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shmabbies

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  1. Thanks bookbabe. Have been to the new Istanbul airport before but only between flights, never left it, so I know the distances are epic. Mixed bag that we don't handle our own luggage from baggage claim (no pun intended). Part of me wants it on my person, and part of me knows it's better someone else is wrangling it. I'm not confident of assistance at Galataport - finding a staff member may be easier said than done! But - we'll know shortly! Thank you again for your persistence in trying to assist. Have a great cruise!!
  2. The back-to-back sounds lovely. I have a 91 year old mother and we do animal rescue work, so being away that long is not possible, but we've been to the Med and this part of Europe lots and lots of times. Been to every port on this cruise multiple times. We disembark in Rome, way before you, and consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to do that much. You'll have a great time!
  3. Yes, that was me (a little worse for the wear). I will have to check out your link, that sounds very cool. I'm not totally sure I'm ready for Egypt yet, at least as in depth as what we had planned because we've been there so many times and want to see things way beyond the "norm." We had a 100% private tour booked at the time of the Arab spring, obviously we cancelled it, and haven't been back since. It's Mr. Shmabbies favorite country in the world. Good luck to both of us in getting there!
  4. I guess we're at opposite wishes! One of us will be happy! Have a great time, especially if you haven't been to Istanbul before. It's a great city!
  5. Yeah the videos are depressing AND seeing the long concrete corridors really doesn't tell you much about distances. But I'm not going to let anyone hurry me on embarkation day. AND even though we booked an included excursion the next day, if I have to walk all the way back out again (this time with time pressures to keep up with the excursion) and then walk all the way back in again after the excursion (with time pressures for sailaway), I just won't do the excursion (which I will be really angry about as it's something I really want to do). BTW - do you remember me from our discussions MANY years ago (pre Arab spring and pre Covid) about doing a multi-day felucca on the Nile? Did you ever get to do that?
  6. Actually, after I typed and submitted my post, I told Mr. Shmabbies about it, and he corrected me and said that years ago it WAS Dolmabahce Palace that we were docked nearby (and walked over to), not Topkapi, so I think the address provided by Viking IS that old port and WOULD BE a great alternative. As far as checking with Viking, they are often clueless, so I don't think I would learn anything from them, and we did purchase a ship transfer from airport to port, so as long as THE TRANSFER DRIVER knows where he's going, the amount of walking is going to be what it is. Since we don't sail until the next day, I guess I can take my time!
  7. Cruisemom42, you have added another wrinkle. We received our final documents that contained at least one error, including that we must obtain a Turkish visa - this after they sent out an e-mail after the first of the year telling us visas were no longer required (which we knew from independent sources) - but the final docs caused my blood pressure to rise. Another potential inaccuracy is that this is our embarkation location per aforesaid docs: Yeni Yolcu Terminali Salipazari/Findikli Meclisi Mebusan Caddesi Salpazar Liman Sahas 1 numaral Yolcu Salonu Beyolu Istanbul, Turkey. If the embarkation location were Galataport, why not just say Galataport. I do not believe this is Galataport's address - but I'm not sure - which means either we are possibly at the small old port you mention OR it's a failure to update the docs to reflect Galataport. I'm pretty sure when we sailed from Istanbul years ago, we were at the old port near Topkapi Palace that you mention, and I totally agree that it was an easy location to access. All I can say is I'm glad we purchased a ship transfer BUT I'm still concerned about the amount of walking. Thank you for your input!
  8. Edinburgher, of course I will relate my experiences and information. I'm really amazed at the lack. My two theories are: I'm worried for nothing (best option) OR people who have experienced it are still so exhausted they can't even post. Like bookbabe, I will be at the port next week - too late for her to provide any information for me, and too late for me to provide any information for her. BUT we can help others!
  9. Have read a lot of negatives about the amount of walking required in Istanbul's relatively new cruise terminal, Galataport - but no one has offered any information about how to deal with this. The consensus is that such a new facility should have services available - I've read & re-read the Galataport website but (maybe it's me) I can't find a word about availability of wheelchairs, even benches for taking a break. Every post seems to mention the large amount of walking. We are embarking there in a few weeks and I'm beginning to get very concerned, not only about the embarkation process, but about an excursion we've booked for the next day which sounds like we may have to do "the walk" all over again to exit the terminal and then re-enter after the excursion. We've embarked and disembarked in Istanbul in years past but all were before Galataport and frankly the "old way" sounds as if it were much more user-friendly. Hopefully someone will tell me I'm missing something!
  10. Actually I did review the posts in that location a while ago (but thanks for suggesting it). Other than pretty much the same comments as here (LONG SLOG), I found nothing but confirmation of how much walking is involved. As in this thread, one poster mentioned that such a facility MUST have services - which we all agree is a logical conclusion - but no one has posted use of said services or a link to said services. I'd be happy with PAYING for assistance. But you're right, I should put a post there. Thanks!
  11. Thanks to all for confirming my worst fears - glad I asked! For those who referenced Galataport and the fact that for such a big, new, upscale facility it MUST have handicapped help - I would agree that it seems logical that it must be so. BUT I have been all over the Galataport website and I've read an awful lot about all the awards it's won and all its shopping opportunities and all the restaurants it has etc. etc. but I have NOT found one word about wheelchairs or handicapped assistance, nor have I found a phone number or e-mail or other way to reach out to Galataport management to ask. I'm really kind of flabbergasted. And disappointed. One takeaway from carolinetodd's comments that I think I was mistaken about - I think I thought check-in would be pretty close to the ship entrance/gangway, because in my experience it usually is. But her comments lead me to believe that even after check-in there is yet more walking to leave the structure - would that be true? This is all so different from the way it used to be embarking in Istanbul. I'm kindof regretting the choice. But appreciative of the input received and welcome more!
  12. Have been to Istanbul many times by land and sea, but have not flown in for a cruise since the new airport opened and not sailed in since Galataport opened. Embarking Viking in a few weeks in Istanbul and am concerned about the amount of walking just to board the ship. 1. Have booked a Viking transfer. Have booked airport wheelchair assistance (for the first time) that will hopefully get me from aircraft to Viking transfer rep i.e. through passport control & luggage pickup. While I understand this is all speculative with no absolutes - does anyone who has embarked Viking in Istanbul and used a Viking transfer recall how far a walk it was from Viking rep meet point to the actual transfer vehicle (I ask because in Rome FCO the bus was parked very far away from the Viking rep meet point & we were expected to gallop after a young & very fit rep on a mission to get us to the bus & it was a nightmare for me). 2. The transfer vehicle presumably drops us off at Galataport, which I understand is massive and I cannot locate anything about wheelchair services available there. Experiences with how much walking is involved from getting off the transfer bus to the ship check-in location would be appreciated if anyone has them. 3. I assume from ship check-in to actually boarding the ship is not that far, but in case it is, any experiences appreciated. 4. The next day we have booked the Bosphorus cruise, which is described as "easy." My experience with Viking excursions is that they do not at all take into account how much walking is involved to board any vehicles and do not take into account how much walking there might be from where the vehicle leaves you off to the site entrance (since many sites understandably don't allow big buses to pull up very close). At Olympia, for example, we'd only ever been there by private excursion and were dropped off right at the entrance - with Viking, the buses parked at the top of a small hill that we had to walk down (and on return, up) and the total walking distance NOT on site was about 1/2 mile each way per Mr. Shmabbies). So with this "easy" Bosphorus cruise excursion - does anyone know if we have to walk back through Galataport to a bus to get to the boat, or maybe we board the boat right near the ship which would be nice? I really want to make clear I am NOT complaining - I am seeking information to evaluate against my personal strengths and weaknesses and this information may help others. Many thanks!
  13. . We've been home from our cruise for almost three months and it has pained me to keep quiet about this, but given this topic as an opening, I can no longer resist commenting about our experience in YC. We had a wonderful Bellissima cruise pre-Covid and suffered thru endless cruise cancellations during Covid until finally getting to sail in the Med in October - where we found YC to be loaded with kids, unlike our previous relaxing experience in YC on Bellissima. I know school vacations are different in different parts of the world so I expected if our timing wasn't good that there might be kids around ages 5-14, but these were BABIES. Infants. And lots of them. On the days we could laugh about it, we joked they and their mothers were discharged from the delivery room directly to the YC boarding tent. We pretty much lost the use of our balcony because of the screaming babies in cabins with their balcony doors open, OR screaming babies ON the balcony (hopefully in the arms of an adult). We could not escape the screaming on some days and obviously it had to affect other passengers as well. Gone were hours relaxing with a good book on the balcony. Gone were quiet dinners in the YC dining room. We did book a future cruise while on board, but if our future experience is the same as this one, that will probably be our last MSC cruise and our last YC experience. I'm not sure if we would have preferred the guitar in Top Sail but I think possibly we would have because we could have left and gone back to our cabin and taken a chance the babies were asleep.
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