Winter Itineries 2011/12 ?

[rosiebee]

I'm hoping to book a cruise for my 60th birthday in early Jan 2012. Does anyone have any idea when the brochure for this season will come out? Most larger companies already have their details online, but I'm holding out for Thomson's with a possible AI upgrade for early booking.
Thanks, Rosie :)

[davecttr]

I'm hoping to book a cruise for my 60th birthday in early Jan 2012. Does anyone have any idea when the brochure for this season will come out? Most larger companies already have their details online, but I'm holding out for Thomson's with a possible AI upgrade for early booking.
Thanks, Rosie :)
i think it is sometime in the new year but don't quote me!

[davecttr]

I just realised I booked my upcoming january cruise early last November!. So november might be the time.

[solostar]

:)Adriatic / Pearls of Agean August 08

Hi Rosiebie, I see you did the above cruise. I have just booked it for next September. Have you got any tips? :)

[kruzseeka]

:)Adriatic / Pearls of Agean August 08

Hi Rosiebie, I see you did the above cruise. I have just booked it for next September. Have you got any tips? :)


Here is a review of the Adriatic bit from earlier this year.

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1205933&highlight=adriatic+explorer

You don't go to Korcula but Split is good too. You tender in right into the centrwe then can explore Diocletian's Palace (free - there are all sorts of buildings inside). There is a nice promenade areas with cafes.

The review of the Pearls of the Aegean is only partly relevant due to changed itineraries so I've done a cut and paste of the bits I'd done previously and which apply to you - also added on a couple you'll be doing but weren't on our Pearls itinerary.

Corfu:
The coach transfer through Corfu town is a bit disappointing for those who haven’t been before – it’s not very inspiring. But don’t let this put you off – the Old Town is lovely with loads of tourist shops, narrow streets and cafes. The fort is quite an imposing sight and it’s only a few Euros to get inside. It’s certainly worth going into the Old Town to explore if you have a late departure or a middle day there on a b2b. As you leave the port, turn right and follow the road round along the waterfront – it will take you directly into the Old Town - it's about a half hour walk.

As we planned to walk into Old Corfu town on our last day we decided that on our middle day we would try to get to Kanoni by local bus. This is situated at the end of the airport runway and just at the end of the runway are two little islands – one with a small church and the other approached by a causeway with a monastery. It was a recommended place to visit in an AA guide and apparently a No. 2 blue bus was what we wanted from the town centre. (Given the late departure from Corfu we felt confident we would get back in time!!) As we were leaving the port we spotted a blue bus parked inside the port and noticed it had a number 2 ‘Kanoni’ destination!!!! What a piece of luck! :D I don’t know whether it starts in the port at other times of the day but we were able to jump on there!!! (This was around 10am but the bus did pick up again at the bus stop outside the port too.) It was only 1.10E each and took less than half an hour.

Kanoni has a number of cafes with terraces and super views over Mouse Island and the monastery – also as it's change-over day of the aircraft coming in and out of Corfu Airport (and there are plenty of Thomson ones!). We walked over to the monastery (not much to see but a lovely setting) and caught the ferry for 2.5.E return over to Mouse Island. There really isn’t much there – a small church – the whole island has a rather neglected look but you can walk around the perimeter and look in the church and the ferry returns quite frequently. It’s an interesting spot though to have a coffee at one of the cafes overlooking the islands and do a bit of plane spotting or photography (if that’s not too nerdy!). :o

We caught the bus back at the same stop it dropped us off. It turns out that it’s a circular bus so didn’t go back the same way it came (around the back of Corfu town and via the airport). On the return it followed the bay around to Corfu Town centre then continued on stopping outside the port gates – so quite a useful service. At very little cost we went to Kanoni then came back and could have stopped off in the centre had we wished and from there walked into the Old town quite easily. Not a bad round trip.

Athens:
We had previously gone into Athens on the Metro and visited Plaka, Monastriaki and the Acropolis. This is a cheap and easy excursion to do independently. The current situation though may make concerns over strikes/unrest a bit of an issue. Fortunately there were no problems whilst we were there apart from reports of someone on board having lost quite a lot of money whilst in Athens (stolen). I think there is good reason to be careful here (as in most tourist cities) and perhaps a cautionary tale in respect of not carrying too much cash off the ship.

We did the Corinth Canal trip which we really enjoyed. The journey to pick up the boat to transit the Canal could not be said to be attractive – in fact it was a bit grim in parts – dirty and lots of rubbish along the roadside. Don’t go on this trip with ideas of the journey being scenic. We stopped on the bridge to look down on the Canal. I was surprised from ‘on top’ how short it looked – you could see from one end to the other although it turned out to be about 7Km long! Very deceptive. This was not an attractive stop though although there was a market, places to get refreshments and some souvenir stalls with a bit of free time. We then were taken to the place where we were to join the boat – it was a bit of a bun fight getting onto the boat though as ours was not the only group getting on and some nationalities find the concept of queuing a bit of a challenge! Anyway we all got on o.k. and it was a very interesting experience taking about an hour to go through and come back. Watch out for any bungee jumpers from the bridge in the middle – we just went through and someone jumped. Quite a sight!

We returned to the ship, had some lunch on board then we made for the Zea Marina in Piraeus which was only about a 20 minute walk from the port (the destination guide stated it was much further). Turn left out of the port then right just past the Agios Nikolaos church with the blue dome. The Marina is perhaps the most attractive part of Piraeus with cafes and views. Worth a walk if you have an hour or two to spare and want to get off the ship but not go into Athens.

(If you want instructions about using the Metro to get into Athens, let me know and I'll find a post about that which I've done before)

Kusadasi:
This is the place from which to visit Ephesus - very worthwhile, but probably best to do a ship's trip. Take water, suncream and go in good walking shoes as the marble pavers can be quite slippy. Kusadasi offers good shopping (bazaar) and is a pleasant place to walk and have a drink. The ship berths right in town.

Katakolon:
Is literally a one street town (village). There is a wide sweep of bay (damp, compacted sand) where you could go for a decent walk and there is a small pebbly beach to the left of the berth where people swim. (Again, you're berthed right in the town). There are a lot of tourist shops and some lovely waterfront cafes where it is nice to relax and have a drink. But it is a tiny place - you will see it all in no time so you may feel a trip is worth considering in which case, Olympia is the only place to go really. You can do a DiY and go on the train - but take care the service isn't too frequent so check the timings carefully and they were on strike the first time we went. There are some taxis around the quay offering prices to take you to Olympia but i don't know how reliable/cheap they are as we didn't use them. After an abortive attempt to go independently on our first visit, the second time we went we just settled for the Thomson trip and must say we thoroughly enjoyed it and felt we'd learned much more than if we'd not had the guide.

Mykonos:
Is glorious! We tendered straight into the town and walked right into the maze of white houses cobbled streets that are so fantastic! We loved it! There is absolutely no need to plan anything here other than to just wander, get lost and soak up this atmospheric place. One of my all-time favourite stops!


Hope this helps. Enjoy! :):)

[solostar]

Thankyou so much,kruzseeka,:) I have printed them both out and will read them thoroughly. I like to be well organised ! Thanks again.

[Julessmiles]

:)Adriatic / Pearls of Agean August 08

Hi Rosiebie, I see you did the above cruise. I have just booked it for next September. Have you got any tips? :)

Hello Solostar

We also did this cruise in August this year - here is a link to my review although the itinerary is changing slightly I believe:


http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1266729&highlight=

[solostar]

Thanks Julessmiles, I have already printed yours off and put it in my info folder ! Have you got any of the "daily itinery" booklets that you can scan. Sorry , I am not very good at computor jargon, learning as I go along!

[Julessmiles]

Thanks Julessmiles, I have already printed yours off and put it in my info folder ! Have you got any of the "daily itinery" booklets that you can scan. Sorry , I am not very good at computor jargon, learning as I go along!


I have 14 days of the Ship's Daily News but I don't have a scanner, I'm afraid - sorry!!!

[solostar]

Oh what a shame, never mind. Sometimes I think I get too much info and then there is not as much of a surprise when I actually go on holiday! Thanks for your help anyway. :)