What to See on a Mediterranean Cruise
By Chris Firster

To get a good taste of Europe without the hassle of travelling by land, take a Mediterranean Cruise.

A Mediterranean cruise is ideal for the traveller not wanting to visit some of Europe\'s most fantastic sights by land.

The type of itinerary that takes shape on a cruise is \"Tuesday, Venice\", \"Wednesday, Rome\" etc as each day the ship will be in a different port. This however is not ideal for the traveller wanting to spend more time in a particular destination.

There are advantages over a land trip around Europe, whilst on your Mediterranean Cruise all your accommodation, transport, food, drinks and normally any port taxes are paid for, almost like an all inclusive holiday but on the sea.

The majority of cruise lines sail around the Med all year but some are mainly in the summer months, May to September.

There are a variety of Mediterranean cruises available and depending where you want to visit can determine which cruise to take. Western Med cruises take in major cities in France, Italy as well as the glamour and glitz of Monte Carlo. The Eastern Med cruises are mainly based on the Aegean Sea around Greece and Turkey as well as these cruises there are longer itineraries which include both areas as well as some African ports.

It is an important factor when choosing a cruise to research where the ship will dock as the itineraries focus on the port names, for example if you wish to visit Rome, the ship will dock in Civitavecchia and a transfer to the city will then take you to and from the port. On average transfers can take a while so if you choose to see the sights by yourself instead of the actual guide from the cruise make sure you make the transfer back!

One thing to decide before making the decision to book your cruise is, do you want to explore the sights of a particular place or spend more time sun bathing. Cruises that take in Athens, Florence, Rome, Istanbul, will be more suited as the ancient and cultural sights are to be seen, whereas the Balearic and Greek island destinations visited are better suited to the sun worshipper as they will allow sun seekers to relax on the beach.

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