My wife and I are considering a 15-night European cruise. But I'm wondering if we'd be better off buying an Eurail pass and creating our own tour. Please kindly share your insights, experiences and recommendations. Thanks in advance.

The cruise's ports of call are: Harwich, UK; Le Havre, France; Vigo, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Gibraltar; Marseille, France; Livorno, Italy; Civitavecchia, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Corfu, Greece; Santorini, Greece; Kusadasi, Turkey; Athens, Greece.

Depends om what you want - do you want to spend your time seeing European cities? Or do you want to spend most of your time cruising, and briefly visiting the cities as shore excursions? That decision is up to you.

But if you do decide on a land based trip - don't assume a Eurail pass is the way to go. For many itineraries point to point train tickets or low cost flights are cheaper than a rail pass.

What Janis said. Plus that's a lot of ports for 15 days. You won't see much of those cities.

Most of us here on Fodor's research our own trips and travel independently. And spend more time at each stop. You're welcome to ask questions about your proposed itinerary.

Thank you for your suggestions.

The easy thing to do is opt for the cruise. But I agree that we won't get to see much of each city. Are there proven itineraries that we can follow that would provide a better experience? How would I find such itineraries?

Thanks again.

Hi YP,

14 cities in 15 days means you will be off the boat at 08:00 and back on board at 18:00.

Le Havre is the port for Paris, Livorno for Florence, Civitavecchia for Rome. You will have to take trains or the cruise tour to see those cities.

Figure to lose 3-4 hrs from your sightseeing time.

If you actually want to visit Europe, which is quite different from a Med cruise, I suggest that you plan for no more than 4 cities in 2 weeks - eg, Venice, Florence and Rome.

As noted, a railpass isn't always the cheapest way.

Have fun planning.

I would go for the cruise. It gives you a glimpse of all the cities you mentioned without the hassle of own transport and lodgings. You could always return to the places you liked.

Ira, as usual gives excellent advice.
15-night cruise is a "If it's Tuesday it must be Belgium syndrome."
Pick a country & hit 3-4 cities to give
you a good overview.
If you must do more than 1 country, choose say, London or Paris rd-trip & fly the cheaper European airlines (Ryan,etc.) within European cities.

The place to start is to think about what YOU have always dreamed of seeing in Europe.

Your cruise itinerary includes 11 different countries. Which of those are your priorities? Can your narrow it down to one or two countries? Certain countries match well together because of proximity and good transportation connections.

Also tell us your interests. Do you like museums? hiking? sitting on a beach? natural beauty?

If you can narrow your choices and specify your interests, Fodorites would love to advise you.

You first have to decide which places you really want to see. Look at guidebooks with lots of pictures like the DK series. Watch travel videos on TV or rent them. Rick Steves' shows and books are excellent for first-time travelers. I get all this kind of stuff from the library.

One way to set up an itinerary is to look at the itineraries for tour groups. Then decrease the number of stops and increase the time spent at each stop, especially in big cities like London, Rome, and Paris.

Often, future travelers post their tentative itineraries on this forum. The experts can point out the problems and nearby sights not to be missed.

Apples and Toyotas.

The cruise will be easier - one unpacking, reliable, comfortable bed every night, plenty of food choices, 3 sea days (assuming it's Holland America's schedule - looks like it) which are very relaxing and time to recharge batteries.

The negatives are limited time in each city, the temptation to take overpriced "excursions" offered by the cruise line, seeing the same people at dinner every night (can also be a plus - do you feel lucky?) and - probably - less interaction with the locals than you'd have with a land-based trip.

The train will allow more in-depth visiting, but obviously you will have to put together an entirely different itinerary - the ship goes to places where no train can go. You will have to manage luggage and transfers and deal with hotel people, unpacking, etc; and unless you pick one or two cities and use them as bases (which largely negates the added benefit of a Eurail Pass instead of just point-to-point rail fares) you will be moving much of the time in the same 15-day period.

Of course, if you add additional visiting days before or after the cruise in the UK and Greece, then you could see those places in more depth. (Or you could also go somewhere else before and/or after - France > England, or Athens > Venice, for instance.)

One thing to note especially this year is that the cruise will almost certainly be cheaper - probably way cheaper - than the land-based alternative. On the August 22 HAL departure, for instance, I can see an view room coming in at around US$125 per person per day. That includes room, transportation and meals (and also "entertainment" in the showrooms.) Unless you're contemplating very inexpensive accommodations and dining, that price will be very hard to beat on land.

Our experience is that a cruise can be very relaxing and can offer glimpses - no more - of places that you can put on your list for more in-depth visits on your own later. (It can also help put places on the "never again" list - which can be useful. Sardinia in our case.)

If it is indeed the August sailing, I'd also mention that I find land touring in central/southern Europe in August to be hot, crowded, and less than ideal. Others' experiences will vary.