MED vs GREEK ISLES

[Woo Woo]

Hello everyone,

DH and I are leaving in a few weeks for FOS western caribbean. We would like to book a Med or Greek Isle cruise (for 2008) while on board (for those on board credits). Any words of wisdom on itineraries, best times of year, number of days, etc. This will be a cruise of a lifetime for us and we celebrate our 20 year anniversary in 2008.

 

DD went with her French class to London, Paris, Provence & Barcelona a few years ago. Loved everything but Barcelona (became a vegetarian after viewing the "meat market":D ), didn't care for the architecture either. We are open to just about anything though...........we just want to experience some of the rest of the world.

 

Your input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Trina

[Bruin Steve]

Quick answer is always "the longer the better"...Especially here...If you're going all the way to Europe, make it worth your while...

 

If it's your first time, I would do a "Grand Med" type of cruise--something that covers different countries and different types of ports...Save the one where you concentrate on the Aegean--or anywhere else--for later...

 

If you're booking while on an RCCLcruise, you can book either RCCL or Celebrity while on board and get a future onboard credit...

 

Personally, I'd go with Celebrity--more elegant, better food and service, less crowded ships...Take a look into the itineraries on Summit...starting in Venice and ending in Barcelona--or vice versa...Book an extra couple of nights in both Venice and Barcelona...

 

Venice is an incredibly romantic city...and those extra couple of nights in a hotel in Venice proper (do not get talked into staying off the island) will be a highlight...

 

BTW, your daughter is dead wrong about architecture in Barcelona...just go take a visit to the Sagrada Familia or the Parc Guell...You cannot help but to be fascinated...

 

Good luck...

[Capsu78]

your daughter is dead wrong about architecture in Barcelona...just go take a visit to the Sagrada Familia

 

You love it or you hate it. I walked in with a group of 8 and we were split right down the middle. I liked it alot. : )

[Woo Woo]

Thanks you guys. Is there a time of year that is better? Weather/crowds?

 

Thank you for all your help.

[tom_uk]

Is there a time of year that is better? Weather/crowds?

 

The weather is consistently sunny & dry from about now, in fact, through to October. (There could be the occasional rainy day, but these will be few & far between.) I don't know what temperatures you are used to, but it is getting warm already - it was 70s to high 70s in Rome last week - and will probably be very hot (90's) in July and August. That's also the busiest time, of course, because of school holidays. Then it gets cooler through September and into October, though it can be almost November before you start getting 'bad' weather.

 

Cruises in the western Med tend to call at larger cities: Barcelona, Valencia, Palma, Marseilles, Livorno/Florence, Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Palermo. Messina. (Although there are some smaller ports: Cannes or Villefranche, ports in Menorca or Ibiza, sometimes Portofino.) Some of these ports are destinations in themselves (e.g.Barcelon), while others are principally gateways to destinations inland (e.g. Livorno). Ports on Aegean cruises are more of a mixture of large and small: Venice, Athens & Istanbul are large, of course, but there's also places like Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Corfu, Dubrovnik or Split. I think there are more chill-out opportunities in an eastern Med cruise than in the western Med. Both have their pluses and minuses.

 

Given the choice, what would be an ideal holiday for you? - a) seeing the sights, visiting museums/galleries & going to noted historical or beautiful attractions; or b) relaxing on a beach, going shopping, and enjoying food & drink; or c) a mixture?

[Woo Woo]

Tom, thank you so much.

 

We want to see the sights for sure. This upcoming trip to the Western Caribbean is about experiencing the ocean from a ship and the the beaches but when we make the trip to the Med or Greek Isles we want to see some of the different cities that we've only read about. So..........(a) for sure. When our dd made her trip to Europe all she can think about is her return trip (or moving there, which okay Mom wants her chick close to the nest so I'm not happy about that one:) ) DH and I love the idea of seeing so many places in one trip without having to do as dd did and use planes, trains and automobiles. To me this is perfect.........see a wonderful place one day, go to sleep and wake up in another wonderful place, WOW!

 

Thank you for your help.

Trina

[doctrd]

For a real tour of the Med...I still feel this itinerary gives a very broad view of the area. Not many cruises stop in Venice(overnight), Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Florence (Pisa),Naples (for Pompeii and Amalfi coast or Capri), France, Mykonos and Barcelona...all in one trip. If anyone finds another cruise line that does this in the summer, please let me know.

 

Emerald Princess - Venice to Barcelona (or reverse)

 

Venice, Italy

Venice, Italy

At Sea

Athens (Piraeus), Greece

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Mykonos, Greece

At Sea

Naples/Capri, Italy

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy

Marseille (Provence), France

Barcelona, Spain

[Bruin Steve]

Thanks you guys. Is there a time of year that is better? Weather/crowds?

 

The weather in most of the Mediterranean is roughly equivlent to what it is here in Southern California...Summers are very dry...little chance of any rain from May to September...Hottest months are July/August...but being near the sea helps moderate the extreme temperatures...though it sometimes may reach about 90...but it's a very dry heat, little humidity very unlike summer months in the Eastern US...Temperatures in May/June will be more moderate--very pleasant (though I, for one, do not mind the August temperatures at all--just bring water and sunblock)...

 

July and August are traditionally vacation months in Europe, depending on the country...But European vacationers tend to be different than Americans...most likke to go to a particular resort, dig in and relax--though there will still be many Europeans in some of the ports you will visit...American school vacation schedules also impact the crowds at European tourist sites--if you want the smallest crowds, try going in May...You also may get some better prices on your cruise early or late in the season...US cruise lines tend to have their "high season" prices in July and August...

[Woo Woo]

Thank you everyone, Awsome information.

[Nanatravel]

I agree about a Celebrity ship one-way itinerary for your trip in 2008. First, Celebrity is a great cruise line and the time in each port is usually very good. As Bruin Steve mentioned, either leaving or Arriving Venice or Barcelona is a great way to see a lot of different countries and historic areas. We would have booked the Millennium for this year, but have been on that ship twice. The end of May/beginning of June is supposed to be perfect. Our September Western Europe cruise started in Amsterdam and ended in Genoa saw great weather - very hot in Rome on Sept. 21. Planning is half of the funn. Try to book at least a ten night cruise and plan to stay 2 nights on each end.

 

Bon Voyage

Nanatravel

[Cyn2]

We were very happy with our itinary:

Venice

Bari

Santorini

Mykonos

Athens

Corfu

Dubrovnik.

 

Couldn't have asked for more...except in the way of time.

Our Favorites: Venice, Corfu.