4 months to go...looking for ideas....

[bububr]

Booked on the Galaxy for a Med. cruise in June. I've been over to the Europe destinations boards to get some ideas, but looking for a few more.

 

What were your favorite or least favorite tours for the Med.?

 

We have 3 days in Rome pre-cruise so I have time to see a good amount there but what are your ideas for Santorini? Mikonos? Athens? Ephasus? Istanbul? and Naples?

 

I've looked at the excursions page and there is just TOO many choices.

 

Besides, I'd rather rely on my Celebrity friends to provide some info, as they have never sent me in the wrong direction before:) .

 

Dave:eek:

[Host Anne]

Hi Dave ~ it will have been seven years since we did the Med but it still remains one of our all time favorite cruises for ports. Here's a link to my review on Cruise Critic http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=447 You'll find a lot of info here on the excursions/guides we used. All were booked independently.

 

While it's been awhile, I know our favorite restaurant in Venice is still there (we send people all the time and they love it) and I still correspond with the wonderful guide we used (sisters) in Ephesus/Istanbul (they toured with us in both cities - amazing since they are about a ten hour drive apart). They treated us like family and I'd highly recommend them.

 

You'll find all the contact info for the tours we used in my review. Let me know if you have questions.

 

By the way, I would definitely find a private guide and do the Amalfi Coast when you port in Naples. Go into the hills and have lunch in the little town of Ravello (I could live here). The scenery of this coast is fantastic but don't do it with a bus load of people.

 

Have a fantastic trip....this one is terrific!

[mahdnc]

Last year we took a Med cruise aboard Millennium. We ended up renting a car (VW bug convertible) and drove around the island which I would do again. In Athens we hired Paul of Greece by Taxi and did the Acropolis + Temple of Poseidon tour which worked out well because we managed to beat the crowds from all the tour buses. Naples was the hardest port for me to decide on what to visit (too much to do). We ended up hiring a private driver (Nello Russo of Drive Sorrento) to do the all day Amalfi Coast + Pompeii tour with the obligatory Ravello lunch stop.

 

If you click on the link in my signature area, you will see some photos of our trip.

[Bouff]

Hi Dave

 

I'm relieved to see that there is someone else on this sailing!

 

I have started a Roll Call but at the moment my wife and I are the only ones on it!

 

I also went to Celebrity Cruise connections but so far I think they have only 3 of us signed up!

 

How about joining up to these? I'm looking to try and arrange some independent tours at some of the ports. I did this for our last HAL cruise and it worked well having a small group from CC doing trips together.

 

All the best for now.

[embellish]

You've been given good advice from the postings so far.

 

Santorini & Mykonos are easily toured on your own and their respective main towns can be done on foot. In Santorini you tender and your choices up the hill are (1) walking, (2) on the back of a donkey [nominal fee], or (3) a cable lift [also a nominal fee]. If you walk, it's alongside the donkeys and everything they leave behind. We once rode the donkeys up, but swear that their "aroma" stayed with us for days after. Atop is the town of Fira, a lovely place to walk around for a few hours. If you want to spend more time touring the island, renting a car is certainly an option. We did on our last trip and enjoyed the flexibility it gave us. For Mykonos you will either dock or tender, the latter is possible if a lot of ships are visiting. Celebrity offers a bus shuttle from the pier to its nearby village/town, which is a very doable taking on by foot on your own. We think there was a nominal charge for the shuttle. Going further afield will require renting a car or using the public bus system. For Athens, you'll dock in Piraeus so you'll need to find a means to migrate in to the city, either through a shore excursion or on your own. Due to the traffic congestion, I would advise against renting a car. We booked the city tour/Acropolis through the ship and were fine with that tour, though I'm sure other options abound. If you haven't seen the Acropolis, it's worth visiting.

 

Istanbul is great. We hired a private driver/guide (not through Celebrity's Shorex) and did the classic sights, e.g., Grand Baazar, Spice Market, Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia, & Turkish Baths. The "driver" part of the guide was actually a taxi as, other than the Spice Market, many of the major attractions are all within easy walking distance to each other. Having the personal guide was worth it as it made our time there meaningful and efficient. As we stayed overnight in Istanbul, in the evening we booked an Istanbul dinner/show (also on our own) to get a taste of the city at night. What I learned a bit late into our Istanbul visit was that the ship docks very near to one of the city's light rail stations. From there, it's an easy and short ride to the heart of the action as well as to places a little further afield. For Ephesus, you dock in Kusadasi so again, you'll need a means of getting from where the ship docks (which is in the heart of the action in Kusadasi) to Ephesus. We did a Celebrity Shore Excursion to visit the ruins of Ephesus and were very satisfied with it. It's only about three hours tops so upon our return we strolled around Kusadasi on our own.

 

In Naples you'll need to decide what you want to see as the options will exceed your time there. The first time we had port of call there we did a Shorex that included the Almalfi Coast, lunch, & Pompeii (greatly enjoyed Pompeii). It was a great, but long experience with lots of beautiful scenery; however, way too much time on the bus. The second time, we got off the ship and booked the ferry to Capri on our own. The ferry docks are adjacent to the cruise port. While in Capri, we did the Blue Grotto, lunch, and strolled about the town on our own. There are many mixed reviews on the Blue Grotto, but we rather liked it and it didn't take much time out of our day to fit it in to the schedule. If you do it, take it on first thing in the morning.

 

Didn't intend to write so much, but it was a healthy reminiscence. You will have a wonderful time. We highly recommend the book, Cruise Guide to Europe & the Mediterranean, by DK/Eyewitness Travel Guides. Last advice is since there's so much to see, don't try to do it all when you're in port. You're on vacation . . . relax and enjoy it.

[bububr]

I noticed the roll call this morning and signed up a few of our group going so we shoul dbe up to 9 now:) .

 

I was going to post but then took a nap instead...its cold and cold season here in Chicago. This morning it was -5 degrees, its up to = 5 degrees now so I'm comong our of hibernation.

 

Host Anne: thanks for the ideas and the great review...John and I will be discussing them tonight.

 

Mahdnc: we're going to look into you suggestions also...I like the VW idea, but I don't think John will go for it.

 

Dave:eek:

[Host Anne]

Have fun planning, Dave. I remember this being one of the most fun cruises to plan and definitely among those with the best ports! You and John will have a wonderful time!

[aaklang]

Santorini and Athens are both fantastic and very easy to do on your own. In Santorini, you can explore the main town at the top of the cable car (or donkey trail) and then take a bus to Oia. It's easy and inexpensive.

 

In Athens, take a taxi from the port to the train station (about 5 minute ride). Then, take a train into the city and you can walk around and see all of the highlights yourself. Go to the Acropolis first to avoid some of the crowds, then walk to all of the other major highlights. If you have time, take the subway to the museum across town.

 

In Naples, don't miss Pompeii. Pay for a guided tour and you will not regret it. For me, I had very little expectations heading into Pompeii, and came out of it blown away by how amazing it was. I think http://www.benvenutolimos.com is a great company. I actually used them in Rome, not Naples, but they are much better than the company I used in Naples (http://www.seesorrento.com - nice tour, well done, but the driver's English wasn't very good so we felt like we missed out on a lot).

[Sea Island Lady]

My parents and I have a friend with a large family group going on your cruise. :) Our friend (the grandmother) is treating her entire family! Thanks to her, my Dad decided he would treat his children to a similar cruise. We leave on the Noordam a few days prior, so I am reading this thread with interest. However, we don't follow all the same ports. There is one port that we will both dock in on the same day.

[Nonna and Papa]

When in Istanbul, consider touring the Dolmabache Palace - it's fully furnished. It certainly gives you a perspective about how the Sultans and their Harem lived. When you arrive, you'll have to put on shoe covers provided for you. Also the palace guides will meet you, and in a group of 15 or so, one will guide you through the palace explaining everything and answering questions. I love Turkish history and had lots of questions, and the guide was more than happy to explain some things to me.

 

You'll have to pay an additional fee ($5.00, I think) for the use of your camera inside - they give you a tag to display. While I didn't like that we had to pay extra, being able to take pictures was well worth the small cost.

 

Istanbul is an amazing city and one that I would love to go back to. We were also on the Galaxy In November for our Ancient Empires cruise and our itinerary was similar to yours - ours included Cyprus and Rhodes, and not Mykonos. Unfortunately, because we weren't cleared for tendering, we arrived at Santorini, but couldn't get off the ship. Sigh! Another place to have to go back to!!

 

You'll enjoy this trip. I hope you have a wonderful time.

 

Mary

[bububr]

The excursions in Turkey for the June 9th cruise are not showing up?

 

All of the other ports do show excursions so maybe they are just updating their sysytem, but 4 months out they should be complete by now...shouldn't they?

 

Not worried, just annoyed I can't work on my choices right now.

 

BTW...THANKS!!! so far for all of the suggestions!!! I think we might just go ahead and book some excursions on our own this cruise as we don'r want to be stuck in a bus with 60 other tourists:D .

 

Dave:eek: