1st Med cruise

[Mr. Tricky]

I am thinking of taking my wife on a Mediterranean cruise for our anniversary. Our trip would be in April or May of 2011. I know its a long way off but I am a research addict and I have a lot of questions before I book anything.

I would like any advice in trying to pick a cruiseline / ship. Some background and info to help you advise me:

 

Our schedules would only allow a max. of 7 nights for cruise.

We will be 40ish at the time of the cruise.

Would prefer if the majority of the pax. were in our age group.

We are active.

Not interested in hairy legs competition but not in bingo either.

Appreciate good food and service.

Would like to dine at table for 2.

Don't want to hear a million announcments made in several languages.

Don't like pushy sales people... or nickle and dimming.

Would like balcony cabin.

Love live music, rock or something similar...

We smoke... not a lot but we do.

This would be our 5th cruise... 2 on RCI and 2 on CCL. We would like something a little nicer for this special occaision.

 

So far in my little bit of research I have discovered that I have a lot of lines to chose from. I am looking to budget my money wisely for the cruise portion so that we can splurge in ports.

I know its a lot to ask for but any advise would be appreciated.

[cberge]

I am thinking of taking my wife on a Mediterranean cruise for our anniversary. Our trip would be in April or May of 2011. I know its a long way off but I am a research addict and I have a lot of questions before I book anything.

I would like any advice in trying to pick a cruiseline / ship. Some background and info to help you advise me:

 

Our schedules would only allow a max. of 7 nights for cruise.

We will be 40ish at the time of the cruise.

Would prefer if the majority of the pax. were in our age group.

We are active.

Not interested in hairy legs competition but not in bingo either.

Appreciate good food and service.

Would like to dine at table for 2.

Don't want to hear a million announcments made in several languages.

Don't like pushy sales people... or nickle and dimming.

Would like balcony cabin.

Love live music, rock or something similar...

We smoke... not a lot but we do.

This would be our 5th cruise... 2 on RCI and 2 on CCL. We would like something a little nicer for this special occaision.

 

So far in my little bit of research I have discovered that I have a lot of lines to chose from. I am looking to budget my money wisely for the cruise portion so that we can splurge in ports.

I know its a lot to ask for but any advise would be appreciated.

Check oiut Silverseas or Seabourne...do not be put off by price as they have great deals and really nice 7 days cruise and it's all inclusive...no nickle and diming.Thhe smoking policy is outside area's,Veranda Suites are nice,not much in the way of shows etc. as cruises are very port intensive,but elegant and the ages very from 30's 40's and up..formal nights..just check them out.

[chipmaster]

I am thinking of taking my wife on a Mediterranean cruise for our anniversary. Our trip would be in April or May of 2011. I know its a long way off but I am a research addict and I have a lot of questions before I book anything.

I would like any advice in trying to pick a cruiseline / ship. Some background and info to help you advise me:

 

Our schedules would only allow a max. of 7 nights for cruise.

We will be 40ish at the time of the cruise.

Would prefer if the majority of the pax. were in our age group.

We are active.

Not interested in hairy legs competition but not in bingo either.

Appreciate good food and service.

Would like to dine at table for 2.

Don't want to hear a million announcments made in several languages.

Don't like pushy sales people... or nickle and dimming.

Would like balcony cabin.

Love live music, rock or something similar...

We smoke... not a lot but we do.

This would be our 5th cruise... 2 on RCI and 2 on CCL. We would like something a little nicer for this special occaision.

 

So far in my little bit of research I have discovered that I have a lot of lines to chose from. I am looking to budget my money wisely for the cruise portion so that we can splurge in ports.

I know its a lot to ask for but any advise would be appreciated.

 

 

I've always enjoyed Princess ( never a hairy man chest contest and don't have to watch it over and over on cable either :eek: ). Always wanted to do RCI ( but always have my 3 kids in tow ). We also like how we don't hear constant annoucements on Princess as we did on CCL.

 

If you go in April, May I suspect you will not be in peak season and won't see many kids from the US. We did Princess this summer and there were many kids ( not your age group ;) ). You could go premium line and consider Crystal or Seabourn or more, but if you are after value like me, Princess I think is the right balance. Figure for 150-200 euros for the best port experience, it will be more then what you spend on the ship. If you can afford to go high for both ship and port then of course you always get what you pay for. On Princess, they had a band playing 70, 80's and some 90's tunes, many songs from my past every night in the main lounge. Not sure if the really high end cruise offers such a varied set of nightly entertainment. In the end there are always compromises. In general we found that the crowds were light,on most port days, I think what you'll find is after 10 hours in port that the sea day/formal night is the one night you find people really out and cutting lose. They do guitar hero at night on Princess, but you'll be competing against some really good teens ;)

 

 

In the end I think, make a list of the ports you want most, find the schedule and ships that sail it. Worry less about the cruiseline, its all about the ports, more so on a short 7 day cruise. I'd even take the line with hairy man contest if it has the ports I want. Its all about the ports, even seing that hairy man again and again on your TV as you flip the chanels wont' bring down the experience in port. :D

[Drifting Happily]

Chipmaster is right! It's all about the ports. Make sure to pick where you want to go, then figure out which line/ship goes there. I've sailed on different lines, and liked them all because I went where I wanted to go. On European cruises, it is very port intensive so the ship doesn't matter as much because you're so tired you don't care where your bed is!

 

7 days seems a little short for Europe. I like to pick cruises with nicely spaced at-sea days to give you time to rest up and enjoy the rest, and those are usually longer trips. But really do your research and pick the cities you want to see.

[Bruin Steve]

From the description you give, I'd say take a really good look at Celebrity...

Except for the smoking-friendly thing (smoking is allowed, but only in limited areas--better for you not to smoke anyway), it pretty much fits your description on point across the board...

 

Silverseas, Seabourne, Regent, etc. are nice...but they are quite a bit pricier than what you are used to, not just a little more expensive...For just a little more expensive, look into Azamara and Oceania...But you will find the demographics tilted a little older than what you want on any of the premium--or mid level small ship lines...

 

Celebrity is just a much classier product than Princess...not that Princess is bad, it's just Celebrity is better--more uncrowded, fewer announcements and marketing, better food and service...

 

I also would urge you to find a little more time than just a 7-night cruise when heading over to Europe...

 

I don't know what they'll have in 2011, but for now, Celebrity does have a few 7-nighters:

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/search/vacationSearchResults.do;jsessionid=0000phConTGAu57kTbNp41zD2XT:12hdbcuh7?dest=EUROP&port=ANY&date=ANY&duration=07&ship=ANY&price=ANY&showSailings=CSO&x=47&y=6

[mickeysgal]

We also could not take a longer than 7 night cruise. We were able to stretch it a bit by adding 2 nights prior in Barcelona. It did make the trip seem nice and long since it had two separate pieces - the Barcelona piece and the cruise piece. I didn't find that there was a whole lot out there that had what I considered, good itineraries for 7 days. I found it to be slim pickings.

 

For us, we went strickly by itinerary. I had some must-haves ports and based on that, we chose NCL and had a simply wonderful time. Due to the short length of the cruise, we only had one sea day, but overall it wasn't bad. That said, we had private tours for most of the ports so we weren't totally exhausted by the end of each day like we might have been if we were doing a ton of walking and doing our own port transportation.

 

Good luck!

[Bruin Steve]

To expand a bit more, here are some of Celebrity's 7 night itineraries...plus one of their 10-night ones just in case you can squeeze out a few more days (possibly do it during a week with a holiday weekend on one end giving you an extra free vacation day:

 

7 Night Western Med Cruise on Celebrity Century

Day 1 Barcelona, Spain Depart 6:00 PM

Day 2 Cannes, France Tendered Arrive 10:00 AM Depart 8:00 PM

Day 3 Portofino, Italy Tendered Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Day 4 Florence/Pisa(Livorno),Italy Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Day 5 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Day 6 Naples/Capri, Italy Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Day 7 At Sea

Day 8 Barcelona, Spain Arrive 6:00 AM

 

7 Night Mediterranean Cruise on Celebrity Constellation

Day 1 Barcelona, Spain Depart 6:00 PM

Day 2 Nice (Villefranche), France Tendered Arrive 10:00 AM Depart 8:00 PM

Day 3 Genoa, Italy Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Day 4 Florence/Pisa(Livorno),Italy Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Day 5 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Day 6 Naples/Capri, Italy Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Day 7 At Sea

Day 8 Barcelona, Spain Arrive 6:00 AM

 

7 Night Western Mediterranean Cruise on Celebrity Equinox

Thu, Sep 02 Barcelona, Spain Depart 6:00 PM

Fri, Sep 03 Nice (Villefranche), France Tendered Arrive 10:00 AM Depart 8:00 PM

Sat, Sep 04 Ajaccio, Corsica Docked Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 4:00 PM

Sun, Sep 05 Naples/Capri, Italy Docked Arrive 9:00 AM Depart 9:00 PM

Mon, Sep 06 At Sea

Tue, Sep 07 Dubrovnik, Croatia Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Wed, Sep 08 At Sea

Thu, Sep 09 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Arrive 4:00 AM

 

If you could possibly just stretch it out to 10 nights, they have some really great itineraries like this one on Equinox:

Fri, Aug 06 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Depart 6:00 PM

Sat, Aug 07 Naples/Capri, Italy Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Sun, Aug 08 At Sea

Mon, Aug 09 Santorini, Greece Tendered Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Tue, Aug 10 Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Wed, Aug 11 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Thu, Aug 12 At Sea

Fri, Aug 13 Corfu, Greece Docked Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Sat, Aug 14 Dubrovnik, Croatia Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Sun, Aug 15 Venice, Italy Docked Arrive 1:00 PM

Mon, Aug 16 Venice, Italy

 

Celebrity gives you pretty good full days in port (check all itineraries carefully for the hours in each port...there is a lot to see in most of them and you'll want a full day to explore)...

 

Again, I'll iterate: From my experience on 7 different cruise lines, Celebrity is a step above the other mass-market lines, two steps above Carnival or NCL. You might look at RCCL after Celebrity, but you already know what you are getting there. HAL is pretty laid back and classy, but it definitely caters to an older demographic. With Celebrity, you'll cruise with a wide range of age groups, but definitely a lot of 40-somethings (we've reached our 50s now with my wife just turning 50, but we've cruised on them well through our 40s and felt perfectly at home)...They have some of the same nickel-and-diming the other ships have...like bingo and art auctions...they just don't push it as much...there are no loudspeaker announcements telling you it's time to go buy bingo cards...and if you're not reading the daily schedule carefully, you wouldn't know much of this stuff is going on...They also don't aggressively go after you to pose for pictures, though there is a little of that stuff too...They do have a nice array of extra touches...on hot at-sea days, they bring sorbet around to everyone on the pool deck...and when you return from port on a hot day, they have someone passing out cool wet towels as you reenter the ship...the service really does go a step beyond...The food is excellent...They assist you carrying your trays from the buffet and bring you your drinks...There is a pretty good sushi buffet each evening on each of their ships we've cruised...and so on and so on and so on...

 

I really feel strongly from your query that this IS the cruise line you are looking for...

Hopefully, they have an itinerary that fits your purposes and needs...I think you would enjoy it...

[mickeysgal]

If you could possibly just stretch it out to 10 nights, they have some really great itineraries like this one on Equinox:

Fri, Aug 06 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Depart 6:00 PM

Sat, Aug 07 Naples/Capri, Italy Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 7:00 PM

Sun, Aug 08 At Sea

Mon, Aug 09 Santorini, Greece Tendered Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Tue, Aug 10 Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Wed, Aug 11 Athens (Piraeus), Greece Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Thu, Aug 12 At Sea

Fri, Aug 13 Corfu, Greece Docked Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Sat, Aug 14 Dubrovnik, Croatia Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Sun, Aug 15 Venice, Italy Docked Arrive 1:00 PM

Mon, Aug 16 Venice, Italy

 

I love this itinerary. It was our first choice when we were looking. Unfortunately we couldn't be away for so long. The very big plus with this itinerary is that you can add a day or two on both ends. These are spectacular cities to begin and end a cruise.

 

Princess has a similar itinerary on the Ruby next year.

[Bluesmama]

I love this itinerary. It was our first choice when we were looking. Unfortunately we couldn't be away for so long. The very big plus with this itinerary is that you can add a day or two on both ends. These are spectacular cities to begin and end a cruise.

 

Princess has a similar itinerary on the Ruby next year.

I think you need to pick by the itinerary-ports- that interest you (not the boat) After all, isn't it about experiencing Europe not the boat??? I strongly advsie to do longer than 7 days. I loved our Celebrity cruise to Alaska in 2005, and was very interested in their July cruise on the new Solstice, but am excited to be trying out HAL this time around.

(actually I also was stretched for time and could only conisder a 10 or 11 day or less trip)

[AZjohn]

I’ll agree with everyone who stated you should do a longer than 7 day cruise. We are talking Europe here, not Alaska or the Caribbean. In addition to a minimum 11-12 night cruise, you have to consider your time flying to/from and a couple of days on each end getting over jet lag.

Most everyone I met that cruised the Med the first time or two have all said (and I totally agree) that itineraries are very port extensive and there is very little rest time throughout the cruise (but a whole lot to see). So if you won’t be able to get more days vacation you might want to consider a different itinerary and save a Med cruise for when you can have the time to enjoy it;). JMHO.

Good luck,

John

[Mr. Tricky]

Thank you everyone for your input and thank you Bruin Steve for those itineraries. We would love to take a longer trip but it will be tough. Work, kids, dog, house...etc. I actually lived in Berlin for 3 years so I know that there is much to see in Europe.. the history, the culture.. it would take a long time to even begin to soak up any of it.

You have all given me some great points to research further. However, I think it will be very difficult to take a longer trip. As it stands a 7 nighter is realy 9 with travel. I dont miss those transatlantic flights. If it were up to me we would sail over, cruise the med, then sail back :D

Oh well, maybe someday. For now I need to try to figure out how to make this a very special trip for us and make the most of the time we can

spend.

[Martita B.]

Check out Seabourn's new ship "Odyssey" ~~also another new ship coming out June 2011., "Sojourn."

Yes, Seabourn is slightly more expensive but it is certainly a match with everything you want and enjoy. (even smoking in your suite)

Good Luck and have a grrreat cruise!

Martita B.

[CruiserBruce]

I am no Med expert, but your choices on most of the lines mentioned so far will be limited in April, and even into May. Most of the standard names mentioned start moving their ships to the Med in very late April, and those early routes will be very unique (that is, one time only)and not standard or predictable. Late May would be the first you probably will be seeing a wide selection of cruises.

 

What I have done in the past is look in the timeframe one year earlier from our desired time(i.e. in your case April or May 2010) and see what is offered, and plan accordingly.

 

I have only been on 12 cruises (on 3 different lines), but have never seen a "hairy chest" contest. I would lose anyway!!:D:D:D

[Mr. Tricky]

CruiserBruce,

I have noticed that a lot of the 2011 med cruises are not posted yet. I am looking at April-May 2010 to give me an idea of what will be available. I would like to try to cruise in the spring as it is closer to our anniversay and I have heard the ports are less crowded than in summer.

[CruiserBruce]

As some one else mentioned, you won't be seeing Med 2011 cruise schedules until March-April 2010.

[bunnyette]

I’ll agree with everyone who stated you should do a longer than 7 day cruise. We are talking Europe here, not Alaska or the Caribbean. In addition to a minimum 11-12 night cruise, you have to consider your time flying to/from and a couple of days on each end getting over jet lag.

Most everyone I met that cruised the Med the first time or two have all said (and I totally agree) that itineraries are very port extensive and there is very little rest time throughout the cruise (but a whole lot to see). So if you won’t be able to get more days vacation you might want to consider a different itinerary and save a Med cruise for when you can have the time to enjoy it;). JMHO.

Good luck,

John

 

I have to agree 100%. 7 days is rather short and you want time to recover from jet lag etc...I've done 10 & 12 day and they are perfect. I had a collegue at work who did a 7 day European cruise and would never do that time period again in the future - he felt exhausted afterwards. The sea days allow you to relax on this very port intensive itinerary.

[UUNetBill]

Aw, jeez - now I don't know if I should be worried or not - my wife and I just booked our first cruise, next month on RSSC, 7 days from Monte Carlo to Athens, flying out of Colorado. Absolutely impossible for us to be gone longer than the time we've alloted, so I guess we'll have to make do! Long flights, port extensive cruise, jet lag, hangovers. . .still sounds like fun!

 

Of course, we've done 6 day trips to central Europe and a 4 day blast to Ireland, so quick blitz trips are nothing new, but you all have definitely made me think about squeezing in some extra days for our next cruise; we return from Athens on Sunday night and I have to be in the office on Monday AM!! :D Should be intersting. . .

[Bruin Steve]

Aw, jeez - now I don't know if I should be worried or not - my wife and I just booked our first cruise, next month on RSSC, 7 days from Monte Carlo to Athens, flying out of Colorado. Absolutely impossible for us to be gone longer than the time we've alloted, so I guess we'll have to make do! Long flights, port extensive cruise, jet lag, hangovers. . .still sounds like fun!

 

Of course, we've done 6 day trips to central Europe and a 4 day blast to Ireland, so quick blitz trips are nothing new, but you all have definitely made me think about squeezing in some extra days for our next cruise; we return from Athens on Sunday night and I have to be in the office on Monday AM!! :D Should be intersting. . .

 

Bill,

Don't worry...If all you can manage is 7 days, then that's all you can manage...I would rather do what you are doing thn nothing at all...and RSSC will pamper you enough that it will be worth it...

 

I am lucky...I can get away for a decent amount of time when I want--though about three weeks seems to be the limit before my clients start getting upset...I have trained them to know it's coming and they've learned to live with it...I have a colleague or two who have learned to cover me when I'm gone by shipping things to outside counsel (I am an in-house corporate lawyer in a big corporation with around 90+ lawyers none of whom seem to know anything about my specialties)...or by stalling people off with "Can this wait until Steve gets back?"...

 

So, for me, the perfect European vacation is a 14-night cruise with a 2 to 7 night pre-cruise and a couple of nights post cruise--taking full advantage of three weeks off work plus the weekends on either end...I like to fly in, tour a region, get accustomed to being 9 or 10 hours off my usual time, hop on the ship, relax for two weeks, then get off and enjoy where I'm at for a couple of days before flying home...It really allows me to decompress...and it makes the investment of all the money spent on flights and the 14 hours plus stops and layovers (and lost time one hours) all worthwhile...

 

Of course, I know that everyone isn't necessarily able to do the same, but I am pretty sure most of you would do it that way if you could..."in a perfect world"...

[CoralReef]

You of course know your own limits better than I do... but just speaking for myself, if I could only get away for 7 nights, I would prefer a luxurious Caribbean cruise or resort stay. For me, 7 nights in Europe is just not worth the price/length of transatlantic flights or the jetlag-- which only becomes more significant as we get older (we're 43).

[texancruzer]

If you can only do 7 nights....go for it. 7 nights is better than 0 nights !

 

Check out some of the "off season" cruises too. Our first one was a 9 nighter on Brilliance. It began in Rome and ended in Barcelona (to reposition for its transatlantic back to the Caribbean) the very end of Nov/early Dec. And the price **** really cheap **** We paid $899. per person for 9 nights. Just an option to look at.

 

We were loyal Royals......but did a Celebrity this last one (last month) as it had the itinerary we wanted...... loved it ! When we booked it was not especially a great price but we had 3 price drops in the first two weeks after we booked :eek: Came down ALOT !!!!! And we had an onboard credit as a booking incentive too.

 

I agree with other posters tho...... find the itinerary you want and then find the ship(s) that go to as many of them as possible...... the ship is really secondary in the Med as you are going going going the whole time.

 

Have fun researching and planning.....it is half the fun !

[mickeysgal]

If you can only do 7 nights....go for it. 7 nights is better than 0 nights !

 

I couldn't agree more. You may wait forever to have the vacation time, job circumstances, etc. to be able to clear the way for a 12+ night cruise. I hate to see people say maybe next year...next year may never come. Circumstances change, lives change, etc. Don't put off what you can do today. If 7 is your limit, and you want to see the Mediterranian, then find a Med. cruise that you like that is 7 days long. Don't settle for a cruise that isn't the Med. if that is not what you want.