Best Cruise Line for the Med

[preciouspups]

I'm trying to talk hubby into a cruise to the Med in 2017, for our 20th anniversary. Since we are going sans Mini Me and we want to do a lot of excursions, we don't necessarily need to spend a ton on the cruise itself. Which line would be best for us to look at?

 

[holula]

The one that visits the ports you want.

Seriously. There are so few sea days on most Med cruises that it's really like a floating hotel.

 

[Ofinn]

I would want to do one that's at least 10-12 days. NCL and RCI probably have the best prices. I'm waiting to see what they offer in 2017. I would like to do a long Med or European cruise. The only ones in my price range on DCL are 7 nights. I'm thinking I could do a 12 night cruise on another cruise line for less than a 7 day on DCL.

 

[preciouspups]

The one that visits the ports you want.

Seriously. There are so few sea days on most Med cruises that it's really like a floating hotel.

Exactly, which is why I'm willing to give up a little on the cruiseline to have a bigger budget for the ports.

I would want to do one that's at least 10-12 days. NCL and RCI probably have the best prices. I'm waiting to see what they offer in 2017. I would like to do a long Med or European cruise. The only ones in my price range on DCL are 7 nights. I'm thinking I could do a 12 night cruise on another cruise line for less than a 7 day on DCL.

As much as I would love that, I'm not sure we could leave the kiddo for that long. I would hate to task the grandparents with homework, baseball, swim team, and packing lunches for that long.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

I'm trying to talk hubby into a cruise to the Med in 2017, for our 20th anniversary. Since we are going sans Mini Me and we want to do a lot of excursions, we don't necessarily need to spend a ton on the cruise itself. Which line would be best for us to look at?

We've done 4 DCL cruises and absolutely loved them but for our Mediterranean in 2016 we are trying the new Carnival Vista. We paid $2200 for 2 in an inside room for an 8 night out of Barcelona. That includes trip insurance and pre-paid gratuities. CCL will be launching the sister to the Vista in 2017 doing a summer of Mediterranean cruises.

I was very anti Carnival before I booked this trip just based on here say, but I fell in love with the Vista and decided to bite the bullet and try them.

 

[Danni75]

Actually one big criteria for the Med is who you want to cruise with. MsC and Costa are by far the cheaper linesMd they offer tons of itineraries in the Med.
BUT : you will be mostly with Italian, Spanish and French people as well as some German.
Announcements and entertaining will be primarily on Italian and then in other languages.
If you don't mind that they offer. The best deals.

 

[Anisum]

I agree with taking the one with the itinerary you want.

I like Disney's 12 night because they go to I think seven different countries if you go to Monaco and France during the France stop. I like being able to get a taste of every country and I like that they start and end at the same place which makes flights easier.

That being said, I'm not a fan of the price and the fact that they don't stop in Venice because Venice is my favorite in Italy.

There are countless RCCL and NCL that go out that way but I find they don't hit as many places I want on theirs. If you don't mind blowing the budget Viking does ocean cruises through the Mediterranean (though you'll be one of the youngest on the ship I'd imagine) as do the other all inclusive cruises where you don't have to pay for excursions.

There is a Mediterranean cruise for most budgets though so definitely look around.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Great question OP! I have my eyes wide open for the Med in 2017 and I'm sadly coming to the realization that DCL might be too high. It seems the 7 night Med with DCL hasn't gone up too much compared to other sailings but the special sailings (like the one in 2016 with Greece) are insane. I will definitely compare our options and I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of an overnight in Venice so that's high on my list as well. Not sure I'll be able to pull that trigger but I'll give RCCL, NCL, CCL or whomever a fair research and see what we find out!

Heather

 

[jenmiller114]

We are huge Disney fans and we will always pick them first if the opportunity it there. However, we did take a mediterranean cruise two years ago on Celebrity and we were able to book two balcony cabins for 1/4 of what we would have had to pay for a single cabin for 5. I would definitely recommend this route without kids. Out of 12 days, only two were sea days. We were at port all other days and we had tours booked for each port. So as someone else noted, it is more like a floating hotel. When we got back on the ship, we would eat, maybe watch a show and go to bed so we could be rested for our next adventure. If you were traveling with your kids, I might recommend Disney but only if your kids are younger. Mine were 10, 12 & 14. While we wish they had more offerings for the kids, I still can't justify the $10,000 premium (though I might for the Norwegian Fjords or another "specialty cruise"). The money you save will get you some pretty awesome tours.

I know you said you don't really want to be gone for more than a week because of babysitting issues and I totally get that. However, I second Offin's recommendation. Ours was 12 days and the travel time and time zone changes took awhile to adjust. And there is so much to do and see that anything less would really feel too short. Of course, I would not pass up a shorter cruise if that was my only option.

Incidentally, we visited Greece (Athens, Mykonos & Santorini), Italy (Rome & Naples) and Turkey (Istanbul & Kusadasi (Ephesus)). I was not super excited about Turkey but we really enjoyed both ports and those were two of our best tours. We loved our cruise and I really can't wait to go back to Europe. I feel like I learned so much.

 

[jburge12000]

For the Med I agree that the ports are the most important criteria. We did the Med with Disney this past August and had a great time and really enjoyed all of the ports. One thing that we looked at was the departure port. We really enjoyed Barcelona before the cruise, but what really convinced us to do this cruise over some others that we looked at was that we were able to spend 3 days in Paris pre-cruise (actually did 3 days in London before that). The trains in Europe are great, and we were able to catch the train between Paris to Barcelona in the morning and arrive in Barcelona before lunch for a very reasonable price. So many options in Europe to get between some really great places. You can easily add a day or two to some places farther from the coast with minimal cost or travel time depending on where the ship leaves from. If the cruise did not go to one of the spots you wanted, you might be able to add it for a day or 2 on your own.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

For the Med I agree that the ports are the most important criteria. We did the Med with Disney this past August and had a great time and really enjoyed all of the ports. One thing that we looked at was the departure port. We really enjoyed Barcelona before the cruise, but what really convinced us to do this cruise over some others that we looked at was that we were able to spend 3 days in Paris pre-cruise (actually did 3 days in London before that). The trains in Europe are great, and we were able to catch the train between Paris to Barcelona in the morning and arrive in Barcelona before lunch for a very reasonable price. So many options in Europe to get between some really great places. You can easily add a day or two to some places farther from the coast with minimal cost or travel time depending on where the ship leaves from. If the cruise did not go to one of the spots you wanted, you might be able to add it for a day or 2 on your own.

All great advice!

I grew up in Europe and have travelled many places and the train is indeed the best! If we do a Med cruise we will more than likely add on Germany and fly into Munich as my DS is a huge Bayern Munich fan and since I grew up the most in Germany I really want my DS to experience it which is his #1 travel destination on his "wish list". We were able to see seven countries in Europe this past June/July with our DCL cruise and adding London, Paris, and also Malmo, Sweden to the adventure. It was amazing in so many ways which I hoped his first trip to Europe would be.

OP I realize you mentioned you can't leave the kiddos behind for long and I totally get that but consider taking advantage of the airfare to get to Europe and add some time while there, even if not a lot - just something

Heather

 

[preciouspups]

Thanks all! If we could put the trip off until mid summer it wouldn't be so bad to be gone for more than seven days. I just know what our daily school schedule looks like and there is no way the grandparents could keep up with that. In looking at lines, I don't want the motel six version but I also don't need the ritz Carlton since we will only be there to sleep and eat. I did see a few that go to Israel and I would love, love, love to do that. But I also want Spain and Italy.

 

[scrapycruiser]

We're Platinum and love cruising. Have been to the Med and Baltic on DCL and we're looking forward to going back .We just cancelled our Med cruise and b2b Transatlantic. Too much unrest over there, and now, tragically Paris. We're booked on the Panama Canal cruise.