Part 1 – Making the Decision
Travelling in Europe is a grand and exhilarating adventure but the prospect of choosing one country or one single destination can be daunting for most travelers, especially for those who have never visited Europe before. You can trust that your travel agent will pick the right one for you or, if you are interested in testing the proverbial waters, consider a European Cruise. As we wait patiently for international travel to return, now is the time to plan for your future adventures.
It doesn’t matter if you are a first timer or an experienced cruiser, Europe itself is the destination. Don’t pay the high cost of the flight and cruise fare if all you plan to do is stay on board the ship. There are other much cheaper options for that. Consider the cruise a very relaxing, cost effective mode of transportation from one destination to another. The best part of a European cruise is waking up every morning in a different port. Add to that the inclusive cost of accommodations and meals and you will realize just how valuable this form of travel can be.
There are a number of cruise lines that offer European destinations, each with varied itineraries that cover eastern or western Mediterranean, or a combination of both, the Baltic, the British Isles, Norway and Iceland and all parts in between. Our first trip was a 12 day Mediterranean cruise that stopped at nine ports in five different countries. It offered a sampling of the best the Mediterranean has to offer from iconic landmarks in bustling metropolitan cities to lesser known sites. Since then we have sampled a number of different itineraries covering all of the above noted locations. Each have been as stunning, awe inspiring and historically and culturally rich as the last.
At first the idea of travelling to so many exotic destinations was overwhelming. We had mere hours at many of the stops. In order to ensure that we accomplished all that we wanted we knew planning would be the important initial step in preparing for our European adventure.
When to go will be your first big decision. Europe, especially the Mediterranean, can be crowded at the best of times and hot most of the time. Consider going during the spring or fall instead of the summer months. The climate will be more temperate, even if it is still busy, and the cruise fares are usually cheaper. Once you have a time frame you can see what itineraries are available and chose the one that best suits your time and budget.
Next research what is available to see and do in each of the ports and decide what is important to you. All itineraries offer the top “bucket list” ports such as Rome, Athens, London and Reykjavik depending on where you are travelling. Interspersed with those stops will be lesser known ports and the odd day at sea. All have the capacity to be an exciting part of your cruise. For example, we loved the port of Cartagena in Spain and the Orkney Islands in Scotland.
One of the ways we determine the value of an itinerary is to divide the time in port against the cost of the cruise. If our goal is to see as much of Europe as we can it does not make sense to pay most of our hard won money to spend the time on a ship, as much fun as that part of the cruise will be.
Next prioritize your top five things to see in each of the ports on your selected itinerary and then whittle that down to make sure you can do what is most important in the time available. Many historic sites can be seen in short time, especially in cities like Florence and Athens that have a fairly compact historic center. Perhaps chose one museum or renowned art gallery instead of trying to visit a different one in each port. The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is breathtaking, as is the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel. Both would take you the better part of your day in port to visit and are well worth foregoing other sights. Most Baltic itineraries offer an overnight stop in St. Petersburg and you will need the two days to visit all of the must see sights from the Imperial Palaces to the ballet.
When we first started traveling to Europe making the decision about what to see, or better yet what to leave out of our itinerary, was an excruciating process. Eventually we just promised ourselves that we would return at some time and made it much easier.
Next week we will talk about getting to and from the port and how to get to what you want to see.