I got a message from a friend of mine, Winnie, saying she was looking for a Mediterranean
cruise for a week in July, on a mid-sized ship, in a balcony cabin. Could I help.
In that one simple request I realised she was about to fall headlong into
five traps that many cruise passengers make in the Mediterranean.
Here’s what they are and what I told Winnie. I am Gary Bembridge. Welcome Aboard.
The first mistake she made was
thinking that there is such a thing as a “Mediterranean cruise”. There’s many.
I told Winnie she first needs to ask herself why she is going and what she wants to see and do,
to avoid going on the wrong itinerary.
There are three main Mediterranean itineraries.
The one that I recommend for first timers like Winnie, is the Western Mediterranean.
These tend to call on Spain, France, and Italy. They depart
usually from Barcelona, Civitavecchia near Rome, and Genoa, and call on ports like Marseilles,
the French Riviera (San Tropez, Monte Carlo, or Cannes), Livorno for Florence and Nice,
La Spezia for Cinque Terre, and some go down to Naples to visit Pompeii or Capri.
Some include historical islands with grand architecture
like Valletta in Malta and Palma de Mallorca.
It is perfect for first timers like Winnie as she will see many of the most famous
Mediterranean cities and sites to in just one trip.
The itinerary and excursions focus heavily on exploring local culture,
historical sites, museums, architecture, culinary and wineries.
I suggested to Winnie that if she enjoyed the Western Mediterranean cruise,
her next should be an Eastern Mediterranean one. This is probably my personal favourite.
Departing mostly from ports around Venice and Piraeus near Athens, these visit Italy,
Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, and sometimes Turkey.
The most popular ports include Split, Dubrovnik, Corfu,
and Greek Islands like Katakolon, Santorini, and Mykonos.
While the itinerary and excursions also focus on culture, historical sites,
museums, architecture, they tend to be more active.
If she wanted to return to the Mediterranean after that, I recommended a Greek islands itinerary,
especially if she wanted more of a beach mixed with ancient sites experience.
Mostly sailing out of Piraeus near Athens, the islands
visited vary based on the size of ship with smaller ships calling on more out of the way
ones as well as the large and best-known ones like Santorini, Rhodes, and Mykonos.
While those three Mediterranean cruise options tend to be 7-nights long,
and meet her request for week-long cruise, there is a trap in here there I wanted her to consider.
First, whatever week-long itinerary she books
will include one or two must-see cities she thinks she will see – but won’t.
For example, I showed her the 7-night Western Mediterranean cruise I was about to go on.
The advertised itinerary prominently includes
Barcelona and Rome as two ports. But they are where I embark and disembark.
If I hadn’t booked a pre-stay in Barcelona and a post-stay in Rome, I would see nothing of those
cities – other than from the bus or taxi window while transferring between airport and ship.
To see the cities where Winnie embarks or disembarks,
I encouraged her to add stays there or she will not see anything of them.
Second, a week-long Mediterranean cruise
can be tiring. Few have sea days for her relax as they call into ports daily.
She’ll be out exploring most of the days and enjoying the dining and
entertainment into the evenings.
She’ll be flying in,
so likely tired and jet-lagged, another good reason for having pre-stay and post-stays.
And thirdly, this is all magnified as quite a few Mediterranean ports are far from
the advertised city or sights, which means many excursions will be 8 to 10 hours long.
Look at my Azamara cruise as an example. The itinerary is advertised as Provence
(Marseilles), Florence / Pisa (Livorno) and Rome (Civitavecchia).
On Eastern Mediterranean ones you will see Venice (Ravenna or Trieste), Olympia
(Katakolon) and Piraeus (Athens).
The time to get to places advertised like this on the itinerary can take a long time.
Rome can take up to two hours each way based on traffic from Civitavecchia,
Florence one and a half to two hours each way from Livorno,
Venice (which most ships cannot sail into anymore) use Ravenna or Trieste which are two hours away.
Even places like Olympia from Katakolon,
Cinque Terre from La Spezia can take up to hour or more each way.
So, with Winnie understanding the issues around week-long trips,
I wanted to tackle her plan to cruise in July.
The Mediterranean cruising season runs from
April to October, although a handful of ships will sail year-round.
I warned Winnie that going in July / August time is a mistake for 5 reasons.
First, it gets hot and sticky.
Second, it’s peak season and busy with both cruise and land-based travellers.
Some Mediterranean countries, including France, Spain, and Italy, close factories, and businesses
in those months and all go on vacation. It's hard to get into places, there's crowds everywhere.
Third, it is THE most expensive of time of the year to go.
Fourth as it's school holidays,
families will be cruising, even on lines that usually do not have kids.
I told Winnie this is important as many ships will be sailing way over capacity.
When ships declare occupancy, it is based on what is called “lower berths”,
which means two people per cabin and does not count sofa beds, pull down beds and so on.
For example, when I was on MSC Cruises Meraviglia they told me their official capacity was 4,500
but in July and August they often have 6,000 passengers
when kids share cabins with their parents.
While other ships may not be as dramatic as that, but all will
be at higher capacity when families are on board.
Fifth, I warned her, this is the prime scam and pickpocket season
due to the peak and jostling crowds.
Each time I have been in Venice, Barcelona, and Rome in July / August, people off the ship
have had wallets stolen, bags snatched, and backpacks opened, and items taken.
I suggested instead Winnie looks at the shoulder season,
June and September are especially great months. Though May and October work too.
Everything's open,
it’s great but not stifling weather and since Winnie doesn’t have to go in school holiday time
and is going with a friend of hers, they’ll have a less costly and less crowded trip.
Winnie had said she wanted to go on a mid-sized ship,
but I worried she was falling into another trap here too.
So, I suggested she step back as there are a few considerations before settling on ship size.
There is enormous choice in the Mediterranean. So first,
I suggested we cut the number of lines she should consider based on her budget.
Pretty much every cruise line ranging from the most inexpensive (like MSC, Norwegian,
Carnival, and Royal Caribbean) through to THE most expensive cruise lines in the world (like Regent
Seven Seas, Seabourn, Silversea) cruise here – and basically offer the same itineraries and ports.
For example, Winnie could book a 7-night Western Mediterranean cruise next June for
2 on MSC Seaview in their cheapest balcony cabin for $1,750 (that’s $125 per person per night).
Or she could book a very similar 7-night Regent Seven Seas Voyager cruise
in their cheapest balcony, where one night would cost the same as that entire MSC 7-night cruise.
That’s a staggering $12,600 for two people for a week (or $900 per person per night).
And then I asked Winnie to step back and think about what she wants those remaining lines
to add to her trip. As the ports and places they will take her are largely the same.
Does she want a deep immersion into Mediterranean history and culture? Then
maybe Viking with multiple daily lectures by their on-board resident Historian may be best.
Does she want lots of late-night partying, big glitzy theatre shows, and relaxed dress code?
Then maybe MSC, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Carnival or Royal Caribbean would be best.
Does she want a more familiar British experience
with dressy formal nights and live orchestra ballroom dancing? Then perhaps Cunard is the one.
To avoid the trap of going on the wrong cruise line and getting the most from her budget,
Winnie agreed to draw up a list what she really wanted from the ship and line.
Ship size is of course a valid consideration.
But Winnie said me she though a mid-sized ship because she heard they would be less busy and
have fewer lines, but more because she’d heard they go to more interesting ports.
In the Mediterranean, the size of the ship is
less critical in terms of what ports they call on than some other regions.
While usually smaller ships can go to more out of the way ports,
that only really applies in the Greek Islands than in the Western and Eastern Mediterranean.
On these most of the cruise ports tend to be used by all, big and small. So,
I suggested she focus on the experience she wanted rather than the ship size alone.
The next trap Winnie almost fell into, but I think she got it right in some ways by chance,
was she was looking at a balcony cabin.
Winnie said she had seen online people recommending a balcony
cabin because of the scenery to see while sailing in the Mediterranean.
I don't think that is true. First, you're going to be sailing at night and then way out at sea,
and the only time you will be close enough to view scenery is at sail in
and sail out. Both of which you may want to be out on deck for.
I told her to choose a balcony over and Inside or Oceanview cabin
only if she rated the upside and experience worth the extra costs.
I always chose a balcony when cruising, in the Mediterranean or pretty much
anywhere as I like being able to step out into the fresh air,
sit there in the evenings when sailing and for the floor-to-wall windows and light.
I pointed out that on her cruise she will likely have no or few sea days,
so is not going use the balcony on a sea day to relax, and as many of the Mediterranean ports,
particularly in the Western Mediterranean, are working ports and not the most attractive ports,
the views sitting out on port days may not be that exciting.
Talking to Winnie, she like me, decided she wouldn’t be getting it for the
views, but because she felt an Inside and Oceanview may feel too claustrophobic.
Thinking about the cabin experience that you will enjoy in the Mediterranean avoids
the trap of falling into booking something for views that may not be there or choosing a cabin
that reduces your enjoyment. A cheaper cabin may not be good value if you find it stifling.
If you found these Mediterranean cruise tips interesting, why not watch this video
where I look at the traps that most people fall into on Caribbean cruises.
Starting with the one I did on my first Caribbean trip. See you over there.