My wife and I are starting to plan a Mediterranean cruise. Please suggest a cruise line ( Holland America, Royal Carribean, etc) . What cities should we not miss ( Rome , Florence, Venis, etc).

Where can we find the best value / price for the cruise?

What is the best time of the year to travel the Mediterranean ?

Are there any safety issues / precautions we should take in some of the cities we will visit ?

Thanks!!!

My husband and I sailed Holland America's Maasdam in Oct. of 1996 and enjoyed ourselves very much. It departed from Rome (we spent a few days there first on our own) and the ports of call were Monte Carlo, Marseilles, Barcelona, Tangiers, and Casablanca, and then the departure city was Lisbon. They have a similar itinerary still, although I think they've added a port or two. We loved the diversity and the uniqueness! Barcelona was my favorite stop, although I do find it exciting to be able to say that I have been to the Casbah! We got in on a great deal. I think if you want me to recommend a travel agent, you'll have to write to me as an aside, because they probably don't want that stuff posted here. Interestingly, in one of the Fodor's books (Caribbean?), they address the fact that they are often asked for travel agent recommendtions and don't want to delve into that area. However, they do list a handful who have proven themselves over the years, and the one I deal with is in that handful. Part of my decision to go with her was the Fodor's recommendation of her agency! My husband and I did a 9-day cruise with airfare from Phila. for a TOTAL of $5000! May and October are good times there - no rain and not too hot or cold. Safety is pretty much common sense.

If is so funny you posted this. Lois, the person who answered your question before me and I have been chatting through E-mail. It seams that she and I have the same love affair with cruises. This is very strange also but on Sunday of this week my husband and I are taking of on a 2 1/2 wk trip to Europe. Five days in Madrid and then we will fly into Barcelona and hop on a cruise ship there. We have cruised the Royal Carib before and decided to go on their newest ship Visions of the Sea (it will be her second sailing. Only going on the ship for 7 days and using our frequent flyer miles its only costing us something like $3500 (not bad) that does not include your bar bill, tipping, transportation to and from the airport etc. We were told that May is a great time to go. Will be hitting ports such as Rome, Monte Carlo(Villiefrance), corsica, Sicily, Malta. I must say that this forum has made our trip a lot easier. We should be returning the last week in May as we are going to stay a few days in Barcelona and Zurich. I will be more than happy to give you any info you need seeing that 8 days from now we will be on the ship. Good luck and please keep in touch.

If is so funny you posted this. Lois, the person who answered your question before me and I have been chatting through E-mail. It seams that she and I have the same love affair with cruises. This is very strange also but on Sunday of this week my husband and I are taking of on a 2 1/2 wk trip to Europe. Five days in Madrid and then we will fly into Barcelona and hop on a cruise ship there. We have cruised the Royal Carib before and decided to go on their newest ship Visions of the Sea (it will be her second sailing. Only going on the ship for 7 days and using our frequent flyer miles its only costing us something like $3500 (not bad) that does not include your bar bill, tipping, transportation to and from the airport etc. We were told that May is a great time to go. Will be hitting ports such as Rome, Monte Carlo(Villiefrance), corsica, Sicily, Malta. I must say that this forum has made our trip a lot easier. We should be returning the last week in May as we are going to stay a few days in Barcelona and Zurich. I will be more than happy to give you any info you need seeing that 8 days from now we will be on the ship. Good luck and please keep in touch.

We also sailed on HA's Maasdam in August/September '96. While we weren't strictly in the Mediterranean, we had a wonderful cruise on Holland America and I'm sure a Med. itinerary with them would be just as nice. Our cruise started in Copenhagen Denmark and sailed to Amsterdam, Dover (side trip to London), Le Havre (side trip to Paris), Vigo & Malaga Spain, Lisbon, Gibralter, Monaco and Rome. When we disembarked, the cruise was sailing on from Rome through the Mediterranean. If you've got the time (and $$) many people start one leg of these cruises and continue on. We knew people on our cruise that stayed on for the duration.

We too are cruising on Vision of the Seas for seven days begining June 13. Would be interesting in hearing of your experiences if you are back in time. Our first time in Europe. Traveling to Villefranche, Italy, Sicily, Corsica & Malta. We are excited and would welcome any suggestions.

We took a Crystal Harmony cruise starting in Athens, through Instanbul, Ephasus, Greek Islands, and ending up in Venice. We then stayed an extra week in Venice. The cruise was outstanding as is Crystal Cruise Lines (this was our second time with them). We have also cruised with Holland-American and Royal Carribean, although not in the Med, and enjoyed both lines. Crystal is our favorite but it costs a little more. You have to take more than one cruise to cover all of the Med so just pick the one you like and enjoy - all three lines are good.

To D.Tubbs.

We will be leaving Sunday(MOTHERS DAY) for a 5 day stay with friends in Madrid then over to Barcelona to catch Visions on May 16. We will be hitting all the same ports as you. I have been trying to get as much info as I could. This forum has been a great help and so have all the people who have E-mailed me with advice and helpful hints. The only major question no one has an answer for me is what is Visons of the Seas like. Seeing tomorrow is her maiden voyage I am sure there will be serveral problems to iron out by the time we board the following week. I did get some great advise about any cruise and that is upon boarding, go right to your cabin, your luggage won't arrive for a long time so grab your life jackets and go about your business. When everyone is hurrying around to get their jackets the lines downstairs will be very short and you can get all your business done and then go to you station.

We will be returning on Monday May 25th, so I will get back to you with any answers. Are there any questions you may have that I can find the answer to? Let me know by Sunday noon as we leave upstate NY at 4:00. Put your thinking cap on.

To fantonelli. Thanks for the reply. Because this is our first trip to Europe and our first cruise any information is helpful. We are especially interested in any excursions you take and your opinion. Also, great restaurants and such. Enjoy your trip, Vision of the Seas should be fantastic.

If u enjoy history a good itinerary is Athens thru the Greek isles, past Ephesus (sp) and end in Istanbul. Great sights and good weather ususally. We did the Cunard Sea Goddess and really enjoyed the area. Did another from Venice to Nice and that was also fun. Spent a few extra days in Venice before the trip. One advice I can give you is to plan your trip to arrive a few days before your ship departs and check into a hotel. This gives u time to recover any missing luggage (I had a one day delay for one bag in Venice) and also gives you time to sleep off the jet lag and be fresh to hit the ship. The people that arrive at the airport and go straight to the ship are usually tired the first few days of the cruise. Have fun, we are hopefully heading back again this summer for another adventure.