I'm taking my 18 year old niece on a whirlwind trip of Italy, France, and Spain in (gasp) late June. Is a 6-7 day cruise as part of the trip a waste of time? It seems good value for money.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23267 posts
Hard to say. We have done a number of cruises in the middle of a three or four week trip. For us, the cruise provides a convenient break and rest from our normal pace with independent travel. The drawback is that we take an extra carry on size bag with the additional clothes that we use on the cruise. I would do it but cruising has to appeal to you.
Posted by
Freedonia
14995 posts
The ship will stop in 5-6 different ports along the coast between Barcelona and Rome. The ship will be your home and restaurant while in each location. You will have a few hours each day in each port.
If you are already traveling through Spain, Italy and France, then a train between Barcelona and Rome would be the alternative. You would be able to make your own schedule, stay where you want, and find restaurants to sample local cuisine.
However, if you are a cruise person who wants to sleep in the same bed every night, and basically eat the same food, then a cruise might be for you. They will have shore excursions to show you around. You will get a taste of each location, but not really get a good look.
Which way you go is a personal preference.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
It depends on what you consider "whirlwind" and what routing you plan to take. If it's a trip of, say, three weeks or less, I would suggest a cruise would be a waste of time....you can cover a lot more ground by car, train, or plane. If you're travelling the route you suggest, then France logically suceeds Italy, and Spain logically succeeds France (or the reverse)...inserting a cruise would just take away 5 or 6 days you could more profitably use seeing sights on land. Even if you're doing, say, France, Italy, Spain, it's far cheaper and more efficient on a "whirlwind" trip to take a discount airline flight between Italy and Spain. You can find discount airlines at whichbudget.com, skyscanner.net, and flylc.com....if you find something on flylc, go directly to the airline's website, not thru the flylc booking engine. An extra note as well.....discount airlines have VERY strict check-in and baggage guidelines, so make sure you understand all the fine print before purchasing.