Adriatic cruises to Turkey, Croatia, and maybe Greece

I haven't taken a cruise in the area yet but will. When I decide which itinerary to take, I'll start at cruisecritic.com. On it there are reviews of ships and ports. While most people there have a different travel style than me (they usually book excursions from the cruise company, while I go on my own or get a local guide) you can find out what sights are available at each port. That will help you decide which ports interest you most. After you have a good idea which ports you want. Check out vacationstogo.com. They are an online travel agent that specializes in cruises. Their prices are the same as all the other online agents - better than booking with the cruise line directly - they always have discounts available (especially for last minute cruises). I've booked three cruises through them, including a Baltic cruise, and never had a problem. Their site is mostly self-service. The search engine is easy to figure out and will show you all the choices (pick one of your ports most cruises don't visit to get a shorter list). Once you decide to book they call you and complete the booking. After that, they're just like any travel agent - you call if you have questions, they make sure to notify you of anything you need to know.

I'm responding because only one other person has, and my experience is similar but not exact. Took a 14 night Black Sea cruise last year from Athens to Rome on Holland America's Prinsendam, only 835 passengers. Ship had quite a few well traveled people who chose not to dress formally on 3 nights and frankly didn't care. The food in the casual restaurant is mostly the same in the restaurant and their room service menu is good, the only difference is no lobster in the casual restaurant. It was an older crowd on the Prinsendam tho. We very much enjoyed the ruins of Ephesus and Pergamon. Istanbul was interesting. We had private guides arranged online in those cities, but at Cruisecritic you can join a "roll call" for your departure and get smaller tours than the ships if you commit to fellow passengers online. You have to join cruisecritic to read the forum or post. Quite a contrast to go from a modest Rick Steves hotel to a cruise to another modest Rick Steves hotel, but that's life!

We did a Mediterranean cruise a few years ago. We started in Venice and ended in Rome. We spent a few days in Venice and then Rome at the end and we wanted to travel light, so we did not bring formal clothes. On "formal night" we ate dinner in the buffet and we were not the only ones. We really enjoyed Dubrovnik, Ephesus Santorini and Athens the most. We also always enjoy Venice and Rome, that's why we chose to start and end there. Oldtown Dubrovnik was interesting; Ephesus we hooked up with 6 other people on Cruisecritic.com on our ship ahead of time and hired a private guide. He was great! Santorini we took the lift up the hill and rented an ATV and rode all over the island and stopped at a few wineries. Athens we were with the same 6 people from the ship for another private tour and it was good, the guide wasn't quite as good as the one in Ephesus. We chose this tour because those stops were what we were looking for. Mykonos was okay, but the wind was howling so much that day that we didn't get a lot done. It was a Princess Cruise and I have forgotten the ship, probably would be a different one by now anyway. If you have any more questions for me send me a PM And Have a great trip.

Did a cruise a couple of years ago through Voyages to Antiquity. They operate one ship - the Aegean Odyssey - and are geared to those interested in history and archaeology. They do a number of tours starting in Venice, going down the coast of Croatia to Greece and ending up Greece or Turkey. The Odyssey is a small boat - about 350 people. Some excursions are included as are a night or two in a hotel at the start of the tour. No entertainment except for a trio in the lounge and lectures (optional). You docked just about every night so had the option of going ashore for a meal.