are the same ones you keep coming back to, the really helpful feedback you have received is a great tool for you to use in making your decision. Maybe look also at 2025 itineraries and see if there is another one you could target for the following year to complete your initial list. I say ‘initial’ because once you get a taste of these countries, your list will likely keep expanding!

 

And do take extra time if you can in Tuscany. It’s stamp to memory. 
 

Also, realize that the port for Rome is 70 miles from the city so be sure to secure transportation. 

I really like our Barcelona to Rome with Celebrity we already have booked, however we found this to be a few thousand less and these itineraries look great as well.  I really think we will either keep our Celebrity cruise that is already booked or jump over to MSC Europa which hits some major highlights as well.  It's going to depend on how much we like the yacht club on our cruise on the 25th.  The roughly 3-4k we would save would pay for more land time pre and post cruise!  Sounds like those that have done both the retreat and the yacht club think the yacht club is just as nice, if not nicer.  It's those that haven't tried the yacht club that think it's "beneath them" to travel with MSC.  We aren't snobby and have enjoyed all the cruise lines we've been on!

[Vineyard View]

If you are willing to pay for Retreat or Yacht club, have you looked at Azamara, Oceania, Viking, Seabourn? Much smaller ships, very good food and different itineraries than the the larger ships sometimes. Just a thought 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Vineyard View

[NCteacherlovescruising]

20 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

If you are willing to pay for Retreat or Yacht club, have you looked at Azamara, Oceania, Viking, Seabourn? Much smaller ships, very good food and different itineraries than the the larger ships sometimes. Just a thought 

No, I haven't.

[Vineyard View]

Maybe take a look. They are inclusive of various amenities- all offer drinks )some just beer/wine with meals. Seabourn all day including alcohol, some offer excursions (although most of the included ones are pretty basic), some include daily room steward charges, etc. once we switched years back from main stream, we never looked back. You have to factor in all the daily expenses you expect on the lines you are considering, then compare the daily expenses included in these lines, and often time there is no big difference. 
If you have a good TA they can offer you incentive on these lines - as well as those you are currently looking at. 
Just  some thoughts 

[cruiseinj]

This is so similar to the dilemma I am in.   We are also now thinking about a cruise and then a few days at Lake Como.  So overwhelming!

[princeton123211]

On 6/16/2023 at 11:56 AM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

No, I haven't.

I would second this-- it's good advice. For similar pricing you are on much smaller ships, that can access smaller, more interesting ports, and you spend less time in lines. Plus Oceania/Viking and especially Seabourn are MUCH nicer and better appointed ships overall than MSC or Celebrity. The "ship within a ship" concept that MSC does has its place, but I think it's better suited to the Caribbean. On these sort of Mediterranean itineraries there is a major benefit to being on a much smaller ship. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

17 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

I would second this-- it's good advice. For similar pricing you are on much smaller ships, that can access smaller, more interesting ports, and you spend less time in lines. Plus Oceania/Viking and especially Seabourn are MUCH nicer and better appointed ships overall than MSC or Celebrity. The "ship within a ship" concept that MSC does has its place, but I think it's better suited to the Caribbean. On these sort of Mediterranean itineraries there is a major benefit to being on a much smaller ship. 

I’ve always heard they are very expensive so I’ve never really looked at them. I did try one time to price one of them but didn’t see any pricing on their website. 

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I’ve always heard they are very expensive so I’ve never really looked at them. I did try one time to price one of them but didn’t see any pricing on their website. 

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. On Seabourn, which is the top end of the ones being discussed here, you can get a similar 7 night Med itinerary for around $3400 per person. But that includes nearly everything including all gratuities, all alcohol, all dining (including specialty), and even their smallest rooms would be a junior suite on a large ship. Seabourn does run specials that can net you several thousands in airfare credits so that can also tip the scales. 

 

Oceania you are more in the $1700 range per person. Oceania still includes a lot more than most mainstream lines but less than what a luxury line like Seabourn does. They do run specials where you can get things like beverages included though. The experience on Oceania, being a smaller ship, is more upscale than you can get on a larger ship. Its more personal-- sort of like a floating country club. 

 

Its really about the value rather than the price here-- if you are going to spend the money on board anyway you can often times get onto a much nicer and smaller ship by paying a bit more up front. Also if you enjoy the dining experience, these ships provide a much higher quality dining across the board (even in the main dining room or buffet) than the larger ships. 

[Vineyard View]

I agree with Princeton. You really do need to factor in all costs. Once we did, and we figured out the huge difference in quality on most all levels, we never looked back. We sailed multiple lines in the past that were great at the time, until we found newer ones that were more inclusive and a better fit.  We just completed a Seabourn cruise and have taken multiple on Viking. Viking has really jumped in price recently but depending on what is important to you, look at these lines for what is included, figure out how much you might spend in what is included additionally per day and it may help you. I noticed an Oceania itinerary next Spring that seems to check a lot of your boxes. If you can do 14 days there is one called Barcelona to Rome on Marina in May. Good luck