Disembarking in Athens (and more)

Before I pose my questions, I want to thank all of you who have posted here. This is our first cruise, and I've gained so much insight from reading this board already.

Our cruise ends in Athens, and my first question is whether it is advisable to pre-arrange a transfer to our hotel or should we just count on getting a taxi at the terminal? Secondly, the itinerary lists a 4 a.m. arrival in Athens. About what time should be expect to actually leave the ship?

Finally, the cruise begins in Istanbul with an overnight in port, departing at 4 p.m. the second day. Not being familiar with check-in procedures, I'm not sure whether we can commit to tours on those two days. We will be in Istanbul a couple of days in advance, but obviously want to take advantage of as much time in the city as possible.

Any guidance in these matters is much appreciated.

Before I pose my questions, I want to thank all of you who have posted here. This is our first cruise, and I've gained so much insight from reading this board already.

 

Our cruise ends in Athens, and my first question is whether it is advisable to pre-arrange a transfer to our hotel or should we just count on getting a taxi at the terminal? Secondly, the itinerary lists a 4 a.m. arrival in Athens. About what time should be expect to actually leave the ship?

 

Finally, the cruise begins in Istanbul with an overnight in port, departing at 4 p.m. the second day. Not being familiar with check-in procedures, I'm not sure whether we can commit to tours on those two days. We will be in Istanbul a couple of days in advance, but obviously want to take advantage of as much time in the city as possible.

 

Any guidance in these matters is much appreciated.

Here is what I suggest

If you are in no rush (you are not going to the airport to make a flight) then you can just get a taxi. Taxis are abundant and cheap in Athens. Debarkation is staggered based on your request (there will be a form to complete in which you tell Oceania your post cruise plans)-- you can usually disembark as early as 7:30 or as late as 9 (you will have to vacate your stateroom by 8).

Istanbul -- such a great city with so much to see.

You will probably not be able to board the ship until noon or 1 (depending on your cabin), so you might arrange a short am tour on boarding day. If you don't stray too far from the city center, that will be easy. On the second day, you certainly should plan to tour. The ship does not sail until 4 which leaves you plenty of time for a day of touring. I would plan to be back on board no later than 3 -- or come back in time for lunch.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

To take your questions chronologically:

For your Istanbul overnight, you'll check onto the ship in a very similar process to checking into a hotel on Day One, after that, you may come and go as you please. Day Two will also be very free form, with the exception that you will need to be on the ship (to stay) by a certain time before sailing, typically two hours before sailing.

The exact times for everything will be printed on Page four of the personalized blue booklet which is issued to all passengers after final payment, but they will also remind you of the All Aboard time, when you check in.

At the end of the cruise, in Athens, all passengers will need to be off the ship by 9:00 AM at the latest. Count on breakfast being served from about 7 AM on.

A question for Stan and Jim...If a cruise starts with an overnight stay in port, is the muster on the first night, to get it out of the way, or on the second day/night just beore sail away?

If the first night was in port and the ship cast off and was at anchor in the same port, for the second day,would this have an effect on the muster timings, as the ship would have left the dock?

Would appreciate you thoughts, as you have lots of knowledge regarding Oceania.:)

Turnip

A question for Stan and Jim...If a cruise starts with an overnight stay in port, is the muster on the first night, to get it out of the way, or on the second day/night just beore sail away?

 

If the first night was in port and the ship cast off and was at anchor in the same port, for the second day,would this have an effect on the muster timings, as the ship would have left the dock?

 

Would appreciate you thoughts, as you have lots of knowledge regarding Oceania.:)

 

Turnip

They do it on the day that the ship actually sails, just before Sail Away, unless there is some overriding reason not to do so.

In any case, the crew counts drill attendees very carefully, and auxiliary drills are scheduled if need be.

Their primary rational is to get the lifesaving and evacuation information to everyone, and they do what they can to make that happen most efficiently.

My suggestion is to hire a great guide in Athens to pick you up and spend the morning touring as you wont be able to check in to your hotel until about 3pm..with a guide and not a taxi you are not wasting any of your precious time waiting in a hotel to check in!!

Jancruz1

They do it on the day that the ship actually sails, just before Sail Away, unless there is some overriding reason not to do so.

 

In any case, the crew counts drill attendees very carefully, and auxiliary drills are scheduled if need be.

 

Their primary rational is to get the lifesaving and evacuation information to everyone, and they do what they can to make that happen most efficiently.

Thanks for the response...We've never stayed overnight in an embarkation port before, especially one that leaves the dock and is at anchor on the second day..........We've seen late arrivals attending a auxiliary drill on day two AND heard of passengers being escorted off the ship for refusing to attend:eek:

Thank you all for your replies. Very helpful information and suggestions. I have a better idea now of the whole process and I can get on with my (over)planning.

Actually on disembarkation day Terrace usually opens at 6am for breakfast. Suits can still order breakfast in the cabin.

On our last cruise we had to chose a time to get off a few days before the end of the cruise and were issued appropriate luggage tags. However, unlike prior cruises no announcements were made telling passengers that such and such a color may disembark. It was pretty well on the honor system and we actually exited early and they were still putting our luggage in the appropriate color area. Everything ran very smoothly.

We stayed at Hotel Ava in Athens, great place with excellent reviews on TripAdvisor. We asked them to arrange a cab for us from the port at a flat fee.

The hotel is INCREDIBLY close to the Acropolis, and Plaka. They stored our luggage, and we walked up the Acropolis, saw the Parthenon and went to the Acroplolis Museum that first day, went back and room available.

We have stayed there twice, it is SO close to everything!

I did this itinerary in June. We had a Veranda cabin and our check in took a total of about 20 minutes. No lines at all in Istanbul. Our luggage was at our cabin within 15 minutes of boarding. Flawless procedure! We unpacked, grabbed a quick bite and then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the Spice Market. NOTE: find out how to take the tram. We walked from the cruise port and it was a long, long, long walk. The following day we had a guide that gave us a tour of some of the major sites in the morning. We were back on the boat by 2 for a late lunch.

In Athens, we prearranged a transfer that took us to our hotel to check in and drop bags and then drove us to meet a tour guide for the Acropolis. Very efficient. I think we got to port around 6 a.m. and were off the boat by 8.

Before I pose my questions, I want to thank all of you who have posted here. This is our first cruise, and I've gained so much insight from reading this board already.

 

Our cruise ends in Athens, and my first question is whether it is advisable to pre-arrange a transfer to our hotel or should we just count on getting a taxi at the terminal? Secondly, the itinerary lists a 4 a.m. arrival in Athens. About what time should be expect to actually leave the ship?

 

Finally, the cruise begins in Istanbul with an overnight in port, departing at 4 p.m. the second day. Not being familiar with check-in procedures, I'm not sure whether we can commit to tours on those two days. We will be in Istanbul a couple of days in advance, but obviously want to take advantage of as much time in the city as possible.

 

Any guidance in these matters is much appreciated.

I will not repeat any of the excellent advice you have received in the above previous postings.

However, if you can swing the time and money, take an extra day or two in wonderful Istanbul. There is so much to see and enjoy there. We now have embarked (with an overnight in port) for two cruises from Istanbul (actually our first-ever cruise and our last this past May) and spent a total of four days in Istanbul each time. There is so much to see and enjoy in this beautiful city. At a minimum, you want to visit Topkapi Palace, Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cisterns, Hippodrome, Spice Bazaar, Archaeological Museum, etc.

BTW, I love your posting name!

Here is a copy of an old post I made after disembarking in Athens from the Riviera's maiden voyage:

We were on the Riviera in May for the MV. We disembarked in Athens and elected to do an overnight there before returning to the States. As with you, we had an early morning departure (8:30AM) the next day.

I chose to stay at the Sofitel that night because I didn't want to deal with any other form of transportation in the early morning. Although not cheap, the Sofitel is located immediately across the street for the Athens airport. It was an easy one minute walk with suitcases to get to the check in area for the flights. Not having to pay the cost for a taxi to the airport somewhat cost justifies the cost of the Sofitel.

Given this arrangement, I was in the same predicament as you with bags, etc. I was already planning to do a full day tour in Athens with a driver. We used Athens Minibus Private Day Tours (currently ranked 7th on TripAdvisor) for our transportation and tour needs. We followed their recommendation and kept the bags with the driver and the car for the day. That worked out perfectly and gave us more time in Athens for sightseeing. The people with Athens Minibus Tours were great.

After spending eight hours touring Athens we were happy to just head back to the hotel in the late afternoon and rest. When we got up the next morning (way too early!), it was great to just roll out of bed and stumble across the street to the airport.

BTW, the airport was very quiet that early in the morning. (At least on our day of departure.)

My suggestion is to hire a great guide in Athens to pick you up and spend the morning touring as you wont be able to check in to your hotel until about 3pm..with a guide and not a taxi you are not wasting any of your precious time waiting in a hotel to check in!!

Jancruz1

I second Jan's recommendation. We disembarked in Athens (Piraeus) a couple years ago and pre hired a Trip Advisor recommended driver/guide with a van. Went to all the major sites (Acropolis, Hadrian's Gate, Agora) and then to our hotel in the Plaka. Next morning he picked us up and transported us to the airport. Quite seamless and a great way to see the city.

We disembark in Athens at the end of October, and I have arranged exactly what Aloha1 describes. Pick us up at pier, give us a tour, and drop us at hotel with luggage at end of tour. Pick us up next morning and take us to airport. Should be smooth, and an efficient use of our time.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. Indeed we are staying a few days before and after the cruise in Istanbul and Athens and have booked private tours in both cities. The fact that we will have to wait until the afternoon to check in at the hotel is a good point, so we are considering adding another tour, perhaps an excursion outside the city, or we may just take the opportunity to explore the neighborhood around the hotel (Plaka/Acropolis) on our own after dropping the bags at the hotel.

Terryandmike, we are on the same cruise and exchanged greeting on the Roll Call forum. Hello, again.

Oh yes, hello again NickCarraway! I knew your name sounded familiar, but was thinking it was in my mind from the book.