The Greek Isles and Turkey on Celebrity Infinity June 15, 2024

[PurpleTraveller]

This is a review of our recent seven day cruise on Celebrity Infinity. We are a couple in our early to mid sixties who love to cruise but also combine a cruise with a land trip during our Australian winter. This trip was a six week odessey of flying from Sydney to Istanbul, a ten day tour of Turkey, flying to Athens, this seven day Greek Isles cruise on Celebrity Infinity, flying from Athens to Rome, spending three nights in Rome, doing a ten night cruise of Italy and Croatia on Celebrity Constellation, spending a week touring Ravenna, Bologna and Milan, flying from Milan to Istanbul, spending four nights in Istanbul and then flying home to Sydney. This review will cover the Celebrity Infinity cruise but I will add a small amount of Istanbul and Turkey.

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Itinerary

 

This was a seven day cruise from Athens to the Greek Isles and Kusadasi in Turkey. We had been to all ports previously though we hadn't been to Hydra for 30 years. We wanted a relaxed cruise to recharge our batteries after a busy time in Turkey.

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Istanbul

 

Before the cruise we spent ten days in Turkey on a tour. We started in Istanbul and had a very busy day walking through the Hippodrome,

 

 

 

and past the Hagia Sophia,

 

 

visiting the Blue Mosque

 

 

 

 

and Topkapi Palace.

 

 

 

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Istanbul Continued

 

We also visited the Spice Market, 

 

 

 

 

and Suleymaniye Mosque

 

 

 

 

which has a great view over Istanbul.

 

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Turkey

 

We then travelled to Gallipoli which as an Australian was very emotional,

 

 

 

 

 

and Pergamon.

 

 

 

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Turkey Continued

 

We continued on to Kusadasi where we visited Ephesus,

 

 

 

 

 

the Temple of Artemis,

 

 

and village of Sirince. 

 

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Turkey Continued

 

Our next stop was at Pamukkale's white travertine terraces

 

 

 

 

and adjoining ruins of Roman Hierapolis.

 

 

 

 

[Missusdubbya]

Wonderful photos! Did you rent a car in Türkiye?

[PurpleTraveller]

2 minutes ago, Missusdubbya said:

Wonderful photos! Did you rent a car in Türkiye?

 

Thanks! We were on a coach tour so we didn't have to drive and could sit back and enjoy the scenery along the way.

 

[Missusdubbya]

2 minutes ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

Thanks! We were on a coach tour so we didn't have to drive and could sit back and enjoy the scenery along the way.

 

Can you recommend the company? thank you

[PurpleTraveller]

Turkey Continued 

 

The absolute highlight of our time in Turkey was Cappadocia where I went hot air ballooning at sunrise. It was one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever had! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also visited some amazing rock formations.

 

 

 

 

 

Huge thanks go to singinalot/Crystal who inspired me with her wonderful review of her land trip to Turkey last August. I hope you read this and know how much I appreciate your information and review which helped make our trip so wonderful.

 

[PurpleTraveller]

7 minutes ago, Missusdubbya said:

Can you recommend the company? thank you

 

We went with Tripadeal - 2 for 1 Turkey. We used the flights from Australia to Istanbul, did the ten day tour and then extended our return flights by a month (we had to pay a high season supplement to do this) so we could do our cruises then returned to Istanbul to use the Tripadeal flights home to Australia. There were a couple of long days driving from one place to another but we saw a lot and we had a great time!

 

[chemmo]

Loving reading your review! Amazing sightseeing in Turkey…

 

The beauty of revisiting ports of call you have visited before on a cruise is that you don’t feel ‘obliged’ to see the key sights. You can visit less well known sights or, as you say, simply relax, unwind and then soak in the atmosphere of beautiful Greek Islands.

[Nettie11]

2 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

We went with Tripadeal - 2 for 1 Turkey. We used the flights from Australia to Istanbul, did the ten day tour and then extended our return flights by a month (we had to pay a high season supplement to do this) so we could do our cruises then returned to Istanbul to use the Tripadeal flights home to Australia. There were a couple of long days driving from one place to another but we saw a lot and we had a great time!

 

Fantastic were they expensive to extend your flights?

[PurpleTraveller]

1 hour ago, chemmo said:

Loving reading your review! Amazing sightseeing in Turkey…

 

The beauty of revisiting ports of call you have visited before on a cruise is that you don’t feel ‘obliged’ to see the key sights. You can visit less well known sights or, as you say, simply relax, unwind and then soak in the atmosphere of beautiful Greek Islands.

 

Thank you! I hope you enjoy the rest of it.

 

You are quite right in the joy of revisiting ports where you don't have any obligations, can see whatever you feel like and can sit back and relax. To our surprise this itinerary didn't quite work out that way as we ended up going to two new ports for us due to the weather but we still had a wonderful cruise.

 

[PurpleTraveller]

8 minutes ago, Nettie11 said:

Fantastic were they expensive to extend your flights?

 

It was an extra $700 each to extend our flights as it was high season but considering the very expensive cost that stand alone flights would have cost, when we did the sums it worked out well for us. Almost everyone on our tour did the same thing of using the Tripadeal flights and either arriving early before the tour or leaving later after the tour. We were also able to pay for some of the package (package was tour and flights) with frequent flyer points.

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Friday June 14 - Athens

 

After arriving back in Istanbul we flew to Athens the day before the cruise. When we arrived in Athens after getting through immigration and collecting our luggage we got the train from the airport to Syntagma Square in central Athens. The train cost €16 for a return ticket valid for 30 days for me and the ticket for a 65 year old plus cost €4.50 each way. The train took about an hour and once we arrived at Syntagma Square it was only a five minute walk to our hotel.

 

After checking in to our hotel we changed then went for a walk. We have been to Athens twice previously so we didn't have any must do items to see or do and it was very warm - 35°C/95°F. All we had in mind was a gentle stroll so we visited the 12th century Church of Kapnikarea.

 

 

 

We then headed to Monastiraki to walk through the markets.

 

 

 

As we wandered we passed the Stoa of Attalos.

 

 

A bit further on we saw Hadrian's Library.

 

 

Next was the Roman Agora and Tower of the Winds.

 

 

 

We enjoyed wandering around the laneways of the Plaka district.

 

 

 

 

We had dinner at one of the many restaurants in the Plaka district sitting at a table in a laneway. 

 

After dinner we walked to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which is in the forecourt of the Parliament Building. The changing of the guard takes place every hour on the hour. Ten minutes before the guard was due to be changed a demonstration for Palestine started and a number of police and riot police appeared to protect the area so all the tourists had to move back from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier but we were still able to watch the changing of the guard from afar while still keeping an eye on the demonstration and police.

 

 

 

 

After the changing of the guard we walked back to our hotel for a good night's rest.

 

Edited July 17 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

Saturday June 15 - Embarkation Day

 

We woke up at a reasonable hour and headed down to breakfast. After breakfast we went for a walk and visited the Cathedral.

 

 

 

 

Right next to the Cathedral is the 12th century Church of Agios Eleftherios which is very sweet but unfortunately wasn't open.

 

 

We then popped into the close by Bazaar Supermarket to get our supplies of coke cans, bottled water and snacks for the cruise. As we walked back to our hotel we stopped in at the tiny 16th century Holy Church of Hagia Dynamis which stands under a modern building which has been built over it.

 

 

 

After checking out from the hotel we went to Syntagma Train Station to buy our tickets for the X80 bus which is an express bus that runs between Syntagma Square in central Athens and the Piraeus cruise port. The day pass tickets cost €4.10 each. We then waited at the X80 bus stop at the bottom end of Syntagma Square. The bus runs approximately every thirty minutes in the middle of the day. The bus stop to get to Celebrity Infinity was just outside the port gate and took about 30 minutes.

 

 

We arrived at the dock at 11.50am and went to a large tent where we were given ticket number 13. As we waited the tent became very full but fortunately there were large fans going, there was a variety of cold water available and also cold towels. After 30 minutes at 12.20pm group 13 was called and we were led to go to a nearby building for check-in. Check-in only took five minutes and then another five minutes to get through security before we were able to board at 12.30pm.

 

We went straight to our muster station in the Theatre on deck 5 before dropping off our hand luggage in our cabin. We had chosen cabin 7002 a Deluxe Oceanview because we really enjoyed having a forward facing cabin on Celebrity Reflection and for the large size of the cabin. The cabin was very spacious, had a good forward view and had very new carpet. We were very pleased with our selection!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 17 by PurpleTraveller

[PurpleTraveller]

Saturday June 15 - Embarkation Day Continued

 

We then went for lunch at the Oceanview Cafe before exploring the ship.

 

Solarium

 

 

 

Pool Bar

 

 

Pool

 

 

Rooftop Terrace

 

 

 

Sunset Bar

 

 

[hcat]

great review and photos...I loved the pics of the  hot air ballooons,  something un-expected in a cruise review..  Very nice adventure

 

I am looking  forward to more about the ports ( been to most but a fresh look!) ,  & Infinity..not  very changed looking!

 

For how long will you be away?

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Nice pictures ! 
The Cabin looks nice and bright 

[PurpleTraveller]

Saturday June 15 - Embarkation Day Continued 

 

We then headed inside for more exploration.

 

Cafe Al Bacio

 

 

 

Trellis Restaurant

 

 

 

Blu

 

 

Rendezvous Lounge

 

 

 

Tuscan Grille

 

 

Grand Foyer

 

 

Theatre 

 

 

 

Library

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

5 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Nice pictures ! 
The Cabin looks nice and bright 

 

Thanks!

 

It was a lovely and light cabin. We were very comfortable and happy to stay in it.

 

[PurpleTraveller]

21 minutes ago, hcat said:

great review and photos...I loved the pics of the  hot air ballooons,  something un-expected in a cruise review..  Very nice adventure

 

I am looking  forward to more about the ports ( been to most but a fresh look!) ,  & Infinity..not  very changed looking!

 

For how long will you be away?

 

 

Thank you!

 

I didn't think about it before now but I suppose it isn't usual to have cruise reviews hot air ballooning. 😂 

 

We were away for six very busy weeks and just got home yesterday which is why I can now start writing this review. Ports are coming up. 😊

 

Edited July 17 by PurpleTraveller

[hcat]

looking forward to more..thanks for sharing

..Based on your pics of Infinity..we may give it another look..  How is the AC and water pressure?