Just returned from Istanbul-Athens Cruise

[lvannrn]

We just returned from a fabulous cruise from Istanbul to Athens on Oceania's Insignia. The ship was wonderful! We toured the Greek Islands and Dubrovnik on our own, and used a guide for Istanbul, and a driver for Athens. I would recommend both! Paul from greek taxi drove us around Athens and to Cape Sounion. While he is not a licensed guide, and thus could not take us into the archeological sites, he gave us information, and a book to carry with us when we went to the Acropolis. He was very pleasant and accommodating- changing the itinerary to meet our needs as the day went on. His website is http://www.*****. We used Levent Solmaz as our guide in both Istanbul and Ephesus. He is the best!!! He is very knowledgable and enthusiastic- clearly loves what he is doing! We feel we got so much out of the time we spent with him. He made the sites come alive for us. His website is http://www.leventsolmaz.com. If you have any questions, you can email me at LVannRN@comcast.net.

[muse_clio]

Hi Ivannrn

 

Thanks for this info. Can you give me an idea of rates and # of folks in the group you toured with. There are several of us in our group, and we're looking for drivers in all three cities you mention.

[wripro]

thanx for the info. can you tell me how hot it was in greece and turkey in july? thanx

[macbest]

You got to tell us more about the cruise than this! I'm leaving in a week and want to know more, i.e., how was the ship? entertainment? pianist? food and alternative restaraunts? did you eat at the tapas? how was it cruising and being outside while eating? how was your room?

 

Details needed!

[lvannrn]

In answer to your questions- the temperature in Athens was very hot when we were there- close to 100! On the Islands, and in Turkey it ranged from the mid 80s to low 90s. We were a group of eight. Levent, our guide in Turkey charged around $30-$35/person. That did not include admission fees and lunch. We booked a long time ago, so he may have raised his fees. Paul charged 450E for our group. Again, we paid our own admissions and lunch costs. I'll respond to the questions about The Insignia on the Cruise Line boards. Hope this helps!

[muse_clio]

In answer to your questions- the temperature in Athens was very hot when we were there- close to 100! On the Islands, and in Turkey it ranged from the mid 80s to low 90s. We were a group of eight. Levent, our guide in Turkey charged around $30-$35/person. That did not include admission fees and lunch. We booked a long time ago, so he may have raised his fees. Paul charged 450E for our group. Again, we paid our own admissions and lunch costs. I'll respond to the questions about The Insignia on the Cruise Line boards. Hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the info! Really helps....