pdmlynek

3 minutes ago, Mrs Soap said:

yes true and no i havent called anyone...we are in australia so a little tricky with the time zones etc but i could email for sure

What a coincidence.  I am getting ready to head to Perth, and just talked last night to fabricator of GVM of the ute that I am renting. 🙂 

6 minutes ago, Mrs Soap said:

From what i can see the car rentals are now at the airport...i had also read somewhere in the forum recently that the port avis had been closed.

 

Look, you are going to have to do some digging. Who did you call at Juneau?  When I tried to make reservations, nothing came back either, but I just called the local branch of the rental agency, and had them open up their rental shack that was on the dock. 

From Google maps, it appears that the car rental shacks are still there.  

2 hours ago, Mrs Soap said:

for the 4 door its 459$ seems huge money for a jeep and it now seems any car rental places are at the airport>??

We rented a car from one of the regular car rental agencies (Avis, Herts, or Budget, can't remember which one), and they all had cars available at the cruise ship dock.  No reason to go to the airport.  It was about 50-60 USD, but that was a few years back.

On 1/23/2023 at 1:23 PM, arpie05 said:

Just a side note - Princess charges $305 vs NCL $499 for same excursion. 

How are the cruiselines involved?  Don't you just book the cars through Budget, Avis, or Hertz?  We rented a car in Juneau for about 50 to 60 USD.  

Congratulations on turning 40!  Hope your celebration is a happy one.

To be honest, I'd recommend skipping all of these, and do something on your own.  I understand that the cruise lines are just trying to make money off you, but those excursions sound silly.

All three places that you've mentioned are great to do on your own.  

In Skagway, walk around the kitchy town, then walk up to the Gold Rush Cemetery, walk up to Lower Reid Falls, Upper Reid, then walk above the town to lower Dewey Lake before dropping down to the ship.

In Juneau, rent a car, and drive to Mendenhall Glacier, hike above it, see the visitor center, hike to Nuget Falls, drive back, walk about Juneau before getting on the ship.

In Ketchikan there is lots to see in downtown.  Grab a bus to Totem Bight S.P.,  See various totem pole museums, go for a hike above the city.  

13 hours ago, janecambridge said:

 

Just wondering if anyone who has sailed Alaska to Anchorage, have stayed in Anchorage and done any tours for a few days?

Either that or stayed in Seattle for a few days.

We are looking at doing some private tours and accommodation post Alaska cruise in August/September.Thank you.. 

What do you mean by "Anchorage"?  Cruise ships sail to either Whittier or Seward.  Or does your ship sail around the Kenai peninsula to Anchorage?

And yes, like most people, we've stayed in both Anchorage and in Vancouver for a few days before and after the cruise.  Please read through this forum and ask away!  🙂 

3 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Not too puzzling when you consider that part of that walk (whenever you cross or walk on the donkey train) may have you dealing with donkey poo (which can make the road smelly and slippery).  

I am not sure why that would be an issue.  It is just donkey poop.  It is not nasty as human or dog poop. Step over it or into it, and go on.  It is just natural, normal part of life -- nothing to worry about.

As far as slippery, given that one will be walking about Santorini anyway, one should wear good hiking boots. If one wears trainers, tennis shoes, or sandals, yes, one will have problems with the trail being slippery.

But, to each one's own.

On 1/18/2023 at 6:47 PM, Tasm3n said:

We have a large group of 9 that needs to get from the Port to our hotel.  That's quite a few people and pieces of luggage.  Curious if people have recommendations on some type of group transport we can book in advance to pick us up at the port?

We had 9 people too.  We just grabbed 3 taxis.  Easy.  

@PORT ROYAL is correct: have the front desk get you taxis rather than try to get ones yourselves.  It was surprisingly cheaper for us for the hotel's front desk to order 3 taxis then when we tried to do it ourselves.  Each taxi from Plaka was about 17 or 18 EUR.  

7 hours ago, edinburgher said:

and our 15 year old son is particularly excited about Athens.  He loves greek mythology and history.

 

In that case check out the website for the National Archaeolgy Museum, but be aware it is huge with really interesting exhibits in every room, and a full day could easily be spent here, possibly even two or more if someone wanted to.  We much prefer it to the newer Acropolis Museum which we only visited once and we spent much less time in it. The National Archaeology Museum we have visited twice and would happily return a third time should we ever find ourselves back in Athens.

I agree.  The National Archaeology Museum in Athens is terrific.  Whereever you travel in Greece, there is a local archaeologic museum, where they show you artifacts from local sites, "exdept the best pieces have been hauled away to the National  Archaeology Museum."

However, it is not huge.  Maybe 60 to 80 rooms.  Nowhere close to the national museum in Paris, Washington, London, Berlin, Vienna, etc.  It is doable in a day.  

7 hours ago, andrewk8511 said:

Thanks for the info.

 

Slightly off topic, but what are the recommendations for Santorini? From my research it appears that an excursion, any excursion, is necessary just to avoid the cable car queue! 

 

 

I agree with @John Bull.  You do not need to worry about the cable car queue; just walk up.  I am in my late 50s, not any great shape, and I found it to be a pleasant 40 minute walk.  Why so many people who are in much better shape than me eschew the walk up is puzzling.  

I think that the hot springs and active volcano is on Nea Kameni or Palia Kameni, which as two small islands in the caldera.  

I can't tell you much about it, because we dropped the idea of going there early on.  The problem is that there is so much to see on Santorini, that visiting either Kameni would take a big chunk of your short time.  We decided that it was not worth it for us.

On 1/18/2023 at 5:44 PM, bebe81 said:

Hi all,

I know this is probably talked about a lot. I have been sifting through the posts. I'm new to a Greek Isle cruise. We are thinking of booking NCL Getaway Aug. 2024 our ports of call for the Greek Isles are:

Rhodes, Mykonos and Santorini.

I just got a pricing for a Santorini for 3 adults for private tour is 615 euros. Is that steep? I'm not sure to me it seems overpriced. 
 

My question is out of all these or some ports  can I DIY? The tours we are just looking for are highlights of the port of call.  Or are there shore excursions that take small groups? I have been looking but there doesn't seem to be much options. 

 

TIA!

Well, Santorini will be overpriced.  That's just normal.

On Santorini you can get around easily by public busses.  I recommend doing that.  We took a bus to Oia, came back and then took another bus to Akrotiri, and came back. 

On Rhodos we rented a car and drove to Lindos.  It was great.  Then we drove back and saw more of Rhodos town.

On Mykonos we spent most of our time in Delos.   There are no taxis in Myconos (well, 30 for 15,000 visitors), no Uber, so either you walk or take public trasport.   You could take a public bus to a beach, but please remember that there are two bus stations in the town of Mykonos.

Finally, I agree with @Hlitner. Read up on this.  Your questions are just too general.

On 1/19/2023 at 1:17 PM, 22CeeBeeNC22 said:

Are the historic Athens sites all within walking distance of one another or is transportation needed to get from place to place? Thank you. First time visitor.

Good question.  Yes, Athens is a walkable city.  Most of the sites interesting to tourists is downtown, within a km or two from each other. Just make sure that your hotel is located somewhere downtown as well.

On 1/17/2023 at 7:44 PM, Alphawolf said:

I should stipulate that the 8:40 sunset is from google and from what I understand that is when the sun is completely gone from view.  I'm thinking if I am on the island, it wouldn't be in Oia as I understand it is crazy crowded and as you mentioned too far from the tender port.  I would be in Fira so near the cable car.  Looks like we are the last cruise ship to leave that day as all the others are gone by 6:00, 7:00, 9:00pm.  So unless the cable car is backed up for more than an hour I would think leaving before 8:30 would be a possibility but as you said could be a little nerve wracking.

 

 

The sunsets in Greek Islands are beautiful.  However, the problem with the sunset at Santorini is that the ship is in the caldera, meaning that the view of the sunset will be blocked by either Thirasia or Tholos Naftilos.  Given that you've looked up the sunset time, you may also want to note the alzimuth of the sunset, and compare it to the position of the ship when you drop anchor in the morning.

Alternatively, you could do what @MeHeartCruising suggested, and during the sunset don't look towards the sun, but away from it.

Although I understand the political motivation behind this, I am not sure what the point of this is.  Nor do I think it wise.

When we think of ancient history, our perception is shaped in a large part of what we see in our museums, or what our parents, grandparents saw in museums that was local to them. What our college professors saw in museum, what the  text book writers saw in museums.

A visit to an Ancient Greek section of a museum in London, Chicago, New York, Berlin, Los Angeles, etc. is an advertisement for people to visit Greece (or Egypt, Rome, etc.)  Indeeed, 25% of Greece's GDP is derived from tourism.  I like visiting Greece, in part, because I love Ancient History.  How much tourism would there be if people outside of Greece would be ignorant about Ancient Greece, just like today they are ignorant of, for example, the Shunga Empire, Rashidun Caliphate, or Mali Empire because we just don't see their artifacts in museums?

And let's suppose that some artifacts are returned.  So what?  Greece is deluged by Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman Greek artifacts.  There are hundreds of Ancient Greece museums all over Greece.  Every county or town in Greece has a museum of Ancient Greece; heck, there is even an archeological museum in the Athens Airport. Returning all of the artifacts is not going to enrich Greece in any depreciabe amount and the rest of the world would be much poorer because of it.

There has got to be a better way.

Although I could give you a recommendation on the hotels that we've stayed at (namely, Athens Lodge, Odeon, and Hotel Byron, each of which was wonderful), I think that this depends on your travel style.  There are hundreds of hotels in Athens catering to every class of traveler.  Just look through a travel sites, such as booking.com to find a hotel that suits you and reserve it.

On 1/5/2023 at 6:29 PM, Hlitner said:

....Islands like Naxos, Paxos, and Hydra are wonderful places to visit but you will not ever do it if you only use cruise ships.

 

Just tossing this out to CC folks to open some minds about the limitations we all face when using cruise ships.

 

Well, of course.  I agree. However, since this is a forum for cruising, I think that it makes sense to forcus on islands that are visited by cruise ships.  🙂 

On 12/5/2022 at 5:28 PM, dcbiker97 said:

Thanks everyone.  For a bit of clarification, we will have a day and a half in Athens before the cruise. We are traveling with friends who are departing the day of the cruise so we are doing the basic Athens touring before the cruise. At the end of the cruise, we will have that full day as we depart to go home the next morning.  So far, you’ve given me lots to think about. 

Thanks for the clarification.  

You are going to see very little in the day and a half.  You really need at least a week to see Athens before it makes sense for you to spend the time to venture to other places.  Visiting some of the different museums neighborhoods, archeological sites, etc.  will take all 2 1/2 days.

4 hours ago, dcbiker97 said:

We will be spending several days pre cruise doing the normal tourist sites in Athens. In addition, we will have a full day when we get back to do another day of sightseeing.  I want to get outside of Athens ...

To be honest, if you really want to sightsee outside of Athens, then you should do that first, then come back to Athens and see Athens, and continue with sightseeing Athens when you get back from your cruise.  Drive from the ATH airport directly to Nafplion or Delphi.  Things go wrong, and you do not want to get stuck someplace right before your flght back home.  

We did two weeks in Greece prior to our cruise last June, and did all (except Osious Lukas) that you've mentioned.  It was wonderful.  A couple of points.

(a) I am not sure how long "several days" is.  If it is less then about 5, then I'd say, just stay in Athens.  there are so many things to see in Athens, that nothing really compares.  It makes little sense to devote limited time to driving around.  Just stay in Athens, see the Acropolis, and all the various museums that Athens has to offer.

(b) I like your first option.  Those things are quite close to Athens, and can be done easily, along with Epidavros and Tiryns, in 2 to 3 days. 

(c) Mycenae is one of the top sites in Greece, but both Epidavros and Tiryns are also very nice sites. 

(d) I'd even prefer Epidavros to the Ancient Corinth.  The Ancient Corinth site is fine, but it is not so different from the dozen sites that you'd see in Athens.  

(e) The Corinth Canal was closed for several years due to a landslide, so you won't see any boat traffic. I am not sure if it will be cleared by the time you go.  Nonetheless, it is a nice site to stop by, because it is on the way to the Peloponese peninsula anyway. 

(f) The several sites in Delphi are wonderful.  Delphi is also one of the best sites to see.  But it is more expensive time wise to get to Delphi than option 1. 

Good luck, and let us know how it was once you get back!

On 11/7/2022 at 5:47 PM, WESTEAST said:

We are looking at a shore excursion from Argostoli that includes visiting the subterranean Melissani Lake and a boat tour of stalactites, a stop to see Myrtos Beach and then free time in Fiskardo Village.

 

How long is the boat tour to view the stalactites?  For our free time in Fiskardo, our plan is to browse the little harbour with a stop at one of the tavernas. Have read about the lighthouses which we expect can be viewed from a distance.  Any other items in Fiskardo that is a must see or taste (local unique specialities)?

 

Also, out of all the islands that we've visited during our cruise (Patmos, Rhodos, Mykonos, Corfu, Kefalonia, and Santorini), Kefalonia was our favorite.  

On 11/7/2022 at 5:47 PM, WESTEAST said:

We are looking at a shore excursion from Argostoli that includes visiting the subterranean Melissani Lake and a boat tour of stalactites, a stop to see Myrtos Beach and then free time in Fiskardo Village.

 

How long is the boat tour to view the stalactites?  For our free time in Fiskardo, our plan is to browse the little harbour with a stop at one of the tavernas. Have read about the lighthouses which we expect can be viewed from a distance.  Any other items in Fiskardo that is a must see or taste (local unique specialities)?

 

I have not seen any such tour, but maybe you'll be lucky and find one.

You do not write how much time you have on Kefalonia.  We had 8 hrs, and we wanted to something similar to what you suggest, but independently, but we could not get that done.  Here is the problem:

Kefalonia is huge.  It is not like Santorini or Mykonos; it takes many hours on winding roads to get to the other side of the island.  You really should take a week to see it properly.

There are many things that we wanted to see, but had time only for a few.  In the 8 hrs on Kefalonia, we rented 2 cars, and did Argostoli > Asos > Fiskardo >  Myrtos beach > Argostoli.  We spend maybe 1h30 hrs at Fiskardo, and 1/2 hr each at Asos and Myrtos.  We did hurry a lot.  There would be no way for us to have done the Melissani Lake in such a short time.  

I'll defer to SummmerInKefalonia, but to me, a person who does not want to see things through a windshield but does not linger around too much either, if you want to see Melissani Lake, you should do Sami instead of Fiskardo, Sami Acropolis instead of Asoss, and Antisamos beach instead of Myrtos. The advantage of this plan over what we did is that you won't spend as much time in a car as we did.  

 But there are many other possibilities.  

On 11/7/2022 at 1:58 PM, gdynkin said:

Can you let me know what bus did you take downtown and then what bus did you take to the airport

 

Thanks!

Sorry that I did not get to reply to you until now.  I am not a frequent reader of cruise critic. 😞 

Just like in any major European city, between the airport and downtown there is public transport in form of a public bus and metro.  You can do regular city buses or metro between downtown and the airport in Athens as well.  But that type of transport is not what we are discussing.

There are special Express "X" buses that go between the airport, downtown and the port.  
X80: Piraeus <--> downtown Athens

X95: downtown Athens <--> airport

X96: Piraeus <--> Airport

When we disembarked in Piraeus, we found buses to downtown and the airport waiting for passengers, and the passangers were also waiting for them.  

Good luck!
 

That depends on your travel style.  If you are trying to squeeze out of your trip as much as possible, then yeah, you could spend an hour or two sightseeing Athens.  However, most people would just go to the airport. 

We too had a flight around 14:00, but because we've spent lots of time in Athens prior to the cruise, there was nothing that we really had to see after the cruise, and thus elected to have a big breakfast, leisurely get off the ship, take a bus downtown, and 30 minutes later a bus to the airport.

If you really want to see something of Athens to squeeze the most out of your time in Athens, be one of the first to get off the ship, hire a taxi for the day, have him drive you to the site that you've selected, sightsee while he waits for you with your luggage, then go with him to the airport.

Alternatively, be one of the first to get off the ship, catch a bus to Syntagma Square, store luggage there, sightsee, then catch a bus or a metro to the airport.  Our contingency plans called for doing just this, and here are facilities close to the drop off point on Syntagma square:

- The Lockers Syntagma - Automated Luggage Storage; Kolokotroni 9, Syntagma, Athina, off Stadiou, off Syntagma Square; across from National Historical Museum, 37.9773°N 23.7325°E; +30 693 241 2302

- Lockers4All, 2 Nikis str, Athina 105 57, Greece, +30 694 562 4229; 37.9762°N 23.7334°E

- Luggage storage in Athens, Nikis 17, Athina 105 57, Greece; +30 21 0322 3531; 37.9745°N 23.7331°E

If you do decide to sightsee Athens, using either a taxi or buses, what do you see?  If you plan everything correctly, you could visit the Acropolis; Acropolis opens at 8:00, so if you get there at 7:45, buy your tickets, you could do it.  The entrance is only 1.4 km walking from Syntagma Square, a 15 minute jog. You could do the Acropolis in an hour.  

Good luck!

I too concur with others that one has to be on one's toes about unscrupulous vendors.  I agree.

However, there is more at play here.  Like it or not, the beaches on the western half of the couthern coast of Mykonos are considered the playground of the rich.  The homes that you see above these beaches rent for 6,000 to 12,000 Euros/Dollars per night.  These ridiculouos prices, such as 40 EUR/beer, are not something out of the ordinary for the decamillionaires and centimillionaires (or wannabes) that frequent these beaches.