for those wanting feedback on Athens to Monte Carlo

[PhillyGirl2]

I was asked to give some feedback on the Athens to Monte Carlo cruise on the Sojourn. I would be very happy to answer any individual questions if there are any but I will just briefly say that the trip was enjoyable considering were assigned a cabin in the front of the ship and experienced problems with a lot of vibration when the ship cruised at a faster speed at night. We learned a very valuable lesson but the rest of the experience made up for the lack of sleep issues. As far as the ports, they were relatively interesting and we took advantage of some excursions offered by Seabourn and chose to do our own thing at other ports. The complimentary evening at Ephesus was quite lovely and shouldn't be missed. We are glad that we did "Florence on Your Own", since we had been there once before, it left us time to have a lovely lunch, do some shopping and admire the beauty that is Florence. We, also, enjoyed the excursion by motor boat around the island of Ponza, albeit a bit long, it provided for lovely scenery and an opportunity to swim in the Mediterranean. What is really eye opening and rather sad is the number of mega ships that are now docking at Ephesus (Kusadasi) and Santorini. The 3,000 passenger ships are adding so many tourists into these places that Santorini was literally a nightmare. The wait for the cable car was over one hour, in the hot sun. We chose to walk down the 500 and some steps in the hot sun, dodging donkey doo. Fortunately, we had visited Santorini years ago when it was not crowded and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Fortunately, we took our TA's advice and went to Oia (other side of the island), actually a miniature Santorini, but it, also, was so crowded that walking through the narrow streets was quite difficult. We booked the Greek cooking demonstration which proved to be wonderful--just Seabourn people at a lovely little restaurant out of the tourist area where we were treated to demonstration of five different dishes, all served to us and then we got a full lunch with wine. Quite enjoyable. Again, if you have any questions that I can answer in more detail, please don't hesitate to ask.

[RonnieL]

Interested in the ship as we are sailing on the 21st, same itinerary.. Can you tell me how the dress code was.. How many casual, etc.. Any issues you would like to share as well as positive notes..

[jdaa]

Do you mind sharing which deck had the vibration problem?

[PhillyGirl2]

For those who wanted information on Athens to Monte Carlo, I will make a list of positive and negative aspects, in order to keep the wording as brief as possible. Bottom line is that Seabourn is wonderful and we would go again, in a heartbeat, but as with anything, nothing is perfect.

1. We were on deck 7 verandah but in the very front of the ship--great for not having many people walking past your room, but awful for vibration. Again, when ship sailed under 9 knots, it was relatively smooth.

2. On this particular cruise, there were two dress nights, only jacket was required, no tie but some men did wear suits. Dress for women varied from lovely dresses on formal nights to just dressy pants and a nice top. Honestly, you only need to bring one jacket. Jeans were never allowed in the main restaurant at night but you can wear anything but shorts in the less formal restaurant. Even on nights that suggested that you wear a jacket, if you forgot to wear one, as my husband and several others did, you will be handed a jacket when you enter the main restaurant and then they just drape it on the back of your chair. Now a list of positives/negatives:

Positives: room service, room cleanliness, restaurant service, food and variety, shore excursions, complimentary Ephesus tour, Seabourn Square where you can get coffees, espressos, milkshakes, ice cream, small sandwiches, library was good, quite a large selection of in-room movies, large bathroom with nice toiletries, never crowded in any area of the ship, great hotel for pre-cruise in Athens, nice personal transportation service from airport to hotel and then to ship (arranged before cruise with Seabourn, a little pricey but worth it). Everything that Seabourn does is pretty top notch.

Negatives: vibration in cabin, expense of seeing the ship's doctor, so take any drugs you think you might need--in my case--sleeping pills. Be aware that Santorini may be very crowded so getting up and down to the ship may require a long wait if you choose to take the cable car. Again, we did the Greek cooking tour in Oia which was fun. If you arrange for personal transport from the ship to the airport in Nice, be sure that you get the proper information about debarking to meet that transportation. We were told we could leave the ship and that our car was probably waiting for us, but in fact it didn't show up for 45 minutes. If you need to get Euros, get them in larger port towns, my bank card was not accepted in Oia.

All in all, Seabourn provides a wonderful cruise experience. Let me know if anyone needs any more specific info. Enjoy your trip!

[sloopjohnb]

Phillygirl, thanks for the offer of information. You referred to your private transfer to NCE.

We are embarking on Legend on 17 October in Piraeus and will need a transfer from airport to hotel a couple of days earlier.

Did you also use a private transfer from ATH? Did you stay in Athens pre-cruise? Did you book transfers through Seabourn or independently? Any recommendations?

 

Thanks in advance

 

sloopjohnb

[stamfordian]

Did you also use a private transfer from ATH? Did you stay in Athens pre-cruise? Did you book transfers through Seabourn or independently? Any recommendations?

 

Thanks in advance

 

sloopjohnb

 

You will find on many other threads the recommendation that in Athens use George, the famous Greek Taxi Driver: http://www.greecetravel.com/taxi/.

 

He and his family are an institution amongst cruisers. Fairly-priced, knowing the city inside out, always on time, impeccably turned out and NON-SMOKERS! Can thoroughly recommend for airport pick-ups, transfers to ship and sightseeing.

[Chairsin]

We used George twice on our June cruise out of Athens--- airport to hotel and next day hotel to port. They were punctual and friendly.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[PhillyGirl2]

To answer the inquiry about transfers from airport to hotel or ship in Athens to Monte Carlo, yes we did book it through Seabourn and had a pre-cruise stay at the Bretagne, which was lovely. Driver met us at airport and took us to the hotel and then the next day we, again, had a private car take us to the ship. It was rather pricey but when you figure in the cost of the hotel, which was not cheap but considered to be the best or one of the best in Athens, great location and included breakfast on the rooftop overlooking the acropolis, we thought the price was then o.k. In Monte Carlo, we, again, had a private car take us to the airport. The price that was quoted by Seabourn on the phone prior to the trip was more than what was actually charged. Our travel agent told us that we could arrange transportation one we got on the ship and it was true. Halfway through the cruise, a form is sent to your cabin asking how you plan to get to the airport and options are given. You can have a private car or go on a bus with other passengers. This George person, who was recommended sounds great, but I guess the concern would be if he is available when you need him--there are many other passengers needing to get to the same place. I hope this has been helpful.

[stamfordian]

This George person, who was recommended sounds great, but I guess the concern would be if he is available when you need him--there are many other passengers needing to get to the same place. I hope this has been helpful.

 

George originally started the business when he re-immigrated to Greece, having spent time living in the US. He now has a fleet of sons, nephews and other family members on the books as drivers and a fleet of well-maintained and immaculate cars. If he takes your booking he honours it. And you can book in advance online - he (or one of his people) will be there when you arrive for pick-up.

Edited August 8, 2014 by stamfordian