LG7 Posted March 17, 2023 Report Share Posted March 17, 2023 hi fellow cruisers! My husband and I just got a free cruise certificate and are trying to decide what we should pick, we have never been to Europe and never been on either ship: 1) 7 night Explorer of the Seas to Greece and Croatia (out of Venice) balcony 2) 7 night Symphony of the Seas to the Western Mediterranean (out of Rome or Barcelona) balcony 3) 6 night Explorer of the Seas to Italy and Adriatic (out of Rome) jr suite What itinerary would you choose and why? What port is better to sale out of? Any other tips you can give us would be helpful. Thank you!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She Sails Away Posted March 17, 2023 Report Share Posted March 17, 2023 I think Barcelona is going to be the easiest airport to get to the port back-and-forth with, I think it's under an hour between Airport and Port. I believe Rome will be about an hour and a half? I think Venice would be somewhat more complicated getting back and forth to but I'm not sure about that. You may want to check airfares on each possible cruise and see if there's a major difference and that might help you make your decision. They sound like great itineraries and I don't think you can go wrong, but of the two ships, symphony of the seas is far more to my taste… It's much, much larger with a lot more to do on board and outstanding entertainment venues. in fact we are doing symphony out of Barcelona this spring. ChessE4 and Ryan79 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKM Posted March 17, 2023 Report Share Posted March 17, 2023 It depends on what you want from your cruise both ship and ports. Are you planning on a stay before or after your cruise? Symphony with its itinerary could be a “bustling” trip if you wanted it to be. All great ports of call with lots to see and do. We are doing this cruise in May from Barcelona. It’s a lot easier to get to the Port from the airport than Rome. Having been to both cities on a number of occasions we won’t be doing a before or after stay. We’re only a 3 hour flight away which helps. Explorer which we are doing in Sept. We expect that to be a lot more laid back. Greece and Croatia are lovely places with a more relaxed vibe than the Western European tourist ports. Ravenna Port is quite a ways (a couple of hours at best) away from Venice. We will therefore stay at Venice beforehand (never been there before). Hopefully these factors will aid in your decision. ChessE4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted March 17, 2023 Report Share Posted March 17, 2023 Depending on where you live, Rome or Barcelona will have direct and cheaper flights. If your whole thing is ports I would go with the cheaper ship. If you care about ports and ship amenities I would go with symphony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordell1 Posted March 18, 2023 Report Share Posted March 18, 2023 I would do the 7 night Symphony if you have never been to Europe. It is port intensive and visits some really good highlights of Europe. I chose to do this cruise (last year on Wonder) out of Rome. My reasoning was that Rome has so much to see that is hard to really get a good sense of the city in 1 day. We went 2 days early, and stayed 3 days late and were able to really take in Rome. Barcelona is easier to tour from the ship as your dock downtown and can easily walk the city vs Rome where you dock 90 minutes away and must take a bus or train from the ship and return on time. ChessE4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda R Posted March 18, 2023 Report Share Posted March 18, 2023 I love Greece and Croatia. And more unique in my opinion. With a couple days in Venice. Venice is my favorite Europe city because there is just nothing like it. I prefer newer ships but often go on older ones in Europe to get the ports I want. I just did B2B cruises last Sept in Greece and Croatia with 5 days in Venice prior. One of the best trips ever. I do like Barcelona also. I would do at least the 7 night cruise. Either one of those sounds good though. Europe cruises are the best!!! Have a great time. AKM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marga Posted March 18, 2023 Report Share Posted March 18, 2023 I looked at the Explorer of the Seas but decided against it because the ship reviews weren't great. I have been on the Symphony itinerary twice. I loved the ship and the route. All stops are great except maybe Palma de Mallorca which we dont care for. It is a very port intensive cruise and I would recommend adding some days to your trip in Barcelona. Also I never hear many Americans on this blog about it but did you know you can relatively easily see more of Spain by train? Or alternatively take the high speed train to Paris and add some days to your trip and fly back from there. The Greek Isles cruises are lovely but you will mostly see touristic villages. Beautiful don't get me wrong. But something completely different from the Symphony Cruise. ChessE4 and Linda R 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted March 18, 2023 Report Share Posted March 18, 2023 6 nights is too short. I prefer 8+ which leads to my support of arriving a few days early to adjust to time zone and sightsee. My Spanish is better than my Italian so I also support Barcelona departure as long as you visit Rome from Civitavecchia. But I'd love a few days in Rome, too. Have a great cruise and take Euros! I don't see how you could go wrong with Symphony, but ship isn't as important to me as the itinerary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted March 18, 2023 Report Share Posted March 18, 2023 Did you consider Odyssey of the Seas out of Rome? We just did the 12 night Holy Land/Greece/Turkey/Cyprus and absolutely LOVED Odyssey. We flew in the day before and headed straight to Civitavecchia and had an Airbnb right at the port. It was an hour from the airport. Had a wonderful 4 course Tapas dinner with wine pairing that night sitting outside under the lights. Afterwards we spent 3 days in Rome with a day trip by train to Naples. It was an unbelievable experience and the ship was nice size. 3 sea days made it even better! Explorer is older and miss her amplification because of Covid, but if the ports are bucket list, you can look past that. Personally I think an oasis class doing western med is a waste of an oasis class with only one sea day. We will eventually do it but we’ve sailed that class 7 times so we won’t feel we’re missing out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berkeleykel Posted March 19, 2023 Report Share Posted March 19, 2023 On 3/17/2023 at 5:18 PM, LG7 said: hi fellow cruisers! My husband and I just got a free cruise certificate and are trying to decide what we should pick, we have never been to Europe and never been on either ship: 1) 7 night Explorer of the Seas to Greece and Croatia (out of Venice) balcony 2) 7 night Symphony of the Seas to the Western Mediterranean (out of Rome or Barcelona) balcony 3) 6 night Explorer of the Seas to Italy and Adriatic (out of Rome) jr suite What itinerary would you choose and why? What port is better to sale out of? Any other tips you can give us would be helpful. Thank you!!!! Barcelona is easiest. The ports are much more accessible on the 7 night Explorer itinerary though. To see much on the Western Med itinerary would mean LONG days. Personally I don’t think cruises are the best way to see the Western Med but a great way to see Greece and the Adriatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CynBeth Posted March 19, 2023 Report Share Posted March 19, 2023 This July we are hopefully barring anything unexpected finally going on our med cruise that was cancelled twice due to Covid and then we did not feel comfortable last summer traveling too far. We are on Enchantment it is a 7 day one way from Barcelona to the Civi port outside of Rome. We visit Marseille, Villefrance (Nice/Eze/Monaco), Genoa, Portofino, and Livorno (Pisa/Florence). We are flying in a few days early and after it ends are spending a few days each in Venice and Rome. Unfortunately I can only be off of work for 2 weeks at one time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LG7 Posted March 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2023 Thanks everyone for the help! We have decided on symphony out of Barcelona because the ease of direct flights and getting to and from airports. I would love to spend more days in Rome but my husband can not take too many days off of work. I really appreciate everyone’s help and input. This community is fantastic. She Sails Away and Eamon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley Posted March 20, 2023 Report Share Posted March 20, 2023 You'll have a terrific time! If you can, fly in a couple of days ahead of time, as Barcelona is worth a day of exploration. NOTE: if you want to see the interior of Gaudi's famous cathedral, get ticket sin advance... if you can't get inside it's still worth walking around the outside, and there is a park and reflecting pool across the street that is truly pleasant. Stay near or on the Rambla and take taxis around - they are inexpensive and easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooty Posted March 22, 2023 Report Share Posted March 22, 2023 What hotels that has a decent price near all the activities and cruise port in Barcelona Spain i would love to hear all options , as i have never been to Mediterranean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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