Which ship to pick ?

[AMHuntFerry]

BTW, I love O's Riviera. Our first ever cruise was on her in December 2021. We have taken 3 cruises on Regatta (smaller ship) since then and loved those too, but we are happy with the calm vibe on O and prefer to entertain ourselves or chat with fellow passengers...can't wait for Riviera to take over the Alaska runs in 2025 since it's in our "backyard"!

 

We also looked at Azamara but they didn't go where we wanted to go (yet). Just note that the ships are older so the non-suites have much smaller bathrooms than young cruisers may be used to (see YouTube videos), and note that O's smaller ships are the same (not Riviera - very nice bathrooms). Small bathrooms don't bother us, but check out the videos to make sure they are OK with you. (Note: my TA's consortium has a $250/cabin OBC for this sailing)

 

Seabourn has always been super pricey compared to O for itineraries that we were looking at, but it looks like it's competitive for your itinerary. Note that my TA's consortium has a $300/cabin OBC for that one (yay, more $$!). Have fun choosing and enjoy the vacation!

Edited January 11 by AMHuntFerry

[clo]

2 hours ago, Psoque said:

We put a big emphasis on ports of call when we pick a cruise.  I am not sure if your three choices go to similar locations.  If we were in your shoes, we would really look at the itinerary and see if any one of the three has the "better" itinerary compared to the other.

Thank you. That's 100% my belief. It could be THE most wonderful ship and the greatest fare but if it's not on my 'wish list,'of destinations I wouldn't go there regardless.

[Psoque]

15 hours ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

All three are the same week- first week of September 2024.

Oceania - Monte Carla to Barcelona 

axamara - Greece and turkey

seabourn- Athens to Dubrovnik 

I think the itineraries are very different among the three.  If I were you, I would pick the cruise with the ports you most want to visit, rather than deciding based on the ship.

 

Also, you should realize that early September could still be extremely hot (especially with the current upward trends in temperature overall) in some parts of the Mediterranean, so that should also be considered in your decision process.  We once (without thinking well enough), did an Athens to Venice cruise in mid June.  Even though we enjoyed the cruise overall, it was unbearably hot in some places we visited (Acropolis in Athens, Oia in Santorini, and Dubrovnik).  Sun protection with sunscreen and wide brimmed hats are a must outdoors on cruises like this.

[MEFIowa]

On 1/11/2024 at 12:57 PM, Psoque said:

... If I were you, I would pick the cruise with the ports you most want to visit, rather than deciding based on the ship.

 

Also, you should realize that early September could still be extremely hot (especially with the current upward trends in temperature overall) in some parts of the Mediterranean, so that should also be considered in your decision process. ...

Yes, cruise for ports, destinations and excursions first and foremost.

 

We just did a 20-night B2B on Riviera Trieste to Athens (10/30-11/9) and Athens to Barcelona (11/9-19). The weather was magnificent for us. Minimal rain issues. Never too hot, not too cold.

 

The people in Barcelona gave me the oddest looks as I walked around town in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap when the temperature was 65 deg. F and they were wearing winter clothes, including down jackets, gloves, and hats.

[AMHuntFerry]

48 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

The people in Barcelona gave me the oddest looks as I walked around town in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap when the temperature was 65 deg. F and they were wearing winter clothes, including down jackets, gloves, and hats.

Haha...those were the same looks we got in Alaska (sundresses and shorts/Ts), but they were from fellow cruisers, not Alaskans (who were dressed more like us). A photo of us standing next to the petite lady bundled head to tow in a long, down coat with fur around the hood probably made it into a bystander's social media post 😉

[clo]

5 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Haha...those were the same looks we got in Alaska (sundresses and shorts/Ts), but they were from fellow cruisers, not Alaskans (who were dressed more like us). A photo of us standing next to the petite lady bundled head to tow in a long, down coat with fur around the hood probably made it into a bystander's social media post 😉

And us a few years ago in Antarctica. Temps in 40s/50s and we were wearing shorts. Right?