Review of Mediterranean on Ruby Princess August 2012

[GGCRUISIN]

Review if Med Cruise on Ruby Princess...

 

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http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1694914

[samavarcruiser]

Review if Med Cruise on Ruby Princess...

 

follow link

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1694914

 

Thank for sharing, this is a great review :)

[fabnfortysomething]

interesting review as we did a similar itinery on the Norwegian Spirit

 

we used Kagan Kosagan KSG tours for both Ephesus and Istanbul and had the same experience you did but with a different company ie guide for Ephesus was fantastic, not so keen in Istanbul

 

It seems to be a common factor that guides will push you towards their friends rug making demos,stalls in Grand Bazzaar and cafes to eat in.it can be very irritating that the assumption is that you are there to spend money on food and souvenirs rather than sightseeing.

 

I think the warning to future visitors is to be clear on what you want to do and not to afraid to say no if they try to steer you off course

 

The link to my review is at the bottom of my signature if you want to compare experiences on 2 different cruiselines

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Thanks for your review. You certainly were able to do a lot in record time!

[GGCRUISIN]

interesting review as we did a similar itinery on the Norwegian Spirit

 

we used Kagan Kosagan KSG tours for both Ephesus and Istanbul and had the same experience you did but with a different company ie guide for Ephesus was fantastic, not so keen in Istanbul

 

It seems to be a common factor that guides will push you towards their friends rug making demos,stalls in Grand Bazzaar and cafes to eat in.it can be very irritating that the assumption is that you are there to spend money on food and souvenirs rather than sightseeing.

 

I think the warning to future visitors is to be clear on what you want to do and not to afraid to say no if they try to steer you off course

 

The link to my review is at the bottom of my signature if you want to compare experiences on 2 different cruiselines

 

I totally agree--but sometimes it is hard to steer them away or say no, in our case the "underground cistern" that we were seeing was in the rug building...lol, so we were kinda stuck.. but the guide in Epehsus was fine when we said we didnt want to go see a rug demo or leather place.

[GGCRUISIN]

Thanks for your review. You certainly were able to do a lot in record time!

 

We did see a trmendous amount in record time, and almost felt like I needed a vacation from the vacation.... :D

[Keith1010]

Thank you for sharing the link for your review.

 

Keith

[hylasgirl]

Thanks for your great review! It was such a pleasure reading it as it always brings back memories of our Med cruises... and starts giving me the itch:D

 

I'm glad you had such a great time with Rominlimo. We had basically the same tour in Rome with Sarah and what a fantastic time we had! I could re-do that day over and over again.

 

Agreed in Turkey... we were VERY firm with our guides in Turkey. I had no intention of shopping for rugs or being taken to some friend's restaurant. I think all these things are great for those that want to do it, but they should really respect the fact that some do not. I would love to know how many people are really buying those rugs?? They are HUGE money! The same happened to us in St. Petersburg... we stopped at way too many souvenir stores. It was a great private tour company, but I wish I would have known about the planned stops. They hid these in the agenda by saying they were bathroom stops. Right...

 

Thanks again for the great review!

[samavarcruiser]

Thanks for your great review! It was such a pleasure reading it as it always brings back memories of our Med cruises... and starts giving me the itch:D

 

I'm glad you had such a great time with Rominlimo. We had basically the same tour in Rome with Sarah and what a fantastic time we had! I could re-do that day over and over again.

 

Agreed in Turkey... we were VERY firm with our guides in Turkey. I had no intention of shopping for rugs or being taken to some friend's restaurant. I think all these things are great for those that want to do it, but they should really respect the fact that some do not. I would love to know how many people are really buying those rugs?? They are HUGE money! The same happened to us in St. Petersburg... we stopped at way too many souvenir stores. It was a great private tour company, but I wish I would have known about the planned stops. They hid these in the agenda by saying they were bathroom stops. Right...

 

Thanks again for the great review!

 

Yep, same with us in Turkey