How to Choose a Mediterranean Cruise Line

Mediterranean Cruise lines, one of the fastest-growing segments of the travel industry, offer a wide variety of interesting destinations and activities for all ages. Here are steps on how you choose a Mediterranean cruise line that suits your travel needs

STEP 1: Decide where and when you want to cruise and the port you want to embark from. There are Caribbean and Asian sails nearly year-round. Mediterranean cruises usually take place only in the summer.

STEP 2: Deal with a Mediterranean cruise-only travel agent or an online agency that specializes in Mediterranean cruise vacations. They are more likely to have access to specials and cruise deals.

STEP 3: Outline the activities that appeal to you: ports of call, shore excursions, onboard facilities and amenities.

STEP 4: Decide who will be joining you on the cruise. Families have different needs and entertainment requirements than singles or couples.

STEP 5: Decide if you have a preference about ship size. Large ships have more entertainment choices, while small ships have a more personal approach to service.

STEP 6: Determine your budget. Mediterranean cruise lines give discounts for early bookings. You can also affect your costs by altering cruise dates, the length of your cruise and the region you sail to.

STEP 7: Choose the level of formality you prefer. Some ships demand formal or business attire at certain dinners. Other ships cater to vacationers who want to wear only casual clothing.

STEP 8: Ask about the typical age group of those sailing on a particular line or ship. This can help you determine whether you'll be compatible with your fellow passengers.

Tips and warnings

- Bring along toiletries, film and sunscreen. They can be quite expensive onboard.

- Plan your budget for tips to shipboard waiters, room stewards and service personnel. Ships often have suggested amounts, depending on the length of the cruise.

- Be aware that port fees are often not included in advertised prices. They can add significantly to your cruise costs.

- Pack light. Getting on and off ships is not as easy as picking up your luggage at the airport.

That’s it! Hope you choose Mediterranean cruise line that suits you and have great Mediterranean cruise vacation!

How to Get a Discounted Mediterranean Cruise

Average Mediterranean cruise could cost you hundreds of dollars per day. Learn this tips if you want to know how to get a discounted Mediterranean cruise. Enjoy your vacation!

1.Cruise insurance is often recommended by the agency when booking your Mediterranean cruise. Don't purchase cruise insurance from a travel agency, get it from an insurance company. You'll not only save money but you'll probably get a better policy too. We recommend the insurance because with the correct policy you are covered for trip cancellation either on your part or the cruise line, medical and luggage.

2.Get a Mediterranean cruise quote that includes port fees and taxes. If the agency is unable to give that information to you then find another agency. Your interest should be the bottom line, the total cost with No Hidden Fees. Port fees can run a couple hundred dollars per passenger, just be aware.

3.Stay away from the "peak season". Organize your Mediterranean cruise for the "off-season". If you can schedule your time even a few weeks before or after the peak season you'll save substantially. If you can sail before or after the peak season you will save huge.

4.Don't be miss-led when you see advertised specials such as "Discount Luxury Cruise", $599". These advertisements are usually for off-season and do not include port fees and taxes.

5.Cabin rates are typically based on two person occupancy. In other words, the first two people in the cabin will pay the full-fare, additional people will pay 1/2 the fare. If you plan on having more than two people in a cabin, make sure you are NOT paying full fare for the extra two people. If you are quoted full fare for extra people, find another agency.

6.Unless you plan on spending a lot of time in your cabin, get an inside cabin. An inside cabin, without a window, is by far the cheapest. The drawback to an inside cabin, you'll never know what time of day it is since no "day light" comes into your room. Make sure you have a clock.

7.Decide which Mediterranean cruise line you want to sail on. Some travel agencies tend to push a specific Mediterranean cruise line for various reasons; one reason is the agency receives a higher commission. Norwegian Cruise Lines, for the most part, will yield a better savings. Do a little homework and check out the amenities on each vessel to make sure it meets your expectations.

8.Check out your Sunday paper's travel section long before you cruise. It'll give you an idea of what the market is like.
9.Cruising with a group does not always save you money on your Mediterranean cruise. If you are cruising with a group because you want to save money, think again, you may not be saving at all. The organizer of your group, if the group consists of 8-cabins, will usually get the cruise for free. They are the true savers.

That’s it! Apply it and begin to take your Mediterranean cruise for a discounted price. Have great cruise!

Part 2 - How to Have a Safe Mediterranean Cruise Vacation

This article is the continuations from part 1 where I discuss the first two steps on how to have a safe Mediterranean cruise and avoid become a crime victim. Here are the last three steps.

Step 3: While in Port

If you are going to be a crime victim while on a Mediterranean cruise trip, it is most likely to occur when you are ashore. Most crimes committed against cruise passengers are those of opportunity. I will tell you my friend’s experience while she is on her Mediterranean cruise vacation. There were at least three men on her cruise whose pockets were picked. Two men had their wallets in their back pocket - the worst place to carry it! One of these men was in the elevator of her pre-cruise Barcelona hotel, and another was waiting to cross the street at a busy intersection. The third man was on a crowded subway in Rome, and had his wallet in his front pants pocket. All three of these crimes could have been avoided. So I suggest you better wore an under-the-clothing bag for your money and credit cards.

You can't put your camera inside your clothing and have it ready to snap that special picture. Don't put it in a backpack, unless you wear it in front! I have a small camera bag that I can attach to a belt. If you want to carry it in a waist pack, put the strap through your belt loops.

Step 4: In Your Cabin

When you first get to your cabin, check the bathroom and closet while the cabin door is still open. While a ship is in port, many more people have access to it than you might imagine. Being cautious never hurt anyone. In addition, sometimes the locks on Mediterranean cruise ship cabins are not changed as often as hotel locks. Don't leave valuables lying around in your cabin. Put your wallet and valuables in the cabin's safe or the purser's safe. Be sure to use all the locks on the door when you are asleep. Don't open the door to strangers. Protect your cabin key and cabin number.

Step 5: On the Ship

Although Mediterranean cruise ships are relatively safe, common sense is needed even at sea. Stay in the public areas, and remember that a Mediterranean cruise ship and its crew and passengers are like a small city, not like your family.

If you are cruising with your children, set rules just like at home. Establish curfews for your teenagers, and caution them to not accompany crew members to non-public areas. Don't give your children "the run of the ship" while you are in the club, show, or casino.

These tips on how to have a safe Mediterranean cruise are all common sense. Use the tips to make your next Mediterranean cruise vacation a safe one!

Part 1 - How to Have a Safe Mediterranean Cruise Vacation

Don’t want to be a crime victim on your Mediterranean cruise? Cruise vacation is one of the safest place you can take a vacation but you will never know when you will have bad luck. Here are tips so you can have a safe Mediterranean cruise vacation.

Step 1: Packing Your Luggage

Don't rush out and buy expensive luggage. Plain-looking luggage is less likely to be a target. Some thieves might equate expensive luggage with expensive contents. Make a list of everything you have put in your luggage, and take pictures of it while packing in case of loss. Don't pack medications, eyeglasses, and valuables in your checked luggage for your Mediterranean cruise vacation. (Better yet, don't take valuables like expensive jewelry with you on the cruise.) Although you need to put external (and internal) tags on your luggage, don't list your full home address on the outside. This is a signal to expert thieves that you won't be home for a week!

You really don't want to advertise to everyone at the airport where you live.
Although you don't want expensive luggage, you do want luggage that will not pop open at an inopportune time. I've seen all sorts of baggage contents (including some "unmentionables") come out on the luggage carousels at the airport, and always felt sorry for the owners whose bags had come open. Consider using an extra band, airport plastic wrap, or duct tape to help secure your bags. You can buy self-locking plastic tags from travel or home improvement stores for about a dollar. These work well on zippered bags.

Step 2: Before You Leave Home

Make copies of your passport, driver's license, credit cards, wallet contents, and travel documents (plane tickets, etc). You also should make a copy of the credit card "lost or stolen" notification phone numbers to include with this package. Leave one set of copies at home with a trusted friend or family member, and take the other set with you, packed separately from the originals. Many Mediterranean cruise ships will hold your passport to expedite clearing the ship in foreign ports.

Therefore, I always make a couple of extra copies of my passport to use to take for my Mediterranean cruise.

Buy an under-the-clothing money bag and use it. These can be quite comfortable, and will thwart "cut and run" thieves who have been known to cut purse straps or waist packs right off their victims.

Okay, that’s the first two steps. I will continue this article in part 2 where I will cover three more steps. Hope you have a great Mediterranean cruise

Mediterranean Cruise Ships Review – Millennium Ship

Cruising speed: 24 knots
Built in St. Nazaire, France
Registry: Bahamas
Entered Service: July, 2000
91,000 tons
Passengers: 1,950
999 crew
964 feet in length
105 feet wide
11 passenger decks

Bottom line: Millennium cruise ship is one of Celebrity cruise lines which are best for people who want to enjoy their mediterranean cruise with the feel of a luxury ship at a slightly lower price. But don’t expect to enjoy large mega-ship diversions and sport facilities.

Decor:

Enjoy your mediterranean cruise trip under Millennium ship cabins which are distinguished by elegant striped, floral, or patterned fabrics in pastel, Deco-style lighting fixtures, and marble desktops.

Celebrity's designers deserve an ovation for their ingenious fusion of contemporary, Old World, Art Deco and resort chic influences. There's tons of glorious natural light on these ships, whose lobbies' white onyx stairway, backlit with yellow neon, lined by with three-story-high mahogany pillars, surrounded by long white flowing curtains, may well make you laugh aloud with delight.

Vast expanses of glass and beech wood surround mahogany paneled walls, most adorned with notable, provocative works of art. Rich velveteen and suede, golden brocades, burled woods, and ornate topiaries are everywhere.

Onboard Experience:

This Mediterranean cruise ship offers most of the leisure and entertainment options of a mega ship in a casually elegant atmosphere of your Mediterranean cruise vacation. Overall, the ambience is warm and relaxing, with constant gentle reminders that you're aboard one of the most sophisticated ships in the mid-price class. The floor shows may be lackluster, but the spas are gorgeous, and offer treatments available on few other ships.

The special touches include martini and cigar bars, caviar and champagne bars, elegant sing-along piano bars, a computer classroom and a floral conservatory. Millennium offers an especially elegant alternative dining venue, the Olympic Restaurant, with memorabilia from the famous liner Olympia (sister ship to the Titanic) and presentation-oriented tuxedo-clad waiters.

Cuisine and Restaurants:

Millennium is one of Mediterranean cruise ship which offer elegant main dining room, with two-deck-high glass windows welcoming warm, natural light and remarkable views of the sea, is located in the stern. Its tables are widely spaced enough to permit conversation at sub-shouting levels. The Lido Café, deck 10, offers casual dining from 6:30 a.m. to half past midnight, including lunch and breakfast buffets, pizza, afternoon tea and late night snacks. Four buffet lines make for little waiting, and floor to ceiling windows and glass floor areas provide excellent views of the sea.

All Mediterranean cruise passengers can also order room service meals from the lunch and dinner menus during the hours those meals are being served. Continental Breakfast is served only except for those with Concierge-class or suite-level cabins. For an out-of-cabin continental breakfast experience, don't miss the absolutely decadent pastries at the Cova Cafe Milano.

The rear section of the cafe, the Grill, serves a casual a la carte dinner between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Reservations are required. Hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza are available poolside during the day, there's round-the-clock room service. You can order dinner from the menu, and simply hang a card outside your door for breakfast. You'll get a heads-up call before delivery - a splendid touch!!

In the stunning Olympic, which has the original Edwardian wood-carved wall paneling from the Olympic, sister of the Titanic, your dinner is likely to last nearly three hours. But you'll enjoy every minute, as waiters in white tie and tails start tableside fires (for flambé, you see, Celebrity having done the first tableside flambé-ing at sea) with great showmanship. Such signature dishes as Rack of Lamb en Croute and Steak Diane are served nowhere else on the ship. A remarkable wine list ranges up to $450 a bottle - and this atop the $25 you'll be charged for dinner!

Fitness/Spa:

At 25,000 square feet, the adults-only (kids should head for Riviera main pool, on the Resort Deck) AquaSpa is one of the most spacious afloat in this Mediterranean cruise ship. Treatments are by no means inexpensive ($109 for a 50-minute massage), and often administered by an inexperienced or frazzled therapist (Steiner's of London, which runs the spas, is known for working its staff hard), but usually booked solid anyway. (Get 20 percent off if you book on sailing day, and watch for specials on treatments while the ship is in port.)

At $29, the "Frangipani" treatment, a scalp, neck and shoulder massage, is by far the best value on offer. The spa includes a Spa Cafe with very light fare available for the extremely diet-conscious. There are exotic "Sensory Heaven" treatments, such as the float massage, haiku ritual facial and an "aroma stone massage". The jewel of the fitness area in this Mediterranean cruise ship is the highly atmospheric, relaxing thalassotherapy pool, a sort of saltwater Jacuzzi, in which you'll feel as though you've retreated into a different world altogether (a small fee for use all day). The Persian Garden aromatherapy oasis is a nice place to meditate for an additional charge.

Fitness buffs will be pleased with the facilities, housed in a glass-enclosed room - 14 treadmills, 12 exercise bikes, six stair-steppers, two rowers and lots of weights. Aerobics classes are scheduled throughout the day. Personal training, a body composition test, an Alpha massage capsule, and destress and detox packages are available. So if you are on fitness schedule you don’t have to worry it will be interrupted while you are in your Mediterranean cruise with this Mediterranean cruise ship.

Attire:

There are two formal nights on a seven-night Mediterranean cruise, three on longer ones. On two informal nights, gentlemen need wear only jackets. On formal nights most men turned up in dark suits rather than tuxedos, while their better halves chose dressy pantsuits or dresses. By day, don't even consider wearing anything other than shorts, sneakers, T-shirts, polo shirt, and a baseball cap.

Entertainment:

During-the-day activities include dance lessons, trivia contests, Pictionary, brain-teasers and charades, napkin-folding, and arts and crafts classes.

You'll generally hear superior singers in the various lounges. The classical guitarist who performs several times a day in the Cova Cafe di Milano coffeehouse is well worth seeking out.

The casino, located midship, is almost comically tiny for a ship this size and everything seems to be crowded together, with the result that it can get infernally hot. But you're likely to enjoy the opulent beaux arts design, with faux-marble columns and mythological Greco-Roman sculptures, rich damask curtains, mosaic floor tiling, and wall frescoes.

Service:

Millennium's service isn't as consistently sublime as on other Celebrity ships, except in the Olympic restaurant. Don't be shocked to observe waiters standing around chatting while coffee cups cry out to be refilled and trays yearn to be whisked away. On the other hand, the assistant head housekeeper is unusually visible, and vigilant about ensuring that all guests are kept happy.

Tipping:

Celebrity suggests a per person per day gratuity of $3.50 for the waiter, butler (Suites only) and stateroom attendant; $4.00 for Concierge Class stateroom attendant; $2.00 for the Assistant Waiter; and .75 for the Assistant Maitre d' and the Assistant Chief Housekeeper. Children under 12 who are the third or fourth person in the stateroom need come up with only half these amounts. A 15 percent gratuity is automatically added to all beverage tabs. Gratuities for room service, spa, casino and other staff are at your discretion. Tips may, of course, be added on request to your shipboard account.

Hope this article helps you choose Mediterranean Cruise ship which suits you. Enjoy your Mediterranean Cruise vacation!