Honeymoon in Europe - Easter 2014

So I got a request to plan a honeymoon trip for the newlyweds.  It is my pleasure to ... :)

They had the following request:

   - preferably during the two weeks of their Easter holidays

   - both just reached their 30s and they just want to chill during their holidays 

   - cruise is preferable

   - Paris must be included

   - must travel between Apr 12, 2014 - Apr 27, 2014 (2 weeks of Easter holidays)

First of all, I think April is a pretty good month to travel in.  The weather is quite nice and usually it is not as busy and crowded as summer time.  Yet, it could be more busy during the Easter holidays :)

The cruise options during that two weeks are kind of limited.  A lot of the "nicer routes" don't really fit into that two weeks time frame.  Since Paris is usually not included in the cruise's route, I suggested it might be better to take a shorter cruise and then spend 5-7 days in Paris.

so .... 7 - 9 days of Mediterranean cruise + 5-7 days in Paris.

So I searched through expedia.ca for the possible cruises during April 2014:

4 Cruise options that I suggested:

7-Night Mediterranean Europe Cruise - Costa Cruises

#1: from Savona to Savona

Costa Serena

2014 Departures:

Apr: 13, 20, 27

Ports of Call:

Savona, Italy - La Spezia, Italy - Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy -Naples, Italy - At Sea - Barcelona, Spain - Marseille, France -Savona, Italy

#2: from Venice to Venice

Costa Fascinosa  

2014 Departures:

Apr: 7, 14, 21, 28

Ports of Call:

Venice, Italy - Bari, Italy - Kerkyra (Corfu), Greece - Mykonos, Greece - Santorini, Greece - At Sea - Dubrovnik, Croatia - Venice, Italy

#3: from Civitavecchia (Rome) to Civitavecchia (Rome)

Costa Favolosa

2014 Departures:

Apr: 20, 27

Ports of Call:

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy - Savona, Italy - Barcelona, Spain -Barcelona, Spain - Palma de Mallorca, Spain - At Sea - Malta (Valetta), Malta - Palermo, Italy - Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

#4: from Savona to Savona

Costa Pacifica

2014 Departures:

Apr: 5, 12

Ports of Call:

Savona, Italy - Marseille, France - Barcelona, Spain - Palma de Mallorca, Spain - At Sea - Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy - Livorno, Italy - Savona, Italy

I personally would prefer Costa Fascinosa as I've never been to Greece and Croatia, and they are beautiful and romantic.  Due to travel advisories and warnings in Greece and Turkey, a lot of people would concern travelling to these two places.  I just think Costa Fascinosa included quite a few beautiful beaches:

Costa Favolosa might be a little too late to come back by Apr 27, 14.  It doesn't fit well into the two weeks time frame.

Costa Pacifica and Costa Serena both included the ports: Barcelona, "Rome" and Marseille.  I would prefer Costa Pacifica as Livomo is close to Florence & Pisa.  I really like Florence, it's somewhere I would love to chill at again.

Savona, Italy:
Savona is one of the popular ports where Costa cruises start and end at.  It's about 30 - 45 minutes drive from Genoa (Airport) to Savona.  Once you arrive to the Genoa's airport, you can train/bus/shuttle to Savona.  You can always ask the information desk, I'm sure the staff should be very familiar with the transfer from airport to Savona.  Make sure you spare extra time to check in.

Suggested Itinerary for the newlyweds:
(2 weeks)

     Home --> Genoa, Italy (GOA)                   (via flight)

     Genoa -> Savona                                       (via Shuttle/train/bus)

     Savona -> Savona (7 days cruise)

     Savona -> Genoa (Airport)                        (via Shuttle/train/bus)

     Genoa (GOA) --> Paris (CDG)                  (via flight - 1.5hour)

     Paris ( 5 - 6 days)

     Paris --> Home                                             (via flight)