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Post by kelbel827 on Apr 14, 2019 23:17:33 GMT
My friends and I were thinking about cruises around Italy and Spain. Have you gone and what cruise line did you use? Thanks!
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Post by cadoodlebug on Apr 14, 2019 23:19:46 GMT
Haven't cruised to those two countries but we spent 15 days in Spain last September and it was awesome. This September we're going to Italy!
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Post by juanita on Apr 14, 2019 23:44:57 GMT
We cruise from Venice on a B2B of the Greek Island. Haven't done Spain or the med but it is on our list. We did it on Royal but I see the Celebrity has some pretty good perks right now for Europe
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valincal
Drama Llama
Southern Alberta
Posts: 5,623 
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Post by valincal on Apr 14, 2019 23:51:27 GMT
We’ve cruised the Mediterranean several times. I really liked our Med cruise (Barcelona to Venice) with Holland America on the Eurodam and our Greek Isles cruise (from Venice) on the Norwegian Jade.
Favourite ports of call
Barcelona
Cannes/Nice/Villefranche
Livorno (for Pisa, Tuscany or the Cinque Terre)
Naples (for Pompeii)
Taormina, Sicily
Venice
Santorini
Ancient Olympia
Corfu
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sueg
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,001
Location: Munich
Apr 12, 2016 12:51:01 GMT
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Post by sueg on Apr 14, 2019 23:52:24 GMT
A couple of my former work colleagues are just back from a European trip. Part of it was a cruise, starting and ending in Rome on MSC. They visited Palermo Sicily, Valetta Malta, Barcelona, Marseille and Genoa. Their photos are amazing. I have visited most of these cities, just not on a cruise, and they are all wonderful to visit.
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Post by brookeq on Apr 15, 2019 0:53:40 GMT
We are looking into a European cruise for our 20 year anniversary next year. We have cruises before but just the Caribbean. I have been to England with my soccer team in high school. I just don’t feel comfortable being in countries wheee I don’t speak the language. I feel a cruise would help with that feeling a bit since you wake up and are already at your new destination. The getting to all
The places I want to see is what would stress me out.
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Post by kelbel827 on Apr 15, 2019 1:09:44 GMT
Thanks. We were talking about going to Italy, but then one person mentioned if we cruise we get to keep our stuff on the boat. I'm game.
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scrappinwithoutpeas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,894
Location: Northern Virginia
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Post by scrappinwithoutpeas on Apr 15, 2019 3:21:15 GMT
We took a Western Med cruise several years ago -- Barcelona to Istanbul, with many of the ports that valincal mentioned. We loved it! We were on Oceania. |
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,642
Location: Kansas City -ish
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Post by Anita on Apr 15, 2019 4:06:15 GMT
We did a Med cruise two years ago on Carnival. Loved it!
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Post by Delta Dawn on Apr 15, 2019 4:35:13 GMT
I just spent 3 weeks touring Italy by coach. I had an awesome time and loved Italy but a different bed practically every night is a lot sometimes. A cruise sounds much easier. In Venice see the island of Burano. I loved it there!
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Post by Leone on Apr 15, 2019 12:41:13 GMT
Just be aware that some of the ports are a considerable distance from the city you actually intend to visit...ex. Rome and Florence. Barcelona and Venice are right there at the ports.
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Post by juanita on Apr 15, 2019 12:46:42 GMT
Just be aware that some of the ports are a considerable distance from the city you actually intend to visit...ex. Rome and Florence. Barcelona and Venice are right there at the ports. You are so right, We did a two week cruise in Asia and I didn't do my research good enough and there were two ports that we so far from the cities, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. |
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Post by annabella on Apr 15, 2019 13:34:44 GMT
Just be aware that some of the ports are a considerable distance from the city you actually intend to visit...ex. Rome and Florence. Barcelona and Venice are right there at the ports. This is why I prefer to do Europe by land. Plus you have the free time to roam at night. |
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Post by colleen on Apr 15, 2019 14:03:56 GMT
We’ve done two Cruises of the Med on Royal Caribbean— one from Rome and one from Barcelona, loved them both.
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Post by kelbel827 on Apr 21, 2019 15:04:09 GMT
So now after yesterday's conversation, we are talking land travel and possibly Greece. Any good tour companies?
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Post by mrst on Apr 21, 2019 15:30:57 GMT
I've been round the Med several times. I live about 90mins from Barcelona so it's very handy. Ive done MSC, Costa and NCL . I think ncl is your best bet for Americans. It's a great line and there are some fabulous ports of call. Just be aware that some of ports e.g 'Rome' can be a long way actually from the city of Rome.....about 90mins.
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valincal
Drama Llama
Southern Alberta
Posts: 5,623
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Post by valincal on Apr 21, 2019 15:39:04 GMT
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Post by catmom on Apr 21, 2019 16:19:48 GMT
I would suggest Rick Steves tours. Full disclosure - we do only independent travel (which would be totally doable in Italy if you're interested), so I don't have first hand experience. Rick Steves has a good reputation of not killing you with tons of add ons and a different spot every night. You also tend to stay right in the city you're visiting with Rick Steves whereas some tour companies cheap out and stay at hotels outside the city or main tourist area, making it difficult to just wander around without the tour group. Be sure to research this and how many nights per location you stay per city. Travel days vs tourist days is an important ratio.
Finally - have fun! Researching a trip is almost my favourite part.
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Post by betsyg on Apr 21, 2019 22:13:58 GMT
We haven't gone yet, but we are signed up to do a walking tour of the amalfi coast with Go Ahead Tours www.goaheadtours.com next May. They do tours all over the world and have several options in Greece and Italy. Their parent company is EF Tours which does a lot of the college/school/education tours. |
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Post by cade387 on Apr 21, 2019 23:36:16 GMT
For our honeymoon we did a 13 night cruise on Royal. It started and ended in Rome which was nice for round trip airfare. From Rome it went up to Portofino and Florence. We stayed two days in port in forence/Pisa and the same in Venice. Many folks stayed off the ship to not have to go back and forth. There were also two stops in Croatia, which was awesome.
We have done done Europe by car, by train and then the cruise listed above. Being able to stay in one place for a bed was awesome. Some cities were more “rushed” than others but we went with the idea that we would see many regions of Italy and then know where we wanted to go back to on a future trip.
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