I am planning a Mediterranian cruise in Sept. and would like some suggestions about which cruise line to choose. We were think of a smaller one instead of the large ones ie. Royal Carribbean, Princesses. Has anyone sailed on the Orient Line - Marco Polo? <BR>Thanks for your help!

We did the Seabourne in 1996 and loved it. There were only 200 passengers, and the cabins were a good size, for a cruise ship. We started in Rome (Cittiavecchia) on to the islands of Elba, Corsica, Sardinia, a side trip to Florence, and finished in Nice. <BR> <BR>A wonderful experience.

We cruised on the Costa Rivera in March 98. I didn't have much to compare it to, but my parents have cruised many times on many differrent ships, and it was their least favorite ship. However, they did enjoy it. The Rivera is not as big as the megaships around today, and it does tend to show its age. We had some very rough weather and the ship really rolled from side to side. The entertainment was fair, the food good, the service good. You may already know that most of the passengers will be European. Our ports were Savona, Italy, Naples, Sicily,Israel, Rhodes, Cyrprus, Malta, and one other Greek Island, I can't remember just now. The excursions were very good, except in Malta, or maybe we were just tired. The stop in Egypt had been cancelled due to recent violence there. Hope this helps. Despite lost luggage, delayed flights, seasickness, a virus, and bad weather, we had a wonderful trip. <BR>

Dear Carol, <BR>Check out my report on this forum dated 11/17/99, "Back From 12 Day Trip to Greece and Turkey". It details our Renaissance cruise of the Mediterranean which also included Santorini, Rhodes and Kusadisi. We had a great time on this smaller (650 persons) cruise ship and can highly recommend it.

The line I chose made stops in Gibraltar, Barcelona, Cannes, Genoa, Naples, Palermo and Piraeus. The ship was the USS Intrepid, CVA 11.

Richard: I heard the chow was pretty good but "cabins" were noisy and crowded!!!

Sailed on the Marco Polo 3 years ago from Rome to Barcelona and loved it! Great staff. We had an extra large room with a FULL (floor to ceiling)glass window. The largest cabin we've ever had. Good food too.