Italy & Greek Isles Shore Excursion Recommendations

My wife and I have booked a July 2016 10-night Italy & Greek Isles cruise on the Reflection. We plan to spend a day, two at the most, in Rome before the cruise, which docks at the following ports: Messina, Mykonos, Rhodes, Ephesus, Santorini, Athens and Naples. Although the ship will not spend more than a day in each port, it docks early and leaves late.

For those of you who have visited these stops (including Rome), I would be obliged to hear your opinion, given the time constraints, what sites are worth seeing, how and through whom did you arrange your tours, how long did the tours last, how much did they cost, what did they include (e.g., meals, beverages), what type of transportation, and the degree of physical exertion (e.g., mild, moderate, extreme).

We do know that while shore excursions booked through the cruise line can be more expensive, they have the advantage that the ship will wait for them if for whatever reason they are late returning.

Also, in addition to Rome excursions, where did you stay while in Rome?

Thanks.

If you take a look on the ports of call board for Europe, there are pages of recommendations for all of your ports (link below) :).

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

For Santorini be sure to book a ship's tour. Yes, they are more expensive but Santorini is a tender port for everyone and ship's tours get tendered off well before others. When we stopped there we had a bus tour around the island to Oai, got to spend some time there, stopped at a winery on the way back to the port. It was a nice day, we still had plenty of time to sightsee once we got back. If you tender off without a ships tour you must either buy tickets for the cable car or deal with the donkey trail to get up to the town. It is a long hike if you want to walk up, it is a long line for the cable car. Our ship's tour got us off the ship early and buses were waiting as soon as we were ashore to take us away up the hill and on to the tour route. When we returned, the cable car fare back down was included but we still had to stand on line for awhile. For other ports we booked smaller group tours based on the information found in the ports of call board and hooked up with people on our roll call to make our groups. We did 3 days in Rome, that was really not enough...oh Rome Cabs for transport from the airport to the city and the city back to the port. Excellent service, again we formed some small groups for those trips because we saved some money once we got to 6 to 8 passengers.

I suggest buying Rick Steves Guide to Med. Ports - he will give you great advice, esp. what ports (and the logistics) for do it yourself. Your roll call is great if you want to join others for excursions.

In Rome we stay near Termini for convenience. Post your budget, you will get hotel suggestions. It is easy to take the train out to the port if you can handle your luggage on the train. Other option - join a group from your roll call for a private transfer.

We booked this cruise to for June 2016. I too am interested in the responses.:)

Kusadasi:

We paid $120 for four people (total) for a 5 hour private tour to Ephesus, including the Terrace Houses (a must), in 2011 through "Hello Ephesus." The tour was excellent but did include a short (optional) stop at a carpet factory. We were asked, but not forced, to stop there, but our kids wanted to see how the carpets were made. Tour included round trip transportation and private guide but no meals or snacks.

All these ports have a variety of things to see and do depending on your interests.

Have you both talked aobut what is most important: classical ruins, historical sites, museums, wandering local streets, food/wine outdoor cafes, shopping, seeing the countryside?

Here is another good link for doing any port on your own. I have used both Rick Steves and Toms portguides. They are very detailed with good maps.

http://www.tomsportguides

Messina: easy trip to historical town in mountains or to the volcano or Tindari.

Either by private tour or ship tour. Most are all day and include a little of Messina.

we took the half day tour to Tindari to see the Black Madonna, Roman ruin with small museum and great views of the Tyyrerian Sea. had time ot walk around town square in front of the automatic clock tower. Really cool.

Athens: The Acropolis for sure. We took the DIY ship tour. Had guide for the Acropolis, and then bus took us aorind some historical sites in downtown Athens. We then had three hours on our own to explore the Plaka neighobrhood. Had a great luch in a out of the way cafe and wandered the cobblestone streets. Lots to see. Our bus left very early , so we were the first group to get to the entrance to the Acropolis at the top. Our guide could not beleive our luck.

Santorini: good suggestion to take the ship tour. You get to leave early. BTW in July it will be Hot Hot on the Gr Islands.

Rhodes, Mykonos you can do on your own if you have a good guide book. Also on Mykonos you can take a ferry to Delos and take a two hour tour of this ancient Greek site. Not one tree but lots of cats, and great museum. We did a ship tour and still had the afternoon free to walk through Mykonos which is my favorite island for quaintness.

Ekol or Hello Ephesus tours are good for Ephesus as other poster said. Be sure to include the Terrace Houses and get a early start. Again no shade at the ruins.

Naples: lots of variety here and many folks do a private tour on from their roll call but you have to choose what to see, cannot do it all in one day.

You will have a great time. Be sure to stay awake late one night and sit on your balcony or the aft of ship and watch the sky full of stars as the ship glides through the sea to the next port of call. It is magical...

When we did this itinerary we joined our roll call and booked every excursion with people from our roll call. We did not do one single ship excursion and that included Santorini. It's a great trip!!!

As suggested by another poster, get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports. He has taken his expertise in Europe and specifically tailored it to the cruise traveler. He tells you what there is to do in a port, how much you can do in the time allowed, how to do it, about what it will cost...You have lots of time to plan, change your mind and plan some more. EM

For Santorini be sure to book a ship's tour. Yes, they are more expensive but Santorini is a tender port for everyone and ship's tours get tendered off well before others. When we stopped there we had a bus tour around the island to Oai, got to spend some time there, stopped at a winery on the way back to the port. It was a nice day, we still had plenty of time to sightsee once we got back. If you tender off without a ships tour you must either buy tickets for the cable car or deal with the donkey trail to get up to the town. It is a long hike if you want to walk up, it is a long line for the cable car. Our ship's tour got us off the ship early and buses were waiting as soon as we were ashore to take us away up the hill and on to the tour route. When we returned, the cable car fare back down was included but we still had to stand on line for awhile.

I had a very different experience & viewpoint, it depends on what time the ship gets in, if it's a morning arrival, you can get up early to get a tender ticket, & be one of the first off the boat, we walked right onto the cable car, rented an ATV in town, & we were in Oia before 9. We literally had the town to ourselves & it was wonderful. The buses started rolling in about an hour or so later, turning the lovely town into a zoo, so we headed out across the island to the black sand beach, & then visited the winery, it was a lovely, magical day!

Since we'd arrived so early, we headed back to the chairlift a good hour & half before we were due back on the ship, waited maybe 5 minutes, chairlift down, & then had a beer at the bar near the tender dock.

If you have a midday arrival, I'd consider a ships tour, there are also private tours depending on the time of year where a private boat will pick you up at the tender dock.

We travel off season to avoid crowds, & the sight of busloads of people all converging on a site at once is just not my idea of a good time.

All the ports you mentioned are great DIY ports, except Kusadasi, where I'd recommend a private tour to Ephseus, & be sure to include the terrace houses, again, go early to beat the tour buses & have it to yourselves, our ship was scheduled to dock at 7 & by 7:30, we were in a little mini van with 3 other cruisers for a private tour of Ephesus, lovely & empty

Santorini:

Ephesus without the crowds:

Rhodes is one of our favorite places to just walk off of the ship and do the small town on your own. They have some of the most reasonable leather/hemp shoes shops in the Med. It is a very "green", as in vegetation, island. So relaxing. It has a wonderful plaza! Just buy a beverage and sit and watch the crowds. They used to have an Orthodox priest who walked the plaza and talked with everyone. Just wonderful island!!!

This is just my opinion, but, I would suggest you try to stay more than 2 days precruise in Rome. It's a wonderful city with so much to see. You can easily walk or take public transport from site to site. If you plan to visit the Colosseum or Vatican Museum, be sure to book tickets online ahead of time. For the Colosseum, consider booking the underground tour. Read the Italy board for great suggestions, time of day to visit, ways to save $, etc.

Mykonos; we like to wander through the shops and have a nice lunch on the water. On one trip we took a ship tour to Delos, which we really liked and still had time to visit the shops.

Ephesus is amazing. Try to book a small group tour here. The site gets packed with people, so it's important to get there as early in the am as possible. There are lots of private vendors who can provide a personalized tour for reasonable rates. If your group is too large it can be difficult to hear what the guide is saying. Be sure whatever tour you book that it includes the terrace house restoration. Most tours also include a side trip to Mary's house located on the hillside just outside Ephesus.

Santorini is beautiful. You can book a transfer on the dock where the tender lets you off that will bring you to Oia via water, with a transfer back via bus. You would then need to purchase a ticket to go down to the dock via the cable car, pay to ride a donkey down, or walk down while avoiding the donkey droppings.

There's lots to see in Athens. The Acropolis was the highlight of our visit. I was sad that we didn't have time to go to the new Acropolis museum, but happy since this was because I spent too much time shopping at the Plaka.

Naples also has lots of options. If you've never been then consider booking a day trip to Pomeii combined with a drive up the Amalfi coast. We've also been to Herculaneum, which we enjoyed.

I haven't been to the other ports, but I'm sure you'll find lots of suggestions on the ports of call pages.

Mykonos, We have been to Mykonos twice. As history lovers, I highly recommend the excursion to Delos. You will have time after the tour to walk around the town.

Ephesus, Whatever you do, take a tour or excursion that includes the Terrace Houses.

Santorini, Recommend the ship's excursion that includes a winery and goes over the entire island.

Athens Take the METRO into the city, go directly to the Acropolis then take an Constitution square and some of the other sites.

Naples If you haven't been to Pompeii, don't miss it. Also take in Capri/Sorrento or the Amalfi Coast.

For Santorini be sure to book a ship's tour. Yes, they are more expensive but Santorini is a tender port for everyone and ship's tours get tendered off well before others. When we stopped there we had a bus tour around the island to Oai, got to spend some time there, stopped at a winery on the way back to the port. It was a nice day, we still had plenty of time to sightsee once we got back. If you tender off without a ships tour you must either buy tickets for the cable car or deal with the donkey trail to get up to the town. It is a long hike if you want to walk up, it is a long line for the cable car. .

Sorry, but this is simply not true. I was there in October. The tendering was very quick, and although those touring independently were 2nd, it was not a long delay at all.

More importantly, despite Celebrity telling everyone that if you don't take their tour you can only use the donkeys or the cable car, THIS IS A LIE. There is a good boat service from where the tenders land to Oia which, including the return bus from Oia, at a time to suit you, costs around $25 all in. I did it in October it works well.

Of course, if all you've done is the Celebrity tour, then you'll believe their selling spiel, but it's simply a piece of blatant misrepresentation.

Stuart

I had a very different experience & viewpoint, it depends on what time the ship gets in, if it's a morning arrival, you can get up early to get a tender ticket, & be one of the first off the boat, we walked right onto the cable car, rented an ATV in town, & we were in Oia before 9. We literally had the town to ourselves & it was wonderful. The buses started rolling in about an hour or so later, turning the lovely town into a zoo, so we headed out across the island to the black sand beach, & then visited the winery, it was a lovely, magical day!

Santorini: We were there last June and had a similar experience, we were on the tender by 8am and didn't have to wait for the cable car. After picking up our rental car we were in Oia a little past 9, well ahead of the crowds, even the ship's tours. After a couple of hours there we headed out to the Santo Winery where we sampled their wines and cheese, also used the free wifi. Then back to Fira, we didn't stop at the black sand beach as it was pretty hot by then. There was quite a long queue for the cable car but seeing my senior citizen mom some kind official sent us to the top of the line, so we were down at the dock pretty soon, stopped for a couple of cold drinks at one of the tavernas before heading onboard.

Kusadasi: We did an 8 hour deluxe tour with Hello Ephesus, got to see all the sites including the Terrace Houses, $50pp with lunch, couldn't beat this IMO.

Mykonos: Delos a must, especially for history buffs, very easy to take a ferry there and back.

Athens: Ride the metro into town and head out to the Acropolis, then the museum. End with a walk through the Plaka.

The best thing to do is to go on your RC and touch base with the others, best way to see these ports at the best price:)

We were there last June on the Silhouette.

We didn't get off until Rhodes. I know. There for the cruise, not old ruins!

What I will say is think of the heat. Roasting it was. Far too hot for me later on in the morning/afternoon. When we did get off, it was early morning. Mykonos they tried to tell us to take the bus. Their bus. 12 €. Robbery. There is a little ship which goes from the port to the town for half the price. Too dangerous to walk as a busy road.They refunded half the bus cost. We should have been on the tender but another ship took our place.

We did stay in Rome before the cruise. You need at least three days. Once again, book the Vatican museum. We then took the train to Civitavecchia which was pleasant. Looked at the views and not crammed into a mini cab with a mountain of baggage. Very cheap too. It was 40C so out at 05.00 before I melted.

Going North in 2016 I think as cooler

We did a 14-day version of this cruise. Loved every minute of it. It's one of the few cruises I would repeat in a heartbeat. IMO you do not need to "tour" Santorini. Follow Rick Steves book walk to the bus and off you go. We only went to Oia, but that was magical. We've been to many wineries and black sand beaches so didn't feel we needed to do those parts of the island. I think the bus was under 10€ for both of us. Perfect!

We stayed five days in Rome. Could have done more. Love that city. Check Trip Advisor for hotel suggestions and tours. We used Rome in Limo (maybe LiR), and got a group for all the tours from our RC. Don't bother to do Rome at night... It's dark with very few lights. But I'm from Las Vegas, so I'm probably using a very different standard than most. The big one we splurged on was a private tour of the Vatican. Worth every penny. Other than that we had six or eight for each tour.

Do join your Roll Call. We did all DYI, on the entire cruise. Guarantee you will see more and spend less than those doing ship excursions. You will love this cruise.

Judy

Going DTY in Santorini many have worked for others, but we cruised there in July 2010. There were hordes of people on the island and other cruise ships as well.

DW and I took a great ship's tour, all the others in our party of 13 made there way up the hill to Fira via cable car or donkey. None of them made it to Oia. No taxis were available and the line for the bus was so long, they gave up trying to get on the bus.

Others told us that the tendering process was slow, that the Greek authorities insisted on our ship using local tender boats.

Our tour took us to Athinos port, south of the cable car, where we went up the escarpment via a bus.

We saw the entire island, went to a winery, hassle free.

 

DW and I took a great ship's tour, all the others in our party of 13 made there way up the hill to Fira via cable car or donkey. None of them made it to Oia. No taxis were available and the line for the bus was so long, they gave up trying to get on the bus.

Perhaps there wasn't a boat service to Oia then. There is now. No bus (apart from the one back from Oia to Fira), no donkeys, no cable-car.

Stuart

Perhaps there wasn't a boat service to Oia then. There is now. No bus (apart from the one back from Oia to Fira), no donkeys, no cable-car.

 

Stuart

I believe the local bus service and taxis are kind of hit and miss, you can waste/spend a lot of time waiting. Apart from the ship's tours would suggest either renting a car/ATV or taking the boat to Oia.

We were in Santorini on Reflection in Sept and did not arrive until 2pm, the ship tours wera taken off 1st so by the time we got off it was going on for 4.30, we did get 1hr in Oia the traffic was horrendous I really wish we had booked the ships tour.

We booked a tour of Ephesus with Ephesusdeluxe they were excellent, they have very good reviews on Tripadvisor.

Tracey:)

Did Reflections Eastern Med cruise last summer. Overlap with your ports were:

Start/finished in Rome, Santorini, Ephesus, Naples

Key things for planning:

Join your rollcall and get advice, plan excursions with your fellow cruisers. It makes for a very rich experience and they get to be your cruise buddies throughout the trip

Rick Steve's guide to med ports

Trip advisor

Rome:

Exchange money via accessing ATM in Rome airport.

Trains from FCO airport good, reasonable way to get to generally vicinity of your hotel. Make sure to validate train ticket before getting on train

taxis from stand outside place like Termini liked try to get you to pay more than normal. Know about what cost is and agree to cost before you get in.

Taxis called from hotel or cafe will just use meter and be fair

Public transit -buses subway trains all good if you are used to being smart urban travelers

Not to miss:

Eating in traditional trattoria outside

Vatican museum

St Peter's

Colosseum

Pantheon

Trevi fountain(ck restoration status, may be under construction)

Spanish steps

Having espresso or cappuccino in cafe

Gelato

If drink wine most vino Della Casa quite reasonable and good

From Rome to port:

Either train or arrange private car. Train is 10 euros or less, car service can cost 10x that or more

Port: there is a bus that goes from train station to inside port in front of ship

Ports:

On ports that are tendered ( you can confirm with Ship officers at celebrity connections party, where you will also meet people from roll call)

For those ports - decide your plan of attack, figure what fits with how you like to travel. You can DIY but you either need status to get an early tender or get in line about 1 hour before they give out tender tickets. Or get a ship excursion but pay for convenience and be ok with bigger groups.

We did DYI in Santorini, we were on tender #3 and got to the gondola before long line, up to top in Fira then found the local bus(have small change euros) to Oia.

Walked around Oia, had excellent lunch grilled Octopus, local Santorini beer and wine and Stunning view, then took local bus back. Perhaps a max of 10 minutes wait in each town.

Naples- we did a private tour with rollcall used AP tours. Pompeii with guide, then Amalfi coast(Positano, Ravello). Got to Pompeii just as it opened, saw most of it before crowds.

Athens - did DYI, took local bus to area where Acropolis is. It was fun to see the commuters getting on/off and watch the city wake up. After did Acropolis museum just down the hill.

From there took subway back to Piraeus and long walk to ship in Port.

Ephesus -did private tour with rollcall Best of Ephesus. If you go when it's warm: it can be VERY hot and little shade. dress appropriately, bring water, umbrella for shade. Tour guide was great because we started in opposite direction of most tours -bottom to top, again mostly avoided crowds. Definitely include the Terrace houses. They are amazing.

Enjoy!

This is one of my favorite itineraries and even though I've cruised the Med 4 times in the last 5 years, I just can't wait to go back. Here's some ideas:

Rome: Our last stay was at THE INDEPENDENT HOTEL which is just a 5 minute walk from Termini station, where you can catch the train to Civitavechia. The rooms were large and modern and I would definitely stay here again since it was close to popular tourist spots like the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum and of course the Vatican.

For the ports, firstly let me just say that every port on your itinerary is absolutely brilliant.

Messina - Been here once. Took the shore excursion with the ship to the amazing town of Taormina and then onwards to Mount Etna. Taormina and its views are spectacular. Amazing little streets with quaint shops, eateries and awesome views. Mount Etna is also amazing.

Mykonos - Amazing port. No need for any excursion. Just walk in the numerous streets and enjoy this blue and white cobbled stone streets and houses.

Rhodes - Probably my favorite Med port. Just walk off the ship into the walled town - 5 minutes - and you have an awesome combination of streets with shops, restaurants (with wifi) and a small beach just outside. The beach is clean and the water is amazing!

Ephesus/Kusadasi - Been here thrice. First 2 times we did Ephesus via the ship which was an excellent tour. The tour guide was an archaeologist and hence the tour was absolutely brilliant (although quite tiring in the heat, carry an umbrella as well as sunscreent, hat and sunglasses). Last year we wanted to do Pamukkale however the ship cancelled the tour since there weren't enough people on the tour. Since this is quite far from Kusadasi (3-4 hour drive) we wanted to do it only via the cruise. Guess this will have to wait till our next trip here. Instead we discovered the most amazing sea-front walk at Kusadasi. Just get off the ship and start walking, you wont regret it!

Santorini - Take the tender tickets early and get off the ship. Take the cable car to the top. We rented a VW beetle and drove down to Oia. Parking in the pay and park at the base of Oia and spent the day there. I'm used to driving on the opposite side in India, but the drive was fairly simple. Just follow 1 road, you can't get lost. Absolutely amazing port.

Athens - Been here twice. First time did a ship tour to the Acropolis. Was underwhelmed by Athens on both occassions. Maybe I didn't see the best parts. 2nd time we walked off the ship, took a hop on hop off bus (10 Euros) to Athens city. Did some shopping in Monistiraki. Nice but I've seen better.

Naples - Been here thrice. Lots of options. Capri seems to be a favorite (I've not done it yet). We love walking to Toledo street and soak in the city. Its one of the best shopping/people watching streets in our opinion. There's a small shop which serves you fresh crispy french fries, cheese and a choice of 10 toppings. Outstanding stuff.

As you can see, the first few times we did take the ship's excursions but once we were familiar with the places, we wandered out on our own and had an even better time. The ship too is absolutely fabulous (been on the sister-ship Silhouette twice) Enjoy your cruise.

I believe the local bus service and taxis are kind of hit and miss, you can waste/spend a lot of time waiting. Apart from the ship's tours would suggest either renting a car/ATV or taking the boat to Oia.

Agreed! The boat to Oia is fine, and avoids donkeys and cable-car queues.

Stuart