Investigating Eastern Med cruise in mid October. Found acceptable itinerary on both Celebrity Solstice and Variety Cruises. Prices are fairly competitive, Solstice is HUGE brand, new ship and Variety ship seems much smaller; pros or cons of each? Found some info on Solstice on Cruise Critic, none seems available on Variety ship. Thoughts? Comments? Thanks!

http://www.varietycruises.com/

Has anyone been on the Celebrity Solstice? This is new (2008) and holds 2,850 passengers. Not sure this will be great trip with so many passengers descending all at once.

Does anyone have other suggestions for cruises leaving either Greece or Italy, traveling E. Med? Want to cruise 7-10 days to see historical/architectural sites. Thanks!

aliska...
Just got back this week (5/25) after sailing the Eastern Med on Solstice. What a fantastic ship ! Even with 2850 passengers on board it seemed like only half were actually there. The open spaces on the ship made it feel very uncrowded. Only time I notice many cruisers was during the shows in the theater. The cruise was great. I booked Aqua Class & that allowed us the option of eating in Blu every morning/evening. Excellent food/service/presentations.
I should have boned up on my ancient history & Roman Peganism.

I've had my fill of ruins after seeing/walking/climbing thru Athens, Ephesus, Rome, Massina & various Greek islands.

Absolutely worth every $ spent.

Zig, thanks for the update! Did you do the ship's shore excursions or did you go out & about on your own? My mother (80 but very young at heart) is considering a Venice/Florence/CC Solstice cruise/Rome trip for October. Neither of us has ever been on a cruise ship so very, very large - what was disembarkation like at each port? Do they tender or is there docks? Mom has some knee and hip issues, she is concerned. If you can include anything you think might affect a slightly "physically challenged" person, I would greatly appreciate it.

Did you spend anytime in Italy before or after the trip? What is transportation like from the port to Rome and vice versa? Thanks so much!

I went on the Equinox (solstice sister ship) in Auguest 2009 (Rome, Naples, Athens, Rhodes, Israel, Turkey, Egypt). I've been on several cruise ships and this one just blew me away. Its an absolutely gorgious boat. The grass deck is amazing. The food (especially the specialty restaurants, but everything else too) was very good to outstanding. Celebrity does a great job. Can't give it a higher recommendation.