Cruise lines for Eastern Med/Adriatic

[aggiedog]

We've done 2 DCL cruises, and are looking to cruise the Med this summer. Ideally the Adriatic and/or Greece. DCL is not even an option for us, given the itinerary and the price. We have 4 kids ages 11-17. The 11yo just wants a pool, the 14yo enjoyed the clubs for the video games only, and the 17 yos don't need clubs, rock climbing walls, etc, so we don't necessarily need all the extra stuff to do on the ship. The hope is to find an itinerary that is very port intensive and use the ship for dinner and sleeping.

I'm currently trying to look at other lines and compare. I've looked at NCL, RCCL, Oceania, and Windstar. Viking does them, but their website won't give any prices - you have to call to get them. Not my cup of tea!

Anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[Marc D]

Forget Viking : they are way more expensive than DCL. If quality of the MDR food is important to you, I would look at Celebrity. They are on par with DCL for food. I will never go back to RCCL because we have been spoiled in the MDR by Celebrity and DCL.

The bigger ships on RCCL and NCL are more teen-friendly than Celebrity or Princess. Oceania or Azamara are not teen-friendly since they have very small ships with few amenities for them. Also look at European lines like MSC, Costa and Aida to have more options.

 

[ldo]

RCCL and NCL have older ships doing Greece. We have been on a similar RCCL ship and it was fine. Princess has newer large ship cruises that end in Athens, in case you wanted to spend more time there. We liked Princess, but did find it sorta boring for us (late 40s) and didn't see many kids, even though it was early Aug. RCCL has family rooms that sleep up to 6. They can be a good deal. You have to call to book them. I find in Europe that the ship really doesn't matter much, as we are hot and tired from being in port, just want a quick swim, dinner, and relax to get ready for the next day. One decision to start with is leaving from Venice vs. Rome and then one way or RT to narrow it down. On RCCL and NCL, we sometimes pay for upgraded dining for a few meals, even if it is just DH and me and send the older kids to the buffet or dining room.

 

[deanimal]

We cruised the Eastern Med with MSC cruises in 2014 and loved it. I think we paid about $3500 for two adults two kids in a balcony cabin for 7 nights in August. They have great, port heavy itineraries and beautiful new ships. Service and food were good too. The initial price on the website is sometimes a little misleading since they offer kids sail free on most sailings, (up to age 12 I think) which brings the final price down a lot. Service charges are also a lot lower than North American lines and there's no service charge for kids on European sailing so that saves money too!

 

[linetbo]

Forget Viking : they are way more expensive than DCL. If quality of the MDR food is important to you, I would look at Celebrity. They are on par with DCL for food. I will never go back to RCCL because we have been spoiled in the MDR by Celebrity and DCL.

The bigger ships on RCCL and NCL are more teen-friendly than Celebrity or Princess. Oceania or Azamara are not teen-friendly since they have very small ships with few amenities for them. Also look at European lines like MSC, Costa and Aida to have more options.

I saw one celebrity cruise that I am interested in celebrity but I am worry that my 17yorder daughter might be bored in it. I did a celebrity cruiae when I was 26 and it was full of seniors.

 

[linetbo]

Double post

 

[Marc D]

I saw one celebrity cruise that I am interested in celebrity but I am worry that my 17yorder daughter might be bored in it. I did a celebrity cruiae when I was 26 and it was full of seniors.

You'll have more seniors on any other cruise line (except maybe on the Carnival party cruises). The age spread on a ship will depend on many factors, mainly cost, time of year (if kids are in school at the time), itinerary, and can vary a lot from sailing to sailing.

We've been on a mostly-senior cruise in October in the Baltic. We did an Sail around Italy cruise in June and the median age was around 50, most people being of the active/fit type. It's not cruise line specific. Of course, if the ship offers surf pools, climbing walls, water slides, video games and teen clubs, you're likely to find a younger crowd. Anyway, if the itinerary is port-heavy, like it's often the case in the Mediterranean, you'll be off the ship most of the time. The enjoyment of everyone in your group will mostly be based on the excursions you choose to do.

 

[wonderlandwego]

I would not consider Oceania, Windstar, or Viking based on the needs/wants you described, and cost.

I agree with the other who have recommended MSC. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[ldo]

Most summer (July/Aug) cruises have a lot of families on major lines, esp. NCL, RCCL, Carnival, and DCL. Early June is less b/c it's not European break yet and most NE USA schools are still in session. I think Carnival in Europe is quite different than in the US and would not necessarily consider it a party cruise.

 

[Love2Cruz]

MSC.

 

[aggiedog]

Thanks guys! Lots of good choices. I really like what I see with MSC. They actually have what would be my dream cruise, but it happens in October, which is a no go with 4 kids in school. Bummer. Several close enough to it in Jun/July to make us happy, though. And great prices. Why so cheap? Am I missing something?

 

[deanimal]

Thanks guys! Lots of good choices. I really like what I see with MSC. They actually have what would be my dream cruise, but it happens in October, which is a no go with 4 kids in school. Bummer. Several close enough to it in Jun/July to make us happy, though. And great prices. Why so cheap? Am I missing something?

I wondered that too until my first cruise. One thing they do a bit differently is the tiered "experiences". The website sums them all up but basically Bella is the cheapest, with the least desirable staterooms and no perks. Fantastica is the next level up with the average staterooms and a basic drinks package. (I think we get 12 drink vouchers per person on our upcoming Baltic cruise). Aurea is the next level with only a few dozen staterooms, some very nice suites and an unlimited beverage package as well as some other perks. We got a great deal on this package for our March 2018 cruise out of Miami. The top tier is Yacht Club with a separate lounge, restaurant, hot tubs and concierge with unlimited drinks. This may seem a bit like nickel and dime-ing to some people, but it seems like great value to me. For example, for our Baltic cruise there was only a couple hundred dollars between Bella and Fantastica and just the drinks package made it worthwhile to upgrade. Balcony staterooms are also a great deal on MSC, not nearly as big a jump as on Disney.

Oh, and to top it off, service charges are way lower on MSC, at least in Europe. I think it's 7 or 8 Euro per adult per day and nothing for kids under 14 for our next cruise! In total, for the amount we saved by cruising in the Baltic with MSC (about $3200 vs over $11 000 for Disney) we could add a whole deluxe trip to Disney World with park tickets and deluxe dining package if we wanted to get a Disney fix! (Not that we will, we decided to spend the money on ten extra days touring Scandinavia.) I've been recommending MSC to everyone who asks.

 

[LeslieG]

Tell me more about MSC. I thought I read the first language is not English, so there may be some language barriers with announcements, etc.

 

[aggiedog]

Thanks for the info. Yes, the prices seem so good, even the suites. The itinerary we were looking at does not have the Yacht Club. We'd have money to add on several days in Venice or Barcelona. Did you make reservations thru their website, or a TA? I'd like adjoining rooms, and I can't really tell what rooms sleep 3 or 4.