HRPro

We stayed at the AVA Hotel in the Plaka.  Great location close to everything, wonderful accommodations and excellent customer service from the staff.  Athens is a wonderful town for exploring the Acropolis and other ancient sites.  Don't miss the fascinating Archeological Museum.  We had a great experience using George's Taxi service for airport pickup and drop off as well as half-day and full day tours.  They are very responsive and reasonable.

On 10/3/2020 at 6:46 PM, boilermaker330 said:

Would you mind sharing the name of the tour company?

Odysseas Sailing Yacht on Santorini, the owner is Vaio Lamprinakis.  I found them on Trip Advisor--they were very highly rated, and we had a wonderful half day excursion sailing and swimming, which still gave us plenty of time to explore Oia and get back to Fira in time to catch the tender back to the ship.

16 hours ago, bennybear said:

We did a tour with Lale Kosygin but that was a while ago.  You could also check with Levent Solmaz.   The last few years have been difficult for guides so some are not guiding.

 

We did the spice market on our on our own the first evening and then did a private tour to Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque,  Grand Bazaar, Topaki Palace and the cisterns.  So it is  possible but the traffic can be crazy!  We even had time for lunch but it was a very full day. One of the most beautiful cities and I highly recommend the cisterns!  

We are using Levent Solmaz for our tour of Ephesus and really looking forward to that tour.  He was very prompt and responsive when I emailed him about a private tour.  Thanks for all the information you've shared--it's been very helpful as we plan our cruise.

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

It will be a bit of a flying visit, but yes, you can do it.

 

Suggest leaving your ship ASAP (usually clearance is fast). Take the tram and get off at the Sultanahmet stop. Go immediately and purchase your tickets for Haghia Sofia. It is the least crowded first thing in the morning or at the very end of the day. Afterwards, cross to the Blue Mosque, which faces Haghia Sofia, and check the times of prayer (it closes for a while at each prayer time). If you can get in, I'd go ahead and see it next. If the call to prayer is close, you can walk up to the Cistern and see it. (It doesn't take long, but I usually spend longer than you'd think because I'm a lingerer....). Then go back to the Blue Mosque.

 

After that, I would recommend, instead of going to the Grand Bazaar, that you visit instead the bazaar beside the Blue Mosque. The Grand Bazaar is, I understand, one of "those" places -- but it is very touristy at the entrances and takes some time to locate the areas where there are still genuine craftsmen and merchants working.  The bazaar I speak of is smaller and has some good quality items -- I believe it's called the Arasta bazaar and it is along the street to the left of the Blue Mosque if you are facing its entrance.  I'd also recommend finding a spot for lunch in this area -- numerous choices for either a quick meal or a slower one. The food in Turkey is outstanding.

 

Finally, walk down the hill a bit to Topkapi Palace entrance. The palace grounds are quite large. I think there are headsets you can rent with info about the various buildings. If you can, do the harem tour -- it is a special guided tour given on the hour but only sometimes in English. Otherwise just wander and see what's interesting. (I enjoyed the jewels, the kitchens, and the portraits of the sultans....also just wandering the grounds.)

 

After this you've probably exhausted yourselves!  Walk back to the same tram stop where you got off and head back to the ship. If you have any time/stamina left, you can walk across the hippodrome and look at the two monuments there, two of the original/oldest things you'll see unless you visit the great archaeological museum beside Topkapi.

 

If you decide instead that you'd rather go to the Grand Bazaar, you can either find the tram tracks and walk along them (it's not that far) or reboard it and take the tram two stops further from where you first got off to Beyazit.

Thanks cruisemom42, just what I needed.  I appreciate very much your detailed advice, and we will definitely follow that on our visit to Istanbul if we are fortunate enough to be able to cruise next May.

Thanks to everyone's helpful advice, I was able to email my shareholder benefit request and documentation, and my OBC was on my account the next day.  So glad that I don't have to wait until the last minute to do this and don't have to worry about faxing.  Email is so much easier.

I appreciate all the helpful information shared on this Board.

2 hours ago, georgiacat said:

Hi HRPro, yes we are on this cruise.  We will be stopping at the port for Ephesus on May 19.  We board in Barcelona on May 8 and debark in Athens on May 22.

 

Did you arrange a private tour with Mr. Solmaz, or are you trying to put together a small group tour?  If it is a small group tour, we may be interested in joining you.  Can you let me know the details here, or I can give you my email address:  cat913smo@aol.com.

Yes, a small group tour--no more than 8-10.  I will send you a pm via email with all the details.  Come join our Roll Call.

We are in Istanbul for an all day port stop, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, and plan to tour on our own taking the tram back and forth from the cruise terminal.  It will just be my sister and me, and we are in good shape and can move pretty fast.  How much will we be able to fit in for a one day port stop?  My priority is Haghia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, and Topkapi Palace with maybe a wander through the Grand Bazaar.  Is this doable, too much?  I'm not sure we'll be back to Istanbul, and I want to see as much as possible in the day that we have there.  Thanks in advance for advice/help--it will be much appreciated.

On 3/28/2019 at 7:22 PM, maryogreen said:

I'd like to add my enthusiastic recommendation for tour guide Levant Solmaz. We spent a memorable day with him touring Ephesus  – including the then newly-opened terrace houses – as well as Mary's House and the Temple of Artemis. Levant also took us to lunch at a wonderful local café that used fresh ingredients from its own garden.

Here is the contact information I have for him: http://leventsolmaz.com/

I also have a blog post with photos and the story of our day there which you might find helpful:

https://www.themodernpostcard.com/kusadasi-turkey-ephesus-marys-house-temple-artemis/

Good luck planning your day in Ephesus. It's a spectacular place!

Mary

Travel Blog: www.themodernpostcard.com

Thanks for the recommendation of Levant Solmaz.  We will be in Ephesus in May 2021, and I contacted him about doing a private tour.  He was very responsive and detailed about what we would see and I thought the cost was very reasonable.  We are looking forward to the tour and appreciate being able to read our blog post too.

On 6/22/2020 at 8:22 AM, georgiacat said:

We hope to be on the Enchanted cruise that stops here May 2021.  Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions of what to do/see?

We are also on the Enchanted Princess for the May 15 cruise departing Rome.  Are you on that same cruise?  If so, thanks to the recommendation from people on this thread, I have contacted Levant Solmaz for a private tour of Ephesus.  You're welcome to join us if you are on our cruise.  If you are on the earlier one in May, you may want to contact Mr. Solmaz.  Tour is very reasonable for what you see, and he seemed to be very flexible with the tour itinerary.  Thanks for those who shared his contact information, it was very helpful.  I do love smaller private excursions.

Thanks for the great information and the email address.  I was still operating under the assumption that I couldn't apply for SHB request until 3 months before our cruise.  Happy to be able to do it by email and ahead of time, so I can apply the cost to a couple of excursions that I'm going to book via Princess.  I usually do private tours, but making an exception for a couple of ports for our next cruise in May 2021.  Ya'll are so helpful sharing information.

We took a private catamaran tour, and they picked us up at the Old Town port right where the tender drops you off.  It was very convenient, and after our cruise, they dropped us off at Oia to see the windmills and that end of the island.  We took a taxi back to Fira where we picked up the tender and back to the ship.  We loved our catamaran cruise in Santorini--it was one of our favorite days of the entire Mediterranean cruise.

We tendered in Kotor, but you may be docked.  It just depends on how many ships are in port and who gets there first to dock.  In Mykonos, you may dock or have to tender depending on the number or ships in port.  We'll be calling at Mykonos next May, and I'm actually hoping we tender since they take you directly in the dock at the old town.  The new port dock requires a taxi or shuttle to take you in to Mykonos Old Town.

Agreed--Bruges is definitely my favorite place in all of Belgium.  It's closest to your actual port, and it's a lovely, historic place with lots to see (canal cruise is a must), great food and beer, and the if you like biking, a great place to rent a bike and explore the town.  Don't miss buying chocolates--some of the best in the world.  Enjoy!

Just found this thread and caught up on another one of your fabulous live froms. We will be getting on the Regal when you get off, so I'm especially interested in your experience in the ports as we've never cruised the Baltic. I was really excited to see this thread as I love your humor and the details of your cruise experience. I'm also anxiously waiting to hear about your first day experience in Russia and whether there was a long delay in getting off the ship. We're booked with Alla for their two-day Grand Tour, so hoping you will also share your tour experience.

Many thanks for taking us along.

Does any one know is SPB or ALLA tours does the Faberge museum. I've booked the Baltic cruise for August of 2019 and would want to do that (I heard someone did it a an additional evening tour)

This will be my first- possibly only trip to St. Peterberg and I want to see it all

We are booked with Alla for our June Baltic cruise, and we also considered SPB. Both offer the Faberge as an evening tour on the first day in St. Petersburg, and we are planning to do that. If you book a private tour with either company, they will customize the itinerary and likely add the Faberge museum to your regular tour day. We were fine adding it as an evening tour as the museum is small and doesn't take alot of time to visit; price is very reasonable too.

I also contacted the Stromma service and got a similar reply—their boats will be available for the direct trip to the Vasa Museum as soon as ships arrive. She also said there was no need to reserve tickets in advance.

Wow, over 100 views, and no one has any hotel recommendations? It seems like we should hopefully get answers, as many people have this same question.

 

Please let us know where you have stayed in Copenhagen!

We are staying at the Ibsen Hotel pre and post-cruise. It gets good reviews from Trip Advisor and Rick Steves and is centrally located in a good area, not far from public transportation.

We gave up our Sip and Sail on our Baltic cruise in May 2017. Saved quite a chunk of change and honestly with that itinerary we weren’t on the ship enough to make it worthwhile. Also with so many early stops, and wanting to make the most of our port days, we were early to bed almost every evening!

 

 

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Same for us--we're on the June 1st Baltic and originally booked under Sip and Sail, but under the anniversary sale, the prices were lower plus we received extra OBC, so overall $1000 per person savings. Can't turn that down. It usually pays to check frequently especially when new promotions begin.

For most of us on these Boards, it's likely not an issue but when you have difficulty sleeping and other health challenges, it could be a different story for you and your husband. Having said that, I personally think the long transatlantic flight is likely to be more disruptive than the long days/short nights. However, I think you're wise to check with your doctor and see what he/she advises. Good luck and hope you're able to take the cruise. It's a beautiful part of the world.

Susan

Haven’t been on the Regal since the midship stairs were completed, but loved the ones on the Royal, which we sailed this summer for the first time since her midship stairs were completed. It made a huge difference for us as we usually stay midship. We used the stairs all the time. Can’t wait for our upcoming cruise on the Regal in June. The central stairs are one of the reasons we selected the cabin we did on Emerald Deck midship,

Norris, really enjoying your review, and the pictures are making me homesick for the Regal. We sailed her on one of her first Caribbean cruises but haven't sailed her again since 2014. We'll be back on board in June for a Baltic Cruise, so anticipation is building with all your beautiful photos. Sure hope Born to Dance will still be on the entertainment menu for next summer. Sounds like a fabulous show especially if you love Broadway, which I do. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I love this itinerary too, so it brings back good memories of last year's New England/Canadian cruise.

Susan

Always try to go early to beat the rush and get on board to have lunch either in the dining room or Alfredos. I'm always anxious to get my cruise started as soon as possible.

My favorite sandwich is the Cuban--grilled. The Cronut is also delicious but they don't have them all the time. I also enjoy almost all the salads except the chicken salad which has too much mayo for my taste. The Chocolate mousse dessert is yummy.

We had lovely new plush robes on the Royal this past June. They were plenty large even though my granddaughter and I are both pretty small. Just hoping they'll replace the old waffle ones on the Regal before our Baltic cruise in June.

Gorgeous sunset pictures. Love Boston too. No better place to get fantastic sunset pictures than on board ship. Thanks for sharing a great review. Have read your precious ones and always enjoy them.

Susan