K&K’s European Adventure ~ Carnival Legend Review May 2013

[wmowan8485]

Great review so far!! Keep the pics coming will be on the Legend in Oct. :)

The Tony you mentioned wouldn't happen to be a fireman would he? ;)

[CupKayke]

I can't wait to read the rest of your review! The itinerary sounds amazing! We are doing a 12 day European in July!

Thank you! I'm trying to post quickly but Photobucket is very slow.

 

Great review so far!! Keep the pics coming will be on the Legend in Oct. :)

The Tony you mentioned wouldn't happen to be a fireman would he? ;)

Thank you! I have to admit... I have no clue if Tony is a fireman... Tony said he only works like 8/9 months of the year for Rome in Limo. He was a wonderful tour guide.

[CupKayke]

May 5th – Sailing Away - leaving Venice, Italy

 

The plan today was to take the People Mover to P. Roma and pick-up some sodas at the Coppa (supermarket) and I wanted to go shopping for some more of that “almost Murano” glass. We did that and then some – it was a great last day in Venice!

 

The Carnival Sunshine was docked next to us this morning..

 

We were back onboard around 1pm…it was super crowded on the People Mover because so many people had their luggage with them... trying to embark on the Carnival Sunshine…or one of the other 20+ cruise ships in port today! We know because we started counting as we were sailing away from Venice and stopped at twenty. WOW!

 

We attended the quick and easy safety briefing at our muster station and then we ran to our balcony and stayed there for several hours… sailing out of Venice is truly spectacular.

 

Sail Away Pics…

 

A park in Venice...surprising!

 

Crowded St Mark’s Square..

 

I love this pic…

 

Goodbye Amazing Venice!

 

 

Up next - Dubrovnik, Croatia aka King’s Landing for Game of Thrones fans!

[CupKayke]

May 6th - Dubrovnik, Croatia

The plan today was to walk the wall and explore Croatia on our own and get some Kuna for a co-worker who collects currencies. That is exactly what we did!

Sailing in was nice and cool (not even 70s) and really beautiful. Some pictures while sailing in…

The orange roofs are part of a peace offering after the early-90s bombings.

Dive Shop in Croatia…

We were off the ship at 9am - right on time. We were told you could not leave the ship without your passport in hand. As we walked off the ship, immediately to our left were two buses that said “Carnival” in the window and a couple of beautiful young ladies in white polo shirts with red lettering holding Carnival signs. There was also a small sign setup that said “Bus to City” so we walked-up and asked if this was a Carnival excursion or ?? No. She said this was a roundtrip shuttle to and from the city center, it ran both ways every 10 minutes, and the price was 8 Euro or 10 USD per person roundtrip. We got on a bus, it loaded quickly, and we left. One of the beautiful Croatian girls began going seat to seat collecting money. We stopped at the corner and a passport officer got on – and went directly to the back of the bus and started checking passports. The ride into town was quick and funny because our bus driver stopped to yell at some road workers in a foreign tongue which we could not identify but we knew he was mad! LOL

We were dropped-off directly in front of the Pile Gate – the entrance to the fortified city!

We walked over the original draw bridge and into the small maze that leads to the entrance of the fortified city.

My husband was excited to see these stone balls… or ammunition for ballistae as he calls them...

We walked past the stone balls and into the final entrance of the fortified city – and there was the Onofrio fountain in front of us. To the left of the fountain is the entrance to “walk the wall” – 87 steps directly up to start your walk. First, you must go to your right, wait in a very short line, and get your tickets to walk the wall. It is 90 Kuna per adult to walk the wall. They only take Kuna and credit cards – no Euros, no USD.

Up next... pictures from our walk and a little more of beautiful Croatia.

[CupKayke]

Croatia, continued..

Walking the wall in Croatia is a wonderful experience. The first 87 steps are not fun – most people trudge up semi-quickly and then stop at the top, drink some water, pat each other on the back for making it, and rest! After the first 87 steps, the other steps are gradual and slow and not nearly as steep – you are looking at the scenery and stopping to take pictures so often, you barely notice all the walking.

Some pictures from the wall…

The clocktower

A buzza bar

The wall is an amazing piece of history..

 

We only walked the sea portion of the wall – which I think is about half. It was perfect – not too much, not too little. I think there is only one exit on the wall and this is it. We walked down and through the town and sat down and ordered two beers… until I saw someone with a Coke…and a Coke it was!

Up next... just a little more about Croatia and then we have a sea day before Athens, Greece!

[cruiseclues]

Thank you for your interesting, very entertaining photo review. :):):):)

[SweetpeaOne]

I am so LOVING your review and pictures. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait for more:)

[Casey&Ryan]

May 3rd - Venice Day #2

 

 

We took the train into Venice around 8:30 am this morning which was a mistake. Nothing opens until 9:30/10:00 so we found ourselves sitting and waiting around on the steps – just like everyone else.

 

 

It was foggy & cool this morning and this was my first picture of the day..

 

 

We went to a ticket booth and purchased Vaporetto dell’Arte tickets. We had seen the ACTV sardine cans the day prior and decided NO WAY we would be getting on one of those. The VA tickets are purchased from the same ticket booths. They were a bit more expensive but worth it to us. She asked if we wanted public transportation added for 10 Euro more per person and we did not. We walked to P. Roma (about 5 minutes from the train station) and caught the very first VA waterbus of the day – which does a full Grand Canal tour starting at 10am.

 

 

The VA...

 

 

 

Here is a tip… and it’s sad that I have to say this but… If I had not decided to push through the crowd and insist for others to let us through to get on the VA, we would have missed the 10 am tour, despite our waiting for quite a while for the boat. You see, there are LOADS of people that wait for the ACTV waterbuses and they crowd around and don’t want to let you through. When you see the VA, push yourself through and say VA VA VA – because the locals don’t use the VA and frankly, hardly anyone does because the word is not out yet so they think you are cutting in line for a sardine can AKA an ACTV waterbus.

 

 

My husband took this picture of a typical, crowded ACTV waterbus…

 

 

 

And this picture of our VA waterbus…

 

You can sit outside or stand near the front on the VA and get plenty of great pics and a cool breeze – we did both on several occasions today.

 

 

We LOVED our Grand Canal tour on the VA! They give you headphones and a guide booklet when you get on the boat. It really is a great option in Venice and I highly recommend you try it versus the ACTV buses.

 

 

Some pictures going down the Grand canal today…

 

 

 

So hard to explain amazing Venice in pictures…

 

 

AWESOME review!!! Whats the difference in price between the ACTV and the VA? It certainly LOKS nicer : )

[CupKayke]

Thank you for your interesting, very entertaining photo review. :):):):)

 

I am so LOVING your review and pictures. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait for more:)

 

 

Thank you both! I'm going to spend most of today attempting to finish ~ depends on how slow Photobucket is today! :)

[Seago2]

Your pictures are gorgeous!!! I am loving this!

[CupKayke]

AWESOME review!!! Whats the difference in price between the ACTV and the VA? It certainly LOKS nicer : )

 

The difference in price is minimal. A 24-hour ACTV pass is 20 Euro per person. The 24-hour VA pass is 24 Euro per person.

 

You can compare prices for longer time intervals on VeniceConnected.com - tickets are the same price on this website as they are at any ticket booth.

[CupKayke]

Your pictures are gorgeous!!! I am loving this!

Thank You. :) I really debated whether or not I was going to do this review because I don't have a lot of amazing things to say but it is fun for me now so I'm glad I started.

[CupKayke]

To wrap-up Dubrovnik, Croatia…

We walked around for several hours in Dubrovnik but we only hit the surface of this small town. There are so many more things to do and see. I’m sure you can read other reviews to give you some ideas. I’ll just give you a few more tidbits of info.

A sidestreet…

In the main square area, where we sat with our drinks resting after walking the wall, there was an ATM so I withdrew 100 Kuna which later cost me a total of $18.09 USD.

Carnival had given us a small flyer on Croatia was we were leaving the ship this morning with a story about how the neck tie originated in Dubrovnik. To make a long story short...girlfriends and wives who often had to send their young Croatian men off to war gave their partners a kerchief as a sign of love and mutual fidelity. When the legendary Croatian cavalry arrived outside Paris, the soldiers had beautiful kerchiefs of silk and cotton tied around their necks. This fluttering ornament conquered the court of Louis XIV and the French immediately began wearing them. So, in honor of Croatia today, my husband wanted a tie. We found ties everywhere ranging from 75 Euro to 10 Euro.

We also found some cute/interesting purses. They were a bit overpriced IMHO but they were definitely different than any purse I saw for the remainder of the cruise.

 

I thought a lot of the items in Dubrovnik were much more expensive than the other ports…even the gelato was more expensive. We purchased a few small items, walked around inside and outside of the fortified city, and eventually found the beautiful ladies in white polos with red letters and took our shuttle bus back to the port.

Fountain in front of the shuttle bus drop-off, just outside the fortified city..

 

Once at the port, there is a long row of what seemed to be nearly empty outdoor shops… but we walked the row anyway…and the prices were ½ of the prices in the city. At the end of the row of shops is large grocery store. A quick and easy walk if you want Fanta (our favorite) or whatever. Here is a picture of the grocery store (the back/side of it) from our aft balcony… it's the grey/red building.

One last note… we loved walking the wall… have I already said that three times?? If we could do it again, we would, and slower… and take even more pictures. However, when we were originally dropped off outside the fortified city, there were several tour guides selling tours and there were a couple of guys selling kayak trips…. Yes… KAYAK TRIPS!! You can pay to kayak all the way around the outside of the walls (the sea part, obviously). We watched this happening from the wall and let me tell you… all I wanted to do was jump into that glorious cool water! Had I known this was an option ahead of time or had we wore our swimsuits under our shorts, this is exactly what we would have done.

Here is the small group of lucky kayakers, starting out…

Overall, a great day in Dubrovnik! A unique city, for sure!!

[CupKayke]

A couple of random pictures of Dubrovnik…

 

My DH, goofing-off

 

 

Another picture from walking the wall...

 

A 65-year-old-or-older-looking lady wearing a blue & white striped G-string under thin white pants.

 

The beautiful other side of the sea. The water was so gorgeous. It looked cool and refreshing. You can see the other side and other colors of water half way into the wall walk. The kayaks came all the way around to this side of the wall, too.

 

Up next... Ionian Sea Day on the beautiful Carnival Legend!

[CupKayke]

May 7th – Ionian Sea Day

I’m writing today’s entry while gazing at the beautiful blue Ionian Sea after having just enjoyed half a BLT and some chocolate cake from room service. Nice.

Here is where we are today...

We awoke just before 9am today and then realized we should have moved our clocks ahead one hour today so it was actually just before 10am. A quick breakfast on the Lido deck and then my DH sat on the balcony reading and I attended John Heald’s informational talk about the ports. We already have most of our days planned or arranged however, I found his talks to be interesting, helpful and, of course, FUNNY! The guy definitely earned his Senior Cruise Director status as his quick wit is impressive. Today I learned about Moped bandits – guys on mopeds in Italy that drive by and grab your watches off your wrist of your purses from your shoulders, that cannolis in Sicily are available in milk chocolate and pistachio flavors, and how to get around in various ports on my own if I want (which I was surprised he talked about). There wasn’t enough info on Marseille for my tastes so we’ll have to see what happens there.

Today, we had to surrender our passports to Carnival. It is the only way we are allowed off the ship in Greece. Carnival will return them to us after we visit Turkey, oddly enough.

We had a fantastic room steward this trip – Ratna! I loved her!

Ranta was super nice every day and when I told her we had a little puppy at home, she made this for us that same day…

[deedle7544]

Loving your review - we will be in our first aft baclony in September. I love hearing about them (good and bad) and love pictures. I was on the Legend twice, I tihnk its a beautiful ship. Really bummed she is going to Australia

[CupKayke]

Some beautiful pics from around the ship…

Colossus of Rhodes

Talos ??

I somehow started coughing and getting a head cold the day we left Venice. It was bad at first so we paid over $15 for a box of Sudafed in the gift shop. I got better quickly but my cough did not go away until we arrived home. Ratna noticed I wasn’t feeling well and suggested hot tea. I did not know Carnival had boxes of tea in the Lido dining area (Unicorn café) 24/7 – but they did! They had peppermint, orange, mint, etc etc If you wanted it, they had it. Hot tea with lemon became my best friend for a few days. I was very grateful for the tip from our room steward and for Carnival having the tea available all the time. Sometimes, it’s the little things…

Tonight was the first formal night aka lobster night for my husband…

The dining staff sang “That’s Amore” and my husband joined-in…hand gestures and all..

We walked the ship for a little bit after dinner and it was beautiful to see everyone in their formal attire! There were singers in every lounge or hallway or open atrium singing anything from Desperado to Jimmy Buffet, all laid-back and slow music. It was a lovely evening – a nice way to end a peaceful day.

[CupKayke]

May 8th - Athens, Greece

I had a good feeling about Athens!! I was right on target! Athens was definitely in my top three ports for this cruise, if not my favorite. I was especially looking forward to seeing The Porch of Maidens. The maidens are sometimes referred to as the weeping maidens as Lord Elgin removed one of them in 1801 and Athenian legend is that at night the other five could be heard weeping for their sister. Is that a neat story or what??!! Here is another picture of the maidens…because obviously I like them..a lot..

So…let me backup……we arrived in port early…before dark. There were lights and others ships/ferries all around us. It was neat. The traffic leaving the port was bumper to bumper at this early hour..

Our plans for today were simple…. I had researched and found us a great option here on Cruise Critic which paid-off tremendously. We signed-up for the Piraeus Express. (www.piraeusexpress.com). This bus holds up to 50 passengers, is air conditioned, and meets you at the port. You email them ahead of time to sign-up, they reply with a confirmation and you pay in cash the day of your tour (no credit card or advance deposit required) – 25 Euros per person. The Piraeus Express is like a hop-on hop-off bus except the bus stays with you at various locations while you tour. The bus is big, clean, came with two friendly guides, and free Wi-Fi. This was a fantastic deal especially after I heard another couple paid 20 Euro just for a taxi into town! I cannot say enough good stuff about this company!!

Greeting us at the port…

The bus was about 2/3rds full. The drive to and fro various places is scenic – lots of interesting things to see out the bus window including the insane Greece drivers who win the prize for the worst drivers of any country we visited – and that’s a big prize to win in Europe!!

American House Toast Restaurant. I’m easily amused. Notice the parking jobs, too.

We stopped at a scenic outlook first…

Coming Soon… much better pictures of beautiful Athina!

[CupKayke]

Our day in Athens (known as Athina to the locals) continued…

We stopped at the original Olympic stadium. It is still in use but we did not buy tickets and go inside. This was a simple 10 minute stop. There was a guy who walked-up with a bag of neat refrigerator magnets – made from stone – of the Parthenon, Porch of Maidens, etc. – all for 1 Euro each. We all bought at least one, or so it seemed.

The swarm around him after we had already purchased our trinkets…

Next-up.. the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown solider. A must-see!

They walk oddly…

Soldiers picked for this duty are considered some the most prestigious people in Greece. They are paid very well – around 3,000 Euros per month. They serve in one hour increments. Their stance and dedication is legendary in Athens. During a recent riot in the square, when the police sprayed tear gas to push back over a million protesters, a picture of guard, keeping duty, eyes open, with tears running down his face went rampant on Facebook. The Athenians are proud of the soldiers that guard the tomb.

Their shoes are handmade, extremely uncomfortable to walk-in, and the bottoms have “nails” in them according to our tour guide.

All the information I am sharing with you today was shared with us by our tour guide. He was very informative and a neat guy.

Hotel in the corner of the square. President Clinton stayed here while visiting Athens. The Presidential Suite is 25,000 Euros per night if anyone is interested.

We proceeded to the former site of the temple to honor Zeus. At one time there were over 100 columns and today, only 15 remain standing. They are made from an extremely rare marble.

Next up… The Parthenon!

[CupKayke]

The Acropolis speaks for itself…

View of the city from The Parthenon…

View walking down the steps, leaving The Parthenon…

By the way, Piraeus Express had us buy your tickets to the Parthenon at the Temple of Zeus – one ticket gets you into both places I believe – atleast, we only paid on price. We were able to skip the lines at The Parthenon and walk in..and up…and enjoy!

We had about an hour and a half at The Parthenon and then they took us down to the plaka or main shopping & eating area in Greece. There were several sitdown places to eat and several places where you could get yummy-looking carry away sandwiches. Gelato, of course, is in Greece too. We had a couple of hours here so we sat and ate – and regretted it. We did not like the food in Athens, it was all overpriced, and it took forever to get our meal – something we heard others say, too. We regretted not simply walking, getting a sandwich to carry, and shopping and enjoying the area more. Still, we were able to purchase some great t-shirts, a nice Christmas ornament, and few other items inexpensively. There were good prices and items everywhere. The drop-off and pick-up point was in front of the Hard Rock Café.

A free after-dinner drink… NOT GRAPPA… but whatever it was… we loved it… especially me!! We failed to ask what it was and regret that since I liked it so much!

 

 

You can eat American food for cheap if you’re interested…

Spices for sale…

We had a great day in Athens! The Piraeus Express is an excellent option to see several sights and have some time on your own. The guides are funny, friendly, and full of facts about history. We would take this tour again in a minute!

 

Next up… Izmir, Turkey!

[CupKayke]

May 9th - Izmir, Turkey

What to do in Izmir?? I was longing to see and shop in the Kemeralti bazaar and unfortunately Carnival did not offer an excursion or a shuttle to the bazaar and back. ALL of the excursions Carnival offered in Izmir were to Ephesus and I wasn’t interested. I had read it would be 12 Turkish Lira for a taxi to the bazaar or about 5 Euros total. By the way, this was not the truth. Taxis wanted 50 Euros and they all included a “scenic tour” but more about that in a minute.

Two weeks before we were leaving, I was researching online and found the City of Izmir’s sightseeing bus… 10 Euros per person for 24-hour tickets… they have five buses… they only run them the day the cruise ships are in port….the buses start at 9:30 am in the cruise ship terminal and run an hour long circuit to lots of places… a toy museum, the agora, the bazaar, etc….you can get on and off at any of the stops or just ride the full circuit. This became the plan for the day.

We arrived in Izmir, just like all the ports on this cruise, a little early. The captain always had us off the ship exactly when promised, if not before. Great job Carnival! Around 8am… we heard the call to prayer… all around us. I have nothing against muslims but it was eery to hear. Even though they supposedly have the call to prayer five times a day, we never heard it again. In a way, I’m glad we were able to experience something seeming surreal to us.

There was a haze/fog over the city today. It kept it cool and overcast all day – great for touring but terrible for pictures of the landscape. This is the best picture I could get of what I know must be millions of households perched on top of one another.

We walked out of the port and through the port shops to the area where the Carnival buses and taxis are located…

We quickly saw the Izmir City Tour Bus…

There was a bus leaving as we arrived and then I realized we needed to buy tickets at the little booth behind the bus.

Now I’m going to complain about Izmir. We were at the bus a little after 9am. The guy running the ticket booth told everyone the next bus was at 11am and instead of buying 10 Euro tickets to the all day bus, you should hire one of his buddies here for a scenic tour of Turkey in a taxi for only 50 Euros. It was racketeering at its best. The boss was really good at persuading people to not buy tickets and instead, take a taxi. We bought tickets anyway, much to his dismay, and he wrote 11:00 on the back of them. A bus arrived. It left 3/4s full but we were not allowed on it by the boss aka jerk. Another bus arrived and since almost everyone had taken a taxi by this time, we were allowed on the bus. With some patience and some not-so-kind-thoughts in my head, we were out of the port and off to see Izmir before 10am. We had waited a total of maybe 20 or 30 minutes. The bus was definitely worth the wait and the drivers were incredibly nice. It was the boss sending everyone to the taxis who left a bad impression on us.

Up next… the bazaar, Euros versus Turkish Lira, and pouring rain in Izmir, who woulda thought??!!

[Velvetwater]

A great review! We are on this ship in August!

 

Just a quick question about the cruise. Did the boat seem quite full? I have heard that European cruises have been less full this year.

 

 

Also, if the drink you liked was strong and aniseed tasting it was probably Ouzo. My Greek housemate at uni often had some after she had a big meal.

[CupKayke]

A great review! We are on this ship in August!

 

Just a quick question about the cruise. Did the boat seem quite full? I have heard that European cruises have been less full this year.

 

 

Also, if the drink you liked was strong and aniseed tasting it was probably Ouzo. My Greek housemate at uni often had some after she had a big meal.

 

Thank you for the compliment. I have been working on this off and on all day. Thank goodness for a 3-day weekend! :)

 

John Heald announced on several occasions that we had over 2,200 people onboard. It never felt like we had more than 200. The only time the ship ever seemed crowded was in the mornings, when everyone was grabbing breakfast on the Lido before heading out to the port for the day...but even then, it was very manageable. The Unicorn Café or Lido Deck on this ship have service down to an art - they are especially super quick with the sandwiches and the freshly prepared eggs/omelets. There was never a wait for dinner - EVER. The lobbies and lounge areas with the nice singers were full most of the time but never overflowing to the point that you couldn't find a seat if you wanted it - well, not usually at least. The ship felt to be the perfect size with the perfect number of passengers. I am fairly direct with my assessments of what Carnival does well or does not do well and this was our favorite cruise on Carnival, ever.

 

My husband is familiar with ouzo and said it was definitely not ouzo. It was sweet. It did not take like licorice. We both wish we had asked what the drink was but I really don't need it anyway! HA :o

[JimAOk1945]

When you see the VA, push yourself through and say VA VA VA

 

Question: How is "VA VA VA" pronounced?

 

I'm enjoying your review and all the tips that you so thoughtfully include in your comments.

[CupKayke]

Izmir, Turkey continued…

 

So, we were on the hop-on/hop-off bus and the views were interesting. Izmir, like so many places in the world, is a convergence of the old and new…

 

Several people got off at the bazaar. There are ATMs everywhere on this busy street. There is a banco with 2 outdoor ATMs directly across the street. I got 200 Turkish Lira from our ATM card, no problem. I don’t even think it was $75 USD.

 

Just a few notes about our day in Turkey…we simply planned to shop and explore the bazaar…and that is what we did. We enjoyed it, despite having a few nervous moments ~ some guy trying to get my husband to go upstairs to his “special room” and see his merchandise. I would still rather take a Carnival excursion to the bazaar if they offered one because I didn’t feel comfortable at times in the bazaar because we walked away from the port area, too far probably. We were so far away from the touristy areas that vendors were selling tops at 2 for 5 Lira! I bought 2 pair of pants for 10 Lira – and I love them! I wore them on the cruise and I’m wearing them to work next week. We walked back to the port with over 30 items! I checked several of my items to make sure they said "Made in Turkey" on the labels because we bought several gifts for others in this port. I picked-up a nightgown for my older mother for 10 Lira. It is adorable and she loves it. Again, sometimes it is the little things that make vacation great.

 

We got “lost” in the bazaar at one point and wanted to get back closer to the bus drop-off and here are the instructions someone wrote for us:

I don’t know why I kept those but I do get tickled when I think about them because they were obviously useless to us but someone did at least try to help.

 

The best thing I did this entire cruise was take a picture of where we left our bus or where an important spot to return to was – this was very helpful for us in Turkey and Pisa, especially.

 

Also, someone said everything in the bazaar was listed in Euros but the area we were shopping had NOTHING listed in Euros. They accepted Euros – I know – because I accidentally paid for an item in Euros – and didn’t realize until after they started giving me all this change and I kept trying to return it. I quickly stopped and separated the Euro from the Lira in my purse!!! They look the same so that could have been a BIG MISTAKE on my part so I’m glad I caught my error early-on. Note to yourself – be careful in Croatia and Turkey and keep your money separated! Also, as we got closer to the port, the bazaar did start listing items in Euros so maybe we were, in the beginning, too far away from the touristy areas.

 

We made our way back to the hop-on/hop-off bus drop. I had taken a picture so we found it easier. The stop is clearly marked…

 

The bus then finished it’s hour tour. We liked this tour. Our bus driver stopped for about 10 minutes at a stop by a school where some local vendors were setup selling various items. We waved at the local children and looked at the items for sale. It was nice and windy outside. Great weather for us today! We were also driven by the blue mosque and several other stops. The locals kept trying to sell “sweets” so several on our bus tried them – they looked like baby green tomatoes or apples – they were bitter but good if you like that kind of stuff. We sorta liked them.

 

We made our way back to the port and spent another hour shopping in the port shops! There were some great deals to be had and we took advantage of them. The best lesson we learned all day was watching some other couples tell the vendors "all I have is X amount of Lira" and then, miraculously, even if it was 1/4th of the price, the vendor would take it. They were willing to bargain much more in the port shops than they were the bazaar. Of course, t-shirts in the port shops were 10 or 15 Lira but still good quality shirts.

 

Overall, we had a great day in Turkey... but I would have felt better if Carnival would have offered a tour bus and/or shopping experience to the bazaar. I am glad, however, that Carnival offered this itinerary as Greece and Turkey were the deciding factors in our booking this cruise!