Norwegian Jade-June 18th 2011

[justcruisin31]

Hello all!

I'm looking for some information on those who have sailed on the Jade and have done the back-to-back cruises on this route. The ports on this journey are:

Venice, Dubrovnik, Athens (Piraeus), Epheses (Izmir), Split, Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, and Katakolon.

Being that this is our first cruise and we are sailing with our two young kids (2 and 3 years old), I'm doing some reading both online and in books as to how to prepare for both the cruise, and also when on land to see as much of the sites as possible and most importantly, with as much ease as possible. I figured the best way to get organized is to hear from someone who has just done this.

 

Information I'm looking for is in regards to ease of commuting to sites at ports (ie, are things within walking distance, do I need to book a tour group, do I need to take a bus, how long is the commute to the center of the sites if the port is far away, etc, etc).

We will not have car seats for our kids so a taxi is not an option for us.

 

Did you feel you had enough time to go and see sites before having to head back to port?

 

What are some things we need to be aware of, etc. Any information you can divulge on these ports would be great!

 

 

Cheers.

[4774Papa]

Justcruisin,

We did most of these ports on the Gem last July. Here are a few tips:

 

Venice-

There is a great Venice Port website:

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-cruise-terminal.htm

You access the port either by taking a taxi or from the Piazzale Roma-

http://maps.venicexplorer.net/pr/proma.php?hlangs=en&brows=ie

or directly from the airport (cheaper taking the 5E bus from airport to PR). There is a People Mover that runs from the Piazzale Rome to the port.

From Piazzale Roma, you can walk to plaza San Marco and see much of the city on the way, or take the public boat transport.

 

Dubrovnik,

This port is easy to do on your own. We tendered into Dubrovnik right to the south dock near the south gate. You don't need to take an excursion or pay a guide. Get a guide book and do it yourself. Be sure to walk the walls (entrance on north end of city) and see some of the museums and the monastery.

 

Athens (Piraeus),

Piraeus is about 9 miles from Athens proper, however there is a great Metro that requires you to walk about 20 minutes to. We did it with my Grandaughter, age 3 and a 9 month old, my Grandson. You can negotiate with the taxis, but beware their reputation is so-so. Tours are available, but you can take the Metro right to the Acropolis museum and walk to the Acropolis. Also, to constitution square, etc.

 

Ephesus (Izmir),

Here, you will need to either take a ship's tour (we took a good one for $59), or find a local tour company. The distance to Ephesus requires an hour bus ride.

 

 

Split,

Split you can do on your own, or use a local tour company for 10E, but there is more to see than Split and Diocletian's palace. We used a local tour company to go to the walled city of Trogir, which was great. If you want to do more than Split, hire a tour guide or use the ship's excursion. However, we tendered right to the dock in town.

 

Corfu,

This island is wonderful. You dock a good walk from the Corfu city where there is much shopping and the fortress, but you should see more of the island. We took a ship's excursion to the Paleokastritsa Monastry

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/paleokastritsa_monastry_corfu.htm

The monastery is located on the NW side of the island, and the ship docks in the middle of the E side of the island, so the tour takes you over much of the north end of the island.

 

Santorini,

This island is magical, my favorite. The volcanic rock is magnificent. We took a ship's excursion that included a winery at the south end of the island, so we got to see most of the island including Oia and Fira. If you take an excursion, you will tender to a port south of Fira and take a bus up the escarpment to the south end of the island (winery at top). If you go on your own, you will be tendered to Fira where you have the choice of the cable car or donkeys. I strongly recommend the cable car. You can walk, but the trail is full of donkey ----. Make the most of Santorini, it is great.

 

 

Mykonos,

Another great island that you can do on your own. If you want to go to the beach, this is the place. We didn't, but enjoyed walking around the town. If you want to see the ancient island of Delos, there is a private tour boat that leaves from the downtown dock (where your tender boat docks). Some ships dock at Mykonos, and if so, you will have a nice walk to the city.

 

Katakolon.

We didn't go there.

 

Enjoy Greece, only wringer is the strikes in Athens, that may cause some problems. We hit Athens when the Acropolis workers went on strike until noon. This caused a huge backlog of people trying to get into the Acropolis. It was a zoo.