NCL Gem to Greek Isles = Heaven

[Mooder]

Just looked at your Santorini photos. Incredible! What a beautiful sunset. We plan on having dinner at Fanari at 8:30, since sunset should be approx. 8:50. Our tour ends at 8:15, which times the sunset perfectly. Keep posting those great photos.

 

Take me with you!!! I wanna go back! LOL But seriously, I would do this itinerary again in a heartbeat.

[hamrag]

Many thanks. I have now booked a tour with Spiros. Couldn't decide between the 4 or 5 hour tour and have booked the 4 hour as wanted to spend more time in Corfu town but it omits Gastouri and Achillion - are these worth seeing?

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

Neil

 

Please forgive me for pitching in here to respond to a fellow Brit! Cannot speak for any of the 2 places you mention but, IMHO, Corfu town itself is not particularly stunning. An hour is more than enough to see the nice bits which are centred around and close to the cricket pitch....not quite Lord's!

[Kancruze]

I almost forgot how beautiful it was! http://picasaweb.google.com/baross76/2010GreekIslesCruiseDay5Santorini?feat=email#

 

Thanks for the beautiful pics Mooder. I have a question about them. I see that you took the cable car (not the donkey!) to the town on top Santorini, then I see the beautiful sunset...how did you get back down to port in the dark?? Dumb question, I know! :D

Cheers, Edie

[Mooder]

Thanks for the beautiful pics Mooder. I have a question about them. I see that you took the cable car (not the donkey!) to the town on top Santorini, then I see the beautiful sunset...how did you get back down to port in the dark?? Dumb question, I know! :D

Cheers, Edie

 

Not dumb at all. I had no idea what to expect before I went. We took the cable car down. No pics taken, but it worked out very well.

[Cruisin'cockney]

Please forgive me for pitching in here to respond to a fellow Brit! Cannot speak for any of the 2 places you mention but, IMHO, Corfu town itself is not particularly stunning. An hour is more than enough to see the nice bits which are centred around and close to the cricket pitch....not quite Lord's!

 

Thanks Hamrag for your Brit angle to this thread. Only looking to include Corfu Town as Mrs Cruisin'Cockney is partial to a bit of the old retail therapy! From my point of view if Corfu Town has limited opportunities to flex the flexible friend then I (and my wallet) will be more than happy. ;)

[hamrag]

Thanks Hamrag for your Brit angle to this thread. Only looking to include Corfu Town as Mrs Cruisin'Cockney is partial to a bit of the old retail therapy! From my point of view if Corfu Town has limited opportunities to flex the flexible friend then I (and my wallet) will be more than happy. ;)

 

I understand fully!

[OnlyMe]

Hi Mooder, I want to thank you also for your fabulous review and photos!! Thank you!!!

May I ask a few questions please?

I'm a bit nervous of the cable car ... can you tell me how big it is and with 6 people in it is it fairly packed ... the reason I ask is thet I'm not too keen on heighte AND am claustrophobic so I'm a bit worried about it. ... And I'm not sure the donkeys are an option because we will have a toddler (plus pushchair) with us? ... You'r advice and help would be greatly appreciated!

My second question relates to the location of your cabin ... I know you said you were Aft but missed which deck - sorry! - did you notice much motion? And did you notice much noise - either from the propellors / engine or from above?

We're considering an Aft cabin but I'm worried as my DH gets sea sick and our little boy will need naps in the middle of the day so am thinking about noise etc.

 

Thanks again for your wonderful information!

[Cruiser User]

Thanks for your wonderfully, discriptive reviews. You have eased any anxiety I had based on the reviews I read from the April 26 sailing. We can't wait until we sail on July 3. Regarding your statement that there is nothing at the port in Crete, I had understood that there is the ability to take a "public" bus from the port out to Knossos. Did you see any bus ticketing buildings at the port? Our plan was to take the bus to Knossos and back and if there was an hour to spare, take in the town of Heraklion. Is this a bad idea?

[lhall85917]

Thanks so much for your review and answering all questions. We are on the Gem July 3 B2B and have been anxious to see some information from this season. I've been following your thread since you posted but just now took a look at your pictures - they are wonderful and I just wanted to be sure to let you know how helpful this has been. :)

[wolfgangz]

We had priority tender tickets so we were off the first tender and had to wait a good 15 minutes for Demitris as we had arranged for him to meet us at 5:00, so I wouldn't stress too much if I were you. Get on the line for the tender tickets as soon as possible, get the earliest tender you can and I think you will be fine. The tenders moved very quickly. Enjoy!!

 

Mooder,

 

Thank you for the information. I assume that we can not get the priority tender tickets until we are on board the ship.

 

wolfgang

[Mooder]

Hi Mooder, I want to thank you also for your fabulous review and photos!! Thank you!!!

May I ask a few questions please?

I'm a bit nervous of the cable car ... can you tell me how big it is and with 6 people in it is it fairly packed ... the reason I ask is thet I'm not too keen on heighte AND am claustrophobic so I'm a bit worried about it. ... And I'm not sure the donkeys are an option because we will have a toddler (plus pushchair) with us? ... You'r advice and help would be greatly appreciated!

My second question relates to the location of your cabin ... I know you said you were Aft but missed which deck - sorry! - did you notice much motion? And did you notice much noise - either from the propellors / engine or from above?

We're considering an Aft cabin but I'm worried as my DH gets sea sick and our little boy will need naps in the middle of the day so am thinking about noise etc.

 

Thanks again for your wonderful information!

 

I think the cable car would work best for you with a toddler. It was not terribly tight with 6 people and I don't think we HAD to have 6 people so if you need more room for your push chair, you might want to have fewer. My advice is to sit in the middle, facing up the hill and you won't be so aware of height - that's what my sister did and she is afraid of heights. There are lots of windows in the cable car, helping to keep it from being claustrophobic, but you want to avoid seeing down the hill as you go up. I loved the view, but those with problems wiht height didn't want to see it.

 

We were on deck 10. One thing I failed to mention in my review is that we had the calmest seas I have ever seen. I have no idea if this is typical but it meant we didn't even use our seasick meds which we usually do religiously. But I have had that cabin in rougher seas and never found it a problem. As for noise, it is a great location for your little one. No traffic at the back of the ship so no noise from the hallway and, no we never heard the engines or anything like that. We keep the balcony door open all the time, because we love to sleep to the sound of the water - it is very soothing.

[Mooder]

Thanks for your wonderfully, discriptive reviews. You have eased any anxiety I had based on the reviews I read from the April 26 sailing. We can't wait until we sail on July 3. Regarding your statement that there is nothing at the port in Crete, I had understood that there is the ability to take a "public" bus from the port out to Knossos. Did you see any bus ticketing buildings at the port? Our plan was to take the bus to Knossos and back and if there was an hour to spare, take in the town of Heraklion. Is this a bad idea?

 

I'm sorry I really don't know. There was nothing we could see from the ship and we hopped right on our excursion bus. But perhaps if you walked to the entrance to the port, that is where your bus would be found. But I highly recommend the tour. It would be very difficult to understand what you are seeing at Knossos without a guide. I would also be nervous about the timing since the ship is in port such a short time.

[Freckles_51]

Had to look that word up!!! Never heard it before. So pick me up off the floor cuz i needed some depends at that moment, since i was LMAO!! You're right Mooder, the dog is cuter than both of them and they look like "DUH!"

 

Hi miss pupule - It's the British in me,:o I was born and raised there but now live in Canada

 

Think i'll do the hop on hop off bus there in split,

miss pupule

 

We're considering that too - a combined hoho bus ticket with dalmatian palace walking tour is the best deal, if you are considering both :)

[Mooder]

Pictures from Crete: http://picasaweb.google.com/baross76/2010GreekIslesCruiseDay7Crete?feat=email#

[b0684]

Can you give me a little info on the hoho bus you talked about. I didn't see anything about it anywhere. We did a hoho bus in Barcelona and we loved it. Do you know where you get it and how much it is. Any info would be great. Thanks in advance.

[Mooder]

Our final pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/baross76/2010GreekIslesCruiseDay89SeaDayVenice#

 

Thank you all for the wonderful feedback on the review and photos. My sister gets all the credit for the pictures. I brought a camera and it never came out of my suitcase! :eek: I am spoiled because I love not having to worry about picture taking.

 

This was the time of our lives ... until next time. :D

[Kancruze]

Our final pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/baross76/2010GreekIslesCruiseDay89SeaDayVenice#

 

Thank you all for the wonderful feedback on the review and photos. My sister gets all the credit for the pictures. I brought a camera and it never came out of my suitcase! :eek: I am spoiled because I love not having to worry about picture taking.

 

This was the time of our lives ... until next time. :D

 

Great pics....thanks Sis!! After looking at the Port of Iraklion, I sure am glad I took your advice and booked a tour Mooder. Looks pretty barren and desolate but those columns at the palace ruins were so beautiful. The colors were so striking. Thanks again for all your help and advice.

Edie

[rrobynec]

Mooder!

I thought I was looking forward to my cruise, but then came your reviews and pics.

The only thing that could be better, would to be sharing the experience with you!:D

I honestly don't know what I am going to do without you and Betsy to pal around with!

Anyway, I am taking advantage of your prior experience instead....

Booked the tour of Santorini with Oceantours and hopefully get to take advantage of the private areas that you were taken!

HUGS & SMILES!!!!!

[misspupule]

Can you give me a little info on the hoho bus you talked about. I didn't see anything about it anywhere. We did a hoho bus in Barcelona and we loved it. Do you know where you get it and how much it is. Any info would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

Hi B0684

I found the split hoho bus at splitvisioncitytour.com. Gave a little of info there about where it goes and stops. Or try and goggle hoho bus in split croatia.

you should come up with something there. as i've read of these boards, they really don't use euros so see what price is and get their "kunas"(money) from an ATM, and have the time of your lives.

happy cruising

miss pupule

[Freckles_51]

Hi B0684

I found the split hoho bus at splitvisioncitytour.com. Gave a little of info there about where it goes and stops. Or try and goggle hoho bus in split croatia.

you should come up with something there. as i've read of these boards, they really don't use euros so see what price is and get their "kunas"(money) from an ATM, and have the time of your lives.

happy cruising

miss pupule

 

Hey miss pupule, the web site you mentioned didn't come up with anything - I think the correct site is: http://www.visitsplitcroatia.com

 

b0684 - The hoho bus route map and schedule is on their web site - looks as though it starts near the waterfront at Riva and you can buy the ticket on the bus

 

The price is 15 Euro for Combo bus tour and walking tour. The walking tour alone is 12 Euro. Sorry I didn't ask for price for hoho bus alone :o

 

I asked for a price in Euro and they didn't say that payment had to be in Kuna, but then again I didn't ask :o, but I think you may have to pay Kuna if you want to go into the palace cellars,they quoted "about 4 euro"

 

Thanks again to miss pupule for pointing me to split vision in the first place :) (and the rest of Split info that you posted some time ago;))

[Freckles_51]

Thanks Mooder for sharing your sister's pics ;) :D

[b0684]

Miss Purple and Freckles, Thanks for the info, I'll check out the web site. I'll let you know if we take it, but it won't be until Sept. Can't wait for to see Venice and the Greek Islands. Thanks again.

[Cruiseguy219]

Crete was the one place we booked an NCL shore excursion. The time at port (7:30 am to 12 noon) was so limited, we didn't want to take our chances going with a private guide. I'm glad we booked something because this is very much a commercial port with little to see immediately from the port area. We took the Knossos and Village Life excursion and enjoyed it. The "village life" part was taking us to a little village best described as a Greek version of Sturbridge Village. They have re-created an old-time Greek village. But, unlike Sturbridge Village, the little "workshops" are not so much demonstration facilities as shops to sell their wares and souvenirs. It was a lovely spot and they prepare a buffet for us which gave us an opportunity to sample some local food, including Raki which is a Greek spirit best described as kerosene (it seems every culture has their own version of moonshine ;)). Other than that, this was a waste of time. I would have enjoyed it for maybe 30 minutes, but they kept us there for an hour. We then proceeded to Knossos, a 4,000 year old palace. This was a fascinating place and our guide for the entire excursion, Gregoris, was excellent. I couldn't believe his knowledge of history and Greek mythology!! This made it worth while, but I would recommend comparing with other shore excursions to see if they have one that doesn't bother with the "village life" stop. It was very crowded at Knossos, but Greg did a good job of negotiating the crowds.

 

I would like to have had time to see more of Crete, which appears to be a beautiful and fascinating place. But we enjoyed the time we had.

 

The final day was a sea day which we adored. The chair hogs were in full force the morning before Santorini so I planned to get up early and stake my claim. The pool deck was the only place you could expect crowds on this cruise. I would say if you are not up by 9:00 a.m., don't expect to get a lounger before noon. We spent the entire morning and most of the afternoon on the pool deck and loved the chance to relax.

 

As I have said a few times now, most things did not receive high participation. You could always get a seat at the shows. You could always get into any specialty restaurant (we made reservations, but the screens indicated that there was always room available, so we feel we didn't need them). Only the pool deck took some planning.

 

We love NCL's cocktail clinics and participated in 2 martini clinics and 1 margarita tasting. There were also beer and wine clinics available. The second martini clinic, given by Lindsey was especially good as he provided lots of interesting information and some drinks I had never tried before. The margarita tasting on the final sea day was given outside at Bali Hai which was nice and convenient for people like us who had spent the day around the pool on a beautiful day. You couldn't really call it a formal clinic though. People sat all around and each margarita (6 in all for $15) were delivered without any talk from the bartender. We enjoyed it, but not as much as the martini clinic.

 

I think that's the entire cruise, now. Please feel free to answer any questions. I will post the contact information for the Venice walking tour as soon as I hear back from the guide.

 

 

Did you go to Nafplion on your cruise?

I didn't see any remarks re: that port?

[Queen_Of_Natick]

Thanks so much for your review! We don't have this trip booked or anything but I have to admit I'm pretty darn tempted now:p

 

 

I love your pictures as well!

 

-Q

[OnlyMe]

I think the cable car would work best for you with a toddler. It was not terribly tight with 6 people and I don't think we HAD to have 6 people so if you need more room for your push chair, you might want to have fewer. My advice is to sit in the middle, facing up the hill and you won't be so aware of height - that's what my sister did and she is afraid of heights. There are lots of windows in the cable car, helping to keep it from being claustrophobic, but you want to avoid seeing down the hill as you go up. I loved the view, but those with problems wiht height didn't want to see it.

 

We were on deck 10. One thing I failed to mention in my review is that we had the calmest seas I have ever seen. I have no idea if this is typical but it meant we didn't even use our seasick meds which we usually do religiously. But I have had that cabin in rougher seas and never found it a problem. As for noise, it is a great location for your little one. No traffic at the back of the ship so no noise from the hallway and, no we never heard the engines or anything like that. We keep the balcony door open all the time, because we love to sleep to the sound of the water - it is very soothing.

 

Thank you SO much Moder!

I'm stressing a bit about the cable car to be honest. I think I might just manage it if they will let us go up in one less than full ... what are the chances do you think?

Also, approximately how long does it take from once the doors close until you get up and the doors open again?

Thanks for all your help!