wow

Hi, Everybody! I am trying to plan a luxury Mediterranean Cruise for mid-May/07(OMG...that's in 3 months!!!). Mom wants her own private balcony on the ship where she can sit in the sun, sip chilled Chardonnay & read. Two teens (18 & 19 yo University students)want FUN!
Everybody wants to explore on "land days". Any suggestions?

spurs

It looks like Holland America new Vista class ship, Noordam or Westerdam, will be a good match for both mom and teens. Not sure which one sails Med now. If you go with luxury cruise line, mom certaily will love it but the teens will not have much to do on board. My take: HAL, suite for mom and inside cabin for teens (balcony sure wouldn't hurt if you can afford).

spurs

P.S. Just remember 18 and 19 are not old enough to be in cabin by themselves so may need to book cabins next to each other.

GoneTomorrow

HAL has a nice, ten day loop out of Rome on a vista ship. Alternating loops through the Med and Greek Isles. The Greek Isles looks more interesting.

desertduds

I do believe HA allows over 18 year olds to have their own cabin and you could probably get connecting rooms, if you hurry with your investigation of tours....we are going on a HA Westerdam Mediterranean cruise May 20th.

fmpden

desertduds, we were on that loop last year -- same dates. This year we are doing the other loop -- Greek isles on the 30th. We will cross paths in the port.

kfusto

HAL does not allow an 18 and 19 YO to share a room with no adult in the same cabin.

HAL is very nice but not a true "luxury" line. IMO, it is the best of the mass market lines. I would never call it a "fun" ship, rather traditional and low key.

In mid May there will very likely be few if any your teens age on board.

wow

Thanks for the suggestions & comments. That is the problem: Finding a ship where there will be other 18 & 19 year olds for the guys to hang out with. Any other ideas?
Maybe we will bump it up to the end of May ...The Greek Isles tour looks amazing!

wow

kfusto: Can you rec a luxury ship?

kfusto

Regent but I would not recommend for your teens. This is a very adult oriented, low key and upscale experience.

If I were you, I would forget the luxury part and book a ship your kids will enjoy. RCI's big ships do the Med and have a ton to offer for families travelling together. Book the best suite you can afford and have dinner a few nights in the nicer restaurants onboard.

While not a luxury cruise, the ships are very nice and very active for your teens. You can "luxe" up the mass market experience and come closer to meeting everyone's needs.

wow

Thx, kfusto I will check out RCI. I have their Carib book but not the Med one so I will get that. I guess I cld also check online.
What do you think of HAL or Celebrity? Celebrity has a 12 night "Classical Mediterranean" cruise on Millenium. Barcelona to Venice. Departs May 13/07

kfusto

I like X and HAL and consider them the best of the mass market lines. Both cater to older crowds and that sailing is when school is still in session so I think you will have the same issue.

I book with HAL and X for the elegance, quiet ambiance, formality and for the lack of families and avoid RCI, NCL and Carnival for those exact same reasons

wow

kfusto: What is X?
School is still in session in May but University finishes at the end of April. My kids are University students aged 18 & 19. I am hoping to find other families travelling at the same time w/ older kids...youg adults really. Looks like X ( whatever that is) & HAL wld be my best bet. What about Celebrity? Is that X???

fmpden

As I indicated earlier we were on the HAL cruise on May 20 out of Rome thru the Med last year. The curise was very mixed and would not classify it as "older crowd." Our two college age sons had no problem other young things to spend the evening with. We wee on the 12th vovage of the Noordam. Very nice. Whether there are young adult on aboard or not is mostly chance.

wow

Thx, fmpden: I see that you will be on the HAL May 30 sailing. Is that the 10 day "Roman Empire" cruise from Rome on Westerdam? Will your college kids be w/ you this time?

fmpden

NOT THIS TIME !!! This will be the first trip in a long time without the boys. Older one is working in Chicago and younger one needs a summer internship. Last year they spent three weeks in and around Croatia and then met us in Rome for the cruise. Last year we intended to take the G Isle cruise on the 30th but at the last minute shifted to the 20th departure and forgot to check the itinerary, What a surprise -- we are headed west instead of east. In hindsite it was a terrific cruise and glad we took it. On this year we are going where we intended to go originally. We were in the GreekIsles about 15 years ago and have been interested in returning. Looking forward to this year.

wow

Sounds great,fmpden! We were in Corfu 20 years ago...Honeymoon in May! So, this is special. Now looking @ May 25 departure
on Celebrity from Venice. I can't get that balcony out of my head! Do you think 12 days is too long for the guys? We have travelled a lot but have never done a cruise so this is all new to us.It wld be great if we end up w/ one that has Corfu...the May 30 "10 day" w/ HAL out of Rome has Corfu! Do you have a balcony??

kfusto

wow, sorry, yes X is Celebrity.

If you are looking at Century, I was aboard 2 months ago and she is looking good!

fmpden

Wow, we are the type that books the least expensive cabin and then trys to work some type of upgrade. In part because we spend so little time in the cabin, that we don't see a need to spend the extra money. The food in the dinning room is same regardless of cabin location. Someday we may have a balcony and decide we cannot live without it. But not this year. We also somewhat follow the Rick Steves' philosophy of traveling light and low. This will be our sixth European cruise with a total of nearly 300 days of travel in Europe over the past twelve years or so. The result is that our children are well traveled == and perhaps too much for their age. As educators our income is limited and forced to travel in the more expensive summer months, so we always thought that an extra week or two in Europe was better than an expensive cabin. And we seldom book the ship's excursions. We are careful about how we spend the dollar. But it is a matter of setting your own priorities. I made similar comments earlier on this site and someone who claimed to have been on 112 cruises ripped on me for being cheap and would NEVER travel without a balcony. Trust me -- it didn't brother me a bit.

No, I don't think 12 days is too much. We generally prefer the 10 to 15 day cruises just because it provides time to settle into a routine. Have been on one 7 day caribbean cruise that went too fast. Barely unpacked before we had to get off. European cruises tend to hit a lot of ports so the focus for us in on the ports and not the ship.

If you have other questions or concerns, let me know. Travel well, travel often == Frank

kfusto

wow, if you really want to get a feel for the style and demographic of the various cruise lines, spend some time on cruisecritic. It is far more lively than Fodors in terms of cruise postings.

You can also look in the "Roll Call" section of that message board and actually read postings of those that are on sailings you are considering. Ask if there are any teens travelling.

There are a wide range of accomodations available on most ships these days so your budget and tastes should determine your choices.