Help!! First Time cruiser- Greece Cruise

[zephyrdays22]

Hello, I am trying to set up a cruise this march-june to sail around Greece/Italy. Does anyone have any recommendations?
*should I use a travel agent/online deal or through the actual ship?
*I am planning on it being a 7 day cruise, any recommendations on which cruise line to use?
I have never been on a cruise, the last week i have been reading all about cruises and what to expect but no real good info on how to book and choosing a good cruise.
anything will help

[Donna]

I would highly recommend finding a good cruise travel agent. May be a good idea to have some ports in mind that you want to do and also things you want to see...In the meantime, you can go to all the major cruiselines web-sites and look at the ships that they have going where you want to go and narrow it down...It helps when you talk to an agent if you have some idea of where you want to cruise and they can help you find the "right" ship...Good luck and I bet you will fall in love with cruising.

[cruise planner]

Donna has stated it well. First thing is a must; you must book with an agent, preferably a cruise specialist and one who has been there. They can not only provide you the best deals, but provide first-hand information that can be invaluable. Plus, their prices will be the same as any online site or the cruise line, so it makes sense to use their expertise when it's free of charge.

As for what would work best for you, it really depends on several things; your age, lifestyle, likes, dislikes, any ports you definitely want to visit, any ports you don't want to visit, and obviously, your budget. This is where a good agent will be extremely helpful to you.

As for when, keep in mind that several cruise lines begin to relocate their ships into the area in April, so after that time you'll have more options available to you.

There are many different ports from which to sail including, but not limited to, Civitavecchia (Rome), Venice, Bari, & Messina, just to mention a few.

There are some awesome places to visit, especially Santorini, which is our all-time favorite place in the area. It is amazing and definitely someplace not to miss. But each place has their own history and beauty, making it tough to decide which ones to visit and which ones to miss. Olympia is very steep in history, as is Athens, and Rome. Venice is a wonderful city - been there 3 times and it's still exciting for us.

The toughest part of a Greek Island/Italy cruise is trying to decide which one is best for you as they are all wonderful.

No matter what you decide, I know you will thoroughly love ever minute of it. We can't wait to go back again and again.

Pete

[zephyrdays22]

Thank you so much for your advice/info. Cruising for the first time can be so confusing also when its international...
What ship did you sail on when doing the Greek cruise?

[cruise planner]

We were suppose to do a Celebrity cruise, which was our first choice, but due to circumstances beyond our control, had to change to the RCCL Splendor of the Seas, which was no where near as nice. But then again, we're in our 60's and we really love Celebrity. We definitely did not want the Splendor, but we did it for the itinerary and not for the ship.

Pete

[green_rd]

Zepher - we did our Greek cruise on Princess, but it was a 12 day cruise. I remember tha two years ago NCL had two 7 day cruises out of Venice, one that made mostly island ports and the other mostly mainland ports.