RSSC Mariner cruise 7/6/11 to 7/16/11 Black Sea Question

[Gilly]

Yes, I think there was an alternative to the steps, Joyb52, but taking it slowly and stopping "to take photographs" ( ;-) ) meant that they were not too arduous and maybe provided justification for that extra blueberry pancake at breakfast <g>

 

We loved wandering about and found it to be a good "wandering around" kind of place. Have a wonderful time!

[joyb52]

Thanks, Gilly. It sounds like a very nice "wandering around" place. I'll tell my husband about the extra pancake, as all he needs is a little excuse like that!

[Lobbylin]

We did the Black Sea on Mariner last summer and I blogged the whole journey, starting here http://elegantsufficiency.squarespace.com/blog/2010/6/10/con-stan-tin-ople.html in Istanbul.

 

We loved most ports of call and agree wholeheartedly about the Sevastopol performance. the panorama is a must see too as you'll gather from that particular blog entry.

 

We're off on Voyager in a few weeks time, Bangkok to Dubai, or else I'd be very envious ;-)

 

I loved reading your blog Gilly. I am booked on this Black Sea Cruise (Athens to Istanbul) for July 2011 (same cruise as OP)

 

Do you recall which ports Regent offer a shuttle bus? I have booked the ships tours and in some cases this is just so we can get into town, but if there are shuttle bus options also, we may just opt for that instead.

 

Thanks again,

Linda:)

[Gilly]

Thank you, Linda! I'll do my best to answer your question here, overlooking the mangroves as we set sail from Kuala Lumpur this evening.... ;-)

 

No shuttle bus was needed at Nessebuir.

We used the one at Constanza, which stopped in Ovid Square, outside the museum.

Odessa, it stopped outside the opera house.

Sevastopol one wasn't needed, because the ship is right in the centre.

We think that the same applies to Sochi but we're a bit hazy about that.

Same goes for Yalta. We took a tour but we think the ship was right there in the hub.

Kusadasi, you are only a step away from the whole Kusadasi experience <gg>

 

Have fun! We loved our time in the Black Sea and though we were disappointed to miss Trabzon, the other places more than made up for that.

 

As for the overall Regent Experience - well, if there were ever any doubts that standards have slipped, I can reassure you that life is as good as it ever was. We are having a marvellous time on board and consider ourselves as lucky as can be. Meeting friends at Prime 7 tonight so just off to get changed.

 

All on the blog as usual ;-))

 

Gilly

[Lobbylin]

Thank you for taking the time to respond! It's much appreciated.

 

All excellent info!!:D

 

Can I assume that if we take the Odessa shuttle bus, we can walk back to the ship? Those steps in your photo up into town looked daunting!!!

 

Have a great trip...:)

 

Linda

[Gilly]

Hi Linda,

 

The steps needn't be a problem. There's a little funicular tram which goes up and down the side of the steps (LH as you face them from the ship, RH as you approach them from the city). Most of our fellow travellers took that. Actually, the steps are less daunting than they look in photos. There are certainly lots of them but they are quite deep and the rise of each one isn't too high.

 

G

[alexandra cruiser]

post an updated review,,,this is one of the cruises,,on my short list,,,will b e on Mariner in Dec...for 2nd Regent cruise,,,but would like to book this one,,onboard,,,for discount,,,IF its wonderful,,,and area interesting,,,not sure 7 days enough...???:confused:

[Lobbylin]

post an updated review,,,this is one of the cruises,,on my short list,,,will b e on Mariner in Dec...for 2nd Regent cruise,,,but would like to book this one,,onboard,,,for discount,,,IF its wonderful,,,and area interesting,,,not sure 7 days enough...???:confused:

 

Our 6th July 2011 Regent Black Sea cruise is actually a 10 day itinerary.... will definitely post a review:)

[alexandra cruiser]

and just dropped those days,,,look forward to review,,and have a great time,,,let me know about ship too,,have been on Voyager,,and one of those "sensitive" people that was bothered by vibration...so swithching to Mariner,,said to be no problem...

Wonder if food and service will be the same too???

The ports sound interesting,,but wonder about ocean,,rough or smooth,usually?Bon voyage....:D

[Wendy The Wanderer]

post an updated review,,,this is one of the cruises,,on my short list,,,will b e on Mariner in Dec...for 2nd Regent cruise,,,but would like to book this one,,onboard,,,for discount,,,IF its wonderful,,,and area interesting,,,not sure 7 days enough...???:confused:

 

Alexandra, we did a 7-day in the Black Sea in 2004--didn't go across to Russia as they do now. It was very port-intensive, but great. Very interesting ports, off the beaten path a bit.

 

We extended our stay at both ends--6 days in Greece and 6 days in Istanbul. That's the only way to do it on a 7-day European trip.

[alexandra cruiser]

have visited both those ports a few times,,and did Greece inland and Turkey,,on other occasions,,,so really wanted cruise with more Black Sea ports,,not those,,,so keeping options open,,,but glad you enjoyed it....quite frankly,,with all the problems in Greece now,,,would tend to avoid it right now....thanks for info...:)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Understood Alexandra. Meant as an example only.

 

When we were there in 2004, travel to the Ukraine was still a bit dicey, let alone Romania. Now I wouldn't hesitate to visit independently. You could, for example, get off in Istanbul and then go back to Bulgaria, and perhaps spend more time in the Crimea. Would take some planning, I admit. Or venture out to other parts of Turkey perhaps.