Navigator of the Seas: Eastern Mediterranean - May 2012

[stargazer424]

I just booked a 7 night cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean (Italy, Turkey, Greece). I know its 5 months away, but I'm too excited and had to post about it! I have a few questions though:

 

1. We have a balcony room, but what is the best spot on the Navigator for stargazing (least light pollution)?

 

2. I've only been on cruises in the Caribbean and have never been overseas. What is the weather like in the Mediterranean in May? How should I pack?

 

3. Any advice on excursions in the following ports:

Messina (Sicily), Italy;

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey;

Piraeus (Athens), Greece;

Chania (Souda), Crete, Greece

 

4. Other tips or advice

[will773]

The best spot for star gazing would probably be the helipad at the front of the ship. You will be far away from the lights of the pool deck, and out in the open.

[Cruzaholic41]

 

3. Any advice on excursions in the following ports:

Messina (Sicily), Italy; Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Piraeus(Athens), Greece;

Chania (Souda), Crete, Greece

 

Messina - Taormina (sp?). It's a beautiful little mountaintop village with an old Roman theater.

 

Kusadasi - Make sure you go see Ephesus.

 

Athens - Parthenon is obviously a bucket list must-see. It can be crowded, but worth it to see it.

[wantocruisemore]

We did that same cruise this past July. Absolutely LOVED IT!!!

 

For Messina we did a private tour with Mario Astone. He is a licensed driver and will take you to the sights around Messina, Taormina, and to the charming mountaintop town of Castelmola that buses cannot get to. At Taormina the beautiful Greek Theatre is a must see. We had also arranged for him to drive us around Messina first so we could see the noon display at the Duomo. It was nice but next time I would probably opt for more time in Taormina.

The other 4 of my group did a private excursion just to Mt. Etna. They wanted to spend more time at the volcano and also have lunch at a winery. They could not go to the top due to an eruption a few days before but they went in a lava cave and made several stops around. I arranged for them to be with Etna Experience for the day.

I know that Mario also does a tour that touches on Mt. Etna and includes Taormina but we divided it based on personal interest. In the

photo above of the Greek Theatre you can see Mt. Etna in the background.

 

For Athens we did a private tour with Nikos and Private Greece Tours. He arranged for Anna to be out guide. It was a hectic but wonderful day. We saw the Acropolis, the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, the scenic views from atop Lycabetus, the ancient Agora, a great lunch at a sidewalk cafe in the Plaka and the Acropolis Museum and the changing of the Guard.

Above is the well preserved Temple of Hephaestos in the Anceint Agora. I think everyone heads to the Acropolis but there were only about 6 other people in the Agora when we were there. Same with the Olympian Zeus site.

 

At Kusadasi we took a private tour with Kosagen Tours and had requested Yelda as our guide based on the reviews of this site. She lived up to her reputation. We toured ancient Ephesus and also opted for the extra Terrace Houses which is well worth it. The large tours do not go to the Terrace Houses because group numbers are limited. But the ruins inside are amazing. See below for a photo inside the Terrace Houses.

 

 

 

Here's also one at Ephesus of the famous library:

 

 

Yelda recommended a great sidewalk cafe in town near the museum, which is where we went next. While Ephesus was crowded the museum was not. They had some really nice pieces. We also did a quick visit over to the one column remains of the Temple of Artemis. We could see the Basicilica of St. John in the background. We had opted not to go the House of the Virgin Mary. I had been there before and did not want to waste the time. We also opted NOT to do a carpet demonstration, which is just another way of a hard sell. We had time for shopping at the bazaar before boarding. The ship docks right there at it. Kusadasi was everyone's favorite stop.

 

The last stop was Chania. The ship docks at Souda and you can take the bus into town for 3 euros round trip. We went to the beach first and then the quaint little harbor town. We really wish we had skipped the beach and spent more time in town. It's touristy but I still loved it. My DD fell in love with one of the shops and bought a couple of outfits. Here's a photo below of the harbor area:

 

You do not mention whether you will be spending any time in Rome either pre or post cruise. I STRONGLY encourage you to do so. We rented an apartment for 5 nts. pre-cruise in historic Rome. We were able to see all the major sites such as the Colosseum, Forum, Trevi, Piazza Navona etc. plus did an all day tour of the Vatican and it's museum with Rome in Limo. We used Rome in Limo for all our transfers and a couple of tours. They were perfect! You cannot get any better service.

 

We fell in love with Rome and are returning this coming summer as well, only this time cruising on the Mariner to Western Med. Once again we're going to use Rome in Limo for all our transfers and a couple of tours for our pre-cruise apartment stay in Rome.

 

Please be sure to check out the Port of Call Forum for Italy. There is a wealth of information on those threads. Be sure to check out Rome in Limo's huge thread of 100% satisfied customers.

Also check out the other sections of the Port of Call for Greece and Kusadasi will be with Other Med stops.

 

Oh and we had aft balconies on Deck 9 which ended up great for star gazing and just sitting out at night having a glass of wine. A great way to unwind after a busy hectic day of touring.

 

Have fun planning and I will be happy to answer any questions.

[stargazer424]

RE: will773

 

Oh the helipad! Sounds good. Back in 2002 on the Sovereign of the Seas I found a dark spot on the back of the ship. There happened to be a meteor shower that week, so it was awesome. I was unable to find a really good spot on the Majesty last year, even the top pool deck. Maybe they dimmed the lights in 2002 b/c of the meteor shower.

 

RE: Cruzaholic41

 

Yes the Parthenon and Acropolis are on my list. Thanks for the other tips

 

RE:wantocruisemore

 

Nice photos. I am a bit of a photo hound myself, so I anticipate taking a lot! Yes we are going in a few days early to tour some of Rome. I am really excited as I've never been anywhere in Europe.

 

I assume then, that you would recommend doing private tours and not ship excursions?

[wantocruisemore]

RE: will773

 

Oh the helipad! Sounds good. Back in 2002 on the Sovereign of the Seas I found a dark spot on the back of the ship. There happened to be a meteor shower that week, so it was awesome. I was unable to find a really good spot on the Majesty last year, even the top pool deck. Maybe they dimmed the lights in 2002 b/c of the meteor shower.

 

RE: Cruzaholic41

 

Yes the Parthenon and Acropolis are on my list. Thanks for the other tips

 

RE:wantocruisemore

 

Nice photos. I am a bit of a photo hound myself, so I anticipate taking a lot! Yes we are going in a few days early to tour some of Rome. I am really excited as I've never been anywhere in Europe.

 

I assume then, that you would recommend doing private tours and not ship excursions?

 

I DEFINITELY recommend private tours over the cruise line for Europe. In Europe you will be seeing several things at each port. I prefer to be in charge of my itinerary and can designate the time at the stops. I hate a cattle call. Plus, alot of the ship's buses cannot get to some of the best places due to the roads being so narrow. For every single one the private tour worked out cheaper than the ship's tour as well. So to me it's a no brainer, cheaper, better, more individualized and see more.

For our next cruise we have about equally mixed private tours with DIY. Since there will only be my immediate family of 4 next summer we will do some more DIY. The ONLY time I do a ship's tour is if we are going a distance from the port and it's straight to one place and then straight back. I did that with Carnival in Mexico and was pleased. Other than that, private or DIY all the way.

 

As for the photos, my DH surprised me with a Nikon 5100 the day before the trip. I went off and left the instruction manual so I was learning to use it the entire trip. But I love the camera. It's the nicest one I've had in 30 years. We took tons of photos and I downloaded each night to our Ipad.

[Artemis908]

Just made an inquiry about the Athens tour, thanks for the info!

[voyager70]

I agree completely with the above suggestions. We did this itinerary a few years back & loved it. Weather-wise May should be beautiful - 70's to lower 80's I would expect. We went in July & it was HOT! Have a wonderful time.

[stargazer424]

I have a question about booking flights.

 

We are planning on flying in to Rome a few days early, but heading home (NY/NJ) area the day we disembark. I have never flown internationally and I know that you have to get to the airport a few hours early. Plus there is the hour trip to the airport and I don't know what time we are allowed off the ship. What is the earliest return flight time we should look at?

[Artemis908]

The latest you'll disembark is 10am. But when you fill out your info on the Royal Caribbean website they will ask you when your flight is along with info about it so that they can schedule your disembarkation appropriately. Will you be carrying your own luggage or leaving it out the night before?

 

Be warned that it does take some time to retrieve your luggage once you hand it over. Are you taking the transportation offered through Royal? I am personally a "better safe than sorry" kind of gal and would shoot for the afternoon. Take it easy and not rush myself. You don't necessarily have to leave the ship immediately, so let's say you leave the ship and actually get on your way and drive to the airport by 11... let's say you hit traffic and by the time you get out and get your stuff it's 12:30... they say international flights should be there 3 hours ahead which leaves you at 3:30. I am not saying that you won't probably have extra time in there waiting at the airport but I personally get heart flutters when I am unsure if I gave myself enough time so I always filter in some time for mishaps and delays!

[wantocruisemore]

I would not schedule a flight earlier than noon, and that's only if you do self disembark and arrange private transportation.

 

Our US Airways flight left Rome at 11:55am. We did self disembark and were off the ship around 7:30am. Our Rome in Limo driver was waiting for us and took us straight to the airport. Trip took around 45-50 min. Since we were flying a US based carrier, we had to check in through Terminal 5 first. That slowed us down due to the lines. We ended up having around an hour or so to spare, which was close enough.