<p>Have you used Costa cruises in Europe - like in the med from Italy? If so, what do you think of them? This won’t be for me but for another.</p>
<p>Also - MSC Cruises out of Italy?</p>
<p>Go to cruisecritic.com and look at the “Boards” - there’s one for every cruiseline. People there will have answers for you.</p>
<p>One thing I’ve heard about cruises on European cruiselines is there’s lots of smoking. (Most American-based cruiselines have severe restrictions on where people can smoke.)</p>
<p>We just booked a Mediterreanean cruise for next summer. Can’t wait!</p>
<p>Thanks Inthebiz.</p>
<p>I have also heard that about European cruiselines. Lots of smoking, boats not near as nice as we’re used to on the American cruiselines, far more Europeans (obviously), announcements made in 20 different languages!</p>
<p>We’re big on cruising, have been on several cruises, including one to the Med. If it was just me and my husband, and we were getting a really cheap deal, I’d do Costa or MSC. We get these airline employee deals on them that are fantastic. But if I was taking the family (and certainly if the price was close), I would definitely choose NCL (my top choice-the NCL Epic, or Pearl, or Jewel), Royal Caribbean (newer boats, not Vision of the Seas), Princess, Carnival (their new boats are very nice and I think they’re starting in Europe soon), possibly Celebrity if the price was right.</p>
<p>Cruisecritic is very useful. Of course, if you read all the individual reviews, you won’t go anywhere because some people can never be pleased.</p>
<p>busdriver:</p>
<p>Between doing the post and now I’ve done more research and found a better deal on NCL than on the other two for about the same cruise (Barcelona - Rome and some ports in between - 7 nights). Thanks to the heads-up on the smoking from inthebiz I checked on that too and from cruisecritic.com it does seem that there’s more smoking on the Costa/MSC although they apparently no longer allow it in restaurants. So far NCL looks like the better deal due to cost and less smoke. I’m glad to hear you say NCL is a good choice - especially given your experience. I’m not sure they’ll end up doing a cruise yet or just bop around the area via train/car but thanks for the info. I’ve been to Europe a bunch of times but never on a cruise (actually I’ve never done a cruise myself - I’ve only sent other people on them).</p>
<p>I think the 2 boats they have over there are the Jade and the Epic? I have heard the Norwegian Jade is really nice, newer boat. We just went on the NCL Epic, and wow. What a different class of cruising. Unbelieveably good, first class entertainment, great food, really nice, brand new mega boat. The person I talked to about the Jade said it was super nice too, just not as huge as the Epic. It was a terrible itinerary (western caribbean, only 3 ports), but we went for the boat and the entertainment. </p>
<p>I honestly think it’s a great, hassle free way for people to see Europe. All transportation, food (not alcohol), room included. Now if someone is really adventurous, wants to go to out of the way places and rent a car, maybe a cruise isn’t for them. But a cruise is as easy and stress free as it can be, with so many tours and excursions to choose from.</p>
<p>I tried so hard to get us a European cruise this summer. My kids have been all over the place, and all vacations bore them (they just want to be with friends). But they love cruises. I was in the midst of booking the NCL Jade, 2 rooms at $399 a person…they booked one, then the ship sold out 
Maybe next year!</p>
<p>[European</a> River Cruises - Viking River Cruises](<a href=“River Cruises - European, Asian, Mississippi & Nile Cruises | Viking®”>River Cruises - European, Asian, Mississippi & Nile Cruises | Viking®)</p>
<p>I wanted to go on one of those River Cruises, desperately. But a guy I worked with told me he’d gone on one of those with his wife…and they were the youngest ones aboard, by a long shot. He was about 60.</p>
<p>Are there any of those river cruises that aren’t mostly frequented by the 80 and over crowd, that anyone knows about? Because they sound fantastic to me.</p>
<p>[Canal</a> Holidays UK, Barge Cruises, Holiday Boating](<a href=“http://www.canalholidays.com/]Canal”>http://www.canalholidays.com/)</p>
<p>busdriver:</p>
<p>This one I was looking at is the NCL Jade. In comparing this itinerary with the others this one has longer times in port which is good and it’s less expensive and appears to be just as nice. They say it’s ‘casual cruising’ without the formal dinners and stuff which is appealing to them as well. </p>
<p>My trips are usually the opposite of planned - I just book the flight, rent a car, and head out - usually with no hotel reservations other than the first and last nights where I know I’ll be. I usually have a rough idea of about where I’ll head but wander along the way.</p>
<p>But this party would probably like the convenience of the cruise and they’ll probably get to some places they wouldn’t otherwise.</p>
<p>overseas:
I mentioned about the river cruises as well but I don’t know if it’s as cost effective for the budget. Maybe it warrants more investigation.</p>
<p>Gosh, uscd, you are adventurous. I have done alot of travel, but now that I’m older, I always plan everything with a hotel in mind. It might be worth a try doing something different.</p>
<p>The casual cruising is very appealing. I never understood the “formal dinners” where people brought their tuxes and prom gowns. At NCL, you can eat wherever and whenever you want. And the food is very good. I have found as far as cruise lines go, NCL is excellent and has anything someone could desire. The Jade has some unbelieveable prices over the next few months…traveling into BCN is pretty easy, and the port choice really hits some of the top destinations in Europe.</p>
<p>My mother has done three river cruises with Uniworld: Russia, China, and Rhine & Mosel. She had very good experiences. All the shore excursions are included in the price which makes it seem a little more expensive. She would go again at the drop of a hat.
[Uniworld</a> River Crusies](<a href=“http://www.uniworld.com/]Uniworld”>http://www.uniworld.com/)</p>
<p>twomules, what about the age issue on that? We’re in our forties, with older kids. I have no problem with plenty of senior citizens, but it would be nice to have a range of ages. I’d love to do a river cruise, that’s an entirely different experience.</p>
<p>I am trying to remember what she has said. I think it is more dependent on time of year. When school is in session, there will naturally be fewer kids/young families. My impression is that the other times of the year it skews to adults and active retirees.</p>
<p>I think kids that don’t need organized teen activities would be fine. I think there is some flexibility too. If you don’t want to take the organized walking tour and strike out on your own, it would be fine as long as you are back at the meet up spot on time. </p>
<p>The cruise line is trying to be family friendly. The have discounts for kids on specific cruises. Here is a press release about it:
[Press</a> Release - Uniworld River Cruises](<a href=“http://www.uniworld.com/Media-Center/Press-Releases/Release/128]Press”>http://www.uniworld.com/Media-Center/Press-Releases/Release/128)</p>
<p>If I see my mother today, I’ll ask her about this.</p>
<p>As a family we have had some terrific experiences on Windstar. If you can get away this fall, there are some great deals. I am this close to taking the Venice one over my daughter’s October break. Or if I can get my husband away from work, the Rome to Barcelona looks appealing.
[Windstar</a> Cruises Special Offers](<a href=“http://www.windstarcruises.com/specials.aspx]Windstar”>Last Minute Cruises | Cruise Deals | Small Ship Cruise Specials)</p>
<p>After this weekend, this webpage may change.</p>
<p>Pardon my ignorance but I have a simple question - at Civitavecchia (Rome), for example, the NCL cruise line’s website states -</p>
<p>Arrival: 8am
Departure: 7:30pm</p>
<p>They also state that “disembarkation is usally 2 hours after docking” and “for security reasons guests must be on board 2 hours before sailing”.</p>
<p>Do the arrival/departure times already accommodate those 2 hour buffers or is one ‘free’ in port really, in the above example, from 10am to 5:30pm? If so, why do they show 8.5 hour and 9.5 hour excursions?</p>
<p>That is a really good question, hopefully somebody knows the answer to that here. I have found that as soon as the boat gets to port, they let people off pretty quickly. I would guess that arrival time is the time they’ll let people off. </p>
<p>Though if I was going to do an excursion to Rome (and one would just have to do that), I would probably book it through the cruise line, and not do it on my own. Citavecchia is a long drive to Rome, and if you book the excursion through the cruise line, if there is any delay and you miss the boat, they make sure you get to your next port, free of charge. Ports that are nearby to the city I’m going to, no problem booking something not connected with the cruise line. But Rome, definitely not taking a chance. Then it doesn’t really matter what time you get there/off load, you’re covered.</p>
<p>It’s too late for this year, but if any of you like Burt Wolf on PBS, you might like these. I hope he does them next year. I could see myself liking all of them.</p>
<p>burtwolf.com</p>
<p>Costa is low end, basic cruising, think Carnival.</p>