Review of BOS Med/Greek Isles, July 14-26

[nellydean]

No issues embarking at Barcelona, except that so many people now check in online that the queue for normal check-in was shorter (as observed last summer), which was a little bit annoying but no big deal.

 

Cabin two doors down from the one we had last year, all fine, however, we had a cabin steward on her first duty on the ship and she was not very good at understanding our wishes, constantly changing the towels around, so that we didn't know whose they were. In the end, we had to keep chucking them on the floor to ensure we were not using each other's - which goes against the Saving the Waves campaign. She also kept making the sofa bed up wrong, one night pulled right out, the next half way and another time as a single sofa and so on. Again, nothing major, but frustrating, especially as we had explained exactly how we wanted it on several occasions. I know she had other cabins to look after, but all she had to do was keep making it the same way it was the first time she finally got it right!

 

Dining room: We had another newbie in the assistant waiter, also first time on ship, very shy, slow, older and a bit forgetful, but he was very polite and we put it down to inexperience.

 

Ship is still in good nick, mainly American passengers on our sailing, few Brits due to it being the week before UK schools broke up for summer, but a large portion of Spanish-speaking passengers. The result of fewer Brits was that we found the atmosphere in the Schooner bar in the evenings a bit muted compared to last year, when many Brits were on our sailing and determined to party every night - the cashier in Casino Royale also told us that they had to send out for more booze in Dubai because the Brits drank them dry! On the other hand, there were generally more US passengers in the casino in the evening, especially after second sitting.

 

Anyway, cruise director Matt Sole said there would be 750 UK passengers this week and then the sailing after that would be mainly Spanish.

 

Food: Generally good in the Windjammer, and excellent in the dining room, small portions but delicious. Hand sanitisation was generally very well observed throughout, with a few exceptions of ignorant people who thought they didn't need to bother. Did not hear of any sickness onboard, but was alarmed when the lift opened on the penultimate day and inside were two staff and what looked like a body on a gurney (spelling?)/trolley! :eek:

 

Weather beautiful throughout, hot and sunny, but we had rough seas on the last evening, due to winds, and many tables were empty for the final dinner, sadly. It was bad enough for them to lock all the outside doors and stop the outer lifts because it was considered dangerous. They also stopped passengers going to the front of the ship.

Before they took those actions, we found it exhilarating, sitting out on Deck 5, as we always did after dinner, the sea spray made your lips taste salty and the swell and troughs were huge. Fortunately, it calmed down after midnight for a smooth return to Barca.

 

Entertainment: Not a fan of RCI shows in general, but there was an enjoyable Bee Gees tribute trio, and the excellent balletic Crazee Horse husband and wife dance act. The farewell show was also entertaining, with Matt Sole revealing a good singing voice.

 

Probably won't choose BOS again, as we've covered that part of the Med extensively now, but will always have a fondness for her.

 

Villefranche: Pretty little town, which we explored on foot and by the little train that takes you on a scenic ride along the shore and into the hills. We did not venture to Nice or Monaco.

 

Livorno: Have been to both Pisa and Florence, so we took two trains to the walled town of Lucca for the day. Very pleasant, if extremely hot (about 95 F) and tiring.

 

Civitavechia: Having also visited Rome, we decided to stay on the ship and relax.

 

Santorini, Greece: Dramatic entrance into the caldera of what was once a huge volcano before the eruption many centuries ago. We did what we said we would never do and booked a ship's excursion, and it was generally fine. We thought we would be ascending the 900ft cliffs by cable car, but the tender boat took us further down the coast to another port and we saw the coaches slowing coming down the cliff roas to collect us, and then back up again (safety walls between us and the drop, thankfully :)), and fantastic views. We drove to Oia, and were a bit disappointed with the scrub-like land and the box-like houses, but Oia itself was very pretty and we spent some time shopping and taking the obligatory photos of the (many) blue-domed churches. Then we visited a winery and I was expecting a hard sell, but there was was none, it was a relaxed half hour tasting wine, bread and olives, with stunning views and the chance to shop in the adjoining wine and gift shop.

 

We finished the tour in Fira, the capital, and walked through the town to catch the cable car down (a bit scarey!), with tickets provided earlier by the tour guide.

Tip: Don't leave it too late to catch the cable car, as the queue gets very long and the alternative is to walk down 600 donkey-poo covered steps, which might prove very tricky!

 

Kusadasi, Turkey. Another great stop. Kusadai itself was lovely, but we had booked a private tour just the day before we left for Barcelona, with Ephasus Shuttle. They offer a whole range of tours and we chose to visit one that went to the house of the Virgin Mary and Ephasus.

We were a couple and teenage son and because I have arthritis in my knee, I needed flexibility, and we were not disappointed. A mini bus rolled up for the three of us and with driver and guide, we set off. The House of the Virgin Mary is set atop beautiful mountains, the building itself is very small (you are in and out of it in seconds), but it was very peaceful and a lovely contrast to the hustle and bustle of city stops.

Then, we went to Ephasus, the well preserved ruins of a stunning Greek/Roman town, which I can't even begin to describe, other than to say it's a must-see.

It was quite crowded and very very hot, but our guide was patient and happy to stop whenever I needed to rest my knee or spray coolant on our boiling bodies! Near to the exit there was an entertaining Roman gladiator show, providing a few fun minutes.

 

On the way back, our guide asked if we wanted to visit a women's embroidery centre, which I foolishly agreed to. It was only when we got there, and were introduced to our one-on-one guide that we realised it was a Turkish carpet factory, and we were being lined up as potential investors. The guy, who looked to be the head honcho of the place, took us through room after room of magnificent hand-woven carpets, and showed us the process for extracting the silk from silk worms. All the while, we felt uncomfortable, fending off questions about the type of carpet that would suit us until, finally, when asked if we wanted to see the special silk carpet room, my husband politely declined and said there was no need as we didn't intend to buy anything. He took the hint and showed us out.

 

I was a bit disappointed to have been exposed to such a hard sell, and we were quiet for a short while on our return to the bus, which our guide picked up on, as he asked if we were OK. I guess he would have got a commission if we had bought a carpet, and I suppose they think all cruise passengers must be rich, so we didn't bear him a grudge.

 

RCI's cruise shopping guide Devon said in his port presentation that there was a Turkish carpet to suit EVERY budget - but not ours there wasn't. The smallest carpet cost hundreds of dollars and we certainly couldn't have afforded to spend that even if we wanted to. Like the tour guides, the ship appears to have some agreement with local businesses to push their goods when in port, because the hard sell by RCI was horrendous.

 

We are British, but an American passenger said she had a similar problem with her guide on a ship's tour. She said the guide was very thoughful all through the tour, until it came to the carpet factory, when she became very pushy, and when the lady said she wasn't interested, the guide tried to persuade her otherwise, so she threw up her hands in disgust and said, like only an American can do, I'm outta here! Good for her :) The carpet on offer cost around £3,500, and no way was she spending that amount of money on something she probably didn't need.

 

Admittedly, some passengers will buy expensive carpets and have them shipped home, but if you do not want to find yourself committing to a huge outlay of money, then don't hesitate to say no asap, that way you save yourself being put into an embarrassing or compromised position.

 

Despite this, we 'forgave' our guide because, like I said, he was probably under the misapprehension that we could spend freely. We gave him, and the driver, big tips, which delighted them both and we shook hands and headed straight into the turkish delight shop, where we paid almost as mch as for the tour! The cost of the trip was only 59 dollars per person, reduced down to 44 dollars with a 25% discount if you book by August 31st. I highly recommend them.

 

Piraeus/Athens: A cautionary tale. First, having heard about the notorious taxi drivers, who con passengers into shelling out hundreds of euros on tours, we asked Explorations onboard how to get to the train station, and were told, no problem, just take a cab there. Wrong! There were dozens of cabs lined up, but not one of them was prepared to take us the 10 minute ride to the station, they all had bigger fish to fry.

With me having a mobility problem, we stood there wondering what to do, the taxi drivers had a conflab between them and eventually one of them ushered us to a driver and said he would take us to Athens for a set fee of 25 euros, so we got in. He was very nice chap named Theodore, and half way there he asked if we would be interested in doing a 4-hr tour for 120 euros, visitng all the main sights, including the Acropolis, dropping us off each time and picking us and taking us onto the next site. I baulked at the idea because I had read up and felt we could do it on our own once we got to Athens but my husband, very unusually, thought it a good idea. By this time, the price had dropped to 110 which, for three people, was very good value and certainly a lot cheaper than the ship's excursion. In the end, we decided to go for it.

He didn't want paying until the end, so that was a good start, and he seemed a nice chap, talking about his family and his holiday home on the coast, but we were wary about him until the moment he dropped us back at the dock and we paid him, sadly, tarred by the same brush of some of his less honest compatriots.

However, we had a FABULOUS time! The Acropolis was amazing (if slippery - saw a few people fall over), as was the Temple of Zeus and the Roman Agora, and the other places we visited. The only area we didn't get to explore that we wanted to was the Plaka but, by all accounts, we didn't miss much, and instead we enjoyed a great taverna lunch opposite the Agora.

 

On the way back, we were still a little anxious, as we had heard tales of how cab drivers have stopped short of journey's end, demanded two or three times the agreed amount and, if passengers didn't pay, would either make a racket in front of people or simply refuse to drive them back to port. We needn't have worried. We got back to Piraeus 15 minutes later than planned but Theo (see how the shortened name indicates a growing familiarity? :)) didn't charge and we gave him a 20 euro tip, which he was genuinely surprised about. We took a photo of him with our son and said goodbye.

Tip: Be on your guard in Piraeus, especially if you can't walk to the station (approximately 20-30 mins according to various sources), and be prepared to be fleeced, and hopefully, like us, you'll strike lucky and find a good 'un.

 

Naples: Been there twice before and on both occasions left feeling something was missing. First time 11 years ago, we visited Pompeii and then I returned to the ship with our then 5-year-old son while husband and daughter strolled around. Second time, last year, we walked up through town, to the right, and ended up in the grottier interesting but older part. This time, we were going to visit Herculaneum but, with Ephasus and Athens in quick succession, we were all antiquitied out, so left (now 16 year old) son onboard and walked up to the left. What a contrast! Good shopping area, fine buildings and squares, and a buzz about the place that was lacking on the other side of town.

Just a few hours, but enough to make my peace with the place - which is just as well, as my favourite volcano Vesuvius was under cloud most of the day. Next time we go there will probably be on a long weekend, when we can visit Capri and the beautiful coast.

 

Speaking of volcanoes, another joy was getting another chance to see Stromboli on the way down the west coast of Italy, once in the daytime and once in the night, and on both occasions she belched out smoke and lava as we passed. How people live underneath beggars belief, but I guess you get used to it.

 

After disembarking, we took the ship's tour to Montserrat, which was a delight, the monastery itself is much bigger than I expected, but its location, amid the spectacular saw-tooth mountains was divine, and so quiet. We got there before it opened at 10am, and were the first coach to arrive, with just a few cars, so we had a chance to see it all with our guide without having to weave in and out of other visitors. The viewing highlight was the statue of the Black Madonna but, really, the whole place was magical and I wouldn't mind going there again, by car. A tour I would highly recommend and good value at 49 dollars, which included dropping you off in the Placa de Catalunya (only available to guests who are stopping on in Barcelona).

 

Barca: After four visits (6 if you include before and post cruise stays), we finally got to visit the Parc Guell, which was very interesting if heaving with people. Also took a Barcelona City Tour bus (as opposed to the Barcelona Bus Turistic, which is the more widely known and official city tour bus), on the orange route up Montjuic. Interesting perspective going the opposite way to nortmal, and we passed the Gardens of Miramar, which includes hundreds of exotic palms and cacti - somewhere to visit on our next trip to the city

[Langley Cruisers]

Thank you, thank you! :) Nervous/excited about ours next year. :p