HELP Istanbul Time & Scheduling ?- Celebrity Reflection

[mwebb]

My itinerary for the May 6th Reflection has us arriving at 7:00 a.m. The cruise originates in Civitavecchia, (Rome) Italy. I plan to get off ship as soon as possible and take the tram as advised on cc. to Sultanmhet. I understand there is time difference between Italy & Turkey, however I am trying to schedule some reserved activities starting at 8:30 a.m. (Istanbul time) the morning of arrival in the Sultanmhet district and am uncertain of ship time vs. port time and how Celebrity handles this and whether they stay on the time zone of the originating port or if they change? Based on other cruisers experience is this workable? Any advise please.

[CathyCruises]

Ship time will be local time. They will advise you when to change your clocks. The only issue I see with your plan is that the tram requires YTL, Turkish lira, and they don't have them on the ship. We left the ship and walked across the street to a Starbucks (I KNOW!) and they gave us change in YTL. Then we were able to pay our tram fare and from there it's only about a 10 minute ride. Fabulous city, enjoy!

[pollux]

we 2 old ladies went on our own on the tram great ride good site seeing.

the tram goes by the Blue Moskee.

Even the poeple are so nice the young men gave us their seat.

 

We changed 5 euro to ytl money from the little store in the terminal.

At the tram stop there is a machine to buy the ticket.

[mwebb]

Thank you so much. Will follow your advise for TL. Is Celebrity generally on schedule and how long does they take to disembark? How long of a walk to the tram?

[CathyCruises]

Well, they say the ship has to be cleared by local customs and that could potentially be a delay but that is rare. You should be able to be off by 7:30 if you dock at 7 (which could be 5 or 6 in reality). The tram is right across the street (in the middle of the street actually) and you have to get your token (not ticket) at the little kiosk there. We could see it from our balcony. We arrived later in the day for an overnight and they had a fun band playing to welcome us!! Quite a sight.

 

I am sitting on and admiring the rug we bought there four or 5 years ago--we still love it. Did NOT buy a a celebrity recommended store though!! Saved a lot of money and met some fun people there.

[pollux]

Senior moment, yes it is a token not ticket.

When you get off the ship,take a left on the street about 200 yard is the main street with the streetcar.

go and stay on the far track, the closed track from the ship is where you come back.