Help me choose for Summer 2027

[jle323]

Hi everyone,
In 2027 my son is graduating high school and I’m turning 50, so we’re doing a cruise to celebrate. I’ve looked at the itineraries, and I’m having a horrible time deciding. We want to do at least 7 days. He doesn’t want Alaska, and I don’t want to do another Caribbean so we’re looking at Europe. It would be my husband, my 21 year old daughter, 18 year old son, and myself. I’m not familiar with any of the ports, and we’re coming from Massachusetts so I’m trying to take that into consideration as I do my research. But I wanted to hear from others to help with my decision, since my family has told me to choose. Thanks!!!

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

I have done 4 European cruises from England

1. Norwegian Fjords
2. North France - Cherbourg
3. North Spain - Bilbao
4. North Spain- La Coruna and Vigo

I will be booking for 2027 on The Wish
3-Night Northern Europe Cruise Sailing to Rotterdam (Amsterdam), Netherlands 27 - 30 August 2027
OR
4-Night Spain Cruise Sailing to La Coruña, Spain 30 August - 3 September 2027

This would be my advice

• Which month do you want to do the cruise, as the month will determine the itinerary?
• Which port do you want to sail from / return to?
• June and July will be hot and sweaty walking in burning sun, high crowds very long port days
• September will have warm sunny weather and far lower crowds , port days not as long.

These are the 7 day or longer on The Wish in Europe in 2027.

Departing From Barcelona May and June
7-Night Mediterranean Cruise Sailing to Palma de Mallorca, Spain Naples (Pompeii), Italy Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy Livorno (Florence, Pisa), Italy 22 - 29 May 2027 Saturday - Saturday
9-Night Mediterranean with Greek Isles Repositioning Sailing to Valletta, Malta Chania, Greece Piraeus (Athens), Greece Mykonos, Greece Naples (Pompeii), Italy Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
29 May - 7 June 2027 Saturday - Monday

Departing From Civitavecchia (Rome) June
8-Night Adriatic Sea and Greece Cruise Sailing to Corfu, Greece Trieste (Venice), Italy Zadar, Croatia Dubrovnik, Croatia 7 - 15 June 2027 Monday - Tuesday
8-Night Mediterranean Cruise with Greek Isles Sailing to Chania, Greece Santorini, Greece Rhodes, Greece Mykonos, Greece Naples (Pompeii), Italy 15 - 23 June 2027 Tuesday - Wednesday
10-Night Mediterranean with Greek Isles Cruise Repositioning Sailing to Piraeus (Athens), Greece Mykonos, Greece Rhodes, Greece Chania, Greece Messina (Sicily), Italy Barcelona, Spain
23 June - 3 July 2027 Wednesday - Saturday

Departing From Barcelona July
7-Night Mediterranean Cruise Sailing to Naples (Pompeii), Italy Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy Livorno (Florence, Pisa), Italy Genoa (Milan), Italy 3 - 10 July 2027 Saturday - Saturday
7-Night Mediterranean Cruise Sailing to Palma de Mallorca, Spain Naples (Pompeii), Italy Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy Livorno (Florence, Pisa), Italy 10 - 17 July 2027 Saturday - Saturday

Departing From Southampton July and September
7-Night Norwegian Fjords Cruise Sailing to Kristiansand, Norway Olden, Norway Alesund, Norway Haugesund, Norway 23 - 30 July 2027 Friday - Friday
7-Night Norwegian Fjords Cruise Sailing to Bergen, Norway Hellesylt, Norway Alesund, Norway Stavanger, Norway
30 July - 6 August 2027 Friday - Friday
7-Night British Isles Cruise Sailing to Greenock (Glasgow & Edinburgh), Scotland Liverpool, England Belfast, Northern Ireland Portland (Stonehenge), England 3 - 10 September 2027
7-Night Northern Europe Cruise Sailing to Rotterdam (Amsterdam), Netherlands Kristiansand, Norway Copenhagen, Denmark Skagen, Denmark 10 - 17 September 2027 Friday - Friday

 

[jle323]

My kids will be back in school by September, so we’re only looking at June, July, and August. I have no idea what port we want to return to, since I’m not familiar with any of them. I’ve just started doing research. I was hoping to hear from people who have actually done the available itineraries, and which one they enjoyed the most.

 

[kuhltiffany]

The Mediterranean will be really hot, so I would avoid that area. We did a prior cruise that included the Fjords and it was amazing!

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

I have no idea what port we want to return to, since I’m not familiar with any of them. I’ve just started doing research.

Ok , well the first thing then is to look at flights from your home / local airport.

Barcelona
Barcelona-El Prat Airport is very near Barcelona city centre and the city centre is very near the cruise port. This makes your pre and post cruise days logistically very easy,

Civitavecchia for Rome.
Rome Fiumicino Airport is very near Rome city centre for your pre and post cruise days. Civitavecchia is the cruise port and is an approx 2 hours travel depending on Rome traffic and the mode of transport you take. Logistically for first timers to Italy , it can be a bit difficult.

Southampton for London
Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport are about 1 hours travel from Central London depending on traffic and the mode of transport you take. Southampton is the cruise port and is about 2 hours travel from Central London depending on traffic and the mode of transport you take. Most people do pre and post cruise days in London. Logistically for first timers to England, it can be a bit difficult.

 

[jle323]

Ok , well the first thing then is to look at flights from your home / local airport.

Barcelona
Barcelona-El Prat Airport is very near Barcelona city centre and the city centre is very near the cruise port. This makes your pre and post cruise days logistically very easy,

Civitavecchia for Rome.
Rome Fiumicino Airport is very near Rome city centre for your pre and post cruise days. Civitavecchia is the cruise port and is an approx 2 hours travel depending on Rome traffic and the mode of transport you take. Logistically for first timers to Italy , it can be a bit difficult.

Southampton for London
Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport are about 1 hours travel from Central London depending on traffic and the mode of transport you take. Southampton is the cruise port and is about 2 hours travel from Central London depending on traffic and the mode of transport you take. Most people do pre and post cruise days in London. Logistically for first timers to England, it can be a bit difficult.

 

[greensombrero]

We did the Barcelona to Southampton repositioning cruise last summer with my teens/tweens and loved it! Barcelona is an incredible city and all the ports you end up right downtown and can get off the ship and be in the city. The views going up the river into Lisbon were incredible. I have a trip report up if you want to read more details.

A lot of the ports in Italy require a bit of travel to see the sights meaning a well planned excursion is necessary. I’d avoid those itineraries personally and pick one where the ship will dock right in town.

Hope that helps! Europe is incredible so to a certain extent you can’t go wrong but definitely worth doing some research.

 

[jle323]

Thanks! That’s very helpful. I was looking into the Greek Isles cruise, but I wasn’t sure how difficult Civitavecchia would be to get to. We’re so used to Port Canaveral I don’t even blink at how to get there. I’m going to rethink, and maybe do the Fjords instead. I really appreciate your help.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Thanks! That’s very helpful. I was looking into the Greek Isles cruise, but I wasn’t sure how difficult Civitavecchia would be to get to. We’re so used to Port Canaveral I don’t even blink at how to get there. I’m going to rethink, and maybe do the Fjords instead. I really appreciate your help.

You are welcome. Thats why flights and the exact location of the airport to the cruise ship are really the most important factor. Everyone talks up the Greek Isles and Med cruises but no one talks about the actual logistics of travel from the airport, the pre and post cruise days and getting to and from the ship.

The cruise companies promote Rome as a port without telling people about the big distance it is from the ship.

 

[holula]

If I’d never been to Europe before, I’d pick the 9 night cruise starting in Barcelona and ending in Civitavecchia (Rome.)

Barcelona port is very easy to get to/from as it’s in Barcelona. You can have a few days in Barcelona pre cruise to get used to the time zone. It’s a great city, just watch out for pick pockets.

I don’t think Rome is a great port stop mid cruise due to the distance from Civitavecchia and personally I think Rome is a bit overrated but this would allow you to spend a few days in Rome post cruise or DCL offers transfers to FCO (the main airport in Rome) and a few hotels or you could do a private transfer to Rome itself. You can also take the train to Rome, although the train is likely to be quite busy.

This cruise offers a nice mix of Greek islands (Mykonos and Chania (Crete), cities (Athens), another island (Valletta) and then Naples.

Mykonos, Chania and Valletta you can easily walk around by yourself, eat some food, and enjoy Greece and Malta.

Athens is around 45 mins from the port and is easy to DIY as you can take the metro there. Athens already has their port schedule out and DCL docks around 12 hours there so you’d get a good chunk of time.

Naples is somewhere I’ve not been, but you can either see Naples or go to Pompeii. I’m not sure if you’d need an excursion for this or not so I’m hoping others can chime in for this.

I’ve done the Norwegian fjords and Alaska (twice) and I found them quite similar in terms of scenery at times so I’m not sure I’d do fjords if I didn’t want to do Alaska.

 

[o&smom]

We did the Barcelona to Southampton repositioning cruise last summer with my teens/tweens and loved it! Barcelona is an incredible city and all the ports you end up right downtown and can get off the ship and be in the city. The views going up the river into Lisbon were incredible. I have a trip report up if you want to read more details.

A lot of the ports in Italy require a bit of travel to see the sights meaning a well planned excursion is necessary. I’d avoid those itineraries personally and pick one where the ship will dock right in town.

Hope that helps! Europe is incredible so to a certain extent you can’t go wrong but definitely worth doing some research.

Only bummer is they changed the repositioning cruise to 6 days. We have been eyeing that one for a few years to do it again and other cruises kept getting in the way. It was finally going to be the year to go back to Europe for that cruise and it got shortened.

 

[o&smom]

I am always about planning an amazing trip, but with budget in mind. We fly from the West coast, but I would assume you would have more option for flights. I would look and see if there appears to be much price difference in flights to Barcelona, Rome, or London and if they have convenient, direct flights. Remember that both Rome and London need a little more time to get to the cruise port. Then I would look at pricing for accommodations in both cities. We always use VRBO for an apartment, since so many hotels in Europe don’t accommodate families. That may help you lean one way or the other. We absolutely love Barcelona and have cruised from there many times. Our last Europe cruise ended there and we spent five days there. Not sure how much extra time you would have to enjoy before or after your cruise, but La Sagrada Familia is a must see. Book tickets beforehand. There is an amusement park on the hill above the city called Thibidabo. You could do a day trip to Mt, Serrat. So much interesting architecture by Antoni Gaudi and great food. We have loved the interactive science museum called Cosmo Caixa. We really enjoyed Rome before our last cruise and are planning multiple days there before our cruise in 2027. We found it way more chaotic and busy, but there are things there that you just can’t see anywhere else! Lots to see and do in London as well. Harry Potter studios tour is just outside London if you are fans. Looking at 7 night cruise options for 2027, you need to decide if the heat will get to you. It can be quite warm, but has not been an issue for us. I highly recommend cooling towels if you choose the Med. There are only two options for 7 night in the Med and they are the same itinerary except for Genoa or Palma de Mallorca, if one of those stands out to you. Both of the Norwegian Fjords cruises are at least $2K more to start. We have not been to any of the ports on the first one, but we enjoyed Bergen and Stavanger in the past. In the middle of those two prices are two 8 night Med cruises. They both focus more on the Eastern Med and leave out of Rome. They are more Italy and Greece focused with some visits to Croatia. I would ask your family if there is somewhere you have always dreamed of going in Europe...you too. It could also help by looking up the port adventures for each port and seeing if there is something you must do. It can seem very overwhelming, but just try to focus on what you think will be an amazing experience to share with your family. You really can’t go wrong. Have a lovely cruise!

 

[o&smom]

Thanks! That’s very helpful. I was looking into the Greek Isles cruise, but I wasn’t sure how difficult Civitavecchia would be to get to. We’re so used to Port Canaveral I don’t even blink at how to get there. I’m going to rethink, and maybe do the Fjords instead. I really appreciate your help.

It’s not that difficult. Just need to book a car service like Port Canaveral. Don’t let that deter you if the cruise seems more interesting.

 

[o&smom]

If I’d never been to Europe before, I’d pick the 9 night cruise starting in Barcelona and ending in Civitavecchia (Rome.)

Barcelona port is very easy to get to/from as it’s in Barcelona. You can have a few days in Barcelona pre cruise to get used to the time zone. It’s a great city, just watch out for pick pockets.

I don’t think Rome is a great port stop mid cruise due to the distance from Civitavecchia and personally I think Rome is a bit overrated but this would allow you to spend a few days in Rome post cruise or DCL offers transfers to FCO (the main airport in Rome) and a few hotels or you could do a private transfer to Rome itself. You can also take the train to Rome, although the train is likely to be quite busy.

This cruise offers a nice mix of Greek islands (Mykonos and Chania (Crete), cities (Athens), another island (Valletta) and then Naples.

Mykonos, Chania and Valletta you can easily walk around by yourself, eat some food, and enjoy Greece and Malta.

Athens is around 45 mins from the port and is easy to DIY as you can take the metro there. Athens already has their port schedule out and DCL docks around 12 hours there so you’d get a good chunk of time.

Naples is somewhere I’ve not been, but you can either see Naples or go to Pompeii. I’m not sure if you’d need an excursion for this or not so I’m hoping others can chime in for this.

I’ve done the Norwegian fjords and Alaska (twice) and I found them quite similar in terms of scenery at times so I’m not sure I’d do fjords if I didn’t want to do Alaska.

We have done both Herculaneum and Pompeii with Disney. People have taken the train on their own to Pompeii, or you can also choose a private tour. I have heard Italian trains are not that dependable, so we haven’t chanced it.

 

[Mommb]

Only bummer is they changed the repositioning cruise to 6 days. We have been eyeing that one for a few years to do it again and other cruises kept getting in the way. It was finally going to be the year to go back to Europe for that cruise and it got shortened.

My family did the repositioning cruise from Southampton to Barcelona several years ago, and I would recommend it even if it is shortened. You can make up for the “missing” day by spending an extra day in Barcelona (or Southampton or London).