I am Gary Bembridge of Tips For Travellers.I'm going to give you 11 things that you absolutely
need to know to make you have an incredible Mediterranean cruise. First of all, when is
the best time to go? The peak season for Mediterranean cruises is from April to October. Of course
the big big season is July and August. That is when it gets really hot and really expensive.
So the best time to go if you can avoid the school holidays is at the beginning of the
season (so May / June time) and then sort of September time. You'll normally have great
weather and it is much less crowded. There are six key ports that most Mediterranean
cruises depart from. Barcelona, Venice, Genoa, Civitavecchia which is near Rome, Southampton
and Athens. Most Mediterranean cruises will leave from those big six embarkation and disembarkation
ports. The key tip I have is focus on the ports that are actually within the Mediterranean
because that from the day that you start your cruise you are in the Mediterranean and you
have no transit or lost time. Now you have five main broad Mediterranean cruises to choose
from. First of all you have the Central Mediterranean cruise. They tend to be a week long and do
a circular route in the heart of the Mediterranean and visit places like Southern France, parts
of Italy, Balearic Islands, Malta and parts of Spain like Barcelona. The second itinerary
and a very popular itinerary is the Eastern Mediterranean. These tend to go from the beautiful
city of Venice and then go down the coast, so they include places like Croatia, Montenegro,
Crete and Greece. The third really popular Mediterranean cruise is the Greek Islands.
This tends to be operated by cruise lines with smaller ships which are more nifty for
getting around Greek islands. You then have the longer Mediterranean cruises which can
be up to two weeks long. These tend to be ones that go from more Northern countries
like the UK and parts of Northern Europe. They include stops in places like France,
Portugal and Gibraltar, because they need to travel through that area to get into the
Mediterranean though the Straits of Gibraltar. So they tend to be slightly longer. It means
that you get to see a much more diverse about of countries. You'll see the Mediterranean
but you'll also get to see parts of France, Portugal and Gibraltar. Now the last of the
Mediterranean cruises are the repositioning cruises. These happen at a the beginning and
end of the season where the ships are normally redeploying to or from the Caribbean. So you'll
normally see a bit of the Mediterranean and then you will head across the Atlantic and
spend a little bit of time in the Caribbean. So that's quite a nice mix of the two regions.
Now my fourth tip is make sure if you are going on a Mediterranean cruise you choose
the right cruise line. There are at least 20 cruise lines offering Mediterranean cruises
during the season. So there is a huge choice. And so you need to make sure you choose the
cruise line that suits your travel type, budget and your interests because they are very different.
So for example the cruise lines that travel to the Mediterranean include the following:
Princess, Fred Olsen, Celebrity, AIDA, Costa, Hapag-Lloyd, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas,
Saga, Cunard, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC, Seabourn, P&O Cruises, Holland
America, Marella Cruises. Now broadly speaking they will offer the same itineraries so it's
not so much about the itinerary. Once you've decided which part of the Mediterranean you
want to go to make sure you get on the right cruise line because of you are on the wrong
cruise line you will not enjoy your Mediterranean experience because the passengers won't be
right for you, the on board experience won't be right for you and it's possible the excursions
will not meet your interests and needs. So very important do your research. Now linked
to that my next tips is when looking at which cruise line also look at the size of ship.
The size of the ship is important because the itineraries will differ slightly. You
will find the bugger ships are limited on the ports they can go to and these are ports
that can really cater for big ships. While some of the smaller ships have much more flexibility
about the ports they go into so they might go to slightly more unusual and smaller ports,
so not only choose the right cruise line but within that cruise line also focus on the
size of the shipped very specifically at the ports they go to. Now my next tip is about
pre- and post- stays cruise stay, because if you are for example sailing out of Barcelona
or Venice you are not going to get a chance to see those cities. You need to think about
a pre- or post- stay based on were your cruise is embarking or disembarking or you are not
going to get to see those incredible cities. Now my next tip is about excursions. You are
going on a Mediterranean and you want to see incredible sights. There are a few things
you do need to be aware of. First of all, some of the ports you go to are no where near
where it says on the itinerary! So for example, Rome is actually a good hour to two hours
away from the port. You might be thinking you are going to Florence or Pisa again it
is going to be an hour and half from the port where you actually dock. If you are going
on one of the cruises leaving from Northern Europe you might be thinking you are going
to Paris but the port is Le Havre which is can be two or three hours away from Paris.
So importantly as you look at the itinerary understand how close the actual place that
is billed on your itinerary is to the port. You may actually want to book excursions on
these with the cruise line because lots of risk that you find it difficult getting back
in time before the ship departs. If you are on a cruise line excursion the ship will wait
for you if it is delayed getting back, if you doing independent travel and you get confused
on the trains coming back or your miss your taxi or whatever there is a chance the ship
will leave without you. The other thing to understand is if you are docking as you often
will do in many Mediterranean ports you might be in a more working port shipyard. Often
the will put on a shuttle bus service which will run you into the closest town. So if
it is doing that you may consider actually self touring in those ports because many of
them will have hop-on hop-off busses, talks on board about the places, materials given
on the ship or tourist board on the shop or on the quay to let you know how you can self
explore. So you may want to consider doing self exploring. Very important you want to
understand in each of the destinations just now close the ship is going to be to the places
you want to see, and then plan your excursions once you understand that. Now my next tip
is also linked to that. If you are in a Mediterranean cruise there is a lot to see and do. So don't
over schedule. One of the things I recommend is, as you look at the itinerary, is you are
probably going to be in a port every single day is perhaps think about having a mix of
self touring and excursions because it can be very tiring if every single day you are
up early you are out touring all day because many are all day tours. Pick a day or two
where you going to be quite close to a town to do self exploring and take time to sit
down at age and watch the world go by or sit on the beach. The other thing you might want
to think about is your dining times. If you are going in a cruise which has fixed dining
times, an early and late sitting. If you go on a Mediterranean cruise you are likely to
find many of the excursions will be quite long, so you will be out all day, so you might
want to think about actually if you do have to choose a dining time, first or second sitting
- consider the scenic sitting as this gives you time to unwind, get ready, chat about
the day, and then go to the late sitting. It may give you a less frantic overall Mediterranean
trip. The other thing to think about is currency. Now, Mediterranean cruises most of the places
are going to be either Euro countries of the tourist places you interact with will take
the Euro. Is probably the currency you need is the Euro when you are on land. You'll find
pretty much every place, certainly the ones the cruise line will take you to, they are
use to taking the Euro. I wouldn't worry too much about taking different currencies if
you are going to places that are not Euro countries. One of the things I recommend you
do when going on a Mediterranean cruise is see it as a taster for understanding Europe
and the places you may want to go back and explore. Clearly on a a seven-day cruise you
are going to visit lots of places, see lots of things and countries. You are not really
going to understand and see Europe in a huge amount of detail. But it is going to give
you a feel and flavour for that place. Go with your eyes open and perhaps your plan
is to come back and explore much more on land and go a bit deeper. Mediterranean cruise
are fantastic. There are five different ways of seeing the Mediterranean through the different
itineraries you will get a chance to get a feel and taste for the region. It's great
as in the space of a week or two you are going to see lots of different countries, cultures
, experience different sights. A cruise is really a great way of seeing the Mediterranean.
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