Hunter Travel Guides Cruising the Mediterranean: A Guide to the Ports of Call

487 Pages·2006·13.52 MB·English

by  Larry H. Ludmer

Cruising the Mediterranean: A Guide to the Ships & Ports of Call

Larry Ludmer

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Acknowledgments

The seemingly simple task of compiling the facts about cruise lines, their ships,
and destinations for presentation to the reader has become more and more
difficult because of the sheer volume of choices. Any travel writer who wants to
do the best for his readers must seek out the assistance of others to help amass
this information. Ship facts and information on which ships have been assigned
to cruising Mediterranean routes were provided by the media relations staff of
the cruise lines. It is important to note, however, that their role in providing
information and/or services to me in no way affects what I have to say about a
particular cruise line or ship. Having said that I am still especially grateful to and
would like to acknowledge the special help and consideration that has been
provided to me by Karen Tetherow and Susanne Ferrull of Princess Cruises;
Michelle McCarthy of Holland America; Jaye Hilton of Royal Caribbean;
Elizabeth Jakeway of Celebrity Cruises; Heather Krasnow of Norwegian Cruise
Line; Irene Lui of Carnival Cruises, Cheryl Fenske of DMOA Public Relations
for MSC Cruises; and Darren Osta of Costa Cruises. All opinions expressed here
are based on information gathered from a variety of objective sources and, most
importantly, by firsthand experience.

Preface
There are two reasons why this was a good time to introduce a new edition of
Cruising the Mediterranean. To begin with, the constantly evolving cruise
industry means new ships with an ever-increasing array of new amenities, new
ports of call and new itineraries. In the case of the Mediterranean market, the
changes are even more pronounced than in other popular cruising areas. That's
because when the first edition was released, it was soon followed by significant
events of a geopolitical nature. First came the intifada. It didn't take long for
most cruise lines to start eliminating Middle Eastern ports from their itineraries
and those that didn't (at least among lines catering to American visitors)
followed suit after the terrible events of 9/11. Although travel to Europe by
Americans has rebounded nicely, the cruise lines have shown a great hesitancy to
return to the Middle East.
The other reason for a new edition is that, as I write new cruise guides or revised
guides for other cruising markets, I am always tinkering with format, style and
content changes. I like to think that each edition becomes better for you, the
reader and user. This edition reflects many of those changes and I hope that you
find them useful.

1. The World of Mediterranean Cruising
1. Cruise Popularity
2. A Survey of the Mediterranean
1. Geographically Speaking
2. Man & the Mediterranean
3. The Way to See the Mediterranean
1. Advantages of Mediterranean Cruising
2. Disadvantages of Mediterranean Cruising
2. Cruise Lines & Their Ships
1. Types of Cruises
1. Destination
2. Duration
3. Type of Ship
4. Style of Cruise & Level of Luxury
2. Cruise Lines
1. Ship-by-Ship & Line-By-Line Evaluations
1. Mass Market Lines
1. CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES
2. Celebrity Cruises
3. Holland America Line
4. Norwegian Cruise Line
5. Princess Cruises
6. Royal Caribbean International
7. Costa Cruises
8. MSC Cruises
9. P & O Cruises
2. Non-Mass Market Lines
3. Setting Priorities
1. Selecting Your Dream Cruise
4. Evaluation of Ship Itineraries
1. Onboard Activities
2. Options in Port
3. Practical Information
1. Accommodations on Land
2. Climate & When to Go
3. Costs
4. Dining
5. Disabled Travelers
6. Dress (On & Off Ship)
7. Driving/Rental Cars
8. Electrical Appliances & Other Technical Tidbits
9. Financial Matters
10. Formalities, Documents & Paperwork
11. Gaming
12. Home-to-Ship Transportation
13. Health & Safety Concerns
1. THOSE NASTY LITTLE VIRUSES
14. Payments, Cancellations & Refunds
15. Recreation in Port
16. Shopping
17. Staying in Touch
18. Time Zones
19. Traveling with Children
4. Zo, It's Your First Time Cruising...
5. Ports of Call & Cruise Sightseeing
1. Gateways to the Cruise
1. Major Ports of Embarkation
2. Lesser Ports of Embarkation
2. Onboard Sightseeing
3. Which Ports Are Included?
4. Tourism Information
5. How I Present Port Information
6. The Major Ports
1. Ajaccio (Corsica), France
2. Alexandria, Egypt
3. Alicante/Cartagena, Spain
4. Antalya, Turkey
5. Athens/Piraeus, Greece
6. Barcelona, Spain
7. Bodrum, Turkey
8. Cádiz/Seville, Spain
7. Cagliari (Sardinia), Italy
1. Cannes, France
2. Casablanca, Morocco
3. Catania/Syracuse (Sicily), Italy
4. Corfu (Ionian Islands), Greece
5. Dubrovnik, Croatia
6. Genoa, Italy
7. Gibraltar
8. Heraklion (Crete), Greece
9. Hvar/Korcula, Croatia
10. Istanbul, Turkey
11. Katákalon, Greece
12. Kusadasi/Ephesus, Turkey
13. La Goulette/Tunis, Tunisia
14. Livorno/Pisa/Florence, Italy
15. Malaga, Spain
16. Marseille, France
17. Messina/Taormina (Sicily), Italy
18. Monte Carlo, Monaco
19. Mykonos/Delos, Greece
20. Naples/Capri, Italy
21. Návplion, Greece
22. Nessebur, Bulgaria
23. Nice/Villefranche, France
24. Odesa, Ukraine