Cruising around Europe
 

My husband and I are planning on taking a trip to Europe for 7-10 days and leaning towards a Med cruise. We would like to see several places but also would like time to relax and not be bombarded with so many things to do. We are on a modest budget that would allow for some frills but not too many. The small ships are enticing but are a little pricey (not sure what they include). Any suggestions?

Well, for a super duper cheap cruise with absolutely no frills (not even windows at times), there's easycruise.com.

For a cruise line in which you hope nothing goes wrong (because, except for a handful of people, you sure can't count on customer service from any level in the organization), you can try Costa Cruise. The one good thing they have going is their itinerary which I like. Their price is cheaper than the other lines. Hope you don't need customer service. However, if you need medical care, their medical facilities are great!

Any cruise line in the Med will be port intensive, but most ports will be within walking distance to the city. Most cities are easy to navigate on your own without the need to take a cruise tour, although the cruise tours we took were rather pleasant (and I dislike tours).

You don't mention your age range or budget (how pricey is pricey?).

Try Grand Cirecle Tours, which has a number of European cruises, including on the Mediterranean.

Ok - to see some of Europe and w/ a relatively modest budget - a cruise is the last thing I'd choose.

Cruises are great - for cruising and relaxing. But you'd be limited to short-ish shore excursions in all those fabulous places. And cruising is more expensive than renting an apartment/villa somewhere in Italy or southern France, or touring around by train. You can make a land-based trip just as leisurely as shipboard - for a LOT less money.

So if cruising w/ a bit of shore time is what you want - then OK. But if you want to see some glorious places in any sort of depth and save $$, I'd do a land-based trip.

We've done 2 European cruises, and there are pros & cons.

The pros -- you get a greater taste of Europe, visiting several countries/ports.

These were our cons -- You're on vacation. Up early in the morning, hurry to go on an excursion, make it back to the ship before sailing. We felt rushed, then get up the next day and do it all over again.

Our last vacation was to Tuscany where we rented an apartment for a week (very reasonable), and wandered around the countryside at our own pace with no particular schedule. ((b))

just some advice, don't book with Costa cruises, they can be less expensive ( though I never compared their prices to others ) but they are really bad! Food, service, terrible. I did a Mediterranean cruise with them and didn't like it at all. I have a review in epinions.com.
I have and American friend who also had bad feedback about Costa cruises from other people.

Sometimes a cruise is a nice way to see a number of places in a short time. It's quite easily done in the Caribbean. A little taste of Jamaica, the Caymans, St. Thomas, etc will let you know if it's a place you'd like to return to for a more in depth look.

The Med has some wonderful ports of call. But, they are not small islands and it takes time to explore each place. It can't be done in a day.

I took a 1-week cruise on Royal Carib in 2002 and it was really not bad. I did NOT take shore excursions sponsored by the ship in every port (only two of them) and instead went ashore to have a walk around on my own. Cruises are port intensive, yes. But you do not have to take a tour everyday! You are on vacation. Relax!! That's what a cruise is all about.

That said, budman's suggestion to rent a house or find a suitable hotel, then rent your car and see Tuscany is a good one. But that won't let you see places like Spain and the south of France and Malta. If it is your first trip to Europe, the cruise might be a good idea for getting a sample of several countries. You might choose one that ends in Italy and then allow yourselves a few days at the end to see Rome or Florence before heading home. Just my suggestions.

What about the smaller ships (windstar, etc)? Are they worth the money? Our budget was around $5,000 to including everything except for airfare. But we are willing to spend a little more if it's worth it. It seems that a little more is included in the smaller ships and the ports are a little more intimate. I'm not crazy about having to travel through 2 hours of traffic after fighting the cruise crowd in order to get to the town (i.e. Rome) and then maybe having 6hours to tour. We don't need all the distractions that a big ship has to offer. I am open to renting a place and staying there for a week but I haven't had great experiences with that. We have only been to Europe one other time... London and not at all impressed with out accomodations. And if we get there and don't like it then we are stuck. Oh, we are looking for a thirty- or so something crowd (we are both in our early thirties). The river cruises seem interesting but I think they are too laid back for us.

topping...

(this better than starting a new thread, in my opinion)...

Best wishes,

Rex

The smaller ships are more pricey. Sometimes they do dock at ports the larger ships can't get to. We have done 20 criuses on SilverSeas- small and nice and some of the larger lines- Princess Holland Am, NCL, Curnard and Celebrity, larder ships but just as nice. Our best cruises are on the "smaller" ships of the biger lines. We can't drink enough to justify the prices of the all inclusive lines. The staff, food and cabins are about the same on all. Free drinks seems to be the main difference besides price for the smaller lines. On the larger lines you will find a big mix of age groups. During school vacation there will be kids, though most lines handle them really well.

We have been cruising in Europe since we were in our thirties(20+ years ago). Will do another the North Cape this summer with a 10 day driving trip in France at the end.

Cruising is a good way to see the Med or the Baltic(done both). It can be a very relaxing way too. You can do your own thing in all ports. Many provide a shuttle into city center. Most of the bigger cities have a "hop on hop off" bus, so it is easy to do your own thing. Same thing on the ship-pick one that has things that appeal to you and then do what you want on board.

If you have a really special city like Rome you want to visit, try to get a cruise that starts or ends there or even overnights. Then you can spend a few days before the cruise or after enjoying the city. If the ship did an overnight, we have actually gotten off the ship and spent the night in town if the drive was long-Rome and Jerusalem.

Both "in country stays" and cruises are great to see Europe. The big name ships have always been good, consistant and relaxing, but we have had some less than wonderful accomadations/food on land trips and some nerve racking travel days in country. We still do both tyoes of trips, just depends if we want to see something in depth or want a fun hit the high points trip.

Hi Z,

>...not at all impressed with our [London] accomodations. And if we get there and don't like it then we are stuck. <

And if you don't like the cruise ship, how do you get off? :)

>...planning on taking a trip to Europe for 7-10 days and leaning towards a Med cruise.<

You can either visit somewhere in Europe for 7-10 days or take a cruise on the Med - they are completely different experiences.

Since you have not yet been to Paris, I suggest that you go there. 10 days will be a very pleasant experience and will allow for daytrips.

Have a nice vacation.

((I))

I agree with Budman's assessment although you don't have to go on any excursions, etc., unless you want to. And many of them can be done on your own.

As to the possibility of getting on a ship and feeling "trapped"...the best way to avoid that is to do what you are doing: plenty of research in advance and I would NOT limit myself to this board but rather go somewhere like cruise critics and read all those messages, too.

I've done it both ways, by land and sea and the two experiences are, and very much should, be different.

There are specials at vacationstogo.com once you've decided on a ship.

To me a cruise deprives you of spending leisurely evenings in the area where you are staying. Having to be back on the boat by a certain time would rob you of the experience of really sinking into a place and getting the feel for it.

The whole atmosphere of cruises is just too sterile for me anyways. To me, its like a drive by vacation rather than a real traveling experience. But to each his own.