Med/Greek Isles Trip Report-Grand Princess-June 7

[ocean.queen]

The Locanda Orseolo in Venice was everything and more that we had been told about it. We reserved 3 nights in a superior double w/canal view for €240 a night. The hotel is lovely, the breakfast is scrumptious, but it’s the owners & staff that make it the most wonderful place to stay. We definitely plan to return.

*Take only Venezia water taxi to the hotel. They will say they can’t get to the hotel but insist and call hotel and hand them the phone if you need to. The cost was €80…expensive but it’s the only way to go!

Secret Itineraries Tour at Doges Palace

(To reserve a week in advance: 011-39-041-520-9070)

Pick up tickets at ticket window 20 minutes before tour.

 

We arrived in Venice on Saturday for a 3 night pre-cruise stay. Went to Café Florian’s in St Marks Square for bellini’s when we arrived on Saturday…bill was €95 for 6 of us!! (go in the late eve also, for gelato and to hear the wonderful music) Then we had dinner at Agua Passa in Campo San Angelo...famous for their pizza (*must have reservations at restaurants for dinner). Complimentary lemoncello was delivered to our table after dinner…it was delicious and after we finished two bottles we were having a very fun time! We set out early on Sunday…walked all day stopping for gelato, coffee & beer whenever we needed a break or a WC. Arrived back at hotel to have dinner with the new arrivals. Went to the same type of restaurant (in Campo St Stefano, I think) and once again we had two bottles of complimentary lemoncello! I like this place!! Monday we set out again and headed in the opposite direction. Met friends for lunch at Antico Martini…a very famous place with delicious pasta fagouli. After lunch we went over Accademia Bridge and explored La Guidecca and arrived back at 6:00 to join the gang for dinner. All wanted to try the much-discussed Alla Madonna by the Rialto Bridge. It was fun…the fried shrimp (scampi) was yummy and Mike’s liver & onions was delicious. Up early on Tuesday to head to Doges Palace for the pre-reserved Secret Itineraries Tour...we then had a quick last piece of Venice’s delicious pizza and shared a water taxi to the ship. Price was €125 for 8. Ladies...buy more Murano baubbles...I have had people ask to buy my 2 necklaces right off of me...they were not expensive at all. I should have bought more!!!

Embarkation

Embarkation was very easy & quick…just keep all your valuables with you!!…and lock your bags. Some things were missing from carry-ons when they arrived to the staterooms. Opinion is the Italian dockworkers have sticky fingers. We got on the ship about 3:00pm and our room was ready and our luggage came within the hour. Our cabin steward was great, the room was clean, and we had plenty of room for all our things…the shower was just fine for us…no problems with size. We just needed to ask for a few more hangers. Eight of us had planned an evening gondola serenade ship excursion and were getting ready when it started to rain and Princess cancelled the excursion. We grabbed our umbrellas and took off anyway. We took the Princess shuttle to St Marks Sq and paid one last visit to the wonderful people at Locando Orseolo and hit a café for dinner. The food was very good but they added a 19% s/c to the bill and we didn’t see it until after the girl received a €20 tip...lesson learned! It had stopped raining and I saw two gondolier’s unwrapping their gondolas so I asked if we could hire them for the 8 of us. They charged us €25pp, it was dark by then but we all got our gondola ride!! We opted to stay on board on Tuesday to catch up on sleep and get organized. Our portside balcony was perfect for the 1:00pm “sail-away” out of Venice.

DUBROVNIK

No tour or guide needed here. Taxis are almost non-existent. A shuttle will take you to town for €10. This is a good place to shop because the dollar is good here. I got a little gold Byzantine charm that is typical to Croatia…I love it. They take € or $. You can walk the wall that surrounds the city for €5 or you can just stroll the little streets of the town. The wall takes about 2 hours and the views are beautiful. We had lunch at Proto…the Greek salad and salmon were very good. We later had mojitos that were excellent at Hemingway’s Bar (far end of town-enter Pile Gate, walk down Placa then right on Pred Dvorom-across from Rectors Palace)…(you’ll pass Proto on your way down Placa).

CORFU

We booked a ½ day excursion with Princess to tour Paleokatsritsas and Archilleian Palace…it was a total waste of time! We couldn’t understand the guide so we had no idea what we were looking at and why it was important to the people of Corfu. It was extremely crowded in the Palace. We read a sign on our way out of the Palace and got a bit of info there. Hint-If you are meeting people for a ship excursion I would suggest you meet someplace other than near the Vista Lounge. We waited at the door for 15 minutes for our friends and never saw them. We ended up on the last bus and never did meet up with them. We were supposed to meet everyone at Pizza Pete’s but we never found it. We asked at least 6 locals & the tour guide with no luck. Pizza Pete’s is up on the cliff…south of the harbor…if you can figure out where exactly south is!!! Maybe someone else can give you good directions to get there. We have the same opinion of Corfu as “happycruiser”…just not our favorite port. But it was an easy port to grab a taxi back to the ship for €5. And I got the BEST baklava there!

KATAKOLON

Booked the afternoon Winery Tour…it was fun…after the tour they had tables set up under the trees with two bottles of wine to drink and lots of yummy snacks. We then could purchase their wine, which they packed in nice boxes for us. In the morning before our tour we did some shopping and had lunch in the little town...(watch out for hungry kitty’s!). You can walk into town, which really consists of just the oceanfront walkway and one main street. There’s a great store that sells all kinds of Greek foods, soaps, etc…wish I had bought some olives & some spices. It’s the one at the farthest end of the main street on your left. You can find some of the same food items in Santorini but it’s more expensive. AND the ships town map is incorrect as to where the busses are for excursions…NOT close to town…they’re right by the gangway. So if you need to catch an afternoon excursion you need to walk all the way back to the ship.

ATHENS

We did a half- day tour with Tom & Roger. We were picked up at the ship at 8:00am and we were at the Acropolis early, before bad crowds and scorching heat. Our driver, Nick (Paul’s son), took us everywhere and showed us “his” city. Our half day tour ended at about 1:00 but we had him drop us off at the Plaka and he picked us up 1 ½ hours later for transportation back to ship for an additional fee. He recommended the best place for lunch and made sure we left the Plaka in time to avoid the bus traffic back to the ship. Make sure you request Paul or one of his son’s! This was our favorite tour and the price was so reasonable at €154 for the four of us! Nick was so wonderful we gave him €200…which we felt was still a bargain for our fabulous day. http://www.*****/taxi.htm

MYKONOS

The shuttle to town is €6.00. We just set out walking the little streets in the direction of the windmills. The cars on the little streets were very annoying…you had to jump into a shop or get run over but farther in, there were no cars. Finding the windmills was a bit tricky but I got a map from a store and then it was easy. We ate right below the windmills right on the water…it was just ok. Keep walking along the water from the windmills and you’ll come to a lovely café hanging right over the water…good place for a beer or coffee. Continue on to the harbor and there are a few good outdoor cafes. Watch for the resident pelicans.

KUSADASI

Jackie booked us on a 5 hour tour with Nejat Incedogan *****@yahoo.com

He is very knowledgeable and speaks English exceptionally well. We had a driver and a very nice air-conditioned van. We went to the Basilica of St John, the House of the Virgin Mary and Ephesus. Nejat took us to a buffet for lunch but we all said we wanted a local café for beers and something light. He took us to a great café, sat with us and helped us order the delicious food. While we were sitting there they had one of their daily calls to prayer on the speaker…we all realized at that moment we were having a fabulous lunch in TURKEY! We ended up having a 7-hour tour, which left us only about an hour to shop in the Bazaar, but after 5 minutes with those obnoxious vendors we were done! I got 4 Pashmina’s and left!!

RHODES

I booked a “Flexible” 4-7 hour tour with Nicholas Axarlis for 8 of us; we used two taxis (no vans available). The cost was €40 per hour for each taxi…3hr min…cash payment. Yes, we got to the end of the island and saw the Lindos Acropolis but by the time we got there it was so hot and so very crowded we didn’t have any desire to hike up to enter it. We opted for a view from the café right on the water. Our driver seemed to be driving back at a record slow speed! so by the time we got back to the “Old Town” we had little time left to explore. I would suggest a private driver to Lindos early in the AM and then back to do Palace of the Grand Masters and the “Old Town” on your own.

SANTORINI

We had our great adventure in Santorini…got a late start so by the time we got to the cable car the line was an hour long….so it was the donkey’s…OMG !! At least we lived to tell the tale. If you want to be yelled at by the men and scared to death try it. If not...get up early, be one of the first off the ship, on the tender, and in line for the cable car to Fira. I would catch the bus to Oia...we missed it and from the reports I’m sorry we did. Reports were that it was beautiful and much less crowded. Back in Fira…a yummy place for lunch is at the top of the walkway from the “donkey” drop off...a large porch with tables and a wonderful view of the ship (coming out of the cable car turn right).

NAPLES

Eight of us were booked on an all day tour with driverinrome.com. Opinions differ with our guide Marco. He did know the best order of the itinerary to avoid traffic problems-start with the Amalfi coast then to Pompeii, which is closer to the ship. He drove the inland route over the hill to the Ravello then up the coast and finishing in Pompeii. This worked out great and he took us to da Costantino in Positano for a fabulous lunch. I was a bit disappointed that he kept asking us what we wanted to see and to let him know if we wanted to stop. I felt he should have known ahead of time the best places for stops. He did ask us if we wanted to stop in and see a hotel or go into a very large pottery shop. We passed on both and a couple of us were disappointed we didn’t stop at the pottery store because later Marco told us that was the last chance we had to buy. He spoke so softly that only the two in the front of the van could hear anything he said.

We had a young woman guide us through Pompeii and we were finished in 1 ½ hours and had plenty of time to get back to the ship to pack.

CIVITAVECCHIA

Debarkation was very easy. We had a quick bite in the buffet and we were off the ship by 8:00am with a pick-up scheduled for 8:30am. Jackie booked us with (driverinrome.com) for transportation from the ship to the hotel with a tour of the city. Aldo was our driver and he was “passionate” about his city and a few times was a bit rough around the edges. I felt he was a good driver, a great guide, and was well prepared. He did speak very fast so there was a bit of confusion at one point as to where to meet up with him. We were at the Residenza Celinni by 6:00pm. Aldo was very appreciative of his tip, which I thought was very polite of him. Check Jackie’s (NEW YORK LADY)review for more on our tour of Rome and the Vatican. We had the hotel arrange for a driver to take 4 of us to the airport, which was only €52. Residenza Celinni was a great hotel...we had room #3 which was very nice…a bit of street noise but not too bad. Just know that after walking all day you have an uphill trek to the hotel … not too bad except when it’s about 98 degrees and humid!

I saw a red double-decker bus that I thought would have been perfect for the evening to see everything all lit up…but we ran out of time.

 

This was a fabulous trip with a wonderful group of “friends”. I can’t wait for our next one!

[Northern Bear]

How much did you tip your drivers on the private tour. We are struggling a bit with this right now...

 

NB.

[ocean.queen]

Northern Bear...not to worry. It will be quite easy once you are on the tour. We started around 15% and adjusted according to the guide/driver and the tour. In Kusadasi and Athens we tipped UP...Nejat & Nick were wonderful, their prices are so reasonable and they went beyond our expectations so we wanted to give them a nice tip. In Naples & Rome we were right around 15% maybe a tad above....there were 8 of us and we all rounded up a bit. In Rhodes we tipped a bit under...our driver drove so slow back to the ship, (we felt quite on purpose because we were paying by the hour) our other 4 got back about 45 minutes before us!

 

Kathy

[lizzielady]

My sister and I are going on Prinsendam 10/16 and will visit some of these ports. We're staying at the Locanda Orseolo, too. I've never read so many wonderful reviews. Thanks again for all of the info. I'm printing out your posts so I can study more carefully.

 

Carolyn

[ocean.queen]

Lizzielady,

 

Oh I am so jealous...I plan to go back to Venice just to stay at Locando Orseolo. Some hints for Venice: I liked my laminated National Geographic map the best...Eat lots of gelato, it is fabulous...Buy wine for your cruise, the prices are terrific and the wine is the best I've had...I loved the inexpensive little pieces of Murano jewelry at Veronica's by the Rialto.

 

Need more...just ask,

Kathy

[ijkh]

Where did you buy it in Venice? Were there any big favorites that you found there? I know the wine in Italy is often different than the Italian wine we find here at home. I would love any tips. Did you pick up any other provisions for your trip and if so where?

[zepbabe]

The wine is always better in Italy because they export all the okay wine and keep all the good for themselves. My DH bought wine in Italy at what would be the equivalent of a gas station in the US for 6 euros and it was the most well balanced that I have ever drank. I still dream about it!

[ocean.queen]

ijkh...We were exploring the area just past St Marks on the edge of Castello District. We made it as far as Campo Santa Maria Formosa and were following the signs back to St Marks. There was a wine shop on our right (there was a market on our left) so we went in. We didn't speak Italian and they didn't speak English but they pointed us to exactly what we wanted. We ended up with a red Valpolicella. a lightly sweet white and a Sangoviese. I think the most expensive was €8.00. We bought two more bottles in the Rome airport to take home. We bought some Lemoncello & Melloncello (the creme kind) but you might wait till the Amalfi coast for that.

 

Kathy

[estebofarr]

Kathy,

I am saving your remarks in my Med/Greek Isles folder. :D Thanks, Janis

[sunprincess]

Kathy, Thanks so much for your detailed review. I have a reunion cruise next July doing this itineary. Cannot wait:)

[ocean.queen]

Just a P.S. for everyone...I think next time I would take a ships tour to Olympia in Katakalon. There are a few taxis but the prices range considerably and there is no commintery when you get there. And if it is hot in Rhodes (if your going in summer) forget Lindos and just explore the "old town" on your own...it's lovely and has shady places to sit and relax.

 

Janis...looking forward to planning a Noreigen Fjord cruise with you in '07!

 

Kathy

[estebofarr]

Kathy, me, too. It should be fun planning.

I told my husband and he said, did we put a deposit on that? Luckily, he goes along with it all!

Janis