Cruise on the Adriatic Sea along the Croatia coastline

You would get your best info at cruisecritic.com. On this site you will be lucky if someone doesn't rip on you for even thinking about a cruise.

Thanks for the tip. I guess you didn't read that I have an 84 year old mother.

I did. But what does that have to do with the question? Of affect my answer?

I share Frank's confusion. Unless your Mom is confined to a wheelchair, or severely mobility limited, and/or intends to remain aboard the ship while in port, I can't see what a suggestion that a cruise might not be the right choice should offend you. As a mater of fact, the hassle of getting ashore from cruise ships via the launches seems more difficult to me than doing the Dalmatian coast via car. Now, I'm in my 80's myself, and I would much prefer to have the freedom to choose my own schedule in the Croatian towns, rather than be subject to the demands of the ship's schedule, which often involves long waits in lines waiting to board the launches, hassles of steep gangways, and uncomfortable landing quais.

She is limited to short walks. We want to avoid checking in and out of hotels and carrying luggage.

I recently did a Windstar cruise. It was a weeklong, and we made three stops in Croatia. We had a good time, and enjoyed being on a smaller ship (about 300 people).

Here is a link you can try. Friends took one of their cruises last year and highly recommended them. We may do the same this year. http://www.katarina-line.com/

I think a cruise is a good choice for the Adriatic. The cities are along the coast and can be seen reasonably well in a one-day stop. Cruisecritic.com is your best source for information. There are reviews for lines, ships, ports of call and excursions (both ship sponsored, private, and independent) though I think it leans toward the ship sponsored excursions and favors the upscale lines. This is the place to find out if a particular itinerary, line, or ship will be right for you. You can check prices easily at vacationstogo.com, an online Travel Agent that specializes in cruises. I've booked several cruises through them. Their prices seem consistent with the other online TA's and I've never had a problem with their bookings (though I've only booked the cruise rather than air and connections). I checked quickly. They didn't have a search for Adriatic alone. I searched for Mediterrainean with Dubrovnic as one of the ports, there are a ton but didn't notice any that focused exclusively on the Adriatic. You can search for a cruise that ports in Hvar or Rovinj and probably get a shorter list to look at. Smaller ships usually stop at the smaller ports but the price per person can be a lot higher. They also have a "European cruise tours" option that may be what you are looking for.

http://www.cruisingholidays.co.uk/croatia/index.htm