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With a few villages close by, beautiful scenery, fancy shopping districts and rich history, it’s no wonder that cruisegoers enjoy this port of call. Fans of old Hollywood will love seeing sights featured in the 1955 Alfred Hitchcock film “To Catch a Thief” starring Grace Kelly and Cary Grant. For those who want to spend time shopping, be sure to book an excursion that gives you time to stroll the pedestrian-only zone on rue Meynadier that features boutiques and art galleries carrying luxury goods. If you or a member of your party require accommodations for mobility limitations, research the available excursions. While cruise ships will typically have accommodations onboard, some European cities have cobblestone streets that are difficult to navigate in a wheelchair and multistory buildings that don't have elevators.
Florence, Italy
This 22-day trip tracks its way through 20 ports via five countries, including Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, and Turkey. Walk the cobblestone streets on the Greek Islands, see the colorful coastline in Marmaris, admire the glittering lights from the homes that snake their way up Lovćen Mountain, and more. Onboard, dine in one of the ship’s eight restaurants, take a dip in the top deck pool, or lounge in a common space to regale your fellow guests about the day’s adventure.
Our Cruise Ships
With its picturesque coastal scenery, ancient ruins, and island paradises, the Mediterranean is an incredibly popular cruise destination. Yet with a diverse climate across various locales, the timing of a Mediterranean cruise is an important consideration. You can choose from roving food tours, cooking classes, winery visits and tastings, and meals made with local produce and cheeses in beautiful villa or farmhouse settings. If you've never been to Europe, you may feel overwhelmed by destination choices. If you know which ports are on your must-see list, you might be more stumped by which cruise line to choose or which specific itinerary will be the best for you. Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to be a useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean.
Your Guide for the Best Mediterranean Cruises
Not covered are tips, alcoholic beverages, soda, special dining venues, and shore excursions. Most ships have alternative dining venues, and service charges can range from $10 to $20 (and counting) on most mass-market cruise lines. Leave room in your budget for shipboard expenses, because those extra costs – like paying for espresso with dinner, or a service charge for pizza delivery to your stateroom – can quickly add up.
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Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Europe, so your November cruise vacation won’t include any major holiday weekends. The only significant public holiday is All Saints’ Day, November 1, which is celebrated in most Catholic countries. Cruises that overnight in Tuscany are a great opportunity to enjoy the buzz of Florence after dark, when locals emerge for their evening stroll and aperitivo hour. July 14 is Bastille Day in France, which is a wonderful time to travel, as the night sky will be ablaze with fireworks.
I've been on 50 cruises. Here are 5 things I wish I'd known before sailing in the Mediterranean.
To decide what crowds would look like in various months, we looked at two popular ports where the effect of multiple ships is felt the most -- Santorini and Venice. Visit Santorini in June or July and you will find yourself fighting for breathing room among as many as 15,000 other cruise ship passengers. If your ideal Mediterranean cruise doesn't include crowds, winter is a good choice, other than December holiday weeks.
Popular destinations are beginning to get busy in June, but the summer crowds have yet to descend. You should think about pre-booking big attractions, though, to avoid standing in line. Your time is much better spent enjoying coffee in some sunny piazza or enjoying a gelato. If you’re coming to Europe for the culture rather than the beach, April is a great time to visit. You should enjoy fine weather (in the south, at least) and places like the art museums in Florence and the Parthenon in Athens won’t yet be teeming with visitors. There are still very few tourists around, as it’s not yet beach weather, but you can expect average daily highs of 57°F (14°C) in Athens, with up to five hours of sunshine per day, perfect for sightseeing.
What time of year has the best weather in the Mediterranean?
Barcelona, for example, sees daily highs in the mid 70s and low 80s in September, whereas in October the daily highs tend to be in the low to mid 70s. Further south in Cyprus, expect daily highs in the mid 80s in September and low 80s in October. You may encounter some businesses and restaurants closed during August, but this is unlikely to significantly impact your cruise experience. Major tourist sites and the majority of businesses within cities will remain open in August. Corfu is a stunningly beautiful island that effortlessly blends Venetian, French, and British history.
Hotels
While the primary Mediterranean cruise season runs during the warmer months of the year, you can still enjoy plenty of what the region has to offer during the winter months. There are pros and cons to cruising during each season, depending on your preference. If avoiding high prices and crowd congestion is your priority, rule out summer months and stick with either winter or the shoulder seasons of spring and fall.
Several luxury lines like Silversea, Crystal, and Seabourn offer lower single supplements than most other lines (averaging 10 to 25 percent extra). • Check out newsletters with cruise-bargain listings published by the cruise lines themselves, travel agencies, and online resources like our Europe Cruise Deals page. As one of the largest travel agencies in North America, we have a wealth of recommendations to share!
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The crowds will have thinned out and you’ll have more space to enjoy popular attractions such as Las Ramblas in Barcelona. For optimal weather and adventures aplenty, the best time to cruise the Mediterranean is in the spring, summer or fall season, from early April through late November. During the winter, many locals close up shop, making it difficult for travelers to enjoy the full Mediterranean experience. Whether you want to spend the day touring the Colosseum or taste the first Greek wines of the season, here are the best months to cruise the Mediterranean. Santorini is a beautiful island in Greece, but it can get crowded when more than one cruise ship is in port.
On a typical one-week sailing, cruisers can expect to effortlessly experience three or four countries in a single trip. Cruises lasting up to 12 nights are typically classified as Western or Eastern Mediterranean itineraries, with Rome, Italy, serving as the unofficial dividing line between the two. It is not uncommon for lengthier sailings to cover both regions, particularly with some of the luxury cruise lines.
The Mediterranean Sea touches 22 nations and borders more than 28,000 miles of coastline, according to the Europe Environment Agency. From the Greek Islands to Egypt, Croatia to Morocco, and Slovenia to Spain, the rugged coastlines dip into the crystalline waters, providing a connection point to some of the most intriguing destinations on the planet. But, rather than traversing these destinations by car, train, or plane, visitors can see and do more by taking to the water for a Mediterranean cruise. Because European cruises span a large geographic area, we’ve outlined our seasonal strategies separately for Mediterranean cruises and European river cruises below.
On a Mediterranean cruise with Seabourn, travelers might stop in ports in Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey. Oceania Cruises has several itinerary options, offering stops in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Albania, Croatia, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, Turkey and others. The ships are smaller with an emphasis on guest service, and dining in the specialty restaurants — not just the buffet and main dining hall — is included in the cruise fare, one of the perks of sailing with Oceania.
Celebrity Cruises is known for its entertainment with Broadway-style stage shows as well as exciting circus performances, so you'll never be bored on sea days or during the evenings on your Mediterranean cruise. They feature itineraries that offer a mix of stops at ports in Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco and Spain. Azamara is a luxury cruise line on which the ships hold a maximum of 700 passengers. In addition to Mediterranean cruises that are a tour of ports in different countries, the cruise line has country-specific itineraries for Croatia, France, Greece, Italy and Spain.
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