Mediterranean Cruising For Dummies
 

I'd like some advice from all you savvy cruise vacationers out there. My wife and I want to cruise the eastern Mediterranean in 2012 as part of a summer holiday in Europe. I'd like to research and book this a cruise package sooner rather than later so I can move on to planning other parts of our trip. We've traveled a bit but have been on a cruise only once--a decade ago for a week in the Caribbean--so we're very much uninformed on the subject. We're quite flexible on details like the date of the cruise, its' duration, ports of call, carrier and such. And, we're not necessarily looking for the least expensive package but, rather, the package that offers a fair balance between quality experience and value. Here's where I need your advice. I like planning our trips myself but, given my lack of experience on the matter, should I consult a travel agent? If I do the planning myself is there a particular website I may not be aware of that I should mine for the best bargains or are the standard travel sites (i.e., Expedia, Orbitz, etc.) all I need? My impression of cruise shopping is that there can be wide variations in pricing for identical packages (kind of like buying airline tickets) with the bargains going to those shrewd travelers who have a strategy. Is my impression correct? If it is then what is this strategy? Enlighten me, please. I'm counting on you seasoned cruise takers to make me an instant expert.

We've been on several cruises, but I don't feel like a real expert - savcing vast sums of money, getting upgraded free from an inside cabin to the penthouse and such. I do have severl impressions, though. I would go through a travel agent - preferably some one close to home that you can see face to face and can know you and do you some favors, if needed. Also the "best" deals aren't always the best deals. I have seen people bragging about saving $100 on a whole cruise. When dealing with cruise lines, it seems that they hold all the cards. There is little you can do about a lot of things, like complaints. Read these forums, and others to et an idea of which lines to avoid. Fodors has book on European cruise lines and ports of call which is good for background. Otherwise I always pick some itineraries from two or three cruise lines and then see which one suits me best.

For booking cruises, I think you should look at some of the travel sites that deal primarily with cruises: cruisecritic.com, cruisecon, vacationstogo, etc. rather than Expedia, Orbitz, etc.

Look for a cruise that make stops where the ports are actually the places you want to see, or very near those places. You don't want to spend lots of your travel time getting to/from the port and have only a few hours of actual sightseeing time at someplace way inland.

Look for cruises that give you long port time - early morning to late afternoon/evening, rather than just a few hours.

So, look really hard at both the ports of call and the length of time you will be there.

You can save significantly by booking far in advance or waiting until the last minute, but to be honest, there isn't that much difference in pricing unless you're talking about a cruise that's been discounted heavily because it's not selling well. Prices vary in the hundreds of dollars sometimes, but it's rarely more than a swing of 5% of the total price.

In terms of interesting cruises, the most interesting itineraries tend to be on smaller ships because you can go to ports that the large ships can fit into, including smaller Greek islands you might not otherwise be able to visit and smaller Croatian ports. The real question is whether you want a 7-night itinerary on a large ship, where there is little variation in itineraries, or a longer itinerary on a smaller ship, when things can change up a lot.

But also keep in mind that by booking a cruise so far in advance, you also run the risk that the ship's itinerary could change ... sometimes dramatically. For that reason, I would probably recommend using a travel agent who specializes in cruises and who can keep an eye on your trip for you and advocate for you if something changes and you want to pull out and move to another ship or just get a refund. This happened a lot this year when most of the port calls to Tunisia and Egypt were cancelled. A lot of people weren't happy because they were switched to a more typical itinerary of Greece, Turkey, and perhaps Malta or Sicily.

You've received excellent advice. Personally, I would NEVER book a cruise to Greece and the Eastern Med in the heat of the summer months. Just my opinion....

As Doug St. pointed out, we prefer smaller ships among other features for the preferred docking, which btw was most convenient on a Baltic cruise, too.

I've been to the eastern med Three times in the heat of the Summer and the heat over there wasn't any more off-putting than it is here at home and there's a lot more to see and do but to each their own.

You'll save even MORE money if you use a DISCOUNTER and the best way to do that IMO is

find the cruise you want
contact at least two, if not three discounters and ask them what they can sell it to youfor

The cruise industry is VASTLY overbuilt and most companies make extensive use of discounters to sell cabins

As at least one responder already mentioned, the first thing that I'd do is go to vacationstogo.com and put in your criteria (e.g., dates, destination, length of cruise) to see a listing of what's available and approximate pricing. Then, narrow down your choices. You might decide to actually book through vacationstogo, which has a good reputation. Alternatively, you could use a discounter as was also mentioned. If you decide to splurge on a luxury cruise line, I would definitely choose a TA that specializes in such lines. Our TA falls in the latter category, and I am confident that for what we book, we are getting the best fares available.

The only cruise line I would consider is Oceania. Small ships, easy to get into ports,( i.e. no tenders,) great food, no assigned seating, several restaurants to chose from.... They sail the Eastern Med. and its a great company.

There are several luxury cruise companies that sail both the Western and Eastern Mediterranean in ships that are similar in size to Oceania. Azamara Club Cruises is the cheapest of these, but there's also Silversea, Windstar (which just entered bankruptcy but intends to reorganize and continue operating without pause), and Regent Seven Seas as well as a few other lines that don't require tenders. Oceania is not the only choice available to the poster.

Interesting information about Windstar. They recently sent a catalog. Had no idea they're in bankruptcy.

kleroux - We're cruising with Oceania May 22nd "Jewels of the Aegean". :-)
Will be able to compare the difference as we cruised the Greek Isles with a larger ship years ago.