Which route should we choose for a Mediterranean cruise?

Question

We are planning a Mediterranean cruise sometime in September - November. There are various routes to choose from and I would love to hear from others on which stops are must see places. Here are a few of the various routes we are considering:

#1

Nice - France

Livorno (for Florence)

Civitavecchia (for Rome)

Sorrento

Dubrovnik

Venice

Venice

#2

Dover- UK

St. Malo - France

Bordeaux - France

Bordeaux - France

Bilbao - Spain

Lisbon - Portugal

Cadiz - Spain

Barcelona - Spain

Nice - Italy

#3

Piraeus (for Athens) - Greece

Kusadasi - Turkey

Kos

Bodrum- Turkey

Rhodes – Greek Island

Dubrovnik

Venice - Italy

Venice - Italy

#4

Venice - Italy

Venice - Italy

Korcula - Island

Corfu - Greece

Naxos (for Taormina), Sicily Italy

Sorrento

Sorrento

Civitavecchia (for Rome)

#5

Civitavecchia (for Rome)

Livorno (for Florence)

Golfe de Port

Ajaccio, Corsica

Marseilles

Ibiza Town

Palma de Mallorca

Monte Carlo

I appreciate all of your thoughts and advice.

Answer 1

#4 sounds beautiful, especially with stops mostly in Italy and Greece.

As mentioned above, I too do NOT recommend going to Kusadasi - the people there make $5,000 a year at most so they are bound and determined to get you to buy something.  They are rude, they only address men, and not everyone chooses to do the excursions so then you are stuck.

Corfu in Greece is BEAUTIFUL, you will enjoy it.

Answer 2

My choice would be #3 and second choice #1.  I've actually done a lot of the ports you've mentioned in all your lists. If you've never been there they're all an adventure and they will be as wonderful and exciting as you make them.  I've done some extensive cruising in the Mediterranean and I'll just touch on some ideas and suggestions for #3.

I totally disagree w/ person on the 4 day cruise to the islands -too much crammed into a trip. The whole reason for stopping in Kusadasi (been there 3 times) is to see the ruins at Ephesus - truly amazing.  I loved shopping in the bazaars but you have to be able to adapt to the people and their culture.  Its not like shopping at K-Mart!

Fly into Athens at least the day before sailing - to recover from the flight and relax.  If air is thru the cruise line, ask for an air deviation, to use their air to fly in earlier.  You want to see more of Athens than just the drive between the aiport and the port.  

To maximize your time in any port city make arrangements for a car and driver tour - a 1/2 day, 4 hour tour - and at the end of the tour, drop you off at the port. If necessary, you can do the reverse at the destination port - pick you up at the port, tour the city, drop you off at the hotel, overnight, fly out the next day.  The more people on the private tour, the less the cost per person (they have a variety of vehicle sizes). In the end it'll probably be less than bus tour (figure in the cost of the taxi to pick you up/drop you off  at the hotel before & after tour, then taking the taxi to the port (Pireus is 1/2 hr drive through Athens). You'll see more this way, you decide how long to stay at each stop, and you won't waste time waiting for others to get on/off the bus.

Venice - visit islands of Murano (glass making), Burano (lace making) , and Torcello (fishing village) usually in a single tour. You can also take the waterbus to St. Mark's Square, tour the church, the Doge's Palace, shop in the square, and walk around the side streets of Venice.  No cars.  You're only choice is walking or canal transportation.

If you overnight in Venice (on the ship or on your own) then make sure you visit St. Mark's Square after dinner to listen to all the orchestras (yes, several at once) performing in the square. Everything from pop to Broadway, to classical - and have dessert in one of the cafes while you listen. Great way to spend the evening.

Rhodes - take the tour to Lindos and then stroll around the walled city of Rhodes when you return. A 2 block walk from port to the main part of the city.

Bodrum - perfect resort area - take the ship's shore excursion for a highlights tour, then visit cute shops, or head for the beach (depends on how long the ship is in port)

Dubrovnik - take a walk around the wall, and a highlights tour of the city (all walking tour - most of the city is pedestrian only). Shore excursions also available to take you along the coast.

Kos - great beaches - island is beautiful resort area.

Hope I've given you some insight.  If you don't have a travel consultant and haven't yet booked your cruise, please give me a call and I'd be glad to discuss the various itineraries and options w/ you.  You can reach me toll-free at 866-485-8175.

Answer 3

My number one would be #3. The Greek islands, Dubrovnik and Venice are great destinations. My number 2 would probably be #5. Rome, Florence....Monte Carlo...wonderful! Enjoy!

Answer 4

I think #4 sounds the best.  #5 sounds nice too.

My husband and I just came back from a Greek cruise in April.  We went to Athens, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Patmos, Rhodes, Crete and Santorini - it was a 4 day cruise so they jammed a lot of ports in.  I would recommend all of them except Kusadasi and Crete - in Kusadasi the store owners chased us trying to get us to buy their stuff, in Crete it was dirty - merely a shipping city that wasn't impressive.  

Whichever place you choose, do it for you - don't let others on here convince you of one choice over another.  HAVE A WONDERFUL TRIP

Answer 5

I do not like any of the options that you have presented BUT I do have a suggested alternative which I will describe.  However, if you are set on one of the itineraries, the best of the bunch to me would be #5.

With that said I will now describe the alternative that I suggest which is based on the cruise that we did a couple years ago.  We cruised round trip out of Barcelona, Spain on the Royal Caribbean ship Brilliance of the Seas.  It was a 12 day cruise with stops in Nice/Monte Carlo; Florance/Pisa, Italy; Naples/Sorrento, Italy; Piraeus (for Athens), Greece;  Kusadasi (Ephesus),Turkey; Santorini, Greece; Mykonos, Greece; Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; and back to Barcelona.

The good cruise line and ship can make your cruise.  The Brilliance is among my favorite of Royal Caribbeans ships because it is in their new Radiance class of ships that are very well laid out.  The food and service was excellent and so were the tours from the ship.

The stop in Nice/Monte Carlo was nice.  We went on a tour to the Palace and saw the grave sites of Grace Kelly and husband.  Also had a stop at the Monte Carlo casinos (don't go in, they are not worth the $10 admission charge).  Then we toured the mid evil city of Eze and finally had time to see Nice.

If you want to see Italy a stop in Florence AND Pisa are a must.  the tour there was great; saw the leaning tower and Michaelangelo's Stature of David.  In Naples we took a tour of Pompeii and an olive farm.  The tour of Pompeii is a must also.  In Athens we toured the city and the Acropolis.  A must stop for Athens.

Then our stops in the Greek Isles of Santorini and Mykonos were fabulous.  I loved Mykonos and would love to go back there.  Santorini is very different and a beautiful place to visit.  Kusadasi (Ephesus) is a must.  I disagree with the people who said the people are rude.  They were/are just like many stops in other ports in the Caribbean and Europe where they arae pushing their wares.  Yes they will follow you   a few paces, yes they will come out of their stores and stalls and invite you in; yes they will be persistent. But that is the way it is in many ports all over the world.  If you want to see some Biblical history you must go to Ephesus.  It was one of the highlights of our trip.  Finally, Civitavecchia (Rome) is an absolute must for any Mediterranian cruise.  You do need a whole day there as the port is an hour's drive from Rome.

We had out cruise the middle of October and the weather was perfect.  A couple days in Italy we had sprinkles of rain, but it was otherwise very pleasant.  I could even sit on the balcony at night.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruis...

Answer 6

Both answers who said Kusadasi is a nasty port are correct.  The ONLY nice place in Turkey is Istanbul and everybody knows this.

The best thing about Greece is the shopping - the stores are amazing, especially in Rhodes.  In Athens, it is hectic, the roads are especially dangerous for driving and I think #4 or #5 are your best picks to travel to.