museumlover

My husband and I are considering taking our first cruise in 2010. We hope to include some of the following cities: Santorini, Izmir (Ephesus), Dubronik, and Alexandria on a 7-10 day cruise. In order that you can help us, please let me take a few minutes to introduce us. We are people who generally do our "own thing" (we don't take a lot of company provided excursions because we can usually manage on our own and see just what we are interested in). As you can tell from my name, I love museums and historical places. We are not the "lay out by the pool" people. We like to go and become a part of the local culture. Before purchasing this cruise, we need the help of our fellow Fodorites. Question #1: What websites are best for affordable crusing (best deals)? Question #2: What websites are best for background information on cruise lines, ships, and customer reviews? Question #3: What time is best to go for managable weather but good deals? Question #4: What cruise lines do we need to avoid? Question #5: What questions should we ask before purchasing? Any help would be greatly appreciated. HAPPY TRAVELS!

Royal

I would suggest you check out Cruise Critic - www.cruisecritic.com.

We have never been on a cruise as we prefer independent travel and avoiding large crowds so cruising didn't appeal. However, we have succumbed and booked a cruise on Oceania for Oct.2010 for the Mediterranean. Their ships are smaller - 680 passengers, with open seating and no formal nights.

This particular itinerary we have chosed is very port intensive - visiting Malta, Crete, Israel, Egypt and Turkey.

I got the best background info on Cruise Critic and then phoned a cruise specialist travel agent to book.

abram

Royal, you've chosen our favorite cruise line; I hope you love it as much as we do.

I second the recommendation for the message boards at Cruise Critic--there is a wealth of information available about cruiselines and ports, and answers to any question you could imagine.

We've had some success getting good prices by requesting bids from various travel agencies at www.cruisecompete.com.

museumlover

Thanks for your help...I will check out cruisecritic and cruisecompete

Aristotle

I think that I saw your response to this question in another string, but I think that from what you originally said that NCL and RCL may not suit you well. I've been or RCL and while we had a good time, it seemed more suited to a livlier crowd. And I've not heard great things about NCL. We favor HAL and Celebrity. They are not too fancy, but they are not too party either. I would also try to arrange tours with independent tour guides at various ports - here's where a good travel agent can help. The ship's tours are pretty regimented. Also the Fodors guide for European cruises gives great info on ships and ports. Just don't take it along. The airline might charge a lot because of its weight.

cruisin_tigger

vacationstogo.com is also good. Sign up for their sale alert emails.

museumlover

Thanks for the tips!

triathlete

I'd second http://www.cruisecompete.com. Vtgo is good to help choose a sailing, but you'll probably get a lower rate with the agent competition on Cruise Compete.

spurs

Another one is www.cruisenegotiators.com similar to cruisecompete.

BernieReumann

There are so many options available in cruises at this time that provide great value. A cruise is all about the experience and selecting the right ship is of major importance. If you were to select a cruise on Holland America or Celebrity you will probably end up paying the same by the time you get off the ship with all the incidental charges, that you would pay for a cruise on Crystal, the #1 cruise line in the world. On Crystal you will receive $1000 per person shipboard credits which you can use towards anything on the ship including shore excursions which can get expensive in some ports. Regent includes unlimited shore excursions and is all-inclusive in the price. If you would like more information on the deluxe cruises that are offering 2-for-1 pricing and FREE airfare please send me an email at [email protected]

museumlover

BernieReumann---THANKS for the info. Since we have so many frequent flyer miles (we have enough for 4 roundtrips to Europe)we will probably use our miles for the air travel. I am interested in this concept of not "nickle and diming". We were expecting to do our own excursions (not the cruise lines). What other incidental charges can we expect? Thanks again!

scdreamer

I second the idea of checking out Oceania ... we cruised the Med about three years ago on Oceania's Insignia, and thought it was wonderful. Very port intensive, with only a single "at sea" day during the 12 day cruise beginning in Athens and ending in Venice. We chose to arrange our own tours in the various ports, and we enjoyed the smaller ship, great food and service, good company ... and especially liked the stringent non-smoking policy.

travel4now

Do remember, museumlover, that when you take the cruise line's excusions you have a guarantee that the ship will not leave without you. You'll want a very dependable tour company if you book otherwise. We cruise often, on a variety of cruise lines, big and small ships, have for 10 years, and in many waters--seas, oceans, rivers. We found that not always do smaller ships have more sophisticated dining. Because we don't drink much beyond what is included and don't care to buy onboard ships, cruising is an incredible bargain. We were surprised this year to find that our most enjoyable cruise overall was on a Royal Caribbean big ship--Voyager of the Seas, transatlantic, Galveston to Southampton in April (14 days). It was elegant, fun, sociable, romantic, entertaining, adventurous, delicious! While onboard we booked another transatlantic for next spring--Navigator of the seas, Miami to Rome. Can't wait for more wonderful ports of call! You can check crucon.com for low group rates and onboard credit. They included shuttles to and from the ship at no extra charge. Repositioning cruises are your best buy.