For myself traveling solo I wouldn't pick a cruise. But IF I were traveling with my parents and other family members, I might consider it, for the ease of scheduling, and everything being taken care of, without daily planning & decisions to be made.

I agree with the person who mentioned about deciding which cities to visit by what interests you. If London or Paris is someplace a person in your group has always dreamed of visiting, for example. If you really want to see those two cities in one week's time, certainly that CAN be done, it's just a little bit rushed itinerary. I would fly between Barcelona/Paris and either train or fly Pariis/London.

~>(suze - post on May 4, 10 at 7:33pm)
*(suze) I would never argue with people who are so kind to share their wisdon & time with me. I am most grateful to all of yall. In case I don't tell yall enough...THANKS!!!

~>(ellenem - post on May 4, 10 at 7:47pm)
*(ellenem) I'm thinking Paris vs. London. Fly to Paris from Barcelona(after cruise). I truly would like to venture back to Europe (in 4 yrs), and see London & Paris like it's meant to be seen.

~>(kybourbon - post on May 4, 10 at 7:52pm)
*(kybourbon) Thank you for all of the advice. The cruise consists of 1 day stops to Toulon, Nice, Florence, Rome, & Naples. The reason for the cruise was so we could have comfortable & familiar sleeping arrangements, as well as not having to relocate everyday. It also allows us a TASTE of France & Italy (so we can learn & perhaps revisit when we have more time).
*I would never forget my parents, sweetie. When this vacation actually happens, my daughter will be 18, I will be 44, and my parents will be 62. We are all in great shape (now), and my parent are used to travel (they have been travelling yearly for the past 23 yrs).
*Laundry service on the cruise is complimentary because of the type of suites we have.

~>(janisj - post on May 4, 10 at 8:05pm)
*(janisj) While we have not completely ruled out dropping the cruise altogether, we still like being able to sleep in one place everynite. It's more of a convenience than anything. My Mother & I are very finicky eaters, so the cruise offers yet one more perk of having virtually every kind of food at almost any hour.

~>(lss1 - post on May 4, 10 at 8:31pm)
*(lss1) Thanks for sharing your experience with me. I am anxious to read it, and will get back to you.

~>(JanisV - post on May 5, 10 at 9:14am)
*(JanisV) Luck & planning time is definitely on our side. This is an extremely important trip to me; because it's my daughter's passage into adulthood, and it's an opportunity to spend 2 wks with my parents(best friends).
I welcome the strong opinions, because yall have the experience that I do not (as yet). Ya know, as kids, our parents would tell us to do or not do something because they knew...we stll did what we wanted despite them...we learned on our own. This experience is different. I do not want to take this journey blindly with the 3 most important people in my life. Bring on the opinions...lol.
My daughter doesn't really care where we go as long as it's Europe. My parents are going mainly because they don't want their daughter & granddaughter visiting a foreign country alone (how funny & cute). Magan (my daughter) has only mentioned the cruise & Paris.
I do not have a husband (been divorced 10 yrs) & do not plan to get another one. Been there...done that...got a t-shirt.
The four of us will sit down (plenty of times) to fine tune the itinerary. They asked me to do the details (dates/times/places), and then we will all decide on what to see at these places. I have been continually discussing with them all that I am learning here.
Thanks for being excited with us, and thanks for the advice.

*I know this probably sounds weird, but here goes:
We wanted to see as much as possible in the time we have. Tours & such on the first day of each city; then the 2nd & 3rd days, venture back out to those places at our own pace.
*Hotels are important...we will need our sleep. By the way, we are discussing getting 1 room at each city for the 4 of us.
*Food is not important...our diet is very conservative. Food really don't hold interest to us like the landmarks do.

THANKS....Please keep the info coming.
Sandy

I would get two hotel rooms, even if I had to stay at lesser hotels to afford them. 4 adults to 1 bathroom is kind of crowded! Also to be able to get a better night's sleep, I would think separate rooms would be well worth the money.

As suze says, you need two rooms. See this thread about the size of hotel rooms in Europe - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...lly-needed.cfm. It's about the size of the room, plus the availability of quads, as much as competition for the bathroom.

Also, given the cruise itinerary, you could well just stay in Nice and Rome instead, doing day trips. See http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nce.cfm?ref=40 for my five days in Nice.

It's a pity about the food, Europe is a wonderful place for foodies. But you should be able to find pizza just about everywhere.

True, it's not just the bathroom (but I think that's important -haha- when everyone's trying to get ready to go sight-seeing each morning)... "quad" rooms are MUCH more unusual to find, than simple "doubles".

Does your daughter understand that by being on a cruise she will get a quick impression of a place and not really be "in" that place? Our kids all loved walking around the cobblestone streets, exploring at all hours, getting a feel for a city when they were in their teens.

also I think I have never added the last few days to my trip report...which consisted of taking the train from Rome to Florence...2days in a B & B in Florence...1/2 day train ride to Pisa to see the tower...then from Pisa to London...spent one night in a B & B for a final London night...spent the day of departure watching the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham...then a cheap bus ride to Heathrow to fly back to NYC...late night arrival in NYC, so we spent the night there and had 1/2 day to visit Times Square, have lunch and back home...My son always talks about the wonderful times we had...we saw a lot, but even as busy as we were, we took lots of time to just sit, have a snack, coffee, etc...and people watch...just the two of us took this trip...Again it was wonderful and worth every penny!!! I am excited for you guys! I plan to "do" Spain on my next trip to Europe:)

Hey, Sandy - I never got a T-shirt when I got divorced - how'd you swing that one? ;)

So glad you're enjoying the process and can't wait to see your final itinerary.

Hey All!
*Sorry that I haven't been able to get on here lately. Went to Parent's last weekend (discussed the trip).
*I will read the threads/links & try to get on here this weekend.
*Again....thanks for all of the advice.
*(JanisV) Thanks for being so sweet. I didn't actually get a t-shirt out of the divorce. Because my ex did NOT pay child support for the 2 years it took to divorce him, the judge ordered him to pay a chunk of alimony along with all of the back child support (I didn't even ask for it). So I could have bought a really nice t-shirt out of it...lol.
*We have fine tuned the itinerary and I will post it this weekend (with suggestions).
Talk to yall soon!

Sc...just one final thought...but then you are probably all planned by now.

It sounds like you are really setting yourselves up for rushing and stress on the part of the trip before or after the cruise. If you think of it this way, of your 15 or 16 days...how many of those will you have with the "luxury" of familarity of the same room and predictable food? Your rushed independent travel will have aggravations of finding your hotels, food you want to eat, transport and lining up tours for not very much time in each location.

If everyone could give up the cruise you could really do a great trip to London, Paris, Rome (day trip to Florence on train) with open jaw tickets.

Renting an apartment is a fabulous experience if you have not gathered that from many posts here. You would have some control of your food, maybe eating out for one main meal. An apartment gives you so much more space to all relax in. There are great suggestions here on Fodors for wonderful apartments, located in the heart of the these cities, some renting for as few as 3 night minimum.

You can spend the time you would have to be at sea really experiencing the country you are in. Consider the time it takes for the shore excursions just to get to the city you want to see. Going to europe should be savored...sitting in cafes, strolling in the evenings, hearing church bells in the night, etc., etc., but this is just another opinion and you have to obviously think this out for yourself. Just really think about the experience you want to have. Whatever you do it will be a great for 3 generations to do this together..

why not split it into two trips for a week? One is 2011, one is 2012? That way you can see Paris and London first, then do a cruise in 2012.

Just a couple pieces of advise from someone who travels with small children and 80+ year old grandmother.

I have flown from Washington DC to both Spain and London. the best thing we were able to do on our arrival day, was to check into our hotel in the MORNING. Agreed -- you can not sleep on that flight, and if you do, it is not quailty sleep. Get into your city .. which ever one you happen to choose -- check into your hotel and take a nap for a couple hours. In Spain, the evenings are long .. you will want to stay up, as dinner isn't unitl around 10 PM.

As for packing --- I have learned (because my husband says, if i pack it, I have to carry it), to down-size. Shoes are a HUGE space hog. Wear your biggest and heavist, pack one other pair, and MAYBE, if you just can' part without it -- a pair of thin sandals (most likely for the cruise ship) I can not get by with 1 back, but I get by with one bag and a carry on, over the shoulder bag.

Being 3 women -- although as tempting as it may be .. DO NOT BRING all your curling irons, hair dryers and the like .. you do not need them ... the hotels and the cruise will have them and you are on vacation ... you can look good with out a lot of fuss.

Most importantly .have fun .. eat new foods, experience these new cities .. They are amazing.

.. alexis

Get into your city .. which ever one you happen to choose -- check into your hotel and take a nap for a couple hours.
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I think that's the worst thing you can do. Stay up as long as you can until bed time; so you acclimate yourselves to their Time Zone. There's nothing worse than taking a nap and you wake up in the middle of the night,then you're tired the next day too!

"take a nap for a couple hours. "

"I think that's the worst thing you can do."

It's what I do when traveling east. I sleep until 4 or 5 in the afternoon, get up and shower, eat dinner, and go to bed when everyone else does. Then I'm sync'ed for the rest of the trip. Going west is more difficult, especially as I've usually crossed more zones.