Joanandjoe

We've located Joan's review of our Regent Cappadocia trip in November, 2009. Joan's review of the hotel was less favorable than mine; but neither of us felt that the hotel detracted from the trip. I'll add to the review the fact that they did offer to switch hotels for us, but that didn't happen to the mobility problems of the other people on the trip. The Navigator referred to in the last sentence was our ship, the Regent Seven Seas Navigator. Joe

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Cappadocia review

We'll write more when we get over the terrible colds (actually, bronchitis for Joe) which we got from the miserable weather on the trip. It rained all or part of the day the first 9 of our 13 days (we never did see the sun in a week in Turkey), with an all day rain three of the days (a downpour with wind at Ephesus). Despite the awful weather, it was a great trip. Cappadocia is beautiful beyond belief!

An uncomfortable Transatlantic trip, with jet lag and cramped conditions, improves when we see a charming girl holding a sign with our names on it. Seamless connections to the hotel. We find a delightful restaurant on the Taksim Square, and enjoy our meal fully.

We were part of a group of 8, with the two of us (ages 64 and 62) the babies of the group. Three or four of the others were over 80, and maybe 5 of the 8 had mobility problems. So there was no hotel switch. We met our guide, Sayat Turabik, in the lobby of the hotel. Nobody gave us a name or meeting time, but we were ready early in spite of our jet lag, and eventually connected with Sayat in Istanbul. For what we paid, we should have had that information. Sayat handed us a printed schedule of our Cappadocia adventure. We spent the morning visiting Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Sayat's advice about shopping the Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar was accurate and helpful. Lunch at Hamdi was superb. We had a view of two continents, appetizers and pizza, and a mixed entree. I bought 1/2 c. saffron for $2.00, and Rahat Locum (known simply as Lokum in Turkey). Back to the hotel by 3:30, we walk around and find a modest restaurant. We're drinking bottled water, on Sayat's advice. Superb buffet breakfast in the hotel, a delightful meal.

Turkish airlines gets us to Cappadocia in the rain. They serve a meal on the short flight: yogurt, water, cheese sandwich. A bit of sunshine for about two minutes, a waiting bus, and our tour begins. We hike up and down the justifiably famous Goreme Open Air Museum. We visit Avanos, walk into a cave and see a potter making a dish. I don't buy, although the place is obviously a shop. More sight-seeing of the remarkable Cavusin and Pigeon Valley, more caves. Wonderful lunch in a restaurant where they bake your stew in a clay pot and break the pot to serve you. The local wines are quite good, as my fellow-travelers sip a glass or two at their own expense. We are greeted with juice or wine on arrival. Unpacking, refreshing baths, and a buffet dinner fill our evening. Everyone's happy with an early bedtime.

Buffet breakfast the next day is excellent, bountiful and varied. Joe and I acquire a taste for their cherry juice. Joe is now insisting that PANORAMA is the Turkish word for Gift Shop, half-jokingly. The Turkish Lira is worth less than the dollar, so shopping is a pleasure.

The Lykia Lodge, is, I'll admit, a bit dreary; but we weren't there for much else other than eating and sleeping. They greeted us with complimentary beverages (hard or soft). We got two good nights of sleep, so the small rooms didn't bother us. The food at the Lodge was terrific: great buffets at breakfast and dinner. We almost became addicted to sour cherry juice! The other meals on the trip were excellent, with one exception: a perfectly awful lunch at the Topkapi Palace just before we boarded the ship.

The guide, Sayat, was a very flexible guy. Seeing the age of the group, he switched our whiling Dervish reservations from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30--and we had front row seats. When it became obvious that the group (other than me) had knees too tricky for the underground city (the vote was 7 to 1 against going, with Joe the one Yes), we went instead to the Keslik 4th century cave monastery. The frescoes are far more expressive than anything in Europe at this time, and the keeper is happy to see us. We are the sole tour group there. Sayat finds us a Roman excavation so recent, we can't photograph it because it has not been fully recorded yet. Fascinating. We even went to a winery.

The fairy chimneys are wonderful beyond description. We do not have a chance to ride a donkey, but we have a wonderful visit. Sayat jokes the donkey ride is $1- to get a ride and $10.00 to get off....Plane back to Istanbul the next day is a nightmare of people trying to get 10 bags each into the overhead compartment, a lobby without bathrooms or water, and the seats in the far back of the plane. It's a holiday weekend, and Topkapi Palace is so crowded we can't get close to the exhibits, and the lunch here is only so-so. (Joe's view--bloody awful!) The wind and rain make the Navigator especially welcome. Joan

We arrive in Istanbul on the Riviera on Oct. 22nd and Oceania has a perfect post-cruise tour for us, time-wise. I'm just not sure about their hotel, which doesn't seem to get good reviews.

 

I'm not so much worried about the cost, which I know will be high, but my comfort. Anybody done this in the past year or so? The hotel is Kapadokya Lodge Inn Hotel (formerly known as the Lykia Cappadocia Lodge Hotel).

We stayed at the Lykia Lodge in November, 2009, as part of a Regent (sister line to Oceania) pre-cruise package to Cappadocia. We, too, had heard so-so things about the hotel. It was actually quite comfortable, and we had a large and quiet room well away from any noise. The Turkish breakfast was incredibly good. I hope that the new owners continue the lavish breakfast, which was big enough for lunch as well as breakfast. Yum!

We were interested in the balloon tour, but it was very early in the morning. Even if we had wanted to go, the balloon would have been cancelled due to bad weather.

Cappadocia was amazingly beautiful, and I still have the pictures up on my cubicle and work. To put that in context, I don't have up on the wall any pictures from subsequent trips to Hawaii, Monaco to Rio, or the Grand Canyon. The people on the tour were too frail (mobility problems) to go to the underground city; so, instead, we went to a 7th century monastery, which had amazing paintings on the wall. The trip was pricey but worth it.

Before you go, check out the prices on eBay. Many of the sellers are Russians, who offer better prices than in stores. As always with web site buying, research the item first, and be very careful.

Oceania is very different than all-inclusive luxury cruise lines (not saying it is better or worse -- just different). While almost everything about Oceania is better than mainstream cruise lines, only certain things are better when compared to luxury cruise lines. We find the ship (décor and upper suites) and specialty restaurants superior to what we have see on Regent or Silversea. The service has been equal to luxury cruise lines. The rest of the experience needs some getting used to. Still, we look forward to our Riviera cruise in November.

Our next cruise is with you on the Regent Voyager, the one after that on the Marina. We look forward to discussing the differences between the two lines with you when we see you in July.

Thanks, again, Kiatsu. It's difficult for someone from the US to think of July as out of season; but it's true that many of our concert venues are dark for the summer. I believe that the outdoor museum has some evening activities in the summer on Thursday nights.

As we mentioned in December, we now have reservations at the Bristol and the Folketeateret. Both sound nice. The Bristol sounds slightly nicer; but we know how tired we are in the evening the first two nights we're in Europe. A hotel that provides dinner may be irresistible.

Has anyone stayed at either hotel? Kiatsu has been very helpful regarding location; but usually people who live in a city have not stayed at hotels in the city.

Also, is there anyone who reads Norwegian, and who can decipher the web site for the theater in the Folketeateret building? There's no English version of the site. We'll be looking for things to do on the nights of 8 and 9, July (but probably not our first night, 7 July), and are looking for ideas.

Taak (thank you).

We've gotten off the main point, which was supposed to be the first impressions of a new Regent cruiser, not hotels in Sydney. Having said that, I hope management is reading this post, and is aware of the complaints about hotels in Rio and Sydney.

The complaint about the Sheraton Rio mirrors our complaint about the hotel when we ended our Transatlantic cruise last year in Rio. The hotel completely messed up our shared day room reservation with two other couples, then compounded the crime by changing the room while half of our group was in the room and half was touring the garden (which we did not find at all lame, even in the rain). Meanwhile, the poor people who had booked transportation with Regent were stuck in the same inadequate room as Snackdaddy, with inadequate refreshments and no real place to rest. The hotel obviously cannot handle a Regent crowd, and should be taken off the Regent list.

As for the main point of Snackdaddy's posts, we're glad they enjoyed the cruise, despite some shore excursion hassles. The overall Regent experience is terrific; but they need to improve their hotel program (including restoring one free hotel night, possibly without a credit if the room is not used, for suites below concierge level), and their "free" shore excursion program, either by offering more choices (so that there aren't 500 people taking the same excursion, as happened to us in Recife), or by offering a credit for opting out of free shore credits (and paying for ones that are taken). The peripheral services that are provided by third parties, rather than by Regent, can make or break one's impression of the quality of one's cruise.

Thanks again. Maybe we'll book the Folketeateret rather than the Bastion. We've already booked the Bristol; but at this point we'd like to have two choices. We can then pick one of the two choices closer to our trip.

Gabelshus has always had extremely high TripAdvisor rankings, but you would probably want to catch the tram to get to/from downtown, since it's about a 20-minute walk to the city center. Also, while it's quite close to the Filipstad cruise pier (that's typically used for Oslo homeport cruises), it's on the opposite side of the highway and rail line, so walking takes around 15 minutes and traveling by taxi means driving down to a crossing point (7 minutes according to Google).

 

The Savoy is also in a fairly convenient location. I believe there's a tram line on one side, so if you're sensitive to noise, you might want to request a room that doesn't face the tram line (though hopefully their noise proofing is good enough that it wouldn't be a problem).

 

I would skip the Bastion. That's kind of a dingy corner of town. While it's perfectly safe, you might enjoy staying elsewhere more if the prices are comparable. Though if budget is a concern, there are a lot of pubs with cheap(er) beer around there!

 

Keep in mind that Norway has laws against smoking indoors, so you will likely not have a problem at any hotel. Some of them might have smoking rooms, but it's generally the exception rather than the norm, and you should be able to request a smoke-free room.

 

If you're looking for a non-US chain, I believe a few of the Thon hotels may have larger rooms. The Bristol in particular. Or there's always the Grand Hotel or the new architecturally-famous The Thief.

Are you familiar with the location of the Hotel Folketeateret. at Storgata 21-23? It has great Trip Advisor reviews, and might be perfect if the location Is right. Taak.

It's wonderful to hear from someone who lives in Oslo, and knows the neighborhoods. When I lived in New York City, instead of the suburbs, I tried to give my knowledge of the city to visitors. I'm pleased that you have done that for us.

We had decided to book the Bristol and the Bastion for now, and then decide later which one to use for our stay from 7/7 to 10/7. Now we'll consider a different Clarion Collection hotel, if the neighborhood of the Bastion is not good. What we like about the chain is that it includes a light supper as well as breakfast. That's very good for tired travelers.

The Thief is already sold out for our dates. We'll look into the Grand.

Tusen takk!

The best fit for us, based on travel guides and Trip advisor, seems to be smoke free hotels such as the Bristol and the various Clarion Collection hotels, including Bastion, Savoy, Gabelshuis, and Royal Christiana. Does anyone have any experience with any of these hotels?

We'll be spending three pre-cruise nights in Oslo in early July, 2014. We'd appreciate hotel recommendations. Our ideal hotel, which may not exist in expensive Oslo, would be Norwegian (rather than an American chain), not too expensive, with a good breakfast, rooms that are not tiny and have a private bathroom, and a queen or king bed (or, if necessary, two single beds).

Also, the Oslo Card looks interesting, especially at the Senior rate. Does anyone have experience with the card? Is it worthwhile? We'll be there long enough for the 72 hour card.

Thanks. :D

Same question for this hotel, for which we have "Hyatt Gold Pass" free reservations: is this a decent location?

There's a new poster asking for the information contained here.

Yes, but it's $15 at a nearby Icon parking location, Hudson View Garage, 747 10th Avenue at 54th Street (see www.iconparking.com), and there may be closer or cheaper alternatives. (This one is perhaps 0.3 to 0.5 miles from the pier-an acceptable walk with two pieces of rollon luggage. Anyway, you can drop the luggage before parking the car, park, then walk the short distance to the pier, and do the reverse going home.) That's for indoor parking, rather than outdoors on the pier. Try some internet research, or maybe a friend who works in NYC can help you.

Have you looked into buses and trains? Some cruise lines even have buses from Baltimore and Philadelphia to the New York port. Also, unless parking is a lot more than renting a ca, wouldn't it be less hassle to drive? I don't know how long your cruise is - parking near the pier is about $15 per day.

We're glad you found an acceptable rental. Rentals in NYC are available but cost more than in most other places.

I don't know about other general travel signts. On Expedia it took some work to find non-airport locations; but by checking "city locations" after they only offered airports, we were able to find the suggesed rental places listed in our last posting.

While it's true that New Yorkers often don't have cars, that also means that they need to rent in the city, not at an airport. I often pass an Avis location, so I tried them first. A search for locations near "450 West 54th St." on Expedia revealed that Avis has at least 6 Manhattan locations, including 153 West 54th St. and 460 West 42nd. St. (The piers are at the Hudson river in the mid-50's.)

Try Expedia or individual company web sites, since there may be places even closer to the pier than Avis (and both of these are less than a mile away). My quick search found nearby locations for almost every big rental company (Hertz, Avis, National, Dollar, Enterprise, Budget, and Alamo). Interestingly enough, one of the the closest locations to the pier is Enterprise, at 11th Avenue and and 48th St. If you get discounts from any company, try them first. Also call to see if any place will pick you up if you call on your cell phone.

Good luck, and don't forget to post so other people can take advantage of what you learned.