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European Honeymoon

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Just a thought: I received an email special from Princess Cruises advertising some "standby deals" (i.e. late booking specials) yesterday, a few examples:

August 16, 2013....British Isles... 12 days roundtrip London on Caribbean Princess?
Ports: London (Southampton), Guernsey (St. Peter Port), Cork, Dublin, Liverpool, Glasgow (Greenock-overnight), Belfast, Edinburgh (South Queensferry), Inverness/Loch Ness (Invergordon), Paris/Normandy (Le Havre), London (Southampton)...inside cabin @ $999* per person.

Jul 29, 2013...Ireland, Scotland & Wales...8 days roundtrip London on Ocean Princess?
Ports: London (Dover), Guernsey (St. Peter Port), Milford Haven (for Wales), Dublin, Edinburgh (Rosyth-overnight), London (Dover)...inside cabin @ $499* per person.

Aug 18, 2013...Baltic Heritage...14 days roundtrip London on Crown Princess?
Ports: London (Southampton), Brussels/Bruges (Zeebrugge), Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg (overnight), Tallinn, Gdansk (Gdynia), Oslo, London (Southampton)...inside cabin @ $1299* per person.

* prices do not include port charges/government fees, etc.

Note: There were other cruise dates too and the better cabins (i.e. oceanview and balcony) were at a higher price.

A cruise provides your hotel room, all meals, activities/entertainment on the ship, and transportation to the next port, etc. You might save some money (and have a great honeymoon) by booking a couple days in London and then taking a "bargain priced" cruise to see other cities, etc.
 
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What time of year could mess up everything I'm about to say - if you can travel in the fall that's the best, followed by spring. July and August you can find yourself surrounded by Americans and Europeans who are tired of dealing with Americans. Also, though many places have upgraded baths and AC to the expectations of Americans you can still find places that sizzle all night long in the summer and where you squat over a hole in the floor to take a Mark May.

Whatever you do, don't fall for the four cities in 8 days - We've found through many trips to Europe that staying four or five days in one space works best for us. Less than that and you end up spending most of your vacation packing, unpacking and traveling.

I just came back from 3 weeks doing Berlin, Prague and Dresden and loved each place, but Berlin and Prague were very special. I've also spent lots of time in Munich, Schwabish-Halle, Garmish and Heidelberg. If you like beer and white wine you'll love any of those places.

We spent 10 days in Paris over the Christmas holidays, staying in a small apartment just off Rue Cler. Got to know the metro and bus system and a couple of restaurants that became favorite places. I expected to enjoy Paris. I came back loving it. We've also enjoyed Strasbourg and the Normandy coast. Unless you go to McDonald's it is almost impossible to buy a bad meal in France.

In the past we've spent a week in Rome and two weeks in a tiny town on the Bay of Poets. Loved both experiences. Italian food is underrated. Don't expect to find lots of English speakers in Italy, even in Rome. they don't speak French either and what ever you do, don't ask, Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

In England our favorite stops, after London, have been Bath, York, Edinburgh and a tiny spot in the Hebrides, Oban - home of a great single malt.

The drive across Ireland from Dublin to Galway is wonderfully bucolic.

But if I had to pick one place and say, you will have the time of your life, it would be one of the towns of the Cinque Terre. But not if you have to go in peak season or winter.
 
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cincibuck;2349867; said:
But if I had to pick one place and say, you will have the time of your life, it would be one of the towns of the Cinque Terre. But not if you have to go in peak season or winter.
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The Italian Riviera area is picturesque with the "old world" villages on the rocky cliffs, etc.; however, I'm not sure you would categorize it as a "the time of your life" for a honeymoon.

Now, my recommendation for a honeymoon "time of your life" would be a small island off the southern coast of Spain. Ibiza has great white sand beaches (during the day) and is "the undisputed party capital of the world" (night time activity). Ibiza is very picturesque too with "old world" buildings/villages on the Mediterranean Coast, etc.
 
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ScriptOhio;2349873; said:
Now, my recommendation for a honeymoon "time of your life" would be a small island off the southern coast of Spain. Ibiza has great white sand beaches (during the day) and is "the undisputed party capital of the world" (night time activity). Ibiza is very picturesque too with "old world" buildings/villages on the Mediterranean Coast, etc.
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YMMV but foam parties with wall to wall college age Euros tripping on X isn't my idea of a great honeymoon.
 
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when we lived in England, we hit London, Barcelona, Paris, Cypress, Cairo, The Canary Islands, Venice, and Florence. Like most have said, it's expensive, but hard to beat. Of all the places I listed, we DISliked Venice the most. It was very dirty and because of all the water taxis, the whole city smelled like diesel fuel. We liked The Venetian in Vegas better :lol:


Paris was awesome, as long as you attempted to speak the language. The people were a lot nicer than expected. They were not friendly to the table of Americans a little down from us that were loud and pissed off because nobody spoke English.


Florence was beautiful. just a quick train trip away from Venice.


Barcelona was rainy and the wife was sick, so we didn't really enjoy that weekend.



Cypress and Tenerief (The Canary Islands) were amazing. Best vacations ever. We took a day trip to Cairo from Cypress. Saw the pyramids and the Sphynx. That was awesome.



Wherever you go, I highly reccomend the double decker bus tours. You can hop on and hop off at stops, and while you're on the bus, there's an automated tour going on.


Just my .02
 
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Crump's brother;2349945; said:
You won't find a ton of English speakers in Spain, unless you stick to touristy spots. If you do speak Spanish, spend the whole time in Cordoba and Grenada.

Yes, Kyle, I am an elitist prick.:biggrin:
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Can't really blame ya. I had a taste of the good life once. Stayed at the Millennium Hotel. 23rd floor. Downtown Cincinnati.
 
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sparcboxbuck;2351543; said:
If I never see Paris again, I'd be fine. It's OK, but vastly overrated IMHO. Just another city.
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When were you there? I can believe that in August you would have a bad experience as I've heard this even from people who speak passing French. We were there the day after Christmas until the 7th of January and fully enjoyed the place.
 
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