Orient Cruise to Mediterranean for Family of 4?
 

We have an opportunity to book an 18-day Cruise on the Crown Odyssey leaving from Barcelona and going to: Monte Carlo, Rome, Sorrento, valletta (Malta), Santorini, Athens, Istanbul, Kusadasi (Turkey), Mykonos (Greece),Dubrovnik (Croatia), and disembarking in Venice. We are a family of 4 taking our first cruise and the special offer is $10,022.00 for all 4 of us, which I am given to understand is a terrific deal. <BR><BR>Question: Do any of you have any opinions of this cruise line and this Mediterranean cruise in particular? Will our 2 teenage daughters enjoy this cruise/cruise line? How does this cruise measure up against others?<BR>Should we be at concerned about safety given the pending hostilities in Iraq?<BR><BR>Any and all comments, good or bad would be appreciated.<BR><BR>sb

We did a very similar itinerary on the Marco Polo (Orient Line) about 5 years ago and LOVED IT. Your teens will be fine and really enjoy it as well. Orient Cruise Line has some of the nicest staff (mostly Filapino and always happy and smiling). You will not be disappointed! Orient offers the best value of any cruiseline IMO because of the pre and post hotels and excursions. Book It Today! Marcie

I can't speak for the cruise line but your girls will not believe how lucky they are to have such an incredible opportunity. And for 18 days! You are going to some incredible ports.Wow!They will love every minute. <BR><BR>We did a 12 day Med cruise on Celebrity with our teenage sons and another family with teenage daughters. They all loved it. They got so much out of it, learned so much and enjoyed themselves while learning. For a review and some tips, see my report at<BR>http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&amp;s=927093444&amp;f=147097554&am p;m=7033095932.<BR><BR>The other thing that I can't advise you on is the impending situation. That is something you will just have to see how it plays out over the next few months.

One more thing. For reviews on the crown odyssey, go to http://www.cruisecritic.com/communit...rown%20Odyssey

I'm a little late to the party, but my wife and I honeymooned on the Crown Odyssey three years ago and loved it.

Our trip started with 3 nights? in Istanbul at the Ceylon Intercontinental (very nice but after dining at the Four Seasons Istanbul, we would have preferred it over the Ceylon IC). We really enjoyed Istanbul and found the people to be very warm and friendly.

We then boarded the Crown Odyssey for a 6 or 7 night cruise through the Greek Isles and Italy, stopping in such places as Kusadasi, Mykonos, Santorini, Malta, Sorrento/Capri and concluding in Rome where we had 3 nights at the Parco Dei Principi hotel, a wonderful 5* hotel in a not so busy part of Rome.

Our only wish was that we had more time in Mykonos, Santorini, Malta and Capri.

We stayed in a junior suite and found that size room perfect for our tastes.
The food was only average but we ate very good food in Greece on the excursions and Italy so it was no big deal.

There were not very many children/teens at all but then again, the cruise began on about June 01st or 02nd that year and possibly school was not out yet.

I would definitely sail on the Crown Odyssey again. The only other ship I have sailed on was the Holland America Ryndam and although I have often seen it rated higher than the Crown Odyssey, I much preferred the Crown Odyssey.

If you care to read a review of my cruise, I posted it here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_90669878916

Good luck.

Dear Cruisers,
The Travel Warning for Turkey (issued 3/19/03) has been cancelled.
Please do not hasitate to travel Turkey.
And enjoy your holiday.

www.ephesustours.com