Istanbul late Sunday arrival

[nikita606]

Next summer we will be arriving on the Nieuw Amsterdam at 4 pm on a Sunday, and leaving the next day at 4 pm. I really want to see Hagia Sophia and I would like to see the mosaic museum, both of which are closed on Monday. The summer hours say that both of these close on Sunday at 7 pm with last entry thirty minutes before. Will I have enough time for one or both?

 

Also does anyone know if Holland America has any special access to Hagia Sophia on a Monday?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

The Hagia Sophia is very close to the ship- fortunately weekend traffic in Istanbul is not bad at all. On Monday it will be horrible traffic so on Monday I'd either do a tour or take public transportation.

 

But on Sunday if you dock at 4- grab a taxi and get over to the Hagia Sophia (will take about 20 minutes by taxi) and you should have plenty of time there.

[cruisemom42]

Taking a tram will be faster than taking a taxi, even when traffic is light. I think the tram will get you there in under 10 minutes (however you do have to walk a couple of blocks to the tram stop). The taxis at the port also tend to be, shall we say, experts at charging you more than they should for a short ride.

 

Much as I love the Mosaic Museum, I would head to Haghia Sophia first and spend plenty of time there, including the upstairs where you can see the mosaics up close.

 

You raise a good question about the cruise lines and access. Yes, Istanbul is one of those places (unlike the Vatican museum) where cruise line tours can indeed get you into Haghia Sophia on the normal closing day. I know this is true for both Princess and for HAL. I can't vouch for other lines.

 

So you have a choice to make, but it's a good choice at least. Depending on how long you like to spend at sites, you can easily spend 90 minutes at Haghia Sophia and maybe 45 minutes at the Mosaics Museum (more if you read all of the information on the walls and really study the mosaics). Of course, some will breeze through in much less time.

[nikita606]

As suggested, I think we will race over to the Hagia Sophia as quickly as possible. I have never been to Turkey and chose this itinerary because it stops in Istanbul and Ephesus. I am very excited about the trip, our first Mediterranean cruise. However, I have been disappointed to discover that we will hit several stops on days when important sites are closed including the Vatican/Rome on Sunday, Florence on Monday, and Istanbul on Monday. You would think that Holland America would try to work it out so fewer important stops would be closed. I assume others would suggest Pisa and Lucca instead of Florence on a Monday?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I was looking at that itinerary and I don't see which one you are doing? What date are you sailing. The reason I'm asking is because all of the ones I checked weren't in Istanbul on a Monday or in Rome on a Sunday. Maybe you should do a different sailing on Holland.

[nikita606]

The sailing starts from Venice on July 2, 2013. It is a 24 night sailing ending in Barcelona. This is our first cruise on Holland America. In the past we have mostly sailed on Royal Caribbean. I chose it because of the ports. I would probably rather sail in May or September, but we are bringing our 2 teenage children and school is a factor.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I did half of the cruise you are doing on HAL in July 2008. I was on Zuiderdam with my then 7 year old. Let me say that you are in for such a treat! So you've made a great choice. I loved sleeping on the ship the first night in Venice. It was great and we didn't have to book a room in Venice because of this.

 

Ephesus is really wonderful and you have to do the Terrace Houses or you've really missed the most important part.

 

One suggestion if you want to see the Vatican while on your trip- you can take the train from Naples to Rome instead. I've done that journey and it takes 1 hr. 10 minutes (check Trenitalia for prices). Now you would miss out on Pompeii but Ephesus is better anyway. Then if you want to return to Rome in Civitavecchia you can (there is so much to see in Rome) and there is the cruise ship train from there http://www.smartcruisetours.com/index.php/faqs

 

When you are in Livorno- your kids will love, love, love the Cinque Terre. See if your ship does an excursion. We did that one and it was excellent.

 

Just some tips since you mentioned the problems with the port days.

[texancruzer]

;) I think I would look at a different cruise !!! We have taken Celebrity twice for Eastern Med cruises (ALMOST the same itinerary) and both were perfect. Unlike in the Caribbean where everything is open when a cruise ship is in port - in Europe things close. Seems the main items you would want to see are going to be closed for your first visit...... enough for me to change cruises.

[cruisemom42]

The sailing starts from Venice on July 2, 2013. It is a 24 night sailing ending in Barcelona. This is our first cruise on Holland America. In the past we have mostly sailed on Royal Caribbean. I chose it because of the ports. I would probably rather sail in May or September, but we are bringing our 2 teenage children and school is a factor.

 

Here's a thought -- what about scheduling yourselves to fly into Rome and spend a couple of days there prior to going to Venice (by train) to board your ship? Rome has too much to see in a day and you can then see the Vatican without giving up all the great options from Naples.

 

One suggestion if you want to see the Vatican while on your trip- you can take the train from Naples to Rome instead. I've done that journey and it takes 1 hr. 10 minutes (check Trenitalia for prices). Now you would miss out on Pompeii but Ephesus is better anyway. Then if you want to return to Rome in Civitavecchia you can (there is so much to see in Rome) and there is the cruise ship train from there http://www.smartcruisetours.com/index.php/faqs

 

 

I'd say it is highly subjective to suggest that Ephesus is better than Pompeii. They are both huge sites, but to my mind, Ephesus has only a few REALLY outstanding spots (e.g., the library, the Terrace Houses, the theatre), whereas Pompeii has so many houses with frescoes still on the walls, baths, and of course the Forum with Vesuvius looming in the back. (Not to mention your teens will probably find the body casts interesting, and then there are the brothels, the ancient fast food establishments, etc.....) Ask most teenagers -- they've never heard of Ephesus but they want to go to Pompeii.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I agree about subjectivity. I've been to Pompeii twice (once at age 15 and then at age 42). At 15 my interests were boys and socializing, shopping, art and history- in that order. At 42 my interests were history, art, shopping and men- in that order. So I loved Pompeii at 42 but went grudgingly in the hot summer heat at age 15. I'm not sure at that age that I'd be super excited about visiting ruin after ruin.

 

I say Ephesus is better IMO because it is more intact than Pompeii. Not that Pompeii isn't worth visiting- it certainly is.

 

I love Rome however and I know that two teens will absolutely love Rome because there is so much to see and do. At 15 I'd rather have spent two days in Rome than visiting Pompeii.

[dogs4fun]

Here's a thought -- what about scheduling yourselves to fly into Rome and spend a couple of days there prior to going to Venice (by train) to board your ship? Rome has too much to see in a day and you can then see the Vatican without giving up all the great options from Naples.

 

Great advice. If this is not a possibility, I would look into taking the cruise at another time or with another cruise line.

 

I'd say it is highly subjective to suggest that Ephesus is better than Pompeii. They are both huge sites, but to my mind, Ephesus has only a few REALLY outstanding spots (e.g., the library, the Terrace Houses, the theatre), whereas Pompeii has so many houses with frescoes still on the walls, baths, and of course the Forum with Vesuvius looming in the back. (Not to mention your teens will probably find the body casts interesting, and then there are the brothels, the ancient fast food establishments, etc.....) Ask most teenagers -- they've never heard of Ephesus but they want to go to Pompeii.

 

Oh dear ... miss Pompeii?? :eek: That would be sacrilegious! No way would I consider missing Pompeii.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I think missing the Vatican would be sacrilegious- literally. There are so many wonderful things to do in Rome and we spent 4 full days there.

[texancruzer]

I had to chuckle......

 

.... in my opinion missing ANY OF IT would be sacralegious ! Therefore I

 

would change cruises :D

[nikita606]

Thank you for all the ideas. I had not even heard of Cinque Terre. Would you do that instead of Pisa/Lucca or Florence on a Monday? I'm afraid Pompeii is nonnegotiable. I have always wanted to see it and this is my chance so we will visit Pompeii during the stop in Naples. My question there is will there be time enough to visit the fabulous museum in Naples as well? We arrive at 8:00 and leave at 6:00. (I'd like to see that famous mosaic of Alexander the Great).

 

My husband and I have been to Rome for 1 day when we were in college over 20 years ago. So we did see the Vatican once. We would like more time in Rome, but finances and time are issues. We are using airline points to fly into Venice and out of Barcelona. I learned some wonderful things at a site called millionmilesecrets.com if anyone is interested. As rebeccalouiseagain said, by spending the first night in Venice we do not have to pay for a hotel night there - very expensive when you must buy an extra room for the kids. In fact, in Europe cruising is my solution to not being forced to buy 2 hotel rooms each night in expensive cities. Onboard we all share a room. This worked beautifully for us last year cruising the Baltics out of Stockholm. Hopefully it will work the same next year!

[cruisemom42]

Yes, you can visit Pompeii and the museum in a day -- it's really a good combination. (And the Alexander mosaic is breathtaking.....) Stop by the House of the Faun in Pompeii to see a reproduction of it in its original setting. :)

 

You may want to look over this post I put together on getting the most out of a visit to Pompeii, it's got a lot of good information for pre-planning:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1609893&highlight=pompeii

 

As to the Cinque Terre, do a little research and let your kids help decide. I've not been (doesn't appeal to me) but I can see how it might be a different and fun day hiking between the villages for teens.

 

On the other hand, I probably wouldn't give up Florence even on a Monday -- the Uffizi and Accademia are closed, true, but there are still plenty of wonderful things to see.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Holland America offers the Cinque Terre Excursion and I highly recommend it.

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-destinations/ExcursionDetails.action?excursionCode=7188&portCode=LI1&destCode=E&requestSource=shoreExcursions

 

It really depends what you want to see each day. The Cinque Terre is a beautiful unspoiled area. There is much history in this region. It dates back over 1000 years and the terraced vineyards and the beautiful villages were one of my most favorite experiences and probably something I would not do on my own at a later date because it is a little off the beaten path.

[tvmovielover]

I have not yet done Cinque Terre but we did do Pisa/Lucca with a rental car on a cruise after deciding we could not see enough of what we would want to in Florence in one day. I do not know about closings in these two cities but check it out before you make your final decision. Our friends who took a Pisa/Florence ship tour were disappointed at how rushed it was and how little they saw because of lines-the good lunch did not entirely make up for it.

 

 

I was not at all enthusiastic about Pisa-big deal a leaning tower I thought-but I highly recommend the city after being there. There is a ticket that allows you in a few museums and churches that are near the leaning tower. All were very interesting. The tower was more fun to climb and had a better view than I thought it would. I also bought a very good bottle of olive oil and some chocolate covered orange peels in a small nondescript gift shop near the sights. There were people of all ages touring not including cruise ship groups that did the tower and left-much more to Pisa than the tower. Only caveat-if you rent a car, be careful where you park-we got a ticket.

 

We had lunch on the patio of a restaurant in the countryside between Pisa and Lucca and it was very good and very pleasant but wasted time so that we did not see all we might have in Lucca. It was easier to find the public parking in Lucca. The main thing we saw was a church with extensive Roman ruins below it that could be viewed (since then we have found many such places all over Europe) and were interesting. We saw plenty that day and were still back at the ship without a rush. You can get a rental car and return it at the docks.

[tupper10]

We had some similar issues last summer and decided to do a land trip instead of a cruise. We didn't have the same length of time as you do. If we did I would suggest a land trip with a cruise. We ended up spending about 5 days in Turkey and we were not at all bored. There is so much to see. We flew to see Ephesus for the day - and we went with our own private guide who drove us from the airport to Ephesus and then back. It is very hot there in the summer about 100 degrees so be prepared. Istanbul is much cooler. From our hotel we could walk - 5 minutes to all of the ancient sites. We saw the palace, the underground cistern, Hagia Sophia etc. Istanbul is a wonderful city for kids so there will be plenty for them to see and do. I am sure they will want to see where all the clubs and shops are. The local food is great and this way you can see everything rather than rushing around. A good travel agent can help you set everything up. I used tripadvior to get our hotels and cruise critics for our guides. We then flew to Italy and spent time there. We stayed in Sorrento and used that as our base. I think you and your children would enjoy it - at night the streets are like a carnival - literally - they are blocked off from cars and there are street performers everywhere. To get to the sites you say you want to see you take a local train that lets you out right at Pompeii, Naples, or Herculaneum. Remember though it is very hot in Italy in the summer usually in the 90's. If you want to cruise then head up to Rome - spend a couple of days there and take a cruise from the port in Rome. The train from Naples goes directly to Rome or you can take a car service. I agree with the other poster if you are going to a country to see something - than you don't want to rush through it. For Turkey one more thing check when Ramadan is since things close for the holiday. I am sure you will have a great trip whatever you decide.

[Wandering Writer]

I'm getting in probably a little late here but this is a great discussion. We have been to almost all of the places you have mentioned here including staying for several days in the Cique Terre area. My blog has all the reports of what we did and some links that might be helpful. Go to my Travel Posts Index page to find the countries you will be visiting and the ports will be there.

 

We just had our first visit to Istanbul and thoroughly enjoyed it. I say first because I think we will return again. Hope you find the information helpful!

Happy Cruising!