European cruises...tell me your experience

[Frwinkley]

DH and I have not been to Europe in many many years. We are 60, both in very good health and enjoy active vacations, lots of scenery, walking, shopping, photography, etc. We've done plenty of "self-guided" vacations around the US (driving hundreds of miles, seeing lots, going at our own pace). However, we are now considering a European cruise. It just seems like an easier way to see lots of sights.

Can anyone chime in with their own experiences?

 

[Dznypal]

we did a RC cruise a few years ago and loved it--it was fun waking up every morning and being in a different country--
we did tours from the ship and they were all great I know alot of people like going off on their own but we like everything planned out--once we were a tad bit late to the ship as they were counting heads waiting to get back on--

we saw so many different places and things--places you read about but never think youll ever actually be there--weve been to buckingham palace--were on the thames river--effiel tower--on a DCL cruise we saw the leaning tower-- colisum and the vactcian and so many other places

but like you said its a great way to see a lot of different places--
when wed get back from the tours it was nice just to be able to relax on the ship
we already have 2 cruises in the planning stages for when the time finally comes and we get our lives back

happy planning

 

[Praying Colonel]

We did a Rhine River cruise on Avalon in 2017. It was a wonderful trip. It was my first time in Europe and it was a good introduction, seeing several places in a relaxed atmosphere. Highlights were Amsterdam, where we stayed before we boarded the ship, Cologne, Strasbourg and an afternoon excursion to Colmar, which was so beautiful.

 

[ronandannette]

We did the western Med a few years ago and having never been to Europe before, we found it to be the perfect way to get a taste of the iconic locations we'd dreamed of. It likely wouldn't suit seasoned explorers who really wanted to immerse themselves in a certain city but we LOVED it.

We visited Barcelona, Marseille, Monte Carlo, Florence & Pisa, Rome and Naples. (Arriving in Paris for a few days pre-cruise and going to DLP was the icing on the cake.) We hired private touring services in each port. They customized the day to our interests and took care of all the necessary "skip-the-line" entry passes as well providing expert local guides. That really maximized our available time and was worth every penny.

 

[Frwinkley]

Would you mind sharing with me what cruise line/ship you sailed?

 

[Lady Hiss]

I highly recommend European river cruising! Small ships, great food, great service, and wonderful excursions. I‘ve been on a Paris to Normandy cruise as well as a cruise on the Danube and enjoyed both thoroughly.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

However, we are now considering a European cruise.

Are you asking about a big ship (Mediterranean) cruise? Or a river cruise?

 

[Frwinkley]

Any and all! We’ve never been on a river cruise and find them interesting.

 

[ronandannette]

Would you mind sharing with me what cruise line/ship you sailed?

We went with Royal Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas. Lots of things to do on the ship if one could only find the time!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Any and all! We’ve never been on a river cruise and find them interesting.

OK, we've done a Mediterranean cruise on Disney. 10 night cruise, 8 ports. It was a very port intensive trip and we were ready for our Transatlantic cruise following (with all the sea days to rest up). It's a good way to get just a taste of several European cities/countries, but not really a real in-depth experience. Many of the excursions from the ship were full day (8-10 hour) trips, since most major cities of interest are not port cities.

We've also done a couple of river cruises - Bucharest to Cologne and Amsterdam to Basel on Vantage. Really enjoyed those, as we had a lot of interaction with local people (home visits and such). Those also seem port intensive, as you visit a different city pretty much every day, but the excursions were typically less strenuous and we learned a lot of history.

Biggest difference between large ship/small boat cruising was the onboard activities. There are more activities available on a large cruise ship. That said, every evening the river cruises had some sort of local entertainment from the area we were ported in that day. River cruise (the cruise itself) is much more laid back than on large cruise ships.

 

[luv2cheer92]

I did a 12 day Mediterranean cruise on Carnival a few years ago. Started in Athens, ended in Barcelona. We hit Rhodes Greece, Turkey, Malta, Naples, Sicily, Rome, Florence/Pisa, and Marseille France in between. It was absolutely wonderful. I would even go back and do the exact same cruise again, because I could do entirely different excursions. We focused a lot on the historical aspects and I was blown away. It was my first time in Europe and I found it to be a great way to see so many places. Cruising is always one of my favorite ways to travel, it makes everything so easy.

 

[Karin1984]

Depends on what you want more: A taste of a lot cities or a few cities/ one city more indepth.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

We did a Western Med on NCL; Barcelona, Rome, Naples, Paloma, Florence/Pisa and Monte Carlo. Also did a Norwegian Fjords cruise no Royal Caribbean. Both were amazing! The Med port calls were far from the cities though. I think in Rome it was a little over an hour train ride away from Rome. Florence/Pisa port call was about a 3 hour bus ride from actual Florence. I think crime is more prevalent in Rome (purse/wallet snatching). We saw 5 different couples get mugged just getting onto the train at various stops. We did Rome on our own, not sure how you feel safety-wise, but might be better to do Rome in a group tour. Norway we felt totally safe everywhere.

We have looked into River Cruises and those are all-inclusive with all the excursions included. We have contemplated them over the years, but the excursions don't seem as active as what we'd like and the ships don't have all the bells and whistles. But we'd still like to do one.

 

[LouChris]

I did a Viking River Cruise in 2014 in France. The name of the cruise was Paris to the Heart of Normandy. It was a 10 day river cruise. I LOVED it.

The Viking cruises EVERYTHING except your airfare which you can purchase from them is included. The boats are small so you don't feel like you are jammed packed in there.

All of your meals, all the wine you can drink at dinner and all of your base trips are included in the price. I was lucky enough to get to see Norte Dame before it burned with them. My husband and I are hoping to do another trip with them either in 2023 or 2024.

 

[kdonnel]

I have done a Royal Caribbean 7 day Eastern Europe, a Princess Cruise Lines 10 day British Isles, and a Royal Caribbean 7 day round trip Mediterranean from Italy.

In each case I was tired at the end of the cruise, needing another vacation. The cruises tend to be port intensive with lots of early mornings and late nights.

We were smart enough to add on a few post cruise days on the 2nd and 3rd cruise to relax and take in the area in more depth.

I would highly recommend adding 1-2 pre cruise and 3-4 post cruise days.

 

[easyas123]

We did a Viking Rhine cruise in Oct. 2018. It was wonderful! We really enjoyed it so, so much.
We have booked another on the Danube next year. Would have gone sooner if we hadn't lost the last year & a half to travel restrictions.

*I have only ever been on a river cruise, not a large cruise liner.

 

[soccerdad72]

We've done a Western Med cruise from Rome and a Baltic Sea cruise from London, both on Royal Caribbean. Our boys still talk about parts of each of those trips, but the Baltic Sea cruise was probably our favorite. After seeing many of the cities for the first time for a day, there are at least a couple we'd love to go back to and spend more time at.

 

[2TxAgs]

Took a Gate1 Tulip Time river cruise. Amsterdam, Bruges, Ghent, Rotterdam...windmills, museums and Keukenhof flower gardens. It was wonderful - small boat, wake up in a different town where you're taken on tour by a local guide. Unpack once for the next 7 nights. We were mid 50s and there were more older and some younger than us, but all enjoyed the time together. Loved being on the rivers - smooth rides and watching the towns go by as we sailed along. We had time to appreciate the architecture and the ports that we passed. Going thru the locks was interesting as well. We stayed a few extra days in Amsterdam after the cruise. The interesting thing about river cruise lines - many do the same stops, so the difference in pricing has more to do with onboard amenities. Gate 1 doesn't do unlimited alcohol, Viking does. Big difference in price. Sometimes our boat would be docked next to a Viking boat (occasionally you cross thru one boat to get to another, they are lined up parallel to each other rather than one in front of another at some docks), so we knew we were seeing the same sights, but at less cost. Would recommend this kind of travel 100%!

 

[Frwinkley]

This sounds wonderful. Neither my husband or myself are drinkers.

We have only cruised a few times—truthfully it isn’t our favorite vacation style. However, for a trip like this, I love the idea of leaving it up to someone else.

We are much more interested in the ports than we are the shows, etc that are offered. We figure we can see things like that anytime at home.

 

[izzy]

I did a 7 day western Med cruise - roundtrip Barcelona on RCCL Liberty of the seas. I’ve probably done 20 cruises (Caribbean, Bermuda, Alaska) and this was by far my favorite one.

We got a balcony cabin, and I wish I hadn’t spent the money on that. It was a very port intensive cruise with only one sea day, so we really didn’t have a chance to use the balcony.

Our route was Barcelona, Toulon (Provence), Villefranche, Rome, La Spezia (close to Cinque Terra), and Nice. Each port was spectacular.

A few tips:

Fly over at least one day early. Stay at least an extra day at the end. You’ll have extra time to relax and adjust to the time difference.

Book private excursions. They are cheaper and can usually be customized to your needs. On Cruise Critic, join the roll call for your cruise. Lots of times people will be looking for extra people to fill out the empty spaces. Cruise Critic also has a lot of good info on the European ports.

I wish we had booked a cruise that was a little longer and had a few more sea days. We did private tours that usually started around 8 am and didn’t get us back until an hour or so before all aboard. By the last day, which was a sea day, we were whipped. I really could have used another sea day or two in the middle of the cruise.

Unless you really like hot, humid weather and big crowds, I would try to go in late spring or early fall. We went the first week of September, and it was still very hot.