My husband and I are going on a 12 day Euro Cruise at the end of September. There are some ports where its a kinda no-brainer take a tour type of place (i have the long list of Shore Excursions in front of me), but then there are others where we feel we might like to wander around and absorb the culture/eat the food.
So any strong opinions on what to do/not to do on the following Itinerary?
Any advice otherwise (ive been to Europe twice but only to Rome out of the list below, my husband has never been to Europe)?
1.Leaving out of Barcelona
2.Monte Carlo, Manaco (near Nice and Cannes)
3.Florence/Pisa (Livorno)
4.Rome (out of Civitavecchia)
5.Naples/Capri
6.Mykonos
7.Istanbul, Turkey
8.Kusadasi (Ephesus) Turkey
9.Athens
10.Venice (for two nights)
DEFINITELY go to Ephesus. It is incredible. I’ve heard that Kusadasi is pretty boring, but the town where Ephesus is actually located, Selcuk, is cute and a nice place for wandering around and having a bite to eat.
Just a quick one, but if it were me I would get to Barcelona a few days before setting sail; such an incredible place, full of things to do and see (and eat and drink) all at moderate prices (though certainly not as budget friendly as your Turkish destinations will be).
If you are interested in any guided shore excursions (rather than just hiking around on your own) third party providers can be cheaper and more intimate. We did romeinlimo.com for Rome and Florence/Pisa. They are very flexible and can provide guides in addition to the drivers.
I forget the name of the one we used in Monte Carlo/Monaco, but it was great to have your own driver taking you around, rather than in a bus with lots of people.
If it at all interests you, I highly recommend a tour of Pompeii while you’re parked in Naples. We have done a cruise with a similar itinerary twice and Pompeii was the highlight of our first trip.
I always suggest the message boards at cruisecritic.com when someone asks this sort of question. Those folks have years of experience and love to share.
How long do you get ashore on the Monaco part of your trip? I live near there and could offer some suggestions, but they’d vary depending on if you get a couple of hours or a full day…
My wife and oldest grandson just did the eastern Med cruise out of Venice that included some of your ports. From her, forget or limit the number of excursions - go with the local tours or plan your own using the On-and-Off bus method. Only use the excursion if that’s the only way to hit a particular spot you want to visit. Excursions tend to be somewhat regimented and time limited. Slow people may delay things so much that portions of tours need to be skipped. Late nights and early excursions don’t mix.
If there is a semi-private spa on the ship for a reasonable cost - do that. The main deck, pools, and recreation areas can get very crowded and noisy. Some relaxation is great away from the maddening crowd.
Skip the special eating establishments. The regular food seatings are incredible for choices, quality, and quantity - also included in the cruise price as opposed to the tacked on “special” charges. Limit you liquor intake, it’s expensive. Sometimes it’s hard to balance the parties aboard with the desire to see what’s ashore. Think ahead.
Venice - walk the streets away from the main square for best prices and food. Mirano is one of the islands in the bay with blown glass as its speciality - worth a trip. Murano - another island, is famous for lace.
I went on a Euro cruise going the other way. We started in Barcelona and ended in Lisbon. I say get to Barcelona a day early… at least. There’s a lot to do in Barcelona and we only got there about a half-day early. We missed a lot. Barcelona is a great city and you’ll want to make time for it. Get tapas. Walk La Rambla. Go to the Picasso museum.
Last year we went Barcelona - Rome - Athens - Ephesus - Cairo - Malta - Barcelona.
Definitely agree that Ephesus was great, but it is far from anything and you need a shore excursion for it.
For Rome the ship docks a few blocks from the train station, and you can get a relatively cheap pass that covers the fare and the Rome Metro. We went to the Forum and Coliseum, of which I preferred the latter. Hint - if you go to both, get tickets at the Forum, where the line was much shorter. It gets you into the Coliseum also.
For Athens the ship docks in Piraeus, a good but walkable hike from the Piraeus station for the Athens metro. I’m not positive that going by oneself is worth it, but the day was wet and cold, and it colored my opinion a bit.
The problem with cruises is that you don’t nearly have enough time, except to reconnoiter for a return trip. On the other hand, it does give you a great overview, and an idea of if you want to return. We’re not going back to Cairo, thanks, but Turkey was great and I’d like to see more of Malta.
Oops. We stayed near La Rambla on the way out, and at an airport hotel on the way back (one train stop away, they had a shuttle.) It was close to the train to downtown, and so we went to look at a bunch of Gaudi buildings, though we didn’t have enough time to go in any. We got in very early dropped our daughter at the airport, and then went to the hotel, dropped our bags, and went into town until we could check into our room.
I like ruins and Ephesus has a street of old buildings and the great advantage of not being in the middle of a city.