Eastern Mediterranean in 2009

[gourmetgirls]

We are looking at the 10 day Roman Empire on the Noordam out of Civitavecchia on July 8 or the 12 day Mediterranean Empires on the Oosterdam out of Venice on July 18. Any thoughts or opinions on the ships and/or itineraries?

[Sirdar]

My wife and I sailed the Noordam in the Eastern Med in the Summer of 2007. We found the ship to be top notch. I much prefer smaller ships and was worried about her 81,000 ton size and number of passengers. Not to worry, the ship was excellent with ample space, decent standard outside stateroom, excellent service and good dining.

 

I'm not sure about the itinerary in the Roman empire cruise. We saw

 

Dubrovnik, Croatia Corfu, Greece

Olympia (Katakolon), Greece

Santorini, Greece

Ephesus / Kusadasi, Turkey

Valletta, Malta

Messina, Sicily, Italy

 

Each of these stops was quite good and offered good port excursions. I'm told that Santorini has become very crowded with cruise ships now. We were the only ship there that day and the island is wonderful and the tender process from Noordam was very smooth. If you go to Sicily, skip Messina and take the tour to Taormina which is beautiful. Be sure to take the tour to Ephesus which is a magnificent excavation of the old world. If you are a Christian you will particularly like to see the place to which St. Paul sent his letters, the arena where he preached and the house of the Virgin Mary which is on the tour. Beware however of the rug mechants which some tours include as the Turks can be ruthless salesmen. All in all one of the best cruises we were ever on and a great ship.

[Jade13]

My wife and I sailed the Noordam in the Eastern Med in the Summer of 2007. We found the ship to be top notch. I much prefer smaller ships and was worried about her 81,000 ton size and number of passengers. Not to worry, the ship was excellent with ample space, decent standard outside stateroom, excellent service and good dining.

 

I'm not sure about the itinerary in the Roman empire cruise. We saw

 

Dubrovnik, Croatia Corfu, Greece

Olympia (Katakolon), Greece

Santorini, Greece

Ephesus / Kusadasi, Turkey

Valletta, Malta

Messina, Sicily, Italy

 

Each of these stops was quite good and offered good port excursions. I'm told that Santorini has become very crowded with cruise ships now. We were the only ship there that day and the island is wonderful and the tender process from Noordam was very smooth. If you go to Sicily, skip Messina and take the tour to Taormina which is beautiful. Be sure to take the tour to Ephesus which is a magnificent excavation of the old world. If you are a Christian you will particularly like to see the place to which St. Paul sent his letters, the arena where he preached and the house of the Virgin Mary which is on the tour. Beware however of the rug mechants which some tours include as the Turks can be ruthless salesmen. All in all one of the best cruises we were ever on and a great ship.

 

The Westerdam was doing this 10 night cruise in the summer of 2007 as we were on the ship. The Noordam had the itinerary this summer as we just got off the Noordam. I believe Noordam also did the itinerary in 2006.

[NDCruiser]

We just came home from the Med. Empires cruise, which was on Z'dam this year (a clone of O'dam & Noordam). Fabulous ship & fabulous itinerary--Istanbul must be seen to be believed! Have also been on O'dam (5 years ago in the Baltic). There's a lot to say--if you have specific questions, I'll be glad to help.

 

I concur with the previous poster regarding Ephesus. We did not much like Santorini--thought it was overrated. Of course, there were 5 ships there that day! We liked Mykonos much better--seemed more authentic, and no cliff to get up and down!

[Sirdar]

Jade 13-You are right the cruise I referenced was 2006 (time flies). 2007 was Veendam in the Baltic. Thanks!!

[gourmetgirls]

Thanks for all of the info. We did the Western Mediterranean on the Westerdam last summer and throughly enjoyed it. We love Rome and wouldn't mind going back pre-cruise if we do the 10 day Roman Empire. We have not been to Venice, so that makes me lean toward the 12 day Mediterranean Empires. That itinerary also includes Athens and Istanbul which the 10 day cruise does not. The 12 day is overnighting in Venice the first night and not stopping in Croatia because of a Festival in Venice. I also worry a little about the recent troubles in Instanbul.

 

The Oosterdam is due for dry dock in April so I take that as a good thing.

 

Thanks again for the input.

[Jade13]

We are looking at the 10 day Roman Empire on the Noordam out of Civitavecchia on July 8 or the 12 day Mediterranean Empires on the Oosterdam out of Venice on July 18. Any thoughts or opinions on the ships and/or itineraries?

 

We just did the Roman Empire Cruise on Noordam. The negative is that they keep switching betwen Athens and Malta. We waited until Malta this year (did western last year, I think we were on the same cruise) and it as or favorite port, or the one where we plan to return.

 

We would pick the itinerary with Rome every time (over Venice).

[gourmetgirls]

Thanks Jade13. I remember you from the roll call last year. That was a great trip! We had planned a Baltic cruise on the Eurodam this summer but got sidetracked by a return visit to Mountain Sky Ranch in Montana (also a great vacation). We are looking forward to our return to HAL in 2009. We decided to do the Mediterranean again next year instead of the Baltic because our oldest daughter will be entering college in the fall of 2009 and she wanted to see the Greek Isles!

[NDCruiser]

gourmetgirls:

 

we also did this cruise last month with our pre-college daughter & we all loved it--she picked the itinerary. I wouldn't worry about Istanbul--the incident you are referring to happened just before our arrival & we had no problems. It is a fantastic city, not to be missed, and they seem very friendly toward Americans. Everyone we encountered on our 2 stops in Turkey spoke at least some English, even older people. Our all-day guide in Istanbul spoke English like a native, and had a great sense of humor. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Jade13]

Thanks Jade13. I remember you from the roll call last year. That was a great trip! We had planned a Baltic cruise on the Eurodam this summer but got sidetracked by a return visit to Mountain Sky Ranch in Montana (also a great vacation). We are looking forward to our return to HAL in 2009. We decided to do the Mediterranean again next year instead of the Baltic because our oldest daughter will be entering college in the fall of 2009 and she wanted to see the Greek Isles!

 

Were you at the Meet & Greet? Also, OT but what is the link to Mountain Sky Ranch? It is one of the only states we have not been to.

[gourmetgirls]

Jade13: I was at the Meet and Greet with my sister-in-law from Atlanta. Our families travel a lot together. Who did you use as a gude in Istanbul? Now that we have definely decided on the 12 day out of Venice, I need to start lining up excursions and guides.

 

The web site for Mountain Sky is www.mtnsky.com.

If you have any other questions I can give you my email address.

[Jade13]

double post

[Jade13]

Jade13: I was at the Meet and Greet with my sister-in-law from Atlanta. Our families travel a lot together. Who did you use as a gude in Istanbul? Now that we have definely decided on the 12 day out of Venice, I need to start lining up excursions and guides.

 

The web site for Mountain Sky is www.mtnsky.com.

 

If you have any other questions I can give you my email address.

 

We did the Noordam itinerary with Kusadasi. Ephesus was amazing! We had a tour sponsored by our travel agent and it was excellant. I have the company name at home and will post to you. Perhaps they do small groups. They may be based in Istanbul and do a lot with Crystal cruises. There were a lot of "extras" and just the fact that the guide handed out pre-stamped postcards was something I had not seen done before.

 

I remember you and your sister from the M&G. Bert, the Hotel Manager, was on Noordam last week as well. It was more of a mingle and better last year when the Captain and Hotel Director spoke to all.