Athens excursion

[dmtb518]

Hi .. I am sailing on the Jade in March of next year. I am stopping in Athens, Greece and have a question about one of the shore excursions that are offered....Hope someone can help.. Here is the description can anyone tell me what will be omitted due to the dark drive???

 

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Athens & Its Scenic Coast

 

This excursion is an ideal introduction to the city’s highlights. Reach the natural fortress of the Acropolis, and with your guide you’ll walk up the uneven footpath heading to the summit. Sights include the Propylaea, Temple of Apteros Niki, Erectheum and the Architectural Triumph of the Parthenon. Continue with a city drive and see Constitution Square, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Royal Palace, Hadrian’s Gate and the Old Marble Olympic Stadium. After lunch, drive along the scenic coastal road which affords splendid views of the Saronic Gulf and takes you through some of Athens’ most beautiful suburbs. Arrive at Cape Sounion to visit the Temple of Poseidon, standing some 200 feet above the sea at the edge of a cliff. It is one of the most breathtaking and deeply moving sights in all of Greece. Fifteen of the original 34 columns of the Doric order still stand in majestic splendor. Note: The Acropolis is explored on foot and requires approximately two hours of walking. There are some 75 steps at the entrance and in certain locations the marble is uneven and slippery. Temperatures can reach extreme highs during summer months; we recommend that you drink a lot of water and use suitable sun protection. Please note that on the Jade sailings dates of March 28th, November 21st, December 12th 2010, January 2nd, 23rd, February 13th, March 6th, 27th, April 17th, 2011 due to the early closure of the historical sites and limited daylight hours this late in the season, in order to make the most of your time on this tour and avoid a scenic city drive in the dark, you’ll instead have free time for shopping and exploring in the Plaka, the oldest section of Athens. Please also be aware that there is much less congestion, both at the sites and in traffic, at this time of year, so tour durations may be slightly shorter than is listed in the descriptions.

 

 

 

Has anyone done this excursion? Is it worth it??? Thanks

[DMH15]

we were in Athens in 2009...on NCL Jewel. It was our disembarkation port. Very easy to just hire a driver. My friend was just there last week on RCI Brilliance and easily did the same.

 

I know you did not ask this, but Athens is one place I did not feel I needed to do a ship excursion.

[BarbRN]

We disembarked in Athens, prearranged a wonderful taxi pick up, checked in a hotel and walked to all the sites. It's easy and more relaxing to do it at your leisure. Loved that town but beware of pick pocketing. One lady in our group had her camera stolen from her backpack with ALL her vacation pics on it. So sad.

[nccruiser47]

I read and considered that same excursion. Being a single traveler, I always use the NCL excursions. I can't figure out either what they cut out of the excursion. Unless, they mean their won't be a "scenic drive" at the end of it.

[cruisemom42]

If it is your first visit to Athens, I would skip this tour and pick one that just stays in Athens itself. Cape Sounion with the temple of Poseidon is nice, but it's quite a distance driving and there is so much to see in Athens. The main reason to go to Sounion (in my opinion) is to be there at sunset and see the view. It sounds to me almost like they are saying they can't guarantee that, given the time of year.

 

Pick another excursion that stays in Athens, or do it on your own.

[Susan-M]

.... can anyone tell me what will be omitted due to the dark drive???

 

 

The tour description is poorly worded with regards to the changes during early/late season, but my guess is that because of your hours in port (10:30 a.m. - 8p.m.) and the early sunset, they plan to omit Cape Sounion, therefore only a half day tour, plus free time for shopping, for which you will be paying the cost of a full day tour. (i.e. in the tour description, following "After lunch", the events described would be replaced by "you'll have free time for shopping and exploring in the Plaka" ... and also, your tour duration is likely to be shorter as a result of this.)

 

If you are set on a ship's tour, I would look at other offerings, but if you enjoy DIY touring, this is a great city to do it in.

[samavarcruiser]

I agree with Susan, you can easily tour on your own

[msk1]

I agree with the above remarks regarding doing Athens on your own. We just returned and used Rick Steves' guidebook with his Athens walking tour as well as the Acropolis tour. This gives one time flexibility and was very easy to follow.

 

MSK1

[ladybanker]

Using a friend's recommendation, we used Fotis Koliris, a wonderful man who drove my family of four in Athens, while sailing on the Celebrity Equinox. Fotis is a driver, and gives you insights and recommendations on the places you'll visit. He prepares you for what you are about to see but does not accompany you to the Acropolis, etc. It was very convenient, as we set up very easy meeting places. He was so flexible with what we wanted to do, strategic as to best times to see each site, and patient with our "Americanisms" (he laughed when we asked to go to the Hard Rock Cafe to buy t-shirts, but gladly did so). Our daughters asked him questions about mythology, and he was so touched by their interest that he bought them books on the subject while we were having lunch. His contact is fotis@athens****************.

[FreeSpeech]

I just returned from Athens last week. We were on the Norweigen Gem. We had pre arrainged a guide (taxi) to take us around and it turned out to be a great decission to do so. Our driver/guide Dimetrius was wonderful arrived on time and had a large sign with my name on it so we found each other quit easlily at the port. He spoke excellent english...was extremely knowledgeable and went out of his way to explain in detail the area and address each of our questions. He also made cerain that we made the best use of our time in Athens...we were the first to arrive at the Acropolus and thus we didn't have to deal with any of the crowds that were arriving in mass as we were departing.

 

We were with him for nearly 8 hours and I can't say enough good about our experience. If you're interested you can contact Paul at athensminibus@athenminibus.com We had Paul's son Dimetrius total cost for 4 was 250 euro's....a fraction of the cost for the ships tour

[siouxcitysue]

Dennis at toursofathens.com; we were only two people when I contacted him and he coordinated adding us to a foursome who already had him booked which made the day more economic for all six of us. He speaks very good English and is very knowledgeable as well as having a large comfortable clean vehicle. He was at the port very early (I could see him from our balcony as we docked, didn't know it was him at the time, but he caught my eye and I wondered). Very easy walk off the ship to him and walk on the ship at the end of a very lovely day. Have a great trip!

[the4things]

We just returned from the Ruby Princess (21 Aug - 2 Sep) and used athenstaxi.com for our private tour in Athens. Our driver, Constantine, was very knowledgeable, spoke excellent English and was very happy and proud to have the opportunity to show us his city! We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Athens.