best cruise for Venice, southern Italy

[cgkpt]

My husband & I are looking to take a cruise in the fall of 2008. We have done 1 Caribbean cruise on RCCL which we thoroughly enjoyed. We have also done a 2 week vacation in Italy [Tauck] to see Rome, Florence, Venice.

Since we LOVED Venice, we really would like to return. We also want to see Pompeii. Besides this, we want to see as much of Italy as possible, with maybe a few stops in other countries such as Spain or France.

We are towards retirement age and are not into the partying scene. We are looking for relaxation. A cruise looks less expensive than a land tour and we like the idea of having the hotel move with you instead of having to repack bags every few days.

A 12 day cruise would be ideal [I can not take any more than 14-15 days out of work and I need to account for jet lag].

Any input appreciated. Thanks.

[Sogni italiani]

ooops...double post below...sorry!

[Rev22:17]

cgkpt,

Originally Posted by You

My husband & I are looking to take a cruise in the fall of 2008. We have done 1 Caribbean cruise on RCCL which we thoroughly enjoyed. We have also done a 2 week vacation in Italy [Tauck] to see Rome, Florence, Venice.

Since we LOVED Venice, we really would like to return. We also want to see Pompeii. Besides this, we want to see as much of Italy as possible, with maybe a few stops in other countries such as Spain or France.

We are towards retirement age and are not into the partying scene. We are looking for relaxation. A cruise looks less expensive than a land tour and we like the idea of having the hotel move with you instead of having to repack bags every few days.

A 12 day cruise would be ideal [I can not take any more than 14-15 days out of work and I need to account for jet lag].

Any input appreciated. Thanks.

You won't find any cruise that does just Italy, but many cruises in the Mediterranean do call at Livorno (for Firenze, Pisa, and the Tuscan countryside), Civitavecchia (for Roma), Napoli (for Pompeii, Capri, and Sorento and the Amalfi Coast), and Venice. JTOL, your best bet probably would be a cruise from Barcelona to Venice that would also include a couple ports of call along the French Riviera and perhaps an overnight stay on the ship in Venice. Most of the major cruise lines do offer itineraries of this type in the range of ten to fourteen days.

As to choice of cruise line, I strongly recommend buying a reputable guide to cruise lines and cruise ships at your local bookstore and reading the description of each major cruise line very carefully to get a sense of its personality and style. You probably will find two or three lines that would be a good match for your preferences, and then you can compare their offerings. Also, a competent travel agent will know what questions to ask to help you to refine your selection.

Norm.

[matey]

Norm, please read your reply. I know where you would like to be right now!

[Rev22:17]

matey,

Originally Posted by You

Norm, please read your reply. I know where you would like to be right now!

Oops! I fixed it!

But yes, a cruise the Mexican Riviera would do. In fact, a cruise to just about anywhere in the tropics would do....

Norm.

[Sogni italiani]

Hi there-I am by no means a cruise expert but I can share with you what went into our thinking when DH & I recently booked a Mediterranean cruise. DH & I chose the Carnival Freedom 12-day Grand Mediterranean Cruise out of Civitavecchia (Rome) sailing 10.01.08 for a number of reasons. Maybe you can relate to some of the following:

1) Carnival Cruise Lines would NOT have been my first choice at all, so we flopped between the 12-day Grand Med w/Carnival and a Royal Caribbean, 7-day, Western Med Cruise (which just seemed tooooo rushed and toooo short). The cruise duration was a major factor in our decision making, along with the port-of-call chocies;

2) Because we've been to Italy, including Rome, 3 times already, sailing from Civitavecchia gives us the option to see Rome again pre- or post cruise, if we choose to do so. If not, we can pass this time, saving a few excursion $$$$$...but I think we are going to spend a day in Rome, post-cruise anyhow;

3) The Carnival 12-day spends 2 days in Venice, which is a city we've not yet seen and a place I definitely DID want to see this time. For DH, Florence was his #1 priority. Venice and Florence are two separate itineraries with RCCL and many other cruise lines UNLESS you do a 14-day cruise (which was just too long for us);

4) A 12-day cruise with Carnival was affordable for us!!! Like you, I am NOT a PARTY PERSON and this is my MAJOR concern with Carnival. But DH assures me that we're cruising for the ports-of-call, not necessarily to "be" with people. DH & I are quiet, easy-going folks; so,we'll go with the flow and if the crowd is too "rowdy," we'll find our way. I think DH is right when he says, "Out of 3000 passengers, there has to be a few people who are similar to us, right?" RIGHT!;

5) The 12-day Carnival cruise sails ALL of the ports-of-call that we wanted to see this time, with a few exceptions. There's Civitavecchia, Naples, Croatia, Venice, Messina (Sicily), Barcelona, Cannes, Livorno (Tuscany) and Civitavecchia. Now, we ALSO spent a week in Positano (the Amalfi Coast) in 2006, which I love, so we'll definitely do an on shore excursion out of Naples. THIS IS WHERE YOU WOULD DO POMPEII, which is great!;

6) I wanted a few "sail" days in between port excursions because I do NOT LIKE TO RUSH!!! The Carnival cruise provides us with 3 or 4 sea days;

7) A few of the other lines (Princess, Norwegian, P&O, Fred Olsen) had similar itineraries as Carnival's but the sail dates didn't fit DH's schedule AND the costs were prohibitive for us, being nearly DOULBE or THREE TIMES the cost of the Carnival cruise;

8) I would have liked to try an "Italian" based cruise line, ie: MSC or Costa but DH was reluctant to do so. Also, most of the MSC or Costa cruises "split" the Med cruises up into "eastern" or "western" itineraries; therefore Venice and Florence were not on the same itinerary;

9) Both DH & I care more about the overall condition, wear 'n tear and cleanliness of a ship, etc, than its decor. Even though the new Freedom is not getting rave reviews for its decor, DH & I are okay 'cause it's a new ship, so we're pretty certain her wear 'n tear will be minimal

Well...that's about it There are many great folks on this website who have a LOT more cruising experience than I do, so I'm certain that you will get lots of support on this forum. But I wanted to share our thought processes with you anyhow...hopefully this has been useful to you!

Best wishes with your choice! The way DH & I view it is "Hey, we're in Europe and we're cruising...ANYTHING we do is a blessing!"

[luise]

We were in Italy last June. it was so beautiful.I think capri is not really important to see. We were in Pompei-2hours with a guide(super nice), on the way to the amazing amalficoast, we saw sorrento from a view point! we rent a english speaking driver (born and raised in naples: giuseppe ) to have the most comfort. he guided us also and told us a bit of everything. i went on the journey with my husband, my two boys (1and 3 years old) and my parents. he got a big van with air condition: very usefull!!! and seats for the kids: the streets are very small. so we felt quiet save and comfortable. he also showed us positano (much better than capri) , amalfi and ravello!
i lost the telefon number of the driver but he got a webside: _sorrento limousines | limousines car service in sorrento and the amalfi coast (http://www.sorrento-limousines.com)_ and if you go there don`t miss pompei!!!
ciao luise

[Sogni italiani]

Hi luise~~yes, I think you are so right about Positano, Sorrento, Amalfi and the Amalfi Coast versus Capri (although many will disagree). While Capri is nice, mostly when seen off the beaten path, I would take my time and spend it doing the entire Amalfi Drive, Pompeii and even Ravello before I would spend the day going to Capri.

To the OP, one word tht I forgot to mention is that many of the other cruise lines that cruise the Mediterranean (P&O, Fred Olsen, Princess, etc) offer lovely cruises that can be a bit longer than the 12-day cruise that you are looking for...some are 14-days, 18-days...even as lengthy as 24-days, all of which were completely undoable for us!

Does it get any lovelier than this???-Positano, Amalfi Coast, Campania, Italy

[dlm2005]

by RCCL

20-Oct Barcelona, Spain 7:00 PM

21-Oct Cannes (Monte Carlo), France 10:00 AM 8:00 PM Tendered

22-Oct Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Docked

23-Oct Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Docked

24-Oct Naples, Capri, Italy 7:00 AM 7:00 PM Docked

25-Oct Cruising

26-Oct Venice, Italy 1:00 PM Docked

27-Oct Venice, Italy 5:00 PM Docked

28-Oct Split, Croatia 7:00 AM 5:00 PM Tendered

29-Oct Cruising

30-Oct Tunis, Tunisia 8:00 AM 6:00 PM Docked

31-Oct Cruising

01-Nov Barcelona, Spain 5:00 AM

[R&R]

I would suggest trying Costa Europe's #1 line.The Costa Serena does a 7 night Italy, Croatia Greece itinerary.It calls on Venice,Italy, Bari,Italy
Dubrovnik,Croatia (the pearl of the adriatic) Katakolon,Greece.Izmar,Turkey,
Instanbul,Turkey returns to Venice.

Dates weekly from Sept to end of Nov 2008.

R&R Cruise

[katlady]

Hi Sogni italiani,
I will be doing a 14 day Trans Atlantic cruise on Carnival Freedom in about 24 days. I'm so excited. I will post a review when I get back. My cruise goes to Livorno and Civitavecchia. I have been on Carnival before I don't find it that Rowdy. Also I feel that on a longer med itinerary like the one you are thinking of there won't be a lot of rowdy college kids. I will know more after my cruise. Oh also we will take the train from Rome to Venice and spent a couple days there.

[lorren]

We were in Italy last November
We joined a family of four from our roll call for a tour with Alfonso from the Sorrentosilverstar
(www.sorrentosilverstar.com) . What a great day! He was waiting for us at the dock and we headed for Pompeii. We arrived just as it was opening. We agreed as a group to spend just 2 hours there so we could spend more time at other places during the day. Pompeii is the kind of place that you could spend the entire day, but 2 hours was plenty and we had so many other things we wanted to see and do. The drive along the Amalfi Coast was beautiful. We stopped in several small towns as well as Amalfi. I would recommend Alfonso to anyone looking for a guide/driver in Naples.