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I've done 2 Western Med cruises (albeit not on RC) and been on the Rhapsody out of Venice for the Greek Isles. We've enjoyed all of the cruises and most of the ports we've been to.

Barcelona and Venice are easier (and cheaper) to get from airport to port and vice versa than Rome (Civitavecchia). All of the ports are well organized, though. Sailing out of Venice is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Rhapsody is an older ship, but the crew is fantastic, my 3 youngest girls (7, 5, and 3 at the time) loved Adventure Ocean, and we still found plenty to do.

It depends on what you want to do/see. The Greek Isles cruise lends itself to be a little more laid back, while a Western Med cruise would be go-go-go to see everything. Italian ports tend to be at least an hour from where you want to go (Rome, Florence, Amalfi coast, etc). 

Here's a live blog from my Rhapsody cruise in November: 

Ah..maz...ing! Great pics, I especially love the one with the floatplane in front of the ship. One of my (half-joking) potential future careers is Alaskan bush pilot.

And crap, I can feel my wallet opening for a future Alaska cruise...

I just got off a cruise in Rome (Civitavecchia) Wednesday, so I can also speak to questions about that port, in addition to @Traveler‘s great info. Also cruised out of Venice and Barcelona. 

Awesome idea @Traveler!!

So I’m sitting on my balcony drinking coffee right now and realized that I am in the port I embarked my first ever cruise (Barcelona on the Disney Magic), docked behind the last ship I was on (Rhapsody of the Seas, I see you @Jaymac Radio) while on my current cruise (MSC Seaview). It’s a bit surreal. Anyone else have an experience like this? I know the frequent RC cruisers probably have this all the time. 

On 5/1/2019 at 1:58 PM, Jaymac Radio said:

I Am On The Rhapsody  TA Right Now!

I'll see you in Barcelona! I just realized that Rhapsody arrives there the same day my cruise makes port... I'll wave from the Seaview as we pass

On 5/3/2019 at 4:43 AM, ThyriC said:

In terms of Amsterdam, you MUST eat stroopwafels.

+100,000,000 on this, I'd eat them morning, noon, and night if I could

3 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

@twangster blogs have a certain reputation for motivating people to spend Proven track record!

Reference the Mariner of the Seas cruise in my signature block 

Not RC, but leaving on MSC Seaview tomorrow for the Western Med! I had almost booked Oasis out of Barcelona on May 5th, but kinda glad I didn't, wouldn't have wanted to deal with the will she/won't she drama leading up to the day.

This blog may be what I need to convince my wife for a future Alaska cruise...

48 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

That’s ALMOST heaven....like West Virginia

Country rooooooads take me home....

There is nothing not to like about Brugge...beer, chocolate, fries, and waffles!

I was just in Cobh (pronouced "cove" btw) a couple of weeks ago, very cute town on the water, with a decent musuem about Irish Emmigration, if that is your thing (or just have a few Guinness).

Have a great time!

Oh, and I hope things work out in the end for you @twangster

On 4/16/2019 at 3:03 PM, twangster said:

On 4/16/2019 at 2:25 PM, HeWhoWaits said:

He's young - might still happen in his lifetime - just remind him to not hold his breath.

That's what they said in 1968.  And 1969.  And 1970.  Any 1971...

As a Cubs fan, I can vouch that things like this can happen! Like we used to say...anyone can have a bad century

We have so many visitors living over here, and they all want to go to Paris, so I have an off-the-shelf plan that features Notre Dame prominently. My sister-in-law and wife were just in Notre Dame two weeks ago, and I was planning another trip in a month for my other sister-in-law. It was shocking to hear the news last night.

As far as YOLO, we just got back from a week in Ireland and I am so glad to have crossed that off the bucket list! The cruise we took last minute to Greece was amazing too!

We're moving back stateside in 58 days, but we'll be able to say we left it all on the field as far as travel goes when we do.

Thanks for the great blog! Enjoyed living vicariously through your adventures! Sadly with 4x college and 4x weddings in my future, it will be steerage for me for a long, long time to come.

We did a 7-night out of Barcelona last May, and it was my favorite vacation ever. I love both Barcelona and Palma (so much that we are taking another cruise this May that hits both ports), and Florence, even though a hike from the port, is amazing. Rome is a jam-packed day, with about an hour and half transit to/from the port on each end. The weather should be great in September, missing the really hot June-August months in Italy. The only thing I will say is don't expect a relaxing vacation if you choose the Med cruise, it is port-intensive, and you will want to go-go-go. 

12 hours ago, twangster said:

Close but not quite.  It's not a boat, it's a ship  

It's pronounced BO-at anyway

Happy Cruise Day!

My wife tells me I only get excited when I talk about a cruise...I think she would understand why if she would look at your blogs/photos.

Thanks, as always, @twangster

@Traveler linked to my blog about my trip in November. When we were in Athens, we used GreekingMe for an independent tour, and I cannot recommend them highly enough! They have several tour options, depending on your interests. There is absolutely no shade on the Acropolis, so be sure to take water and a hat and wear sunscreen! The views of the city are amazing from up there, too. 

I've been to Rome in June, and it is murderously hot then, and a perfect excuse to seek out gelato. Expect huge lines for St Peter's and the Vatican Museum unless you book something in advance. My perception of Rome may be a little skewed, though, as the two times I've been have been either with 4 kids or a pregnant wife.

We are going on a cruise departing from Civitavecchia this May, and am planning on going straight from the airport to the cruise port on arrival, and then doing a day of sightseeing in Rome on disembarkation day since our flight from FCO is late that night. I'll report back on that, but it may be too close to your cruise for you to make changes.

I just sailed on Rhapsody in November. My family and I really enjoyed her, and like everyone else said, the crew was outstanding. I was a little nervous at first, since we had just sailed on a Disney ship last spring, but it turned out that the nerves were unfounded. True, Rhapsody doesn't have all the bells and whistles (and we couldn't get our suitcases under the bed, either), but everything else made up for it. We're looking forward to seeing some of the bigger and newer ships, but we wouldn't hesitate to cruise on her again.

Gonna be a busy year for us...

-MLK weekend we were in Berlin

-President's Day weekend: London

-Spring Break: Ireland for a week

-May: My wife and I will be cruising without kids on MSC Seaview (Rome, Mallorca, Barcelona, Cannes, Genoa, La Spezia)

-June: Move back to the States

-July: My entire extended family (22 in all!) will be going to Kauai for two weeks

And at that point, I will be out of leave and money!

20 hours ago, Matt said:

Key is not to cause a ruckus

could you describe the ruckus, sir?

Hey @Matt, kinda ironic this happened the week you did a podcast on why people don't cruise, with one of the reasons being "I'll get norovirus"

Doesn't change my perspective about cruising, but I chuckled a little bit at the irony.

I found baseball card pages work great for making a keepsake binder. Eventually I'll add maps of the itinerary with each page.