NextOne

Clipper - thanks for all your posts. Now I'm even MORE excited about our July cruise, if that's possible!

Safe travels home!

Edi

AQ (aka Clipper) - thanks for all the info so far. You've got me planning to try a WangWang now - never had the nerve before!:p

Have a wonderful trip, and please say hi to AIP for me when you see her.

Edi

To this day, I can't hear the Navy Hymn without flashing back to that weekend and the funeral that followed.

Just did Nativeway two weeks ago and it was awesome! We had Captain Chris, and he was just terrific. As luck would have it, just my husband & I were on the boat with Chris, and he made sure we spent appropriate time at Stingray City, the Coral Gardens, and then to see star fish. No rushing! We found him to be attentive, informative, and fun! One of the best days we've had on an excursion, without a doubt! So my vote goes to Nativeway!

My PPC just replied that it would require rebooking to get the Explore 4 package and prices have gone up substantially since we originally booked. Grrrr! :mad:

We used Kokolis travel on June 6 and had Carol as our guide. The ship (NA) was an hour late arriving, so she had to make adjustments to our itinerary, but it turned out to be a lovely day. If you go, try to get a side trip to Assos - a beautiful little town! Carol is extremely knowledgeable and happy to answer questions. She adjusted the itinerary based on our interests.

She was very helpful and considerate, too. My DH picked up the "cruise cough" so she went with him to a local pharmacy and helped him get some meds to carry him through until we got home. We really appreciated that TLC!

It was about 9:30 when we got off the tender in the old port.

The NST office is on the way to the cable car. They are plainly marked and the tenders all had flyers advertising them, too.

You didn't have to make a choice about the boat or shuttle until you were ready to return.

NST is essentially the boatsmen's union in Thira. They control most of the boat activity in the old port.

Hope this helps!

We asked our guide in Kusadasi last week about protests and she replied that they occurred nightly after the cruise ships left. About 300-400 residents go to the town center to chant and bang pots. She said they would continue to do so until the next elections.

We were in Istanbul on the Nieuw Amsterdam on June 1 & 2. The night before we arrived, a letter from the captain was delivered to each stateroom telling us of the protest, where it was located, and encouraged us to avoid that area. Before we left the ship, those warnings were reitterrated verbally during the noon update. There was no sign of disturbance in the Old Town on either day. I spoke to my HAL TA yesterday and he said that the company monitors such situations closely and will make decisions on stops on a day-to-day basis.

We used Ephesus Shuttle last week for their half-day tour and everyone agreed that it was the best decision we could have made. Our guide Naahid was very knowledgeable and considerate. She encouraged us to use the (pay) restrooms before we entered the site, knowing there wouldn't be another opportunity for 2 hours! Inside the site, she tried as much as possible to find shade for our stops. The tour included the Terrace Houses, and those were amazing. Definitely worth the extra admission! And since so few tourists go there, it was nice to get away from the crush for a while!

A quick stop on the way back to port at the Temple of Artemis, where a stork was nesting with its hatchlings on top of the column. A terrific photo op! While Naahid offered a leather or carpet stop, no one was interested, so we went back to the cruise terminal after a quick stop at the company office for those of us that wanted to pay by credit card. No pressure! From there, we went to the bazaar on our own.

It was a marvelous day and I highly recommend Ephesus Shuttle.

Another shout out for Private Greece Tours. We used them two weeks ago and had a marvelous time. We found them as soon as we exited the terminal and had a wonderful day. They set a high bar for the tours in our other ports!

Just got back from a cruise that included Santorini. After we tendered in, we went straight to the NST office. Their service, for 20 euros per person, included the fast boat to Oia,a shuttle bus up the hill to the town, and then your choice of a return trip by boat or a shuttle bus back to Fira.

That worked for us, and allowed us as much time as we wanted to spend in Oia before taking the shuttle bus to Fira.

Here's another shout-out for Private Greece Tours. We were greeted as soon as we got outside the terminal, and our driver/guide Manos made sure we got to the Acropolis before most of the buses. Afterward, he gave us a wonderful tour of the city and managed a stop for some yummy gyros before we headed back to the ship. It was a great day!

I definitely agree; definitely on your side of thinking and i wish a simple credit card number was enough. Even this is NOT supposed to be recorded though and i have made a huge fuss in local IKEA, in Athens, when they were so stupid to write credit card numbers on the paper receipt cashiers print through the POS when you pay with a credit card. My voice could be heard all the way to the airport, which is 1 - 2 miles away i guess, even if i was getting trivial.

 

I also feel uncomfortable with this; not using travel services here in Greece since i live here but i had to give my passport number elsewhere in Europe.

 

Exhibiting personal documents is one thing, keeping and editing records of sensitive data is another.

 

I tried to find some definite information but, i am really sorry, i couldn't find any additional information, besides my personal assumption. I 'll give it another go again following days.

Thank you for your help. I appreciate your unbiased and honest response.

Rightly or wrongly, I have confidence that my cruise line will not misuse the information. I understand why they are collecting it. In my years of cruising, I've never had any problem with it falling into the wrong hands. However, I work in the fraud prevention area and I know a false identity can be established with a passport number just as easily as a SSN. I would hope that enough push-back would convince the government to find an alternative. That's just my opinion, so please don't view it as a criticism of the information you've been kind enough to share!

I also received the same request from Private Greece Tours today for our Athens tour. I told him I was uncomfortable with sharing that sort of sensitive information and asked if some other information could be substituted. If this continues to be a requirement, I can see a big boost to ship excursions!

We stopped at the Cameo Factory earlier this month and were very impressed. I believe the smaller cameo pendants were $50 and the larger ones were $80. If you pay cash, they'll reduce the price, so it's worth negotiating.