Howard

We have traveled through Europe a lot for school, work, and pleasure. We also like to cruise but haven't taken a cruise in Europe. We're looking for something special for a 10-year anniversary. Can someone who has experienced Europe by cruiseship and also by land contrast the 2? We would have to do a cruise length of a week or less, in case that makes a difference.

suec1

I am not quite qualified to answer as I have done Eur by land but cruised only in the Carrib but I'll throw in my thoughts as I have rolled this very issue around in my head from time to time. I have heard that shore excursions in Eur are very expensive. Also I love "being on the ground" in Europe - esp. for the food (I usually travel in Italy, France or Spain) I have also heard that at least on some lines the food is not so good - here in the Carrib we have crusied on HAL, Celebrity and Costa - none of the food was as good as "in country" (except maybe the pasta courses only on Costa!)So even tho I look at the brochures for Med. crusies I always end up on the land. BUT maybe the Greek isles would be the exception - it seems the best way to experience that area is on the water anyways. Another option that is "maybe someday" would be Venice and along the coast of Croatia to Turkey - that is a route I don't think I'd be comfortable doing on land. But I'd want to have some time in Vencie before the crusie for sure!

Grandma

We couldn't resist a bargain on Holland America in fall of 2003. Had a suite (would recommend for special occasion)and a few days at the beginning and end in rome and Barcelona (favorites). Most of the ports were places we'd visited before in our travels on land and didn't mind visiting again. Picked up a few spots we had always wanted to see... like Corfu and Malta..and hadn't gotten around to. All in all we enjoyed the cruise.. tho as pointed out above the food probably won't compare to that on land. (Tho ours was quite good.) When we were on our own in port we always tried to have lunch locally.
We've also had a lovely trip on a small ship (about 100 passengers) from Venice thru Croatia... Dubrovnik etc. You might want to investigate something like that if you're limited to a week.
We booked thru Elegant Cruises in Port Washington, NY, an agency that handles a lot of smaller ships.... including the Sea Cloud. Now THAT would be a celebration!

ParrotMom

Except for London we have not "done" Europe, but we booked a Celebrity cruise from Barcelona, it goes to Nice, Rome, Corsica, Malaga and Ponta Delgarda, Nassau and then back to Florida.. It will give us a taste of these areas. We also are celebrating a special anniversary, our 50th, and I can't imagine being able to see everything in Rome in one day, but at least I'll do what I never do... take an organized tour.. For everything le we've gotten lots of info from people on the internet. Besides, it's the only affordable way to see Euroope and these cruises are becoming very popular this year.

RufusTFirefly

It's largely a matter of personal taste and what you are looking for in a vacation. For us, cruises are a total waste of money--we like to spend some time in a place. For others, they are a way to recharge their batteries, rest, relax, refocus and get a quick look at a variety of places.

Just depends on what you are looking for in a vacation.

Nike

yes, there isn't one answer, it's a similar dichotomy to those who choose between a relaxing beach or resort or spa vacation, and those of us who prefer sightseeing and experiencing a new city or area
The resort or spa vacation, like a cruise, could have a little sightseeing on the side, but that's not the focus of the trip. A cruise will allow you,what, a few hours in a city? Barely time for lunch and maybe one sightseeing venue.

You could look at the cruise as a Whitman's sampler of Europe, rather than as a committed indulgence in only the raspberry creams, but if you think you will be able to get what you like next time, go for the sampler.

pilgrim

I second a cruise on Sea Cloud. We went London to Dublin. Also the Po River on River Cloud Cremona to Venice. We went with Arrangements Abroad and the calibre of lecturers was FABULOUS--three guides with
years of experience.

zwho

What line is Sea cloud part of? Does Elegant cruises have a web site? The small cruise thing sounds wonderful. We are going on our 1st med cruise this year for our 30th anniversary. We are seasoned Europe by land travelers, but we are really looking forward to "sampling" all these different ports, even for a few hours. You know, I have never spent enough time in any city or town in Europe, that I couldn't go back to for more time. Tell me how much time is adequate to see Paris, or Prague. Probably, people who live there haven't even tried all the great stuff each place has to offer. You take what you can get when ever you travel, whether by land or sea, and if you're smart you realize how lucky you are to be there at all!

Gardyloo

I did a trip report last year that included some musings on a 12-day cruise we took. Here's the link: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34498271

tuckerdc

For a special occasion, I would think that if you choose the cruise option, the style/size of your vessel would make a big difference (along with the itinerary, of course). I have the Silversea brochure in front of me and they have numerous European cruises scheduled in '05 with itineraries like Copenhagen/Oslo/Gdansk/St. Pete'burg/ Helsinki/Stockholm or Amsterdam/ Bremerhaven/Oslo/Copenhagen/London (just as some for instances; lots of Mediterranean options as well, of course). I've no experience - yet - on Silversea (or any other cruise), but get almost breathless thinking about our SS plan for later this summer - a 12 day transatlantic crossing (which will include stops in Cork, Waterford, St. John's NB and Halifax). Cruisecritic.com is a great site to get feedback on just about every cruise line there is. The idea of only one day to 'explore' those land stops is a bit off-putting, of course, but we've made the mind-leap to the fact that this trip (truly a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing) is 'about' the cruise and the ship and crossing the Atlantic, something I've always wanted to do (but not aboard the gigantic Mary, thank you). Good luck with your decision-making!

tuckerdc

One of my chief gripes here are folks who don't really read/answer the question...so,if your one-week time-frame is really firm, I better add that the N. Europe itineraries inlcude onlly one 6-day voyage and several that are 7 days. In the Mediterranean, there seems to be only one 5- (Lisbon/Malaga/Barcelona) and one 6-day sailing (Barcelona/Marseille/Rome/Livorno/Portofino/MonteCarlo) and a whole sle of 7 days.

Grandma

Zwho.... yes, Elegant Cruises has a web site. think it is elegantcruises.com. But if that's incorrect just do a google and that will lead you to them. I forget who's the parent of the Sea Cloud. I've noted several agencies handle their cruises. We've always taken special note because our neighbor (gone now) served on the Sea Cloud during WWII when he was in the Coast Guard. Of course.... it's a lot fancier now than it was then! (There's also a Sea Cloud II which I think is an exact replica.)

pilgrim

Sea Cloud is owned by a German company, Sea Cloud Cruises, I believe. Their boats have about 80 passengers and 30 staff. I traveled with Metropolitan Museum of Art tours with them and was greatly imprressed.

flanneruk

I've spent decades travelling round Europe by practically every means imaginable.

I once got a cruise ship that took 4-5 days from Bodrum to Ancona. Whatever it was (to me, a taste of what the Almighty has in store for me throughout eternity if I don't memd my ways), it wasn't travelling and it wasn't Europe (or Asia Minor).

Instead of the slow transformation from one culture to another a drive from, say, Istanbul to Athens involves, we were locked for a week in a rootless bubble. No pleasant meander along a main street to squabble about the evening's meal: just standard "international" catering. Remorseless pitches for shore excursions - as if anyone with a smidgeon of feck needs a cruise company to get round Athens or Heraklion. Worst of all: instead of the peaceful nights on deck with a good book I'd come to love on ferries to Greece, constant mulilingual caterwauling from the ship's PA system promoting yet another activity manufactured for those with attention deficit syndrome.

My childhood North Wales caravan park weeks in midwinter temperatures were, by comparison, bliss. Cruises might be a part-tolerable alternative to European travelling when you've got too decrepit to mess about with railway stations and car hires. But for the first 90 years of most people's lives, they're no substitute for the real thing.