Rome or Naples to Athens

[NCteacherlovescruising]

What’s the best option(s) to get from Rome or Naples to Athens?  Which would be best to go from?  

[CruiserBruce]

Same answer as posted on the Greece board. Flying is the pretty obvious choice. Driving or train would take too long.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

28 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Same answer as posted on the Greece board. Flying is the pretty obvious choice. Driving or train would take too long.

Would this be very expensive?  

[CruiserBruce]

Just now, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Would this be very expensive?  

There are a couple very low price airlines in Europe,  but I have one idea what their routes are. Keep in mind some of those may operate out of the other Rome airport, Ciampino.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

12 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

There are a couple very low price airlines in Europe,  but I have one idea what their routes are. Keep in mind some of those may operate out of the other Rome airport, Ciampino.

Are they considered safe?  I’m a big wimp when it comes to flying and I I’ll be on some serious drugs to just to get to a Europe to begin with!  (Doctor prescribed of course!)

[cruisemom42]

3 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Are they considered safe?  I’m a big wimp when it comes to flying and I I’ll be on some serious drugs to just to get to a Europe to begin with!  (Doctor prescribed of course!)

 

In that case, why complicate things so much?  Look for a cruise with an itinerary that includes Athens.

 

Honestly, you seem a bit all over the map. Is the cruise itinerary more important or the ship experience?  Once you decide that, other decisions become easier. 

 

My advice would be to look for itineraries that best fit your "must sees".  You said earlier that this may be a "one and done" trip for you to the Med. You can ALWAYS cruise the Caribbean in a nice suite or Yacht Club. But you can't see Athens or Pompeii or the Cinque Terre any time you want...

 

[katmu]

I am inclined to agree with Cruisemom.  If it were me, I would do one cruise in 2024 that focuses on the ports you want to see in the Western Mediterranean say maybe from Barcelona to either Rome or Naples.  Then, pick a 2nd cruise for 2025 from either Venice to Athens or the reverse.  If you really need one itinerary that includes everything, it needs to be longer around 14 days.  Focus on the itinerary and also how much time you’ll have in each port.

 

Cruisemom is right about being able to try the Yacht Club or a suite in the Caribbean where you’ll have more time to relax.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

22 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

In that case, why complicate things so much?  Look for a cruise with an itinerary that includes Athens.

 

Honestly, you seem a bit all over the map. Is the cruise itinerary more important or the ship experience?  Once you decide that, other decisions become easier. 

 

My advice would be to look for itineraries that best fit your "must sees".  You said earlier that this may be a "one and done" trip for you to the Med. You can ALWAYS cruise the Caribbean in a nice suite or Yacht Club. But you can't see Athens or Pompeii or the Cinque Terre any time you want...

 

The entire trip is important. We will be celebrating our 30th anniversary so I want it to be special!  I don’t know if you recall, but we first booked a 9 day NCL Athens to Venice cruise with our friends. We never canceled it after booking the Celebrity retreat from Barcelona to Rome because no need to before final payment. We booked it with cruise next certificates so we haven’t actually paid anything and we will just lose them if we cancel. I booked X onboard so we will only lose $200 if we cancel that.  I felt bad backing out of the trip with our friends, but with it being our anniversary I wanted Italy because it’s always been my dream. I also wanted a suite experience for the first time since we are celebrating such a big milestone. I guess I want everything as perfect as it can be. We currently still have both booked. After booking the yacht club with MSC, which is on the 25th, I thought I would see if they would be cheaper in the Mediterranean and they are. I figured if we like it as much as I’m expecting, we could switch to them. But now I’m trying to talk my dh into the Europa cruise, then flying over to Athens to join our friends on the NCL Athens to Venice cruise. So our romantic Italian adventure, being pampered with the suite life and then off for an intense week with our friends with a different port every day. Trying to make the most of the expensive plane tickets to Europe.  So yes, I’ve been all over the place, but because this will most likely be the trip of our lifetime. 

[katmu]

That makes a bit more sense now.  So are you looking for a new cruise from Barcelona to Rome that hopefully includes Malta?  If you want to incorporate Florence some of the premium lines also sometimes have overnight stops at Livorno so that might be an option.

 

One thing to know about the European budget airlines like easy jet, Ryanair, etc. is that they are much stricter than even the US budget airlines with both the size, weight and amount of luggage you can bring.  So if you are packing a bit more since you are going to be on a longer trip, either go with a traditional airline or prepay the bags.  I did that to get the first row seat and extra baggage allowance when my mom and I flew on easyjet from Rome to London.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

30 minutes ago, katmu said:

That makes a bit more sense now.  So are you looking for a new cruise from Barcelona to Rome that hopefully includes Malta?  If you want to incorporate Florence some of the premium lines also sometimes have overnight stops at Livorno so that might be an option.

 

One thing to know about the European budget airlines like easy jet, Ryanair, etc. is that they are much stricter than even the US budget airlines with both the size, weight and amount of luggage you can bring.  So if you are packing a bit more since you are going to be on a longer trip, either go with a traditional airline or prepay the bags.  I did that to get the first row seat and extra baggage allowance when my mom and I flew on easyjet from Rome to London.

Yes, having Barcelona, Rome and Malta would be amazing!  To get the dates to work back to back, the itinerary doesn’t have Rome. However, we would most likely fly into Rome, stay a couple nights and then head to Naples.  We would two days in Naples then head to Athens.  The one  I’m eyeballing now is Naples, Messina, Malta, sea, Barcelona, Marseille, Genoa, Naples. (No Florence but I can’t have it all!) This is if we do both cruises. 

 

The NCL itinerary is amazing, but exhausting. No sea days!  It’s Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Zakynthos, Corfu, Kotor, Dubrovnik Croatia, Venice, Venice. The alternative would be flying into Athens and booking Italy after but I keep hearing it will be hotter and more crowded in July and the NCL cruise is July 3-12. So we can do Italy Jun 24-July 1, or mid July.  I have no idea if a couple weeks would make much of a difference or not, but it would be easier and more relaxing to do the port intensive cruise first. And also no additional flights. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by NCteacherlovescruising

[marazul]

Here is the website for Aegean airlines.  They are perfectly reliable. It is a mainstream airline, not a budget airline.

You can fly out of Rome (FCO) or out of Naples (NAP).  It will be about 160 euros pp one-way.

https://en.aegeanair.com/

 

You really are all over the map, but hey, it is your anniversary. Go for broke.

 

The crowds and the heat will be equal at both times in Rome.

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by marazul

[NCteacherlovescruising]

5 minutes ago, marazul said:

Here is the website for Aegean airlines.  They are perfectly reliable. It is a mainstream airline, not a budget airline.

You can fly out of Rome (FCO) or out of Naples (NAP).  It will be about 160 euros pp one-way.

https://en.aegeanair.com/

 

You really are all over the map, but hey, it is your anniversary. Go for broke.

 

The crowds and the heat will be equal at both times in Rome.

 

If the crowds and heat would be the same it would be easier to go after the NCL cruise. Thanks!  I will check them out. Still trying to convince dh to splurge on 2 cruises instead of 1!  

[marazul]

2 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

If the crowds and heat would be the same it would be easier to go after the NCL cruise. Thanks!  I will check them out. Still trying to convince dh to splurge on 2 cruises instead of 1!  

Pick whichever allows you to be in Athens for at least two full days. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

2 minutes ago, marazul said:

Pick whichever allows you to be in Athens for at least two full days. 

We could do that with either cruise. Is there a lot to see there?  I haven’t researched Greece at all!  

Edited June 16, 2023 by NCteacherlovescruising

[katmu]

Yes, trying to find something that works with the NCL dates and includes all of your top choices is not proving to be an easy task.  There’s a 21 day on Cunard but that’s really long.  Regent has a 10 day that starts in Rome but it conflicts with your NCL cruise.   

I would maybe look at a shorter option if you are going to keep the NCL.  Princess has a 7 day on the new Sun Princess on 6/22 from Barcelona to Rome, but no stop in Malta but it does have Marseille, Gibraltar, Genoa and La Spezia (was trying for Livorno).  There was also a 4 night on the NCL Escape from Barcelona to Rome with a stop in Cannes and an overnight stop in Livorno on 7/14.  I was really hoping there might be a reverse of that so you wouldn’t have a flight but no luck.  HAL has a 14 night RT it’s on an older ship.  I also really like Azamara’s Italy intensive cruises but the dates aren’t synching.

[marazul]

2 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We could do that with either cruise. 

The longest time then.  Like Rome, Athens should not be shortchanged.

[marazul]

6 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Is there a lot to see there? 

OMG! Yes! 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 minute ago, marazul said:

OMG! Yes! 

I’m not even going to start looking for things to see and do in Greece unless/until he gives the ok. I wouldn’t want to be disappointed!

[marazul]

On 6/16/2023 at 5:23 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I’m not even going to start looking for things to see and do in Greece unless/until he gives the ok. I wouldn’t want to be disappointed!

It might be easier to convince him if you do look for things to see and do.  Just saying...

[NCteacherlovescruising]

7 minutes ago, marazul said:

It might be easier to convince him if you do look for things to see and do.  Just saying...

We watched a YouTube video last night on a few of the top rated ports in Greece. Some of the were absolutely breathtaking!  Made me want to go even more, but didn’t seem to phase him. 

[LibertyBella]

Gosh, I cannot even fathom saying you want to go to Athens, yet you have no idea what to see in Greece, and hubby is less than interested. 

 

I live and breathe ancient archaeology, and cruising in the Greek islands is just about my favorite experience in the world, although cruising down the Nile would be right up there with Greece!  Thank goodness my husband (working on 40 years married soon), allows me to plan all trips to everywhere and happily accompanies me, as most of the time we like the same things (history, history, and a bit of nature and adventure).

 

We also budget significantly for all our shore excursions as well as pre- and post-hotel stays in the countries from where we cruise. Yes, those busy port cruises can be quite costly and quite exhausting if one gets off at each stop and does a full day tour (as we do). Because we are so rarely in our cabin, we never need a suite--we usually splurge a bit more on the hotels in the cities.

 

Perhaps planning a 30th anniversary cruise that features non-stop European port calls is not the best romantic anniversary decision for the two of you, especially if you seem to be going just to go versus knowing what you want to see and why.  If you like Italy, then just do an Italy tour.

 

At least you have a year or more to plan--I am leaving for Rome (Colosseum, Forum, Hadrian's Villa, Pantheon),  in less than three weeks, cruising on Princess to Athens (Acropolis, Delphi, Mycenae) with stops in Naples (Pompeii), Crete (Knossos), Mykonos (Delos), Kusadasi (Ephesus) and Istanbul (Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Hagia Sophia) , ALL places I have been before, but I can always return again and again.

 

P.S. In parentheses are all the ancient sites we will visit--as well as many more modern famous sites.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

4 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

Gosh, I cannot even fathom saying you want to go to Athens, yet you have no idea what to see in Greece, and hubby is less than interested. 

 

 

Besides the Acropolis, no I don’t know what other tourist sites are in Athens. 
 

4 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

I live and breathe ancient archaeology, and cruising in the Greek islands is just about my favorite experience in the world, although cruising down the Nile would be right up there with Greece!  Thank goodness my husband (working on 40 years married soon), allows me to plan all trips to everywhere and happily accompanies me, as most of the time we like the same things (history, history, and a bit of nature and adventure).

 

 

I’m not into history that much. When I think of Greece, I think about the beautiful blue water and those beautiful white building along the coast. For dh and I, we enjoy a little history, but we also love to see beautiful places, and I love a beautiful beach. I’m Rome, we will focus on history. In Naples, we would prefer the Amalfi Coast over Pompeii, but will do both of we have the time. I guess we just want a mix of beautiful and interesting things. 
 

4 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

We also budget significantly for all our shore excursions as well as pre- and post-hotel stays in the countries from where we cruise. Yes, those busy port cruises can be quite costly and quite exhausting if one gets off at each stop and does a full day tour (as we do). Because we are so rarely in our cabin, we never need a suite--we usually splurge a bit more on the hotels in the cities.

 

 

We will spend whatever necessary to do the excursions we want to do. We do not have a suite booked with NCL. Our friends didn’t want to spend the money on one, because same as you,  they said this cruise is all about the ports.  We just booked a veranda. Our TA said our balcony will face the ports. I hope he’s correct!  
 

4 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

Perhaps planning a 30th anniversary cruise that features non-stop European port calls is not the best romantic anniversary decision for the two of you, especially if you seem to be going just to go versus knowing what you want to see and why.  If you like Italy, then just do an Italy tour.

 

 

Italy is the perfect cruise for our 30th!  I’ve always wanted to go there. Adding the NCL cruise with our closest friends would just be the icing on the cake. They are like family. We celebrate special occasions like birthdays and holidays together. We are going to a winery with one of them today to celebrate Father’s Day. 
 

4 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

At least you have a year or more to plan--I am leaving for Rome (Colosseum, Forum, Hadrian's Villa, Pantheon),  in less than three weeks, cruising on Princess to Athens (Acropolis, Delphi, Mycenae) with stops in Naples (Pompeii), Crete (Knossos), Mykonos (Delos), Kusadasi (Ephesus) and Istanbul (Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Hagia Sophia) , ALL places I have been before, but I can always return again and again.

 

P.S. In parentheses are all the ancient sites we will visit--as well as many more modern famous sites.

We pretty much have Italy and Barcelona planned already. Pages printed and in a binder with our itinerary. As you say, I have a year to plan the others.  We’re excited about Croatia on the NCL itinerary as well. 

[marazul]

18 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Our TA said our balcony will face the ports. I hope he’s correct!  

Your TA is blowing smoke. It doesn't matter which side you are on. In some ports you may be facing the port, in others you won't.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

8 minutes ago, marazul said:

Your TA is blowing smoke. It doesn't matter which side you are on. In some ports you may be facing the port, in others you won't.  

I’m not surprised. 

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

I am leaving for Rome (Colosseum, Forum, Hadrian's Villa, Pantheon),  in less than three weeks, cruising on Princess to Athens (Acropolis, Delphi, Mycenae) with stops in Naples (Pompeii), Crete (Knossos), Mykonos (Delos), Kusadasi (Ephesus) and Istanbul (Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Hagia Sophia) , ALL places I have been before, but I can always return again and again.

 

Your travel philosophy is much like mine -- are you my long lost twin???

 

Seriously, have fun on your cruise and if you need any thoughts or ideas (e.g., more obscure but worthwhile archaeological sites at the places you're going), feel free to post!

 

Have you been to the Palace Mosaics museum in Istanbul? 

Edited June 18, 2023 by cruisemom42