I’m looking at the best Mediterranean cruises for 2014, 2015 and even into 2016. I’ve been on one Mediterranean cruise and absolutely loved it although now the schedules and pricing have changed a bit. And so that’s why I decided to write a mini guide on finding the best Mediterranean cruises and answering questions like how do you know what is a great value and which itinerary to choose?
For the beginner cruisers
If it was my first time cruising I would start where you’re guaranteed to have a great cruise and time. I would pick ports that are easy to manage and have lots to do. Then after your first cruise focus on the most exotic ports of call or change-up the cruise company.
For beginners and especially if you’re American, I would start with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Disney (expensive), Princess, Holland America, or Celebrity. These are well established cruise lines and offer cruises all in English. They also usually have great port selections.
For the more adventurous English-speaking cruiser, you can also try foreign cruise lines that are usually tinier than the US counterparts but just as nice.
What to expect to pay?
You’d be surprised how cheap it can be to cruise. Everybody has a budget, and a good starting point for a cruise is to look at the daily rate. The daily rate of a cruise can be found when you’re searching on a cruise company website or on sites like Expedia, Cruise Critic, Orbitz, or Travelocity. Or you can simply divide the cost of the cruise by how many days you’re cruising.
The reason to do this, is that it gives a good basis with the daily rate to better break down the costs and how much to pay. Also it can tell you if a cruise is a great deal or not. My basis for a general average price cruise is $100. That is an ok rate. Anything below that is generally a good deal and anything over that is generally not so much. Expect to pay near or $100 for a cruise in the peak season, Mid-March to September and Christmas season. Sometimes cruise daily rates hover up to $150 to over $200 but can be way more with luxury cruises.
The $100 basis is great to use for cruise companies that cater to most cruisers. There are some cruise companies, like Seabourn and Viking River Cruises, where you won’t see a cruise anywhere near the $100 daily rate. These are luxury cruises and some of them are all-inclusive.
Cruises range greatly in price and much of it has to with how many days you’re sailing.
- 2 day Mediterranean cruise are as low as $200
- 21 day Mediterranean cruise for as high as $8,000
- Average Mediterranean cruise costs around $1,400
So now that you know the basis you know when you’ll see a good deal. Remember that the price greatly depends on how many days you’re sailing. However the best Mediterranean cruises are the ones that go for longer than 7 days. Personally I feel that you’ll need longer than 7 days to really experience a great Mediterranean cruise.
Also cruise prices go up and down and depends on when you’re traveling. Summer has higher prices than Fall or Spring in the Mediterranean. So it’s better to take cruises during that time to save.
The most desired ports to visit?
Italy is usually the top destination that most people will want to travel to by cruise and for me has the best Mediterranean cruises. It’s because there are so many great port cities in Italy and the fact that Italy is one long country. Traveling by Italian train can be expensive and sometimes frustrating, so it’s not surprising that people love to cruise Italy. Some of the most popular ports include Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples to see Amalfi Coast and Pompeii, Messina to view great Mt. Etna, Venice, and Livorno to see Pisa and Florence. You really can’t go wrong if you see all these ports on a cruise.
Greece is the other immensely popular country to travel to by a cruise. Because Greece is composed of so many beautiful islands that need a boat, a cruise is the perfect way to visit. And now Greece is really cheap to visit since they have been economically hit hard (although you may experience some protests). Some of the most popular ports include Athens, Rhodes, Mykonos, and Santorini. Also this is your best time as a traveler to also experience nearby Turkey.
France‘s French Riviera probably comes into a close 3rd place as the most desired place for cruisers and is usually offered in combination with an Italian cruise or even a Greek tour if the cruise is long. France has a shorter coastline on the Mediterranean compared to Italy and Greece but offers really great destinations like Nice (Villefranche), Cannes, Marseille, and Monaco. There are plenty of beautiful cities near these ports that many people visit like Èze, France. Another option is to take a cruise to Frances Mediterranean island called Corsica.
If you’re looking for more exotic ports then look into cruises that stop in Spain, Tunisia, Gibraltar, Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, Malta, Cyprus, Croatia, and Albania. There is at least one cruise that offers to go to these countries at least one time a year.
The best Mediterranean ports for me are Nice-Monaco, Rome, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Venice.
American vs foreign cruise ships?
When deciding between American and foreign cruise ships, understand that foreign cruise ships are really no different in terms of service, quality of food or stateroom service. The only difference is that a foreign cruise ship is mostly marketing to people from its home country and usually not to Americans. Announcements and services may not be in English. Also their cruise ships tend to be smaller as American companies have the largest cruise ships. If you can deal with than consider foreign cruise ships.
These cruise companies are the main Mediterranean companies that sail to the Caribbean.
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- Carnival (not sailing to Europe in 2014 but may change in the future)
- Celebrity (Mostly American cruisers)
- Costa (Italian cruise company now owned by Carnival)
- Cunard (Mostly British – American cruisers)
- Disney (Mostly American cruisers)
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- Holland America (Mostly American cruisers also owned by Carnival)
- MSC (Swiss – Italian cruise company catering to mostly Europeans)
- Norwegian (Mostly American cruisers)
- Princess (Mostly American cruisers)
- Royal Caribbean (Mostly American cruisers)
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My current favorite itineraries
Royal Caribbeans 12 Night Mediterranean Cruise – Starting as low as $120 a night, which is slightly more than what I would pay normally, however it’s on Royal Caribbeans highest performing ship and has a great itinerary.
Holland Americas 12 Day Mediterranean Empire Cruise – Starting as low as $75 a night, which is astoundingly great for Holland America. Also has a great itinerary that mostly focuses on Greece.
NCLs Grand Mediterranean from Barcelona – Starting as low as $83 a night, which is a great asking price. NCL is known to be the cheaper cruise but the destination that it serves are great. You get all the major Mediterranean countries like Spain, France, a lot of Italy, Greece and even Turkey.
Celebritys Italy and Greek Isles Cruise – This one is sold out for 2014 but has dates to sail for 2015 and may be beneficial for you to book way in advance. The reason I like this cruise is that it leaves from Barcelona and goes to both Greece and Italy as well as Malta.
Seabourns 10 Day Mediterranean Cruise – It’s a whooping $400 a night cruise, and really only people who are prepared to dish out a lot of money can go on Seabourn cruises. However it may be worth it for the service, the fact the rooms all come with a window, optional personal valet, all food and wine is free, ships are like “private ships,” nor is tipping required.
If you find that these specific cruises are sold out, keep looking for cruises around the same date and with similar itineraries. Most of the time the only difference to the itineraries is one different port or a variation of the ship or price! My favorite website for looking at quality of ship, itinerary and potential cruises is Cruise Critic.
Recap – Finding the best Mediterranean cruises
While there is no guarantee that you’re going to love cruising in the Mediterranean, I can say it would be hard to not enjoy it. The only thing that irks some people is not spending enough time in ports. However cruises are great options to visit remote parts of a country you’ve always wanted, at a good price and in great comfort. Food is paid for and your stuff is constantly traveling with you, which is a good think while in Europe.
Price will decide which cruises you can take or not. However if cruises are similar in price than it’s best to look at the flights to the departing ports. And then also consider the itineraries and ports you want to hit. Mediterranean cruises tend to be loaded with ports and the best ones are the ones that you haven’t been to or the ones that have a popular activity, landscape or monument near by. Hence why Italy, Greece and France are by far the most popular ports of call.
The cruise company is important but not everything, at least for me. To me they are all similar but some cruise companies and ships are just more expensive than the others. If you want a really nice cruise then you’re going to splurge for the cruise companies that take service to the next level. Remember to budget in the price for a flight as well or use frequent flyer miles.
Also the cruise length is something to consider. My suggestion is to aim for around a 10 – 12 day cruise. 7 days will just feel too short, especially after you just flew over from North America. Anything longer than 12 days would be nice if you have the extra money and the time off. Also remember that the summer is the peak season for Europe while the cooler Spring and Fall are cheaper.
