European cruises...tell me your experience

[ronandannette]

...Book private excursions. They are cheaper and can usually be customized to your needs. On Cruise Critic, join the roll call for your cruise. Lots of times people will be looking for extra people to fill out the empty spaces. Cruise Critic also has a lot of good info on the European ports.

I wish we had booked a cruise that was a little longer and had a few more sea days. We did private tours that usually started around 8 am and didn’t get us back until an hour or so before all aboard. By the last day, which was a sea day, we were whipped. I really could have used another sea day or two in the middle of the cruise.

Unless you really like hot, humid weather and big crowds, I would try to go in late spring or early fall. We went the first week of September, and it was still very hot.

We used Rome In Limo at all our ports for private and completely customized touring. With a party of 4 it was actually less expensive than the RCCL bus tours. I couldn't believe it would be possible until I ran the numbers - a WONDERFUL value for the money. Oh, and weather-wise, mid-May was about as comfortable as it could be both ashore and at sea.

 

[Deb]

I completely agree to look into independent tours. In Athens we were leaving the Parthenon as the tour busses were arriving and we still had plenty of time for other sites.

 

[Frwinkley]

Thank you for all this great information! Lots of research to do!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

We have done two cruises over the years. In 2007, we did an 11-night Mediterranean cruise on the Disney Magic, and joined with several Disboard members and their families (I think there were almost 70 of us). We went on a roundtrip from Barcelona - Italy - France - back to Barcelona. My favorite excursions were the private ones we did with other families, especially the one to Pompeii-Amalfi Coast-Positano, and the one in Rome. We went in July. It was a very fun cruise.

In 2019, 10 of us went to Venice for three nights, then a 7-night cruise to the Greek Isles. We LOVED this vacation. We went at the end of May, and things were still a little cool, right before summer heat and crowds. Venice was wonderful - could have spent another night or two there. The Royal Caribbean cruise was great, and my favorite stop was probably Athens, where we booked a private tour - the timing was great, as was the tour guide. We also really enjoyed Corfu and Mykonos.

My friends and I (four of us) have a Viking Christmas cruise booked for 2023, and really looking forward to that (going from Prague to Berlin).

Have fun planning. There are so many great experiences to be had.

We used Rome In Limo at all our ports for private and completely customized touring. With a party of 4 it was actually less expensive than the RCCL bus tours. I couldn't believe it would be possible until I ran the numbers - a WONDERFUL value for the money. Oh, and weather-wise, mid-May was about as comfortable as it could be both ashore and at sea.

We used them, too, for our Rome and Naples tours. They were fantastic and customized our tours to what we wanted to see. I highly recommend them.

 

[ronandannette]

We have done two cruises over the years. In 2007, we did an 11-night Mediterranean cruise on the Disney Magic, and joined with several Disboard members and their families (I think there were almost 70 of us). We went on a roundtrip from Barcelona - Italy - France - back to Barcelona. My favorite excursions were the private ones we did with other families, especially the one to Pompeii-Amalfi Coast-Positano, and the one in Rome. We went in July. It was a very fun cruise.

In 2019, 10 of us went to Venice for three nights, then a 7-night cruise to the Greek Isles. We LOVED this vacation. We went at the end of May, and things were still a little cool, right before summer heat and crowds. Venice was wonderful - could have spent another night or two there. The Royal Caribbean cruise was great, and my favorite stop was probably Athens, where we booked a private tour - the timing was great, as was the tour guide. We also really enjoyed Corfu and Mykonos.

My friends and I (four of us) have a Viking Christmas cruise booked for 2023, and really looking forward to that (going from Prague to Berlin).

Have fun planning. There are so many great experiences to be had.


We used them, too, for our Rome and Naples tours. They were fantastic and customized our tours to what we wanted to see. I highly recommend them.

What did you do in Pompeii? We climbed Mt. Vesuvius - a dream of mine from back in days of making paper mache dioramas of the ruins in junior high! We also toured the archeological excavation - fascinating and haunting.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

What did you do in Pompeii? We climbed Mt. Vesuvius - a dream of mine from back in days of making paper mache dioramas of the ruins in junior high! We also toured the archeological excavation - fascinating and haunting.

As you know, Rome in Limo uses local guides for the tours. We had a guide that knew so much about Pompeii, and we went on a 2-hour tour that turned into 3 hours because she was enjoying how interested we were. There were three families in our group. If we have the opportunity to return I know my "kids" would love do climb Mt. Vesuvius. What a wonderful opportunity!!

 

[ronandannette]

...If we have the opportunity to return I know my "kids" would love do climb Mt. Vesuvius. What a wonderful opportunity!!

It's really more of a rigorous uphill walk than a climb but it sounds like way more of an amazing accomplishment to call it that. It's actually pretty accessible for most; older kids and adults with a reasonable level of mobility and fitness. There's even the ubiquitous gift shop up at the top. The views are lovely looking out over the sea and it's jaw-dropping when you see the the ruins of Pompeii - how actually far away from the volcano they are.

 

[mousefan73]

There are many variables that would determine your experience especially which cruise line and it’s demographics you choose. In a nutshell if you compare a Caribbean cruise to a European cruise the biggest thing I have found is that Caribbean cruise is more relaxing vs a European cruise
For us it’s more exhausting. I have found that Caribbean ports cater to cruise lines where European ports cater more to Cargo lines. Meaning getting off the ship in Europe Means often docking in some cargo industrial port miles away from the city center. Some are better than others. Barcelona for example is really close and actually in Barcelona. where Rome IMO As a one day cruise stop is horrible as you dock well over an hour away. A med cruise or European cruise as a positive allow you to see many different countries and cities without having to deal with getting from A to B. So for the Un
seasoned traveler A good option to see a lot.
My advice before booking a European cruise is actually to do a lot of research on your ports what you wanna do, how much that will cost you and what is available to do on your own. And ideally have an itinerary that has a few Sea days here and there to simply rest

I noticed also many cruise lines have the option to either embark in Barcelona or Rome. Between those two cities I would definitely embark in Rome is that’s a city that you need to do more than one day and as a single port day is simply too exhausting. Barcelona as a city is easy to do in one day Rome is a different story. One of our med cruises thank God we started in Rome where over half the ship started in Barcelona. Many of the passengers to not look too happy in civvivectia.

 

[mousefan73]

Somebody mentioned Viking cruises. A very good option to see other non- coastal cities and also they seem not so exhausting as you are often docked right there. Coming back to the ship during the day an option. Like a Caribbean sailing. They are pricey but I believe the port adventures are often included. I have never been on one but a friend compared a river cruise to luxury RVing. You take your “home/ hotel ” with you city to city. Where a ship is also a separate experience.

 

[izzy]

We used Rome In Limo at all our ports for private and completely customized touring. With a party of 4 it was actually less expensive than the RCCL bus tours. I couldn't believe it would be possible until I ran the numbers - a WONDERFUL value for the money. Oh, and weather-wise, mid-May was about as comfortable as it could be both ashore and at sea.

I’m pretty sure we used Rome In Limo for our tours in Rome and Naples. I remember talking with a lady who did the ship’s excursion in Rome and it was over $300, and they didn’t get to see near what we did. I think ours was around $120. (This was about 7 years ago.). Their included meal on their excursion was lunch at a Best Western hotel. Yikes!

 

[ronandannette]

I’m pretty sure we used Rome In Limo for our tours in Rome and Naples. I remember talking with a lady who did the ship’s excursion in Rome and it was over $300, and they didn’t get to see near what we did. I think ours was around $120. (This was about 7 years ago.). Their included meal on their excursion was lunch at a Best Western hotel. Yikes!

I'm a little fuzzy because it was 2017 but if I recall, the private car service right from the gates of the port and back, expert local driver and guide and all the entry fees (which they organized based on our requests) was about $200/pp per port plus tip. Basically $800 for a four-passenger vehicle, which in our case was a very comfortable Mercedes sedan. The price is based on the vehicle; and actually goes down a little per person if you get a van that carries 8 people.

 

[izzy]

I'm a little fuzzy because it was 2017 but if I recall, the private car service right from the gates of the port and back, expert local driver and guide and all the entry fees (which they organized based on our requests) was about $200/pp per port plus tip. Basically $800 for a four-passenger vehicle, which in our case was a very comfortable Mercedes sedan. The price is based on the vehicle; and actually goes down a little per person if you get a van that carries 8 people.

We had the van that carried 8. I was able to find two other couples that wanted to join us, and that definitely helped with the cost.

All of this talk of European cruising really makes me want to go back! I think I’m going to try one of the river cruises next, but probably not in the next year. I’m thinking of doing a Christmas Market one.

 

[ronandannette]

We had the van that carried 8. I was able to find two other couples that wanted to join us, and that definitely helped with the cost.

All of this talk of European cruising really makes me want to go back! I think I’m going to try one of the river cruises next, but probably not in the next year. I’m thinking of doing a Christmas Market one.

Our next big one will be the British Isles (cancelled in 2020) and unfortunately, there's no Rome in Limo there.

 

[easyas123]

All of this talk of European cruising really makes me want to go back! I think I’m going to try one of the river cruises next, but probably not in the next year. I’m thinking of doing a Christmas Market one.

We have a Christmas Market one booked for next year, Danube. We tossed around the idea of doing a different one…i think we will keep it though.

 

[GreatLakes]

You say you like active vacations, do you like biking? VBT is a company that does guided biking vacations and my experience with them is great. If I were to do a cruise in Europe I would do one of their Bike & Boat tours. They are river tours and you have biking routes to do each day. If you like to get a little more off the beaten path they are great. I did a regular biking trip with them through Tuscany and some of the small little towns we went through were great and I doubt anyone would venture into them on a standard "see the big sites" kind of tour.

They definitely aren't for everyone but if you do like active trips you may want to check them out.

https://www.vbt.com/travel-styles/bike-boat/