Milhouse

We went to Olympia but the only other option we were considering was the tourist fun train which has stops at Mercury Winery and Agios Andreas beach.

There's a hop on hop off that apparently has 5 stops and loops to Pyrgos for 10e.

FWIW, Celebrity also offered a coach transfer from the port to Bologna train station for $34.95 and to Bologna airport for $44.95.

On 6/20/2023 at 9:12 PM, elaine5 said:

Hi. has anyone done the Royal Caribbean transfer from Ravenna to train station schedule? Would a shuttle listed as 9:15 get me there in PLENTY of time to catch a 9:45 train? meaning time to find out where I'm going, get lost in station for 10 minutes, etc.? Anyone have a recent schedule? Would the 9:15 be when to meet or when it is actually departing?Thanks, Elaine

Assuming the question is re: going from the port (Porto Corsini) to Ravenna train station:

FWIW, we just got off the "Celebrity shuttle" this morning which is obviously run by a contractor.  I'm assuming it would be similar for RCL(??).  We booked the last 9:30am shuttle and it left at 9:30am on time.  They called our tag number around 9:10am. Need to find luggage.  There's a risk you get stopped by Italian customs who were roaming included a sniffer dog and a check point but I'm guessing it's unlikely.  We walked right through. 

There's obviously a risk that the bus needs to wait for stragglers.  Our bus only took just over 10mins to go from the port to Ravenna station (whereas it took closer to 15min the other way).  Note, our shuttle dropped us off in a parking lot on the back side of Ravenna train station so there's a short 2min walk to the stairs/elevator that leads you to the platforms.  Had to wait for our luggage to be pulled from the belly of the coach bus as there were a number of cruisers taking this transfer.  There was a bit of a line for the elevator which only can handle 2-3 people at a time with luggage.  There aren't many stairs though; two flights.  

It's a small station so unlikely to get significantly lost/disorientated.  If you need to buy train tickets, the machines are to the left around the corner of the ticket window.  No line for the machines, they had an English option, and they took cash and card.  Slight line for the ticket windows.  We held off buying our tix to Bologna until at Ravenna since the route is an hourly (at x:45 intervals) commuter train so little risk of not getting on.  We didn't risk for the 9:45am train but just waited a bit for 10:45am train in the cafe/McDonalds seating in the train station.  Needed to remember to validate our tix.  Platform for our train was was relatively easily identifiable from the screens.  The train left on time at 10:45am.

I think a 9:15am shuttle for a 9:45am train in Ravenna is possible but I wouldn't consider it plenty of time.  Hope the description of my transfer gives you ideas where the potential choke points are if that's the direction you are going.

15 hours ago, michelle028 said:

Hello everyone,

 

 

First time in Olympia on a cruise stop. I was planning on getting to Olympia on my own and exploring the ancient sites using the Train. Thanks to the poster for all the pics 🙂

For anyone who has visited the Ancient ruins recently. Do you know if there are tour guides available on the spot at the site?

Definitely not a definitive answer but we didn't encounter or come across any obvious guides offering services at the train station or outside the entrances of either museums or the archeology site last week.

17 hours ago, CMW21 said:

Thanks for this info. So it sounds like from this thread there’s transportation options readily available at port ? Are skip the lines passes needed here and are they available ? Thanks all! 

14 hours ago, thefanman said:

I read on another string that the Olympia archaeolgy site tickets can sell out and one should buy them on-line to make sure you get one.  is this true?  Did anyone have trouble getting into Olympia once you arrived there?

From my experience, a person was promoting 15E buses (return) to Olympia just outside the port gate which is within easy walking distance.  However, it is far enough that someone we passed that had walking difficulties was taking about paying a taxi to take them the rest of the way from the gate to the gangway.

The train was a 10-15min walk from our ship's gangway.

Taxis are also available within the port IIRC.

Not sure what you are referring to for skip the lines.  

A 12E ticket gets you access to the archeology museum, the archeology site, and the Olympic Games Museum.  The archeology museum is relatively large with a number of rooms.  The archeological site grounds is quite expansive.  Saw many tour groups all over the place.  The Olympic museum has many rooms but there are some relatively narrow halls so I can see it getting congested.

We did not have problems entering any of the three places. 

Side note, the circuit seems like it can be done in two directions depending on which direction you head: archeology museum-archeology site-Olympic museum or vice versa.  The Olympic museum is kind of uphill.

3 hours ago, nextcruiseonmymind said:

Has anyone walked down the donkey trail after sunset? Was it scary or difficult? Well light?

We did it after sunset in 2016 during a fall month to catch our last tender because the line was so long.  We kind of ran down.  Very dark and hard to see with mainly the light from our cell phones.  YMMV depending on the amount of moonlight which we had some but not a lot of.  Had quite a few slight slips but no falls.  Good in that the path was empty and we didn't have to avoid other people and donkeys.  Less smelly because the donkeys had long finished for the day.

For comparison, we decided to take the donkey path down a few days ago because the queue for the cable car was insane.  I was somewhat surprised by the number of people taking the donkey path down but I'm guessing many were in a rush to catch the last tender for one of earlier arriving ships.  This time we slowed it down due to the shear number of people, donkeys still taking people up, and quite a bit of donkey pooh.  It took us roughly 30 mins to get down this time.  For context, while I thought we were still pretty quick, a few younger folks passed us.  A lot of elderly but nimble/mobile folks were walking down too, taking their time.  

However, the missus doesn't want to do the donkey path again.  We still found it  somewhat slippery because of various smooth stones.  We both slipped a bit a few times (even tho I was wearing hikers; she wore runners).  She also really hated the smell, mainly from the ammonia-like urine, and gagged a few times whereas I could tolerate it and made various washroom jokes.  😃

On 7/11/2022 at 7:25 PM, Hlitner said:

There is also a public bus (I think it is #843) that runs along this same route quite frequently.  If you are returning to Pireaus vis the metro (Green Line) you can cross the street in front of the train station and take that bus back to the stop near the port.  Keep your metro ticket since that bus would be included so no need to pay an extra fare.  It would be the same while heading from the port to the station, but you would need to pay the bus fare (I think it is 1 Euro) unless you somehow have managed to get your hands on the Metro ticket to Athens. 

Just back on the ship and couldn't wait to report on our fricken sketchy situations today both ways!  😀 

On the way out of the port area some taxi drivers were telling us that the metro wasn't running today.  So we just told them we were taking the bus which were obviously running since we could see them go by.   Of course we found the metro running when we got to station.  Those jerks!  🙃.  

On the way back, we got targeted by pickpockets!  Even bigger jerks!  😄  Just before on the return metro, the missus gave me crap for not immediately moving away from a group she suspected were pickpockets. Personally I didn't think they were but she's more cautious.  

The main story begins while we were waiting for the #843 (or another line that Google maps was telling us) outside the metro station to take us back to the ship.  Some guy comes very near us for no reason and then moves away.  He must have been sussing us out, confirming we were tourists.  He's so noticeable because he stuck his hands down his pants to scratch his butt for an extended period and then walks away.  🙄

#843 finally arrives.  We line up to get in a set of doors second to the back.  A lot of people are getting out there so we switch to the far rear doors.  We get on and are immediately surrounded by Mr Buttscratcher and two girls who would not move so we could go to another part of the near empty bus which  obviously starts setting off alarm bells.  Any time I'm in a crowded situation, my default position is to back up against a wall and have my arms along my side with my hands covering my pockets so I can feel my phone and wallet.  Mr Buttscratcher starts constantly elbowing my arm (gag, he's touching me 🤮) to make me move my hands.  FU buddy, these hands are not moving.  The missus beside me defaults to having her purse secured under her arm with her other hand providing a second lever of support (with nothing of value in her pant pockets).  The girls, all the while smiling/laughing, were trying force her to walk through them so they could grab at her but she wouldn't take the bait.  Dude eventually moves aside knowing we're not fish and provides a lane to seats.  And they all get off at the next stop.  Oi vey!

Anyways, we love DIY and using public transportation but obviously got to be on the ball for crap like this!  

9 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

What ever happened to Santorini limiting the number of ships and/or cruise passengers per day?  (she asks, rhetorically.....)

We had five large ships in port a few days ago and it was crowded like nuts in Fira and Oia as were the buses to and from.  7:00am MSC Opera, 8:00am Costa Pacifica, 9:00am Celebrity Constellation, 1:30pm Norwegian Gem, and 4:30pm Celestyal Olympia.  We've only been in Santorini during the fall shoulder season with maybe one other ship in port.  This experience made us agree that we don't want to visit Santorini during high season.  

On a positive note, fortunately Athenios was not out of commission on our day and we were able to jump on Connie's first tender at 9am (and it left with quite a few empty seats?!?, even though they called tender tix 1-4 initially.  Be ready to go people!)  We were in the cable car queue by 9:15am starting about by the ATM just past the tents. We got to the ticket booth by 9:30am.  And were up in Fira by 9:40am.

We just visited Ephesus yesterday via Kusadasi using Ephesus Shuttle.  It's actually our third time using them over the years and we've had a good to excellent experience each time.  This time we did Ephesus again (of course) but decided to tack on the Virgin Mary House for the first time to change it up even though we think it might be a tourist trap. It was a few dollars more and we just wanted to go for a bit of a drive to see the views as the location is on a hill.  For us, I wouldn't consider it a must see but I'm happy we went as it met our expectations.  YMMV of course.  They also include a stop at the Artemis temple ruins which mainly consists of a single column now so it's kind of a short stop.

The guides we've had have always been very friendly and this time was no exception.  However, he was a bit more chatty on the ride with explanations than we would have liked.  It's kind of roulette on which guide you get.

As mentioned by others, their group sizes are small.  We only had three couples on this tour but previous tours were also small.  They seem to be flexible with some free time.  We were asked if we wanted to go to a shopping area or see some kind of leather demonstration. Group said no, so we didn't go which was nice to have the option versus being forced.

2 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

@Milhouse

Thanks for the updates and confirmations.  That will be very helpful for other cruisers arriving into Katakolo during the season.

Hope you enjoyed your day.

I'm just very appreciative of the cruise critic community identifying these as potential options in the first place.  I wouldn't have known these options existed in the first place!  Happy to help build on the original information, even though it is subject to change obviously (ie make sure you have a back up plan).

Tourist fun train seems to be running.  Came across this placard along the shopping street on the way to the Olympia train and it was gone in the afternoon. 

And I saw the train moving in the lot beside the Olympia train but it was empty.  I think they had dropped pax off and was looping around.

Pay 5e per person during the outbound and pay again during the return.  Ticket person/conductor came through a few mins after we were under way, spoke English, and reminded us of the return time.

Train makes a few short stops along the way.

Found the train and I'm writing this while waiting for the train to depart!  Limited departure times tho.  Took us about 15min to walk to the station.  Best visual landmark is a ferris wheel which is right beside the station.  

Best landmark on Google maps is a playground beside train tracks.

Saw the tourist fun trains.  Some are parked in a lot beside the train station but haven't seen them running yet as its likely early.

Edit:  Train departed on time at 8:40am. Not the single return time at 1:10pm. Apparently you pay on the train.  

A tout outside the port was quoting 15e return on a bus.

17 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

If possible, could you see if the "Fun Train" that takes you to the winery and beach is running?  TIA!

Yup will try.  Was looking at that as an option instead of Olympia too.

Just a couple of follow ups as we just completed our stay at NH and took the shuttle to the port.

NH hotel was very convenient.  Only about 1.25 blocks away from the train station. Flat grade, easy to follow walking route. Reasonable walk to sights.  You can do a loop of the touristy area of town in about an hour without stops.

Decent business class hotel though it does have some minor warts.

Found the shuttle person on the NH side of the station.  Note, apparently they show up at 11am.  We didn't see them when we went to look for them at 9am.  

Shuttle is on the other side of the station.  There are stairs to navigate on both ends but there are elevators.

Another person on the other side of the station.  Another person by the bus station itself which is about a 50m walk on flat pavement.

Cost is 10e pp.  They take your name, cabin number, and have you sign. 

We had to wait 10min for the shuttle bus.  Looks like crew take it for a ride into town too.  Bus is a typical coach bus with luggage stowed below.  Only 10 of us on it for the 12:20pm departure.  Ride was about 20m and takes you close to the check in desk with nominal walking.  It follows the path of the public bus #90 fairly closely according to google maps with a little deviation at the end.  Saw the #90 bus pass by us in fact.  Personally I think it's a reasonable walk distance wise from the #90 bus stop to the port check in but you are walking exposed to the sun without shade.  There seemed to be a walkway for pedestrians at least part of the way.  Not sure how you get past security the security check point tho our shuttle bus didn't stop.

My feedback to X would be for them to promote it.  Felt they didn't provide any info on how to get to the port.  If not for CC, I think of be struggling a bit.  Saw a bunch of people waiting for taxis by train station.  Saw others take shuttles arranged by the hotels (coach and mini bus) by the NH.

We're there next Wednesday.  Will try to report if we see/find the train.  I've pinned on Google Maps where I think the train station is (beside the Ktel bus station??) and noted the departure times.  That's our plan A.  From a few blogs I've read, it seems like there isn't a shortage of buses offering return trips to Olympia so if the train isn't there/running, we'll default to a bus.  

Was just checking out the MDR menu in the app for my upcoming cruise on Connie departing this weekend and saw a bunch of items missing compared to our sailing last November.  So I had to seek out these threads so I could add to the hostilities.  😆

Generally, I'm not a big dessert eater at home but I force myself to get dessert when travelling.  Creme brulee is my default so I'm happy that's still an every day item.  The cheesecake was my backup default so going to miss it on the classics list (as I had it twice during my fall 7-day cruise).  

17 hours ago, jonsmom said:

Any recommendations for hotels nearby?  NH?

FWIW, we've booked the NH for the night before our upcoming cruise departing June 12.  It looks pretty close to the train station (a long block away?) and as cruisemom says, most of the key attractions around town look pretty walkable.  We wanted to stay closer to the train station to keep our transfer options open and somewhat easier (eg. Bus station/stop is nearby, cruise ship transfers seem to be from the train station, don't have to lug our luggage too far when we get into town, etc).  

A side note:  FWIW, we had AMEX travel (we booked through them to utilize an AMEX travel credit) contact NH Ravenna recently and confirm they are unaffected by the floods and trains were making it to Ravenna.  I'm a bit skeptical about the trains because the Trenitalia website seems to indicate the 

Ravenna and Castelbolognese via Lugo segment is still out of service with not estimated date of repair but is being linked in the mean time via bus(??). 😕

Also check this post if you are interested in taking a local bus from the port into town.

3 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

Currently On Explorer of the Seas and supposed to return to Ravenna this Sunday.  The Captain just notified us that this would not be happening.  We are diverting to Trieste.  Details to be delivered to our cabins later this evening.  

Thanks for the latest news.  We're supposed to sail out of Ravenna in three weeks. 

I'm not finding a lot of regular updated info.  Ravenna itselt definitely sounds to have been hit hard with thousands of people evacuated from their homes and the mayor saying the town is unrecognizable from the damage it sufferred.  I'm thinking all the available resources including hotels and such would need to be allocated to locals that have been forced out of their homes.  Even transportation routes in and out of Ravenna seem spotty with with train service facing delays and cancellations.  Cruise ship passengers routing through Ravenna would likely just exasperate their current situation. 

3 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

I'm very happy that a tentative deal has been reached but, I wonder, what would happen if the pilots reject the deal in their vote?  

The rank and file not voting to ratify is always a possibility.  But my sense is that they are aligned with their bargaining committee.  However, I am curious how the gap was bridged when the WS CEO said the divide was massive Thursday morning.  

We're flying to Rome for our cruise out of Ravenna in three weeks.  I was going to watch for our flight to be cancelled first because Aeroplan showed enough seat availability to Europe  (particularly to London) so we didn't have to fret while waiting it out but we'd likely have to fly out early than originally planned.  A few extra days in Europe isn't going to hurt. 🙂  We could then get to Rome/Italy by a LCC flight or train if we couldn't get WS to rebook us on a partner.

Westjet tentative agreement announcement:

7 hours ago, martincath said:

Sorry M, I reposted the exact same link as you already posted

🤷‍♂️  No big deal. 🤷‍♂️

Doing a mural walk would be kind of interesting.  We haven't done a circuit specific to the mural festival but have come across interesting murals all over the place.  

3 hours ago, psalm104 said:

Where would be the best place to get a view of the old main Expo site?

I loved Expo86.  I wish I was a bit older at the time so that I could have gotten a season pass and hang out there all the time instead of just the handful of visits I made with the family.  

Unfortunately, there's only a handful of functional buildings/infrastructure still remaining with a lot of the land developed with high rises and some greenspace.  The remaining pieces that come to mind are:

The "silver golf ball"/Expo Centre which had the Omnimax theatre is now Science World.  

The Plaza of Nations and nearby buildings are still there but it's not in great shape.  The Plaza of Nations stage and canopy/roof were torn down after letting it go to disrepair.  The BC Pavillion is now empty I think but most recently housed the Edgewater Casino which moved to new facilities next door by BC Place and is now Parq Casino with a JW Marriott.  The buildings that housed the nightclubs are still there but I'm not sure if they are being used.  

The Roundhouse building is now a community centre.  

Off the main site, Canada Place is still Canada Place and serves as convention centre space, Port of Vancouver office space, and cruise port of course.  BC Place stadium had its air sported roof replaced by a retractable roof.  

The best view of the old Expo grounds IMO, is to walk along the seawall as it's a really nice and easy path between the Roundhouse Community Centre to Science World.  Barring that because of some mobility issues that you mention, taking the Aquabus or False Creek Ferries for a view from the water might be an nice option.  

However, specific to taking a taxi/van from the airport to the Hampton Inn, (there are many routes but) I would probably have the driver:

• Head into downtown via Granville Street and take the exit off the Granville Street Bridge that leads you onto Pacific Boulevard eastbound
• Hang a right south onto Davie Street.  That will take you by the Roundhouse Community Centre.  
• At the end of Davie Street, go around the roundabout and head east along Marina Crescent.  This will get you a view of the water but a lot of this land has been developed.
• As you approach the underside of the Cambie Street Bridge, follow the curve and hand a right back onto Pacific Boulevard (which is now one way) and continue heading east.  This will take you past the new Parq Casino/JW Marriot, BC Place, and the Plaza of Nations.  
• As you continue east along Pacific Boulevard and staying in the right lanes, the street will eventually curve south and turn into Quebec Street.  This will take you past Science World.  
• As you approach Science World, hand a left east onto Terminal.  After a block, hang a left north, onto Main Street (as you start to double back towards the Hampton Inn).  
• Heading north along Main Street for a few blocks, hang a left west onto the entrance for the Dunsmuir Viaduct.  This will get you into downtown and give you a slightly obstructed elevated look of the old Expo grounds.  (It's obstructed from the Georgia Viaduct going in the opposite direction.)  
• After you cross the viaduct, hang a left southwest'ish onto Beatty Street.  That should get you to the Hampton Inn after a few blocks.  

Other options is to get a view from above by heading north across the Cambie Street bridge and/or heading east across the Georgia Viaduct (which will likely require some extra backtracking to get back to the Hampton Inn).  

Strike/lockout averted?

Toronto Star Fri May 19 ~1:30am ET:  WestJet, pilots reach 11th-hour deal as strike averted

Global:  WestJet and its pilots reach 11th-hour deal to avoid strike: Union

And the Panthers win after 4 OT periods.  😃

Had our first visit to Ensenada last Nov 2022. Enjoyed it as a new place but don't think it would be appealing going back regularly.

None of the shopping really appealed to us.  But kind of enjoyed hitting up a number of food carts.  Hoofed it out to Tacos Corona and Tacos Fenix for some tasty fish and shrimp tacos.  Enjoyed La Guerrerense.  It's kind of overhyped but glad we ate there.  Bought some churros along the street which kind of hit the spot but could have been tastier.