Celebrity excursion to Delos--good idea?

[plane2port]

Our July cruise on Galaxy includes a stop to Mykonos. I would love to visit Delos from there. Celebrity offers an excursion, but I would rather do it on my own if the logistics are not too horrific. From my reading I gather that the archeological site closes at 3:00. The ship docks in Mykonos from 2-11 pm. I wonder if the ship excursion doesn't include the archeological site, or if they have special priviledges to visit after hours.

 

Has anyone visited Delos on their own, and can give some advice? Thanks in advance.

[babylene]

We were there on our own last summer. You do have to vacate the island at 3pm. We were on a land vacation, so I don't know anything about a ship's tour.

[TourDeCruise]

We took the Galaxy Eastern Mediterranean cruise in May 2005. BTW, it was our best cruise ever and that includes 3 other Mediterranean cruises. It was a real archaeology-wonderland cruise.

 

Celebrity has special priviledges for Delos and you will have the island to yourselves. Unless things changed since we were there, the only way you will be able to go to Delos is with the ship tour because the last public ferry back to Mykonos is at 3:00pm. Our ferry from Mykonos to Delos with the Celebrity shore excursion contained only people on our tour. No other independent people were allowed. Celebrity passengers were the only ones on the island other than tour guides, ferry operators, Celebrity photographers, possibly a few site caretakers, and the last of the independent people boarding the last ferry back to Mykonos as we were arriving in Delos.

 

We're into ancient civilizations and archaeology. Delos is fabulous, and I feel that it is a real do-not-miss, particularly if you enjoy archaeology sites. If you are into archaeology, this cruise will have a lot of opportunities for you!

 

Kathy

[aldesonia]

We did the ships tour and had a great time. It was one of the highlites of our cruise. You will be glad you did this tour. hope this helps. Al

[leenie29]

Our July cruise on Galaxy includes a stop to Mykonos. I would love to visit Delos from there. Celebrity offers an excursion, but I would rather do it on my own if the logistics are not too horrific. From my reading I gather that the archeological site closes at 3:00. The ship docks in Mykonos from 2-11 pm. I wonder if the ship excursion doesn't include the archeological site, or if they have special priviledges to visit after hours.

 

Has anyone visited Delos on their own, and can give some advice? Thanks in advance.

 

Yes do the Celebrity Shore Excursion! We did it in November 2006 and loved it. Celebrity get Delos all to themselves because they go after 3 PM when it's closed to the public (even though there was probably 600 Celebrity cruisers on the island at the same time it wasn't a problem). Our most favorite guide was at Delos -Amaryllis. She made the island's history come alive with humor and you could feel her excitement about the island. My boys ages 12 and 8 were not bored the entire 2 hours of the actual tour, which was amazing.

 

Eileen

[cabo de hornos]

We were in Mykonos on Millie in November. We did not take this X-cursion, but a friend enjoyed it very much.

 

I just saw Delos on Samantha Brown's show a couple of weeks ago. It looked pretty interesting. I'm told it can be difficult walking for those in that situation.

 

This X-cursion will sell out quickly, as it did for our cruise.

 

Enjoy

 

Cabo

[plane2port]

Should we go ahead and book now?

[leenie29]

Should we go ahead and book now?

 

As soon as you can book online shore excursions you should do so especially Delos because it goes fast.

 

Eileen

[plane2port]

Thanks for the advice. I just got online and book our excursion for Delos. We are so excited about this trip! Now I will get busy on my research for Rhodes.....

[honeyclair]

According to the Celebrity excursion site, the Delos trip is considered "strenuous". It doesn't describe the tour at all. I'm interested in the excursion but concerned that my 81 y.o. mother may not be able to do it (though she is active here at home). Can anyone help?

[leenie29]

According to the Celebrity excursion site, the Delos trip is considered "strenuous". It doesn't describe the tour at all. I'm interested in the excursion but concerned that my 81 y.o. mother may not be able to do it (though she is active here at home). Can anyone help?

 

I wouldn't say "strenuous" in the regular sense of the word. There is alot of standing and the ruins can be slippery. It's also a big site, sometimes hilly, and there's alot of walking. On our tour there were plenty of people your mother's age that were just fine. My husband has Parkinson's (he's 49 but doesn't have the shaking variety) and he did just fine. It's a can't miss place to visit.

 

Eileen

[TomMMD]

Here is what the website description says

 

"Note: Guests must be able to walk and stand for approximately 2 hours over varying terrain. Comfortable walking shoes, a hat and plenty of sunscreen are recommended. Participants will be required to walk (10 minutes) from the town shuttle station to the pier to board the ferry bound to/from Delos since the greater portion of Mykonos is in a pedestrian only zone. "

[dbh62ark]

I was in a small group that hired a boat at the beach in Mykonos to go to Delos, and I recommend going this route, depending on your port schedule. We hired a great guide after we arrived at Delos. With the large cruise ship groups (we saw a lot of them), it's difficult to hear your guide and ask questions. We went for less $$ and had a better quality experience going independently. It gets HOT on Delos with no shade, so I recommend a hat and bottled water for your tour of Delos.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[Rev22:17]

capnlei,

 

Our July cruise on Galaxy includes a stop to Mykonos. I would love to visit Delos from there. Celebrity offers an excursion, but I would rather do it on my own if the logistics are not too horrific. From my reading I gather that the archeological site closes at 3:00. The ship docks in Mykonos from 2-11 pm. I wonder if the ship excursion doesn't include the archeological site, or if they have special priviledges to visit after hours.

 

Has anyone visited Delos on their own, and can give some advice? Thanks in advance.

 

As in any touring that leaves the actual port of call, take the ship's excursion. Yes, it may cost a couple dollars more, but...

 

>> If you go on your own and encounter difficulties returning in time for the ship's departure, you are responsible for transportation to the next port of call to rejoin the ship and for the cost of all accommodations and meals until you actually do rejoin the ship.

 

>> If you go on one of the ship's excursions and the excursion encounters difficulties in returning, the cruise line is responsible for everything. The cruise line usually will either delay the ship's departure until the excursion does return or arrange for the ship to move to another port to pick up the passengers and staff on the affected excursion. If neither is possible, the cruise line will arrange transportation to the ship's next port of call and provide suitable accommodations and meals for the affected passengers and staff.

 

So the couple $$ extra that you spend on a ship's excursion really are a very inexpensive insurance policy if you are going any distance from the port.

 

And on European cruises, there's one additoinal benefit. The ship's excursions have pre-reserved group tours at most of the major attractions, conducted in English, so they bypass the lines for general admission. If you go on your own to the major attractions in many European cities, the queues for admission to major attractions are typically two to three hours long.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Norm.

[dbh62ark]

capnlei,

 

 

 

As in any touring that leaves the actual port of call, take the ship's excursion. Yes, it may cost a couple dollars more, but...

 

>> If you go on your own and encounter difficulties returning in time for the ship's departure, you are responsible for transportation to the next port of call to rejoin the ship and for the cost of all accommodations and meals until you actually do rejoin the ship.

 

>> If you go on one of the ship's excursions and the excursion encounters difficulties in returning, the cruise line is responsible for everything. The cruise line usually will either delay the ship's departure until the excursion does return or arrange for the ship to move to another port to pick up the passengers and staff on the affected excursion. If neither is possible, the cruise line will arrange transportation to the ship's next port of call and provide suitable accommodations and meals for the affected passengers and staff.

 

So the couple $$ extra that you spend on a ship's excursion really are a very inexpensive insurance policy if you are going any distance from the port.

 

And on European cruises, there's one additoinal benefit. The ship's excursions have pre-reserved group tours at most of the major attractions, conducted in English, so they bypass the lines for general admission. If you go on your own to the major attractions in many European cities, the queues for admission to major attractions are typically two to three hours long.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Norm.

Norm, I'm leaving for my 15th cruise to Europe in May and find much of the advice that you have listed is inaccurate. Additionally, other statements are your opinion, and mine is quite the opposite. I have been on many private tours that have by-passed the ship's excursion passengers standing in lines. While on ship's tours, there are lengthy wait times for large groups to load/unload buses and to use the restrooms, so much time is wasted. It is difficult to hear guides and to ask questions in large groups. The risk of being left behind is way overblown and easily avoided with careful planning by using guides that have back-up vehicles, etc. Anyone who reads the Europe boards on this forum find that passengers left behind in Europe is not common like it is in the Caribbean. Which lines are you referring to in Europe that are 2 -3 hours long that are by-passed by ship's tours? If you are referring to museums such as the Accadmia, timed reservations can be made in advance to avoid the long lines. So I disagree with your advice recommending ship's excursions and advise anyone traveling to Europe to read the Europe boards for accurate information.

 

Donna

[TourDeCruise]

Delos is a do-not-miss for any lover of ancient history or archaeology. It is spectacular to have the entire island (with a couple modern buildings for maintenance and the museum) as an archaeology site of major significance (birthplace of Apollo).

 

Delos does have varying terrain with the ruins. There are small sets of steps as part of the excavated structures. It is not strenuous walking; you just have to watch footing. It would be more strenous if you were to climb up to the Temple of Isis, but Celebrity does not do that.

 

I think both the OP and Honeyclair are on the Eastern Med with the Galaxy. If so, they may be arriving in Mykonos in the afternoon and may have no other option than to take the ship tour to Delos. We took the ship's tour and it was one of our best ones with one of the best tour guides we have had on the ships' excursions. We tend to vary our ports with Celebrity, private tours, and going out on our own, based on criteria that are meaningful to us.

 

Kathy

[Lurontravel]

Delos is one of the few (two total, I think) tours we did with X on our Millie Med trip in May 2005. Well worth the $, very good tour. My mom has some issues with mobility, and often uses a stick (some would call it a cane:)). She did bring her stick and yes, she did use it for that tour. No, it wasn't too strenuous for her. The terrain is accurately described by TourDeCruise. We took the afternoon tour on our trip, and we had the entire island to ourselves (X tours only). Our ferry ride over was in very rough seas, and Mykonos had been very windy since our arrival early that a.m., and the weather was miraculously beautiful, warm and calm on Delos. Take a bottle of water with you, as you would anywhere. Don't miss out!

[peppertc]

Delos is well worth the visit and is a remarkable city to mull over, given its age and sophisticated construction. It is spread out and the main museum is a pretty good walk from the ferry landing points. Need to be pretty mobile...regardless of age.

 

However, take a look at Mykonos and Delos via Google Earth...in fact, I'd suggest downloading the app and looking at ALL the places you are going to do.

 

Recon...why be blind unnecessarily!!

 

But, if you can...do take the Delos excursion.

[hcat]

we will be on this itin in 08 & also saw this excursion. How long was the ride over to Delos & is the water roug?--our cruise will be in Nov... Are there restroom facilities available & to what extent?