European Cruises

Difficult to answer this question as Europe is as diverse as the States. Do you want hot or cold? River or sea cruise? Do you want to concentrate on one country? What time of year? I would suggest that concentrating on only one country would probably give you more time in one place. More information would help.

We were thinking about checking out the Mediterranean, specifically Greece. It would also be cool to see parts of Turkey and Italy.

If I had to suggest an area for cruising in Europe it would be the Greek and Turkish coasts. Having so many islands it makes sense, and Turkey is a must in my opinion. Ephesus should be on the itinery and for longer that just a few hours. You need a day to linger. It truly will take your breath away. I am used to old Roman sites coming from Britian, but nothing prepared me for Ephesus. If your cruise does not give you at least a day in Ephesus then disregard it, it will blow your mind.

Thank you so much! Now, as far as the specific cruise lines... We want to make sure the cruise we go on is not like the Carnival Cruise we went on to the Carribbean basically when we visited a country, all we got to visit were the Americanized ports built specifically for tourists. We want to see the cities we stop at... Have you been on one that allows you to actually visit the cities, as if you had just took a train into it? I know there will be time restrictions, but we would like to actually see the places our ship travels to... Thanks again.

We always make the cruise part of our trip. Enjoy both but find the cruise more relaxing at the end of a full day. English feels good after a while! Do your planning and you will be able to do the tours on your own and see much more and save $$. Get the book "Mediterranean Cruises" it's one of the Insight Guides by the Discovery Channel and RS. Really we've planned where and how we will be going before we even get ON the ship. Books will give you directions from the ports to tour sites. IF your willing to do the research I don't think you'll be sorry with the cruise. Plus the fact your in a different country when you wake up! Ben, we do the Carnival and DO take the train and bus to cities, very possible.

Benjamin, I did not visit Ephesus on a cruise although it is a port on the Turkish coast. I mention Ephesus because it is for me one of the most important classical sites in the med. I travelled around the Turkish and Greek coast by boat but it was not an organised cruise. I do not believe that there is not a cruise out there that does not include such a famous historical site. I do not also believe that there is no one out there who has not been on such a cruise. Give it a few days and if there really is no one who has been on such a cruise then I will eat my hat.

Benjamin, a good place to get the information you are seeking is cruisecritic.com. You can find out about each port of call a particular cruiseline makes and there is a message board like this one as well for answers from other cruisers.