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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Need suggestions on European cruise itinerary
Hi, it's been a long time since I've been on the boards, hope everyone is doing well!
I've started looking at cruises in Europe and need help with suggestions. DH and I have been to Italy, London, and Paris, and we would love to make a separate trip to Greece eventually. What's a good cruise itinerary to hit (northern? mediterranean? etc) that would be 7-10 days, and hit a good number of ports that would give us a good flavor of Europe for a start? Thanks!
Re: Need suggestions on European cruise itinerary
wow that's a broad question. what time of year? whats your budget? i'm not sure if you mean jsut for the northern europe itinerary or for mediterranean or what.
i'm also confused-since you'e been to italy, london etc.. what are you looking for a flavor to start exactly?
vacationstogo.com has a great listing so you can use them to check it out. be warned-august is not only hot in italy in august but it's height of tourist season and it's also when a lot of italians go on vacay so many places are closed.
ive been twice in late september and it's gorgeous that time of year. ive also been in january/feb and it was even better-empty, but chilly. i'd never go in august.
I love the Northern Europe and Baltic itineraries. Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, St.Petersburg, Helsinki, etc. all make fantastic cruise ports, because the cruise ships dock very close to downtown. Also, many of the cities are small enough that you can see quite a bit in one day. St.Petersburg is definitely bigger, but many ships spend 2 days in port, and it's a great way to see a little of Russia if you don't want to deal with the visas. With medieval influences and the Hanseatic trading history in the area, a lot of the ports have a very European feel to them with well-preserved historic districts, small winding streets, and lots of charm. September is getting a bit late, but August still has lots of sailings, and that's a pretty good time of year weather-wise. It's not a poolside warm-weather cruise, but it's good sightseeing temperatures.
Speaking from experience, Mediterranean cruises are so wonderful (and romantic). They are rich in history in culture and there is so much to do! They mostly seem to be split into two categories, Western or Eastern Mediterranean. I rarely have seen ones that verge somewhere in the middle, and many itineraries are much the same as the other, so let me go over some of my personal recommendations.
I would recommend RC and Norwegian from research considering ratings and price combined, and Disney from personal experience. There is SO much to do on Disney ships and believe me, it is not all kids. The entire experience is just as luxurious and they run a very tight and beautiful ship.
Most itineraries seem to be split up into a few categories when it comes to mediterranean cruises. You have Western Med (anything from Spain, Southern France, and Western Italy), Mid-Med (Eastern Italy, Croatia and partial Greece even maybe Kusadasi), Greek Aisles (just like it says, sometimes including Turkey), or Holy Land (usually a mix of cities from Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, and Egypt).
I have been wanting to do another Mediterranean cruise as well, and I am personally looking at doing something Mid-Mediterranean for my boyfriend and I. I loved Venice last time I went and if you can pick up a cruise with Venice at the end or beginning, you have tons of possibilities of travel added onto the cruise. A standard train ticket (clean and about 4 hours long) is not too expensive to take you into Rome, and you can get 24-hour tour bus ticket things for like $25 that will take you around all the sites if you haven't been there before. Alternatively, you can easily get to Northern Italy like Milan or even Southern Switzerland (maybe even as far as Basil) from Venice. Traveling is very easy and there are so many english speaking citizens.
I also LOVE Greece, and no matter what state they are in, they still appreciate the tourism. You don't have to travel to the parliament area in Athens if you don't want to (not much there). Just stick to things like the Parthenon and Plaka, and some of the isles. I highly recommend Santorini -- my most beloved vacation spot in the world so far. Extremely romantic, and while people think it's all pricey, you can definitely get by on a serious budget.
So that's my recommendation. Try to find a shorter cruise that visits Greece and Venice, then hit up another city or two near Venice at the end. You can PM me if you have any questions on how to get around! I've done (almost) it all.