Eastern Mediterranean Cruise
Sep 27th, 2018 | 03:11 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 63
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Eastern Mediterranean Cruise
Hello: Considering taking a Mediterranean cruise in the summer of 2019. I would like to see some of Italy and Greece, that is why I am focusing on the eastern Mediterranean. I would be traveling with my wife and our thirteen y/o daughter. Wanted to hear from those of you who have experienced this type of cruise. Any advice on cruise line, ship names, itineraries, etc. would be most helpful. I probably will have ten vacation days. Just throwing around the idea at the moment. I just thought a cruise would be easier than flying or taking ferries between both countries. Thanks.
Sep 27th, 2018 | 06:06 PM
#3
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,258
Likes: 0
Hello jrsaf -- you need far more info than travel forums have time or space to provide, but at least we can give a reality check about cruises.
Cruises -- at lest the more affordable "conventional" kind -- may be "easy" but they won't give you an experience of the Greek islands, they will give you an experience of being on a ship. The brochures go on and on about the islands, but the truth is, most stops are for half a day, and there will be 1,500 - 2,500 passangers on board, and you you will spend up to an hour in line getting off the ship, and ditto getting back on. During your entire shore time you will be surrounded by other cruise passengers, in a "cruiser bubble" and will wander around streets of touristy gift shops, hearing only English, and probably surrounded by greyhairs, many with canes. That is not what you want. There are very nice cruises on ships with very few passengers (50 - 100), that can visit lovely small islands with small harbors where the Monsterships cannot go --- but these are very pricey.
Very frankly giving 10 days to italy and 10 to Greece does justice to neither, especially since you do not seem to be familiar with either country. Ten days is really not enough time to see much of Greece unless you do enough research & prep. You have a whole YEAR to plan this; why not go get a guidebook? Then when you have at least seen the basics, then you can contact a GREECE-based agency, and they can handle getting you reservations at hotels, and arranging flights & ferries. One that's well-reviewed is Dolphin-Hellas -- they've built a reputation for dealing with N. American "newbies" working via e-mail. A good thing about an agency IN the country you visit is that, if anything goes wrong, they're right on the spot to solve it. Italy probably has similar agencies. Italy is somewhat easier to get around in, because it has an extensive RAIL network... you could fly into Venice for 2 - 3 days, then take a train to somewhere like Orvieto, then on to Florence, and eventually down to Rome. Greece has almost no trains. On the other hand, if beaches are important, the Greek islands are a much easier place to have fun by the sea.
At this point you don't know enough to make good choices.... Why not assign this as a project for your 13-year-old?? Ask her which country she would like to visit most, and have her bring home travel guides from the library to show the reasons why. Another thing to research would be the WEATHER for a given time... Greece in July-August is Hot hot hot... can be over 100°F at mid-day ... and because the whole of Northern Europe flies there in Jumbo Jets and invades, the isles will be jammed to the gills at that time. Except for Northern areas, Italy can be miserably hot in July-August as well, and the cooling sea breezes are not as accessible. JUNE would be the best do-able time for your family... take off the very day after she finishes classes.
Cruises -- at lest the more affordable "conventional" kind -- may be "easy" but they won't give you an experience of the Greek islands, they will give you an experience of being on a ship. The brochures go on and on about the islands, but the truth is, most stops are for half a day, and there will be 1,500 - 2,500 passangers on board, and you you will spend up to an hour in line getting off the ship, and ditto getting back on. During your entire shore time you will be surrounded by other cruise passengers, in a "cruiser bubble" and will wander around streets of touristy gift shops, hearing only English, and probably surrounded by greyhairs, many with canes. That is not what you want. There are very nice cruises on ships with very few passengers (50 - 100), that can visit lovely small islands with small harbors where the Monsterships cannot go --- but these are very pricey.
Very frankly giving 10 days to italy and 10 to Greece does justice to neither, especially since you do not seem to be familiar with either country. Ten days is really not enough time to see much of Greece unless you do enough research & prep. You have a whole YEAR to plan this; why not go get a guidebook? Then when you have at least seen the basics, then you can contact a GREECE-based agency, and they can handle getting you reservations at hotels, and arranging flights & ferries. One that's well-reviewed is Dolphin-Hellas -- they've built a reputation for dealing with N. American "newbies" working via e-mail. A good thing about an agency IN the country you visit is that, if anything goes wrong, they're right on the spot to solve it. Italy probably has similar agencies. Italy is somewhat easier to get around in, because it has an extensive RAIL network... you could fly into Venice for 2 - 3 days, then take a train to somewhere like Orvieto, then on to Florence, and eventually down to Rome. Greece has almost no trains. On the other hand, if beaches are important, the Greek islands are a much easier place to have fun by the sea.
At this point you don't know enough to make good choices.... Why not assign this as a project for your 13-year-old?? Ask her which country she would like to visit most, and have her bring home travel guides from the library to show the reasons why. Another thing to research would be the WEATHER for a given time... Greece in July-August is Hot hot hot... can be over 100°F at mid-day ... and because the whole of Northern Europe flies there in Jumbo Jets and invades, the isles will be jammed to the gills at that time. Except for Northern areas, Italy can be miserably hot in July-August as well, and the cooling sea breezes are not as accessible. JUNE would be the best do-able time for your family... take off the very day after she finishes classes.
Sep 27th, 2018 | 06:12 PM
#4
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 12,050
Likes: 0
Post your question also on the cruise forum here on Fodors. There may not be much activity on that forum right now, but there are several members who have done multiple Med cruises. As a matter of fact, DH and I met and had dinner with some Fodorites on a Med cruise.
Look at cruises on vacationstogo.com as a start to see what is available.
Join and look at cruisecritic.com to read reviews of ships, itineraries, ports, etc.
You will probably hear a lot of negatives about cruises. They may or may not be true, depending on the ship and the itinerary. They may not even matter to you. We have taken three different cruises that each included some of the Med: Italy, Greece and Turkey as well as Israel, Spain and France.
Cruise vacations are great for being easy and you can see a lot if you choose a good itinerary with long days in interesting ports.
A cruise is a completely different experience from being in a city, town or island in the evening when it may be quiet or have a party going on.
Eating in little, local restaurants is unique compared with cruise dining, no matter how good it is. Waking up and being able to walk right out of hotel for sight seeing is different than getting off the cruise ship at a dock. Sometimes the dock is right in town. Other times, you have to walk, get a shuttle or taxi. None is hard, just different.
On your own, you have to plan trains, ferries, etc. not hard either, just different than a cruise.
On the cruise, you will have pools to enjoy at the end of a tiring day of sightseeing and you can relax or take part in all kinds of activities. Most kids I have met love cruises!
We choose cruises for one of two reasons.
1. We want to see a lot of archeological sites and will be walking a lot, so are fine with dinner and evenings on the ship. The itinerary is most important.
2. We want an easy, fun vacation with some sightseeing and days at sea in a beautiful area. The ship, food, activities and weather is most important.
In Europe, I think cruises are best if you choose a really interesting port for a few days at the beginning and another at the end, with five or six interesting ports in between. That way, you get some of each type of vacation. You absolutely must arrive in your embarkation port the day before your cruise, so you might as well include another day or two for sightseeing. For you, that means ten days may not be enough for a good cruise if you are going from the US. It is at best a minimum.
I will have a quick look and see if anything strikes me as interesting.
Last, if your total is 10 days, going on your own, stick with one country: no more that 3 bases. Use trains in Italy and ferries (or flights, depends on islands) in Greece.
Look at cruises on vacationstogo.com as a start to see what is available.
Join and look at cruisecritic.com to read reviews of ships, itineraries, ports, etc.
You will probably hear a lot of negatives about cruises. They may or may not be true, depending on the ship and the itinerary. They may not even matter to you. We have taken three different cruises that each included some of the Med: Italy, Greece and Turkey as well as Israel, Spain and France.
Cruise vacations are great for being easy and you can see a lot if you choose a good itinerary with long days in interesting ports.
A cruise is a completely different experience from being in a city, town or island in the evening when it may be quiet or have a party going on.
Eating in little, local restaurants is unique compared with cruise dining, no matter how good it is. Waking up and being able to walk right out of hotel for sight seeing is different than getting off the cruise ship at a dock. Sometimes the dock is right in town. Other times, you have to walk, get a shuttle or taxi. None is hard, just different.
On your own, you have to plan trains, ferries, etc. not hard either, just different than a cruise.
On the cruise, you will have pools to enjoy at the end of a tiring day of sightseeing and you can relax or take part in all kinds of activities. Most kids I have met love cruises!
We choose cruises for one of two reasons.
1. We want to see a lot of archeological sites and will be walking a lot, so are fine with dinner and evenings on the ship. The itinerary is most important.
2. We want an easy, fun vacation with some sightseeing and days at sea in a beautiful area. The ship, food, activities and weather is most important.
In Europe, I think cruises are best if you choose a really interesting port for a few days at the beginning and another at the end, with five or six interesting ports in between. That way, you get some of each type of vacation. You absolutely must arrive in your embarkation port the day before your cruise, so you might as well include another day or two for sightseeing. For you, that means ten days may not be enough for a good cruise if you are going from the US. It is at best a minimum.
I will have a quick look and see if anything strikes me as interesting.
Last, if your total is 10 days, going on your own, stick with one country: no more that 3 bases. Use trains in Italy and ferries (or flights, depends on islands) in Greece.
Sep 28th, 2018 | 12:26 AM
#5
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,682
Likes: 0
Some people love cruises, and if you are that sort of family you may enjoy one too. CruiseCritic.com is the website for info and feedback on cruises. The most popular ports, e.g. Venice in Italy and Santorini & Mykonos in Greece are overrun with cruise ship passengers. I have seen that for myself on Santorini and Mykonos, and heard stories of cruise ship passengers having to wait 2 hours to get on the cable car back to their ship in the Santorini caldera.
In contrast with that, I have seen families with happy teenagers on the Islands of Naxos, Paros, and Antiparos. They all have great beaches and picturesque towns for dinner and shopping in the evenings. Some of the best parts of the islands are away from the ports. None of these islands get large cruise ships, but can be reached by ferry or flights from Athens. You can still go to Santorini if you wish, and stay for a few nights to have time to appreciate what it has to offer.
In contrast with that, I have seen families with happy teenagers on the Islands of Naxos, Paros, and Antiparos. They all have great beaches and picturesque towns for dinner and shopping in the evenings. Some of the best parts of the islands are away from the ports. None of these islands get large cruise ships, but can be reached by ferry or flights from Athens. You can still go to Santorini if you wish, and stay for a few nights to have time to appreciate what it has to offer.
