fraj1

Thanks all for really helpful comments - will carry on with research and let you know what I go with - am in the UK and live more than 50 miles from the airport so included transfer probably not attractive to us as the one way fare shown on the website calculator was the same price as the return fare with the taxi we currently use. If opt for D2D see we might be able to claim refund if transfer not used. Need to check out all the prices but if P2P much cheaper we have the flexibility to travel a day earlier and do an overnight stay just to make sure we are in place for the cruise. Also have flexibility at the other end too.
thanks again! 

Looking at booking our first Silversea cruise and would welcome users views on the relative merits/ disadvantages of port to port vs door to door and whether there are certain factors that make one better than the other in some situations? 
 

any advice appreciated…..many thanks 

Thanks everyone for very helpful (and amusing!) responses. As smaller and quieter would suit us best as well as the dates of sailing mid week we think it’ll be Zaandam! 
 

Any advice on best cabins for the Inside Passage cruise? Would like a balcony so seems Vista Suite is the minimum to get this. Just wondering what the difference is between vista suite on Zaandam and basic verandah on Konigsdam? Good news is cabin availability for early July 2024 seems good at the moment so I can take a little longer planning our whole trip to include  4 nights Banff, Rocky Mountaineer to Vancouver, 5 nights Vancouver then take the cruise. 
 

thanks again…all comments welcome….much appreciated…

Jan 

Did you decide between Koningsdam and Zaandam? If so what was your conclusion? Am facing the same dilemma so any further thoughts helpful! 

Hope you all enjoyed the cruise as much as we did, sorry we didn't get a chance to meet up but thanks for all your helpful inputs before the cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and other posters were right, despite the pre-cruise hassles, the on-board experience was as good as ever!  Till the next one!!!  Happy holidays!

Jan and Neil 

Many thanks! Most helpful! 

can someone supply the link to the Cabins Spreadsheet please?

thanks 

Thanks this is really helpful and answers all my questions! 

Assume there aren’t kettles in balcony cabins and we need to rely on room service for early morning cuppa? Or can you take travel kettles? 

Sailing on Quest shortly…..can anyone say what plug sockets are in Balcony cabins? We’re from the UK so just checking if need adaptors? 

Is there any problem getting sun loungers on Quest? Is there a towel reservation policy and if so is it enforced ? Thanks! 

Chios,Patmos,kos,Rhodes,Crete Chania, Mykonos ?

thanks

Any shuttles in the Greek Islands? 

Any options for doing Spinalonga from Agios Nik cruise port? Ship cruise sold out ! Thanks. 

Hi - has anyone managed Spinalonga from Agios Nikolius cruise port? Our ship excursion is full so looking for alternative ways of doing it ? 
thanks 

I am no further forward and cruise in 33 days - cruise not showing as an upcoming cruise and hence no excursions visible - I’ve filled in the Request Support form and each time get an email back saying it’s fixed but it never is! Anyone else still in this position?? 

Can I just clarify LeonGe…..did you initially precruise book your excursions with your personal credit card and then when onboard got them to refund the monies to your personal credit card and deduct it from your OBC instead? If so then this is an ideal solution! Would be a bit worried about using my own credit card without this assurance as I don’t want to be left with lots of OBC! 
 

many thanks

On 4/10/2023 at 7:38 PM, marazul said:

Here is the website to check the water temperatures around the world.

https://www.seatemperature.org/

We have Swedish friends who think that a sea temperature of 74 is really warm.  Personally, I am happier if it is 84,  In Greece, I like swimming in August and early September. But take your pick.  

 

Balance other things you would like to see at each port and the amount of time in each.  For beaches in each, google something like "Kos beaches" to get pictures and maps of all the beaches around.  Kos has really beautiful, sandy beaches, and it may have fewer other things to do than your other ports. The sea temps in June will be around 74F.

https://www.themediterraneantraveller.com/beautiful-beaches-kos/

 

Also consider Mykonos for a lot of sandy beaches.  A fun thing to do in Mykonos is to take a jeep tour of the island that takes you several places and stops at two or three beaches for a swim.  They normally have one long beach stop for lunch and a longer beach time.  The water temps should be about the same as in Kos.

 

Tx for your help much appreciated! 

On 4/11/2023 at 10:09 PM, marazul said:

https://santorinidave.com/best-beaches-mykonos

Many thanks for this ….looks like a bus to a beach 5 km away will be doable! This is a great link too! 

19 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

On our cruise Mykonos seems to be the beach place.  It is known for the big party beach clubs.

 

I am seeing this video of beaches around Chania Crete.

They look incredible!

Not sure about how accessible they are, and what facilites are available.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btwAivItDhQ&t=153s

 

Have you checked the beach excursions for the different ports on your itinerary?

 

Many thanks  - I’ve stayed in Crete several times so have been fortunate to go to many of these beaches - they are indeed lovely! Am waiting to find out where ships tours are going - they have a website problem at the moment! 

We will be cruising June 10-17, thanks for your thoughts ….

We are stopping at Agios and Chania, Crete, Chios, Kos, Mykonos, Patmos, Rhodes and Santorini and I'd love to have at least one beach day.....any suggestions for a lovely beach that will be accessible from the cruise port for a day? 

Many thanks!

I'm about to book a cruise on MV Riva but am unsure of best location for a cabin on a small ship - quietness is my prime concern but are there other criteria to consider when small ship cruising?  Grateful for any advice.  Many thanks.    

I'm about to book a cruise on MV Riva but am unsure of best location for a cabin on a small ship - quietness is my prime concern but are there other criteria to consider when small ship cruising?  Grateful for any advice.  Many thanks.    

I’m a UK ACOL bridge player travelling solo and wondering whether there will there be much opportunity to play on a 14 night cruise with 5 sea days? Thanks!