What are Med cruises like?

[Alongthetowpath]

Considering a cruise for the summer when have just DC finished their GCSEs and A Levels.

We cruised a couple of times before when Dc were younger and they have been lobbying to go again.

The younger DC fancy a 1 week Med cruise because of the exotic destinations.

I am concerned it will be too hot.
Also last time DH and I weren’t that keen on the loud party atmosphere on the top deck outside, and worry it would be even worse in hot weather.

Are my fears groundless? DC really care about the destinations rather than facilities on board. I was suggesting northern Spain or Norway, but they are swayed more by pictures of Rome, Athens, Turkey etc. Although one really likes the idea of Iceland.

We all like good food, live music shows in the evening, somewhere quiet to sit and look at the sea. DC enjoy dressing for dinner. We wouldn’t want to go on ship excursions, would just walk round on our own.

Don’t really need drinks packages, kids clubs, pools, spa treatments, sports. Prefer the ship not to be too big.

Would a med cruise be best? Thinking of P&O. Or what else should we be looking at? We can start saving now, but our price range is not high end, really.

We had a fab cruise to Portugal when they were little, but they all seem to be too long (ideally we will just go for 7 nights), or adults only when I looked - DD will be only 16. In fact all the ones we are drawn to are adults only, it seems.

Anyone able to set my mind at rest, or offer an alternative suggestion? Or help persuade Dc that Norway is very exotic?!

How about a p&o fly cruise round the Canary Islands? You can do that for 7 nights

We’ve done Greece, Montenegro and Italy and Norway, both on Celebrity. Both fantastic and whilst the first one was hot it was totally doable. We went into the ports and looked around and then went and found nearby beaches for a swim.

this year we are doing Greece (with 2 nights in Athens) and Turkey. Again with Celebrity.

For 7 nights in the Med you will need to do a fly cruise. From Southampton you will spend 50% of the time sailing to and from plus the Bay of Biscay with probably 3 stops/ports - maybe one in France, Spain and Guernsey.
It depends on which "exotic" ports your children want to visit. Is it worth looking at the many cruise bloggers to research which cruise line/ship will suit you alll best ie party ship vs more formal style. 6000 pax like P&O Iona or Royal Caribbean Independence of the Sea etc.

We did this when DC were 16 and 18 and again when they were 19/21.
It wasn't something I'd ever considered or fancied before but it was a great success. They enjoyed the food and entertainment onboard and got to visit Barcelona, Monaco, Sorrento and more on one trip and Venice, Split, Montenegro and others on the other.
We went on Marella, flew from local airport. I chose them primarily for the informality. Reasonable price wise and drinks are included though none of us are huge drinkers.

We went on one a few years ago with PIL and BIL and SIL. Our kids were about 13 and 16. It was great actually! We did our own excursions and enjoyed being on the ship. Food was good - kids liked the buffet. We weren't interested in the entertainments etc except going to movie night on deck with blankets, which was nice.

Movie night on deck sounds great actually!
And Barcelona and Monaco both sound like stops everyone would maybe like - though basically one DC wants ancient history sites- Rome, Athens, Rhodes, Pompeii some place in Turkey with ancient ruins, North Africa - basically places that every one else associated with being really hot and trailing around ancient remains.
The other wants spectacular scenery - Greek islands, Cinque Ports(?) maybe Iceland.
DH and I are fairly easy going - DH would like Malta. I would love Barcelona.

I’ll look at Marella, haven’t heard of them. Are the airport transfers included? I know with P&O they are.

I would happily do a Med cruise at that time of year, but it will be hot, possibly very hot - so it depends on how you manage in the heat. I personally don't mind it.

Also be aware that some of the ports may be a long way from the main sights, so there may not be much to just get off and wander around to see. For instance, the port for Rome is over an hour on train, and Pompeii is similar from Naples. At Athens the port is 6 miles from the Parthenon. All are reachable by public transport if you don't want to do a cruise ship excursion, but it's not really a case of just getting off and having a wander on your own.

Others though, such as Barcelona, and some of the Greek islands, the ship docks near the main attractions/beaches etc.

The atmosphere on board/deck varies quite a bit by cruise line, and by time within the season (more kids in mid-August than late September, obvs).

Marella is TUI's UK-focused brand. I have heard it called "Butlins at sea". TUI is originally a German company and they have their own cruise line aimed at the German market, with ships named (I kid you not), "Mein Schiff 1", "Mein Schiff 2", etc, and have words like "Wellbeing" and "Sunset" written on the side in German. Fill in every stereotype you know here!

Talking of which, DP and I once went on an AIDA cruise in the western Mediterranean. This is also a German-focused brand, but there were also quite a few Spanish people on board when we went. It was actually brilliant. The waiter/restaurant crew are the usual mix of south-east Asians, so everyone had to speak English with them. They brewed their own beer on board. The passengers were pretty easy-going and most of the dining was informal. There was a fine dining restaurant on board for quite a modest up-sell (€40 or so) which was amazingly good, and we are fussy about our fine dining. We also like our saunas, and they were very good too. Obviously the evening entertainment was mostly not in English, but we aren't really into that anyway. We found it excellent value.

We also went on a similar itinerary with MSC. This was a bit more mixed. There were people from everywhere, which was fun, but we felt the ship was trying to be posher than it could end up delivering. On the other hand it was only ⅔ full and we ended up with a nice cabin upgrade with a balcony. The best thing about MSC, which is an Italian company (although the money is Swiss) is the pizza, which is non-stop and amazingly good.

If by any chance you see a departure on Azamara, and your budget will stretch, then consider going with them. It's like a 4-star boutique hotel at sea. Zero laid on for kids, no water slides etc, but really classy. (Silversea and Seabourn are like 5-star boutique hotels at sea too, apparently, but Azamara hits the sweet spot for us.)

I wasn t keen on the idea of cruising but tried it and do enjoy it. I'm not an avid cruiser but have done canaries in October. South America. Med from rome in summer. Which was fabulous.

We went ncl which is American. Mainly American guests. Love the ships. Not high end luxury but not basic either.

If you are not looking for the party vibe ondeck brits abroad I wouldn't do marella or p and o.

It really all depends on cruise line and even ship within the line. Have a look at cruise critic where experienced cruisers will be able to give great advice on which cruise lines will suit your requirements

Agree with pp on azamara. Definitely Next level up

Interesting about the different vibes. I think this is going to need more research, maybe I will get Dc on it. Defo don’t want an excessively party vibe.

Also interesting about some of the ports being far away from the advertised destination. Starting to think we should focus around either Greek islands or Barcelona. But if you start and end in Barcelona, do you actually get to see it? Or are you just travelling to or from the airport?

Hoping to go beginning July, so outside English school holidays.

We’d be happy to go with a non-English company, but presumably then they wouldn’t offer flights from the UK as a package? And it might be in school holidays for them, so maybe lots of kiddies around.

Early July will be very hot. How good are you all in the heat?

rome and Athens are a fair way from the ports so you’ll have to prioritise what you see and excursions will be pricey.

go for a less family friendly cruise if you don’t want a rowdy atmosphere on deck. We did royal Caribbean and I didn’t like it. Disney cruises are amazing (but pricey) if you like the films and “universes”.

We are not great in the heat really. Food for thought.

I would definitely go for a fly cruise if it's about destinations first. There's no difference in price really. Barcelona is a great start. The cruise travel agents often add hotel stays for next to nothing as so you get the cheaper flights.
ALWAYS use a travel agent. They get discounted rates so cheaper than direct booking and will be responsible if anything goes awry. Cruise lines are notoriously rubbish at customer service once you are off the boat. Cruise Nation or Cruise 1st have good deals. Iglu has the best search filters to find cruises

Of the mainstream cruises Celebrity is the best, Costa the worst. The others are all pretty similar with ship mattering more than cruise line.
All the main cruise lines have a Butlins type vibe. I found MSC better than P&O. It was better with the equivalent passengers being European, than British.

Generally French and Spanish ports are closer to the attractions than the Italian ones.

I did really enjoy Pompeii from Naples though (August). It was one with a ships tour which I would never normally book (hugely expensive). The air con coach to the site made a big difference, as did not faffing about in 90 degree heat.

Maybe chose a couple of cruises and we can critique them for you?

Go for Celebrity. It’s a decent 5* standard with outstanding service and food

I did greek islands with Celestyal (nice boat and they gave free excusions) and next week I'm doing Cyprus, Greece and Turkey with Marella on the Discovery 2.

I did another Europe cruise pre-covid with a now defunct company but it was a brilliant way of seeing germany, sweden, finland (and Russia!). We did sail from the UK and the North Sea made me quite sea sick sadly so wouldn't do that again, always a fly cruise for me now.

Thank you for all the advice. I’ve never used a travel agent before, so interesting they are the best option, will definitely look into that.

I think if we do go for the Med, MSC seems to have stops that should suit everyone - Malta, Barcelona and Pompeii or Rome all in one trip.

But it looks like you have people joining and leaving at every single stop. Does that make it busier getting off and on again every day?

For a week you need a fly cruise. Barcelona is the best port to begin your cruise by a mile. Cheap & short flights for a start. The port is just minutes from Barcelona airport so if you want to sail the day you fly it is very doable. It’s also great at the end of your cruise because you can literally walk off the ship, grab a taxi to the airport (plentiful) and be home by lunch. I avoid sailing from Rome (Civitaveccia) because it’s a pain in the beep and nowhere near Rome.

We like to arrive a day or 2 early to enjoy Barcelona.

Re August, yes it will be hot. Rome is amazing but temperatures will be scorching. Same goes for Pompeii. The first time we visited was in August and the heat spoiled it. We went back another year in May and it was much better.

Marella cruises are often looked down on by cruisers as downmarket. I think a lot of that is to do with them being primarily British guests. I chose it for that reason as none of us like formal dress, complicated tipping rules etc.
The DC liked it and made friends. It's definitely not a party cruise but they managed later nights than us.
We flew to Palma Mallorca IIRC and Barcelona was just a stop. Another time we flew to Corfu.
There were no passengers getting on and off other than on the same day.
If you stop at Sorrento I recommend you consider Herculaneum rather than Pompeii as we were advised and it was a great day.

The stop for Rome isn't in or even near Rome so we skipped that. Pretty much everywhere else we did our own thing.

@gottakeeponmoving Hasn't the cruise terminal moved now? I thought it was further out ( although transport is excellent so I can't see it being an issue)

@Alongthetowpath The passengers departing or arriving make no difference. Most guests get off the ship when in port so it matters not if they aren't returning. If its your leaving day you have to be out of your cabin early and off by 9am typically. Those getting on have normal arrival check in procedures at the terminal so standard embarkation procedure ie late morning onwards so the majority of guests will be off. It's not like a ferry :). There's an in and out system (bags are x-rayed coming onto the ship) so no bun fight at the door.

I agree the travel agents thing seems counterintuitive in these "book yourself online" days. However, cruise companies offer agents discounted cabins and agents need to sell them. You get better deals at the end of the month when they need to reach targets. Even if the price is the same direct, agents throw in free cabin credits or hotel and flight offers to shift cabins.

Several people have mentioned the heat.

I’m wondering if we should go with Iceland in July, (which would be one DC’s choice) and then go to the Eastern Med or Pompeii at Easter or Christmas holidays or something in a subsequent year.

Sorry me again.

Thing is you haven’t cruised before and don’t know what you potentially like or dislike about it.
Iceland takes longer to get to and has more sea days. If you don’t like the ship/ cruising there won’t be an escape everyday like the Med. Iceland also has enough to do as proper holiday whereas Pompeii or Pisa are day attractions anyway.
Med cruises at least give you a feel of cruising but less commitment .

Cabins are air conditioned and if you get one high up under the overhang you’ll be in shade if you get a balcony (whole other debate).
Maybe Fjords are a compromise? Great to view from the water and they are more expensive to do as a holiday otherwise.

We did one with Royal Carribean a couple of years ago with older teens. August and it was boiling but we managed ok. Flew to Rome and had a couple of days there, then Naples, Sicily, Mykonos, Santorini amd Ephesus. Loads of historical stuff which both mine love (the island of Delos off Mykonos was a big hit). We booked flights (Easyjet) and transfers through RC and it was all very straightforward, they are the agent so you are have the same protections as other agents.

We went on a 14 day med cruise with the teens last year - I’d never considered cruising before, didn’t think it was our thing, but it was a great success. It’s great for teens as they can have freedom (mine were early teens). We went on Princess. As it was August it was crazily busy, but if you use the pool in late afternoon everything else was fine.

None of us are good with heat, but on the ship it’s always fine because of the sea breeze. Some of the ports were very hot, but we managed. Amazingly none of them got heat rash and the ginger child didn’t burn.

I’ve done the Ned and temperatures were perfect in late June, remember at sea it’s a little cooler too, you actually may need a jacket at night!

p&o will be a good fit for you as you still dress for dinner a bit at least

But P&O absolutely has that party atmosphere on deck that OP is looking to avoid? Very Brits abroad.

The ancient sites are quite challenging in the summer in the heat, I think if you can delay to an Easter or May trip and go for Scandinavia or Iceland this time, it would be a sensible move.

Agree that Celebrity and Princess are decent, mid market options. Princess does a good package at about £50pppd covering gratuities, drinks & WiFi, Celebrity can be bad for upcharges. Royal Caribbean is great if your DC will use waterslides etc. but if not, I would avoid, they are huge. MSC have huge ships with a lot of people, too crazy busy for me.

We prefer the ship to be as small as possible, calmer, fewer queues etc but the flip side is less entertainment (which is fine by us).