please help me choose

[mrstraveler1987]

Please help me decide on a cruise to choose.

Who- husband and wife- mid 30s- 

What- 10 year anniversary cruise

Where- Mediterranean 

When- late August/ September 

 

We have two small children - but they are NOT coming with. 

 

Budget- around $10,000 not including air fair, excursions, hotel before or after ect. Not a strict budget but around that. 

 

What we like- upscale , luxury, not big party scene, don’t mind being youngest, good food, quality drinks , we love private areas ( like the retreat on holland America). 

 

Our options 

1) Oceania - 7 days - concierge level vacancy - INCLUDES air fair - $9,096

2) azmara journey- 7 days- club level balcony - no air fair - $6,506

3) azmara- 9 nights- club level balcony- no air - $9,374

4) halland america - 7 days- Neptune suite - no air - $5,558 or veranda suite - $3,342

5) seabourn- 7 days - veranda suite - no air- $7,642

6) Cunard - 7 days- queen suit with butler - no air- $7251

 

Please help me!

[Aquahound]

Having not sailed all those lines/ships, I can't give you much.  I've only sailed Holland America, which is probably the last of those lines I would recommend.  But with my limited knowledge, I would recommend the 9-night Azamara cruise simply because of the 2 extra nights.  7-night cruises seem to end so quick as it is, let alone in a destination like the Mediterranean.  

 

Have you looked at Viking Ocean?  They seem to get the better reviews lately.  

[Essiesmom]

For the luxury and value I would choose Cunard, but it is more traditional with a stricter dress code than the others.  Second I would go with Seabourn, although I have never sailed them.  Between Oceania and Azamara I would choose by itinerary.  I’m assuming those prices are for both of you, not per person?  EM

[crystalspin]

3 hours ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

Please help me decide on a cruise to choose.

Who- husband and wife- mid 30s- 

What- 10 year anniversary cruise

Where- Mediterranean 

When- late August/ September 

 ***

What we like- upscale , luxury, not big party scene, don’t mind being youngest, good food, quality drinks , we love private areas ( like the retreat on holland America). 

 

Our options 

1) Oceania - 7 days - concierge level vacancy - INCLUDES air fair - $9,096

2) azmara journey- 7 days- club level balcony - no air fair - $6,506

3) azmara- 9 nights- club level balcony- no air - $9,374

4) halland america - 7 days- Neptune suite - no air - $5,558 or veranda suite - $3,342

5) seabourn- 7 days - veranda suite - no air- $7,642

6) Cunard - 7 days- queen suit with butler - no air- $7251

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

What is the Holland America ship and cruise that you are considering? Because I am seeing this fare and perks (note: air fare allowance) for Oosterdam 7-day "Adriatic Gems" in a Neptune Suite --

$3,084* PER PERSON

Our most popular amenities included in one premium cruise package.

Includes:

SPECIALTY DINING

Dinner at a fine dining restaurant

SHORE EXCURSIONS

Shore Excursion Credit - US$100 per guest

BEVERAGE PACKAGE

Signature: wine, beer, cocktails, specialty coffee and soda. Plus, service charges are on us. All drinks up to $11.

WI-FI

Surf Package

 

LIMITED TIME OFFER

50% Reduced Deposit

Reduced Kids' Fares (Guests 3 & 4)

$500 Air Credit

$200 Onboard Credit Included per stateroom

[Toofarfromthesea]

3 hours ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

Please help me decide on a cruise to choose.

Who- husband and wife- mid 30s- 

What- 10 year anniversary cruise

Where- Mediterranean 

When- late August/ September 

 

We have two small children - but they are NOT coming with. 

 

Budget- around $10,000 not including air fair, excursions, hotel before or after ect. Not a strict budget but around that. 

 

What we like- upscale , luxury, not big party scene, don’t mind being youngest, good food, quality drinks , we love private areas ( like the retreat on holland America). 

 

Our options 

1) Oceania - 7 days - concierge level vacancy - INCLUDES air fair - $9,096

2) azmara journey- 7 days- club level balcony - no air fair - $6,506

3) azmara- 9 nights- club level balcony- no air - $9,374

4) halland america - 7 days- Neptune suite - no air - $5,558 or veranda suite - $3,342

5) seabourn- 7 days - veranda suite - no air- $7,642

6) Cunard - 7 days- queen suit with butler - no air- $7251

 

Please help me!

 

I would take a look at MSC in the Yacht Club.  It massively checks the private area box.  Private lounge, private restaurant, private pool deck with poolside grill, while providing a nice amount of upscale luxury.  It's a ship within a ship, similar to the Haven but more reasonably priced.  

[BruceMuzz]

Windstar

[edinburgher]

10 hours ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

ase help me decide on a cruise to choose.

For many people, the itineraries/ ports themselves are important, but you don't mention ports at all.  Do the destinations on any of your choices appeal to you more than others?

 

Med itineraries can be confusing for first time Med cruisers as cruiselines love to advertise Mediterranean  itineraries with "headline" ports such as Rome, Florence, Paris, Seville (and others)  without pax being aware at the time of booking that some of these "headline" destinations are a long distance from the actual port which makes for longer travel times and less sightseeing time.

 

And will you be able to have extra land days pre or post cruising or will the cruising days use all your time, because start and end ports are important if you have extra time

 

And perhaps  you might post the actual itineraries of most interest to you  and  say which appeal to you more than the others, and why, so that CC members  can give you additional thoughts on them.

Edited January 7 by edinburgher

[MBP&O2/O]

Silversea?

[YourWorldWithBill]

17 hours ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

Please help me decide on a cruise to choose.

The two that I can directly compare, having done each, are: Neptune Suite on Holland America and the Concierge level on Oceania.

 

After a couple of cruises in a Neptune suite on HAL, we tried the Concierge cabin on Oceania. Between those two, we felt that on HAL we had an actual suite, a large bathroom, got special treatment (such as a separate dining room on ships that have Club Orange), and concierges that were always helpful and willing to take the extra step. The Oceania concierge lounge cannot be compared to the HAL lounge, for many reasons, and all the benefits that @crystalspinmentioned make a difference. Having the concierge was a big benefit on HAL, not so much on O.

 

Although the staff on Oceania were always quite helpful, we felt that the crew on HAL just seemed a bit happier. Maybe that was just something we felt.

You said that being the only couple your age doesn't matter. The average age on HAL is lower than on the other lines, however. I'm 73, so it's not an issue for me, obviously, but that factor does mean a slight overall difference in the atmosphere. HAL average cruisers aren't your age either, being probably upper 50s or lower 60s, but that's lower than the other lines.

 

One of the really positive things I'll say for Oceania is that the food was a bit better, and having four specialty restaurants is a plus. That's the main reason we tried it.

 

But as you might have guessed, we're back with HAL. If you decide to go with them, get the Neptune suite, since it's within your budget. And also consider what @edinburghersaid about itineraries.

Good luck.

[happy cruzer]

For the med a smaller ship may give significantly more time in port and different ports.  They can go to smaller ports and disembark process is usually much quicker.  Seaborne would be my choice based on your list.

[SPacificbound]

The itinerary is always the most important thing on any cruise I have ever booked, and with the Mediterranean it is doubly so. I agree with smaller ship for the Med.

[DarrenM]

and I would consider Celebrity. The Ascent is in the med these months. Fabulous ship, if its anything like Beyond, which it is.

 

Modern, relaxing, new, great food, good mix of ages, and not too many little creatures.

[ontheweb]

One other factor to look at is time in port. This is especially true for those ports that are not really ports, but hours away like Rome, Florence, Athens, etc.

[George C]

My choices would be suite on celebrity edge class or MSc yacht club .

[George C]

Cruising Europe is totally different than Caribbean, because you have very few sea days and spend long days in port , need to find the countries and cities you want to visit , ship isn’t as important as ports . My last European cruise was great 12 days out of Barcelona with 5 stops in Italy and only a few sea days . Also hit Dubrovnik and Kotor . Weather in Mediterranean can be very hot in summer I would cruise as late as possible.

 

Edited January 18 by George C

[George C]

On 1/16/2024 at 9:19 AM, ontheweb said:

One other factor to look at is time in port. This is especially true for those ports that are not really ports, but hours away like Rome, Florence, Athens, etc.

I don’t remember Athens being that far from port , Florence and Rome are definitely a hour plus , but worth visiting.

[cruisemom42]

12 minutes ago, George C said:

I don’t remember Athens being that far from port , Florence and Rome are definitely a hour plus , but worth visiting.

 

Correct. Athens port is only about 20-25 minutes from the heart of the city -- not that different from a lot of embarkation ports.

[sunrise220]

I agree with previous comments as Itineraries have a part to play.

Also Viking seems to be worth looking at along with your other choices

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, George C said:

I don’t remember Athens being that far from port , Florence and Rome are definitely a hour plus , but worth visiting.

The port is Piraeus, not actually Athens. Not as far as the real ports are from Rome, Florence, or Paris on a British Isles cruise that says it includes Paris, but still not the port city.

[navybankerteacher]

On 1/18/2024 at 9:10 PM, ontheweb said:

The port is Piraeus, not actually Athens. Not as far as the real ports are from Rome, Florence, or Paris on a British Isles cruise that says it includes Paris, but still not the port city.

But the cruise lines do not want their ads to talk about sailing into  Civita Vecchia, Livorno or Le Havre - which would be almost as much as a turn-off as mentioning that the cost of their  “free” drinks has already been built into the fare - or that out-of-pocket tips might be added.

[ontheweb]

50 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

But the cruise lines do not want their ads to talk about sailing into  Civita Vecchia, Livorno or Le Havre - which would be almost as much as a turn-off as mentioning that the cost of their  “free” drinks has already been built into the fare - or that out-of-pocket tips might be added.

Yes, and I was surprised when we went to a cruise next lecture on the NCL Prima in which they handed out a schedule of cruises and it did actually mention the real port instead of Rome, Florence, and Paris.

 

I was also surprised given that that Edinburgh was listed. I have seen many other ports as the ports for Edinburgh including Rosyth where we ported from the very small Ocean Princess. I asked the presenter afterwards about this, and she said it was a tender, a very long tender.

[fruitmachine]

24 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I was also surprised given that that Edinburgh was listed. I have seen many other ports as the ports for Edinburgh including Rosyth where we ported from the very small Ocean Princess. I asked the presenter afterwards about this, and she said it was a tender, a very long tender.

For Edinburgh, Princess normally always tender to South Queensferry, and it's quite a short tender, but a longer drive into Edinburgh than Newhaven

 

The alternatives are:

• Rosyth - an even longer drive, and the ship has to have a small enough air-draft to fit under the Forth bridges
• Newhaven - usually a longer (~15-20 minutes) and more exposed tender journey, but you arrive in Edinburgh, and only have to get into the centre of the city from the tender pier.
• Leith - right next to Newhaven, but only smaller ships (up to Ocean Princess size) can get through the port lock to dock alongside.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, fruitmachine said:

For Edinburgh, Princess normally always tender to South Queensferry, and it's quite a short tender, but a longer drive into Edinburgh than Newhaven

 

The alternatives are:

• Rosyth - an even longer drive, and the ship has to have a small enough air-draft to fit under the Forth bridges
• Newhaven - usually a longer (~15-20 minutes) and more exposed tender journey, but you arrive in Edinburgh, and only have to get into the centre of the city from the tender pier.
• Leith - right next to Newhaven, but only smaller ships (up to Ocean Princess size) can get through the port lock to dock alongside.

I was referring to an NCL schedule of future cruises. And they listed real ports, not Rome, Florence, etc. That is why Edinburgh being listed surprised me. And when I asked I was told it was actually Edinburgh and a long tender.

[navybankerteacher]

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I was referring to an NCL schedule of future cruises. And they listed real ports, not Rome, Florence, etc. That is why Edinburgh being listed surprised me. And when I asked I was told it was actually Edinburgh and a long tender.

I might be inclined to prefer a long bus ride after a short tender ride over the reverse.

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I might be inclined to prefer a long bus ride after a short tender ride over the reverse.

In Rosyth for Edinburgh, there was not a tender. And it was a train to Edinburgh, though we got out of the Scottish Military Tattoo to use our return ticket and had to take a taxi. We did have an overnight there.