Review-8/26 Millie-Barcelona to Venice

[Putz]

First, I want to thank everyone on this board for all their assistance over the past year while I planned this cruise. I collected so much information and then in the last month before sailing condensed it all onto a page or two for each port and took that with us. Based on all this info we decided we wanted to do most of the sightseeing ourselves without booking ship excursions or private tours. We wanted to do things at our own pace and not overdo it. We decided to make it an outside attractions trip so didn’t spend time lining up to go into many places. The plan worked out great. We saw everything we wanted to and left things to see for upcoming trips.

 

 

Many of the things I could write have been said before so I’ll put in a few personal comments and then would be pleased to answer any questions you may have or go into more detail on any ports.

I think my biggest surprise was the cost of things in Europe. I had been expecting things to cost far more than they did. We aren't fancy eaters, but we had nice meals with wine for around 30 euros maximum. Bottled water was 1-1.5 euros. Lovely panini sandwiches for 4-5 euros. Gelato...oh the gelato...2 euros. Our hotels for four nights cost 700 euros - paid by credit card - and we spent around 1200 euros cash for meals, transportation, admissions, gifts and more gelato! Bank machines are everywhere, never had a problem.

Language was never a problem. Everyone spoke English to some degree. I was embarrased that I could only speak English along with the learned hello, please and thank you.

 

Barcelona. Stayed two nights pre-cruise at the Apsis Atrium Palace in Barcelona. The hotel was conveniently located about a 10 minute walk from Las Ramblas, was clean and quiet (had a room on the courtyard). Only downside was the beds were hard (as had been previously mentioned). Barcelona turned out to be my favourite stop. I just loved the architecture (Gaudi’s work is everywhere) and atmosphere. Will definitely return.

 

 

Embarkation was a breeze. Taxi dropped us off at the pier at 12:45 and we were escorted to our cabin by 1:00. What service!! One bag arrived about an hour later and the second bag followed shortly after. The lifeboat drill was at 5:30.

 

 

Villefranche. Tendered in and caught the train to Monaco (around 11 a.m. - 4.6 euros return each - 15 minute ride). Walked down to the water, along the waterfront and climbed the steps to the Palace. Saw the changing of the guard. So many people you couldn’t see much. If the timing isn’t right, I wouldn’t go out of your way to try to catch it. Bought a sandwich and drink and ate in a park by the aquarium overlooking the Mediterranean. If I had to pick a least favourite spot Monaco was probably it (loved it at the time, but once we saw other ports it paled in comparison – more modern and a home for the rich). Friends had said we must see Eze so we boarded the train at around 1:30 and went there. Caught the bus from the station up to Eze (do not attempt to walk it unless you’re in the league with Sir Edmund Hilary!). It took around 15 minutes by bus and just kept climbing. At the top, we saw the trail and it stated a 45 minute walk to go down so I can’t imagine how long it would take to walk up). Eze was beautiful. A medieval town perched on top of the mountain. Eze was my second favourite spot. Took the bus back down to the train station and returned to Villefranche. Walked around town for about an hour and then back to the ship.

 

 

Livorno. Purchased the ship’s “Florence on your own” transportation. About a 1¼ hour narrated bus trip in the pouring rain. It rained for about a ½ hour when we arrived and then stopped for the rest of the day. Walked around the main city centre and saw the Ponte Vechio Bridge. I had seen on the map Belvedere Fort but hadn’t heard any mention of it. We decided to walk up to it – about a 10 minute walk that seemed like it was straight uphill (probably around a 30 degree slope) up a curving street so you could never see how much further you had to climb. Finally got to the castle and paid around 6 euros each admission. Turned out to be the best 12 euros we spent. The view was wonderful. There was a 360 degree view of the entire area. People had mentioned walking or taking the bus to Piazza Michaelango for the view, but this was far better. We were looking down on the Piazza and you can only see over Florence from the Piazza and not all around. If you have the physical ability, definitely walk to the fort. We had a total of 5½ hours in Florence. Didn’t go to the museums and actually forgot to look for the outside statue of David. Oh well, next time.

 

 

Rome. Purchased the ship’s “Rome on your own” transportation. 1¼ hour narrated bus trip. This was the only place we deviated from our original plan and we shouldn’t have. We weren’t interested in the Vatican so we had planned to take the metro to the Coliseum and walk back to the Vatican drop off point. The tourist bus was at the drop off when we got there so we purchased the tickets. Took the bus to the Spanish Steps and then walked to the Trevi Fountain. Both were disappointing…so many people. But, we through our coins in the fountain so we know we’ll return one day. Got back on the tourist bus and then ended up sitting at the train station stop for ½ hour while they boarded people. Then got off at the Coliseum and covered the rest by walking. Walked all around the Coliseum, walked all through the Forum (it’s a massive area), past the Emmanuel Monument, saw Piazza Navarro and then back to the Vatican. Had an hour so we ate gelato and walked around St. Peter’s Square. Had a total of 6 hours in Rome.

 

 

Naples. This was the only full ship’s excursion we booked. Did the Amalfi Coast drive and Pompeii. The bus ride was spectacular. If you don’t mind the heights, you MUST sit on the right side of the bus. We had the first seat behind the tour guide and I spent the entire time looking out the window at the drop-offs and DH spent the time looking at the traffic coming straight for us. Definitely not the place to drive yourself. The skill of the bus driver was amazing. Had to do a couple of 3-point turns to get around the corners. Stopped in Amalfi for an hour (around 10:30). Had the best pizza we’ve ever tasted. Continued on the bus for about another hour and stopped for lunch at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the Med. Then went to Pompeii. We had both been looking forward to seeing this, but it was just so-so IOHO. We found it a little anticlimactic after the views of Amalfi. Next time we’ll see Herculaneum.

 

 

Mykonos. Beautiful port just to wander on your own. Make sure you get off the beaten path and see the quiet streets. Walked our way uphill to get a view of the harbour. Drank ouzo in a restaurant by the water.

 

 

Santorini. Our cabin was on the starboard side and we awoke in the morning facing the cliffs of Santorini. What a view! Took one of the first tenders and took the aerial car to the top. Walked around town before it got too busy and then took the local bus to Akoriti. I don’t know what the site normally looked like, but there were signs apologizing for the work that was being done on the roof. The site was interesting to visit. Walked down to the water to wait for the bus to return to town. Ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the caldera and then took the bus out to Oia. If you don’t like heights, don’t sit on the right side of the bus going to Oia…no guard rails and sheer cliffs. Wow…what a ride. Oia is very pretty with lovely views of the caldera. Took the bus back to town and went back to the ship around 5:00.

 

 

Athens. This port was a surprise. I’d heard it was polluted and not very nice, so we had decided to take the metro into town to see the Acropolis and then head back to the ship if it was too hot and unpleasant. Left just after we docked and walked to the metro (easy 25 minute walk). Took about an hour in total to get from ship to the metro stop by the Acropolis. The metro was easy, modern and clean. Bought a day pass for 3 euros each. You can pick up an English metro map…you need to know the furthest stop on the route to get which direction you want to go. One minute walk to the Acropolis ticket booth from the metro stop. Walk uphill (left) when you exit the station. Did the Acropolis (amazing) and because it had clouded over before we arrived it wasn’t hot at all and we didn’t notice any pollution. Spent about 2 hours at the Acropolis (the sun came out again for about the last 15 minutes), walked to the Temple of Zeus and the Olympic Stadium from the 1890’s. Walked through the Plaka and had lunch at a sidewalk restaurant and then walked to the Parliament buildings (just missed the hourly changing of the guard). Headed back to the ship by metro around 2:00. What we saw of Athens we really liked so this port turned out to be the surprise of the trip.

 

 

Dubronvik. Caught an early shuttle bus into the old town (about 15-20 minute ride). Purchased our tickets to walk the wall and started out around 9:00. There was hardly anyone around. A tour group of around a dozen headed out away from the water (uphill) so we decided to head in the opposite direction (downhill toward the sea). The views of the water and the old town below are amazing. If you take the direction we did you will end up doing more uphill climbing (I’ve never climbed so many stairs in 1½ hours), but I was glad we went this way because the views just kept getting more and more spectacular. By the time we came off the wall it was around 10:30, the line-up was long and there we so many people up on the wall. The old town was packed as well. We looked around town for about an hour (once again, getting away from the main tourist area) and then decided to head back to the ship. Traffic was murder and it took about 30 minutes. Had lunch on the ship and then came back off and just wandered the port area. My advice….get into town as early as you can and get up on the wall before it gets crowded.

 

 

Venice. The sail in started around 11 a.m. and took an hour. It was magical. We started out by standing at the front of the ship as high as we could get, but it got so crowded we decided to go back to the sports deck level (by the basketball court) and there was hardly anyone there. We stood on the starboard side (where the majority of the view is) but then you could cross the courts to see the port side. Caught an early water shuttle bus from the ship to St. Mark’s Square (free). We were staying two nights post-cruise in Venice so we went to find our hotel (Locanda Orseolo). Met Igor and he gave us a map and marked a route for us to the Rialto Bridge. Of course we got lost right off the bat, but eventually found it. The way to see Venice is to put the map in your pocket and just set off walking. Get away from St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge and find the neighbourhoods where the locals live. Don’t just look at street level, look up to see the beauty of the architecture. Since we were staying extra nights we made our way back on the shuttle around 5:00 to overnight on the Millie.

 

 

Disembarkation. Celebrity asks for your homeward travel plans about half way through the cruise and your disembarkation is based on your response. Since we weren’t catching a flight home we disembarked a bit later (8:40). I think the latest meeting time to disembark was around 9:15). They will give you a letter on your second last day telling you the time and location to meet to disembark. Then you go to the warehouse and pick up your luggage. It went very smoothly. If you are staying on in Venice and require a watertaxi, you need to order one from the booth in the luggage warehouse. It wasn’t a speedy process…there was only one person working the counter. By the time we booked there were about 25 people in line behind us. Must suggestion would be for one person to collect the luggage and the other person to go ahead and get in line for reserving the taxi. They then give you a ticket with the taxi number on it and you go outside and wait until that taxi arrives. If you wanted to go to St. Mark’s Square the cost was 70 euros. We paid 90 euros to be taken directly to our hotel (45 euros a couple as we shared the ride).

 

 

Venice. Stayed at Locanda Orseolo. It’s as good as everyone has said and the owners and staff are so friendly. And the breakfast…you have to experience it to believe it. We would highly recommend it. Took the Doges Palace Secret Tour..it was great. Go up the Bell Tower in St. Mark’s Square for a great view of the city. Took the waterbus to Murano. I ranked Barcelona as my favourite port, but our time in Venice was wonderful. You really can’t compare it to anywhere else.

 

 

Millennium. This was our first Celebrity cruise (6 previous on HAL). I believe the ship is going into drydock in October. Really the only places that showed signs of age were the floor in our bathroom (tiles cracked and grout a little grubby), the shower curtain had seen better days and our bedspread was torn in a couple of spots. Apart from that, the ship was in very good condition. Our cabin attendant, Furita and her assistant, Panang kept our room spotless. We would give a slight advantage to HAL for their food choice/dining options, but apart from that we thought Celebrity and HAL to be pretty much equal in décor and service. We would definitely sail Millie and Celebrity again (booked on Zenith for Bermuda next May).

 

 

Unfortunately, the Cruise Critic party was the first day at sea at 10:00 on the day after they put the clocks forward an hour so it wasn’t well attended. But, got a chance to meet a few of you (Al and Dave…hope you’ll be able to post a photo of your Red Velvet Cake), and we shared a watertaxi with Lisa and Steve to Locanda.

 

 

This was the most wonderful vacation. If you have any questions, please ask and I’ll do my best to help you.

 

 

Lynn

 

 

 

[Susan-M]

Hi Lynn,

 

Thanks for the review and glad to hear what a wonderful trip it was! We are headed to BCN on Friday for the 9/19 sailing and the tips in your review will be helpful. We will be doing most ports on our own, except Naples where we've hired a private driver, and Florence....doing the Florence on Your Own with Celebrity because there is a train strike scheduled that day.

We are debating doing Rome on Your Own with Celebrity or going on the train....did you compare notes with others who went by train to see how it compared with your bus trip?

thanks!

[tak2]

Thanks for your review. It's especially meaningful to me, as I am on Oct 13 cruise with stays at Atrium Palace and Locanda Orseolo as well. In fact, it was Igor that booked my room!

One question.... is it wise to disembark as late as permissible so as not to feel rushed?

[Putz]

Susan-M. You'll have a great time. I didn't speak with anyone who took the train in. It was something we didn't consider, exactly because of what is happening with you in Florence. Our TA had said Italy is notorious for their last minute strikes so we decided to purchase the ship's transportation. We had a full 6 hours in Rome leaving around 8:30 and returning around 5:30. I don't know that going in on your own on the train would give you all that much more time because we sailed at 7:00. I don't recall how far it was to the train station from the ship. It's comforting going with the Celebrity transportation to know the cruiseline will get you back to the ship and wait if you're late for any reason wait for you. FYI, if you bank with TD Canada Trust, we never had any problems getting money from bank machines and they charged us $3.00 per transaction. Have fun!

 

tak2. You'll love both hotels..one is modern and the other old world (wait till you see the breakfast at Locanda). The first time for debarkation was 5:50 a.m. so I was glad we didn't have to leave that early! The 8:40 was nice because it gave you time to have a leisurely breakfast. We spoke to our cabin attendant and she said if possible she would appreciate us being out of the room by around 8:00 (her and her assistant had 23 rooms to clean). I think we actually got off the ship around 8:50 and it took one minute to collect our luggage. Then we had to wait for the watertaxi. I think we got to Locanda around 10:45 (I strongly suggest you take a watertaxi...it was so easy). If you're on a roll call perhaps you can find someone to share that taxi (as we did) and it will be less. The price allowed for up to 5 people and their luggage. Be sure to spend time talking with Barbara and Matteo at Locanda. They are wonderful people and love to talk about their beloved Venice.

Lynn

[amd1234]

Lynn, Loved your review and enjoyed reading about the Locando Orseolo, we also have three nights booked postcruise. We have a room overlooking the canal, where did you eat in Venice? Any recommendations? I heard the restaurants in Venice are very expensive and we are not big eaters. We have already booked a water taxi with another couple we have contacted on the threads. We also have reservations for the Doge Palace. Thanks again for the excellent review and look foward to your:) response...Regards, Ann

[Putz]

Ann. We're not big eaters either and don't like fancy meals so we found an inexpensive place a stone's throw from the inn. It serves good pizza and pasta dishes and DH said the wine was good. The Locanda is situated in a courtyard. At the entrance to the courtyard is a black low metal gate. When you come out of the courtyard/gate go to the left. There is a deli next door and then I think the restaurant is the next doorway. It has an indoor section, but we ate outside. So, just go into the restaurant and cross through it to the next alleyway where the outside tables are. I had a really good lemon sorbet dessert that was actually served in a scooped out lemon. Be forewarned, the pizza's are huge-12" round, but because they're thin crusted and not loaded down with alot of stuff, I could almost finish one - only 5 or 6 euros for a Margherita pizza. Actually, all pizzas are this size in Europe. Our last night's meal included salad, pasta and dessert and a 1/2 bottle of wine all for around 30 euros (this was the most we ever paid for a meal on the whole trip). There were other places we looked at that were more expensive and perhaps the food was better, but we were satisfied with this place. Just something half decent to fill the whole. There was one other restaurant we ate in that was around the inn. I can't remember the name...it didn't have an outdoor seating area and on the left side at the front of the restaurant was a wall with wine bottles on racks. DO NOT eat there. It was horrible. For light lunches, just stick with the panini sandwiches 3.5-4 euros and for some reason, the gelato was the cheapest in Venice - a single scoop was 1 euro. We only needed single scoops because we ended up having 2-3 gelato a day! You can really eat quite cheaply all through Europe. Just remember, in Italy if you sit at the table there may be a service charge. Otherwise, stand at the counter and eat/drink and it will save you about 3-4 euros. Or buy take out and eat in a park. You'll love Locanda. We had a room on the 2nd floor (we'd call it the 3rd in North America) overlooking the canal. So much action in the canal below because it's a gondola station at the end. But it's quiet after around 10:30. You'll have a blast hanging out the window watching the world go buy. Have a great trip.

Lynn

[Shystermom]

Hi everyone. Lisa here. We shared the water taxi in Venice. I logged on just to add my 2 cents to Lynn's excellent review, just in case anyone has questions about other ways to go on this cruise. For the record:

 

We flew direct from JFK overnight flight into Barcelona. Purchased Celebrity transfer. Celebrity bus took us on a 3 hour city tour of Barcelona before we could board the ship.

 

Did ship's 4 hour tour of Monaco and Monte Carlo - I agree w/Lynn on Monaco

Used private tour guides (split with other couples) in

Florence (DriverinRome) 175 E per couple worth every penny

Rome (DriverinRome) 175 E per couple worth every penny

 

Naples - did ship's 4 hour tour of Pompeii good tour, but could have done without the stop at the cameo factory (only about 1/2 hour)

 

Mykonos -on our own - Great

Santorini - did ship's 4 hour tour of Oia & winery - Great. worth it. Do it

also visited Museum in Thira of Akrotiri items - Fabulous

 

 

Athens - used private tour guide (split with other couples) George the

Taxi Driver 100 E per couple Worth it for the convenience

do not miss the opportunity to climb the Acropolis and make sure

you go into the little (free) museum up there

 

Dubrovnik - Did ship's "Jewish Community of Dubrovnik" tour - Bad guide, but

a nice tour

 

Venice - on our own. Toured Jewish Ghetto 1st afternoon. Did Doges Palace Secret Itineraries tour (booked through Locanda Orseolo) St. Marks Rialto and requisite Gondola ride on our one extra day in Venice. - Wonderful

 

Flew home direct to JFK

[amd1234]

Thank you so much for all the informative information. I am so excited and I can't wait to visit Venice. I think we made a good choice making reservations at the Locando. It sounds like a perfect way to end our cruise...Ciao, Ann:)

[itsanita]

Thanks for taking the time to pass on all the good information. We too have reservations at Locando and its great to hear how much you enjoyed staying there. I will make sure I take the dinning information with me.

 

Were there only 2 seatings for dinner on the cruise? Do you remember the times? 6:30pm and 8:30 pm? I though I had read somewhere on these boards that an additional dinning time was added on the European cruises.

[Putz]

Itsanita. There were two seatings - 6:15 and 8:45. We chose 6:15 because 8:45 is just too late for us. We actually only ended up in the D/R once and used the Casual Dining (by reservation) on four occasions, room service once, the Ocean Grill open buffet on the nights it was offered because we had late departures and in Santorini there was a Greek buffet on the pool deck.

[Putz]

Hi Lisa & Steve. Wasn't that a great vacation?!

 

E-mail me at lynnsavin@yahoo.com and I'll send you the photos I took of you out of the hotel window...they turned out well.

 

Lynn

[Susan-M]

Lynn, thanks for the tip about TDCanadaTrust as I have an account there. What exchange rate were they giving on the Euro?

 

We also have early dinner seating and feel that it is going to be hard to make it some nights because of the late departure times in some ports. How late can you make reservations for in the alternate dining room? Were you happy with the quality of food, atmosphere and service there? We like the DR so will try to get there as often as possible, but don't want to miss time in port just to hurry back for dinner. How was the Greek Buffet?

 

I see that you are off to Bermuda next May on Zenith...we've done that trip twice and really enjoyed it. And what a nice time of year to go there!

 

Thanks again for the advice,

[Shystermom]

Hi all. Lisa here. Just wanted to add another 2 cents because our experience was a little different than Lynn's but just as nice. I just wanted to post because it's another way to go.

 

We had the early seating, had the long days in port, and still made it to dinner in the dining room every single night without any problem except for one night when we ate in the specialty restaurant Olympic (worth it!)

 

Keep in mind that 6:15 doesn't mean you have to be in your chair at 6:15. It means dinner service begins. They will seat you until 7 PM (although we only pushed it that late one night. Most nights we sat down between 6:30 and 6:45 PM

 

The key to our successful early seating:

1. We bribed the maitre d' with a $20. bill for a table for two, and got it. It was one of the highlights of our trip - romance every night because we were near the music.

We never worried about holding up other people at our table. We never worried if we hadn't time to shower before dinner because it was just the two of us. The waiter fawned all over us and got used to us coming at 6:30 ish.

 

2. We're not drink-before-dinner people so we didn't need that hour and a half to "unwind" after a day in port

 

3. I don't wear makeup in the day, so I didn't need time to "put on a new face" before dinner

 

4. We overpacked on purpose, pre-planning for dinner outfits, so everytime I opened my closet, I had a nice selection of clothes to wear. I'd strip off the sweaty port clothes and just dress for dinner, showering if I could.

 

5. We made every formal night without any problems (I put on makeup for those nights!). Our first long day in port, Livorno, I booked a 7:30 in the Olympic Restaurant. So we had alot of time to dress formally that night and make dinner. The other two formal nights, again, no problems.

 

6. We were travelling alone, so no waiting for a big group to gather.

 

We were finished by 8:30 or so every night. Then we either slow danced in the Rendezvous lounge a bit, played $20. in the casino, e-mailed home from the Internet room, or perused photos in the photo gallery before the show at 9 PM. On formal nights, we took out portraits before the show in that time.

The show ended at 10 PM, and we were back in the room by 10:30.

Quite perfect, I'd say. I can't imagine how late seating people could come back to the room at midnight and still do a port in the day.

 

Hope this helps someone

[Putz]

Hi Susan. The reserved casual dining was held on the evenings we left port early (Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, etc.). For the nights we had late departures (Villefranche, Greek Islands and Athens) there was an open casual buffet in the Ocean Grill so you just showed up whenever. We actually prefer buffets the most, but they weren't offered every night. Think it ran from 7-10 p.m. The Greek night in Santorini was great. So many choices and the food was great. It's served around the pool area and then we took our meal back into the Ocean Grill to eat. The dining arrangements for each evening were in the daily sheet delivered to the cabin the evening before. You have to make reservations for the casual dining so we just called in the morning before we left for the day (you could make reservations for on the 1/2 hour). We ate around 7:30. I don't know how strict they are on reservations...it was never full, so you might be able to walk in if you were willing to wait a bit. The casual dining was set in the back portion of the Ocean Grill and was done very nicely (white table linen & silverware), table service and everyone had a great view out the windows. We actually preferred the atmosphere to the dining room and it was a lot quieter. At any one time there were approx. 15-20 tables in use. Dress was casual and a few people came in shorts and tee shirts, but most, like us, dressed elegantly casual or informal. The wait staff is "in training" and you may not always get the polished service of the dining room, but it didn't bother us at all. They suggest a $2pp tip so we gave the waiter $5. The head waiter was Arif (very nice gentleman).

I believe the hours for service were 7-10 p.m. There were usually two appetizers, salad (you can always get a caesar salad even if it isn't listed..doesn't come with anchovise, but I heard one man ask for them and the waiter got them for him), soup, 5 entrees and then a dessert tray with 5 items to choose from (yes, you could have more than one dessert-I did!). Some of the entrees I remember were lasagne, baked chicken, salmon, pork chops and pizza. The meat/fish selections came with cooked veggies and your choice of baked potato or fries. We skipped the potatoes and kept it light with just the veggies. It wasn't a varied menu, but after all the food you eat on the ship, it was nice to just have a lighter, less formal dinner and we were totally satisfied with the quality of the food. Since we only ate in the d/r once I can't really compare the quality of the food between the two locations. I had pork chops the evening in the d/r and they gave me 3 big ones, which I couldn't finish...way too much in my opinion, kinda puts me off my meal. We checked out the d/r menu a couple of times and weren't really impressed...we're used to eating simple foods and the d/r menu was a bit too "pretty food" for us. I don't like commenting too much on food...everyone's taste is so different. I hate cooking so I'm just happy someone else is doing it for me! There was also the option of the Ocean Spa buffet. I believe it ran until 8:00 p.m. We checked it out, but you had to eat in the spa area or take it through to the pool so we decided the casual dining was best for us. You could also always get pizza or pasta in the Ocean Grill well into the evening as well.

I was surprised with the TD Canada Trust exchange rate. It came in just under $1.50 CDN which was better than what I paid to get euros before we left. Never had any troubles with the cash machines. Even if they didn't show the Plus, Cirrus, etc. we just tried the machine and it always worked. You can also choose English as the language so that helped a lot!

Hope this helps.

Now we have our Bermuda trip to look forward to. We're going with another couple to celebrate my DH's 50th. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I'm going to have to jump over to the Bermuda board now.

Lynn

[Susan-M]

Lynn, Thanks for the details on dining options on Millennium....sounds like there is a lot of flexibility. If Millennium's quality compares to Zenith's, I will be quite happy. We enjoy quality food, but we aren't big eaters either, and always seem to find something that we enjoy.

 

Glad to hear that you found Athens so easy to do by Metro...and what a bargain at 3E for an all day pass. We pretty much have the same plan, but also hope to get to the Museum of Archeology and Mt. Lycabettus for the sunset - might be a bit much to pack in, but we'll see how the day goes. The days are getting shorter now so sunset will be just after 7 pm (we should have gone in the spring and enjoyed those long days of daylight!)

 

Back to packing....

[Putz]

Susan. You shouldn't have any trouble adding the museum and Mt. Lycabettus to the items we saw. I found things to be much closer than they appeared on the map. From the Acropolis to the 1896 Olympic Stadium was only about a 15 minute walk with the Temple of Zeus half way between the two. I imagine the sunset from the Mt. will be lovely. The map below shows where the metro was in Piraeus. We were docked in the blue finger of water directly below the word "Piraeus" in Piraeus Port. Not sure if you'll be in the same place. The metro building isn't well marked...it's large and pale yellow if I recall.

http://www.greeklandscapes.com/images/maps/piraeus/piraeus-map.jpg

Enjoy.

Lynn

[mountainmare]

Thank you so much for your review.

 

We are also long time HAL loyalists who have booked this trip on the Milli for Oct 2006.

 

We're still debating the private tour vs just wander on our own plan and you have provided a wealth of information.

 

We are booked in a regular veranda cabin. How do the cabins, food and service compare with HAL?

 

In Eze we were thinking of walking down. Was the trail head well marked? I'm also glad to know that we don't need to obsess about the changing of the guard.

 

For Santorini and Dubrovnek were there other ships in port with you?

 

Thank you again

[Foxhill]

To PUTZ:

Your review was great - so informative. We are on the Galaxy cruise leaving 9/26 out of Rome. It has a stop in Athens and our plans are to do like you did. We want to take the metro from Pieraus into Athens on our own and see the sights at our leisure. We arrive in Athens at 7:00 a.m. and leave at 5:00 p.m. I do have several questions I am hoping you would be kind enough to answer before we leave home. We will be here until Sunday, 9/18:

 

1. Was the metro building easy to find from your ship? I understand there is a 20-30 minute walk. Was it easy to navigate from the ship to the metro? Are there any markers that would help us know we are going in the right direction? Are the signs at the metro in English as well as Greek? Where did you get your tickets? Where did you get the English metro map?

 

2. You got off at the Acropolis stop. Did you have to change lines at any time? We planned to get off at the Monistiraki stop. I think Line 1 takes you directly from Pireaus to that stop. What would you suggest? We are stopping there primarily because we are going to follow the Rick Steves' walking tour of Athens and that is where he started from.

 

3. You said you left Athens at 2:00 p.m. to go back to the ship. Did you feel that was the right amount of time to allow? I don't want to cut ourselves short in Athens but I also don't want to chance missing the ship. We need to be back on the ship no later than 4:00 p.m. at the very latest. If we left Athens at 3:00 p.m. would that give us ample time on the metro and then the walk back to the ship?

 

4. Was the Temple of Zeus worth the walk over there? Included in our walking tour are: Syntagma Square, Hadrian's Arch, Temple of Zeus, Anafiotika, the Roman Agora, Monastiraki Square and the Plaka. Did you visit any of these places and do you have comments regarding them?

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed Athens. I had mixed feelings having heard how polluted it is, etc. Hopefully, it will be a great visit for us.

 

I appreciate any comments, suggestions you can supply about Athens.

[Putz]

Mountainmare. You won't be disappointed with Millie and Celebrity. We chose the Millie based strictly on the itinerary. We priced Princess as well, but at the time we booked, it was almost $1,000 more for a standard outside cabin vs. verandah with Millie so the choice was easy! We loved the cabin on Millie. We had a regular verandah cabin (#7112 - starboard). Never had a verandah on HAL so can't compare, but if you closed the curtains and just compared the cabin, I'd say they were both similar in size, however, the Millie has mirrors all down one side so it makes the cabin feel much larger. Closet/drawer space was great. One double-door full length closet, a closet with a safe, shelf above the safe and five drawers below. Then there were two drawers each in the bedside tables, two triangular cupboards to the sides of the desk, a large cupboard above the TV and a drawer above the bar fridge (we didn't even discover this one until we were checking to make sure we hadn't left anything behind at the end of the cruise). In the bathroom there were two corner glass shelves (not huge, but held everything each of us needed on a daily basis). Then there were two cupboards under the sink that held a few rolls of toilet paper. Just a shower stall, but if I recall correctly, it was larger than the stalls on HAL. Same gutless hair dryers as HAL! The only thing that drove us nuts in the cabin was the bathroom door. On HAL the bathroom doors have swung open 180 degrees and then stayed open with a magnetic catch. On Millie, it only opened 90 degrees so it was always blocking the hallway and if someone wanted to get into the closets, you had to close the bathroom door. No big deal, but we just never got used to it.

I don't know if we were lucky with the seas, but I thought the ride was much better on Millie. A lot of the time we couldn't tell if the ship was moving. When we sailed into Mykonos the water was choppy and there was still very little motion. Decoration is similar to the modern HAL ships. Crew were very friendly and service was comparable to HAL. We were so accustomed to the Filipino and Indonesian crew on HAL that we were concerned it wouldn't be the same with a mixture, but it was fine. It actually made it a little easier at times, because I think the crew on Millie had a better command of English and made it easier to have conversations with them. Our cabin attendant was Romanian and her English was excellent.

HAL was better in that you could eat buffet style every night. We like being able to sample a bit of everything, but the reserved casual dining worked out great too. Food quality is so personal so it's hard to compare the two lines. Most people seem to think Celebrity wins out here, but I can't say as I really noticed any difference in quality. It is safe to say you'll never go hungry!

We weren't as keen with the pool area on Millie. We're used to the HAL ships having the retractable roof. Both sea days we ran into some rain so it was a made dash to get under cover and of course not enough room for everyone. There is a smaller pool in the spa area, but not a lot of seating.

With all that said...I'd say HAL and Celebrity are pretty much comparable in our books and we'll continue to sail on both.

Eze - When you leave the main street where the bus drops you off, you'll start walking uphill to the old town (only about 200-300 ft). Somewhere just before you get to the old town entrance there'll be a path on the left hand side that's marked "path to Eze Sur Mer" or something like that and then it says 45 minute walk. We didn't look down the path, but the beginning of it was made of stepping stones and from what we saw looked uneven, but don't know if it's like that the whole way. It will be a long walk and very steep. When arriving at the train station in Eze Sur Mer we overheard a group talking to a local and she asked if they had found the trail and walked down and they said "yes" it had been fun. So it is doable.

Monaco. In my books, the changing of the guard was a non-event. It lasted all of 5 minutes, the crowds were moved in so close as to leave a path only about 20 feet wide so unless you were right at the front you really couldn't see much. DH just put the camera up over peoples heads and snapped a few pictures. There are several elevators to get you from the harbour up the hillside, but we just walked the stairs up from the harbour. It wasn't a hard walk....just the first of many days of climbs!

Santorini & Dubrovnek. At Santorini, in the afternoon a 1,000 passenger ship pulled in, but that was it. In Dubrovnek there were 1 or 2 smaller ships. I believe sometimes Millie drops anchor right near the harbour and tenders in, but I don't recall seeing any ship in the harbour that day. In both ports, I'd say a lot of the tourists were people who were there on land-based vacations.

Hope this helps. Have a fun year of planning.

Lynn

[Susan-M]

Lynn,

The Piraeus port map is great....I'm adding it to my travel binder (which is rather large :) )

It's hard to get a good idea of walking time between sites...glad you mentioned the distance between Acropolis & Olympic Stadium. We might try to fit in a stroll through the National Gardens....it looks like the Temple of Zeus is in it.

This a map of Athens that puts distances into perspective: http://www.chem.uoa.gr/Location/AthensMap/Athensmap.htm

 

Don't know what I would do without Cruise Critic...thanks!

[Putz]

Susan. Yep, that's the map we used as well. The Temple of Zeus is just across the street from the gardens. When we left the Olympic Stadium we strolled through the gardens on our way back to the Plaka for lunch. One thing to remember, when you buy your tickets for the Acropolis (around 12 euros each I think) they include admission to the Temple of Zeus, so hang on to them.

Lynn

[jstducky]

Thank you for your review, it was very informative.

 

In Santorini, I am debating whether or not to go to Akrotiri. Do you think its worth it after having seen Pompeii or is my time better spent wander the streets of Fira and Oia?

 

Thanks!

[Putz]

Foxhill. The map below is the best one I can find of Piraeus to give you an idea of where the metro is in relation to the ship (if you're docked in the same location we were). From the upper decks of the Millie we could see the Acropolis and Mount Lecabettus (it's only about 8 miles away). We were in the finger of blue directly below "Piraeus" in Piraeus Port. You'll know it's the same spot if the long building you dock next to has a red roof. When you get off the ship you have to walk through this long building. Stay on the same level. Walk out the front door and there is an open area where buses park. Walk through this area aiming for a driveway ahead of you on the left hand side (at around 10-11 o'clock). Once you're on this driveway just keep following it until you come out on to the road that follows the harbour. Go to your left and keep following the roadway all around the harbour. You'll have to cross the street at some point because the metro entrance is on the right hand side, across the street from the waterfront. We crossed over as well to stay in the shade. The walk is flat and along storefronts. We never saw any signs pointing to the Metro. At one point you'll come to a large corner that has two roads running off it (I think the road to the right is shown as Gounari on the map)...stay to the left following the water (this was where I asked someone where the Metro was...he was elderly, but since he was standing next to us at the red light and I thought I'd ask...don't think he spoke English, but when I showed him the map he pointed down the road for the station). I don't think I saw a sign for the metro station...just saw a large, old, pale yellow building (it may have had columns out front) on the far side of a courtyard. From the location I guessed it was the station and asked someone to confirm. The entrance was off the courtyard, not the main road. There are ticket booths just inside the entrance on the right hand side. Buy an all day 3 euro pass (you pay according to what your destination is, so for 3 euros you avoid having to figure out how much you need to pay). You validate your ticket when you enter the system. I'm assuming we could have picked up the map at the ticket counter, but didn't think to get one until we'd reached our first stop. Piraeus is the end of the line on the green line. We were feeling confident so we took the green line to Monastiraki, changed to the blue line for one stop to Syntagma and then transferred to the red line and went to Akropoli. It was all very easy because you can just follow the red/green/blue signs and the station names were in English and Greek. To get going in the right direction you'll need to know the stop that is at the end of the line. It took an hour from getting off the ship to walking out of the metro at the Acropolis. I've read some people didn't want to try changing lines and just got off at Monastiraki (green line) station and tried to find their way to the Acropolis, but it took a while. From Akropoli it's a two minute walk (turn left out of the station and the road will lead you right to the entrance). Obviously these are the directions to the Acropolis. You'll probably knock at least 10 minutes off your travel time getting off at Monastiraki. The ride in on the green line is at ground level and outside so you can see the outskirts of Athens. Some of the stations have lovely antiquity statues. I can't see a problem with you staying in Athens until 3:00. An hour should be plenty to get you back to the ship. I'm sure you could always catch a taxi around the metro station because there are so many ferries arriving/departing in the basin around the station. We left at 2:00 just because we felt we'd accomplished what we wanted to do and it was starting to get a bit hot so we called it a day.

The Temple of Zeus is so close to the Acropolis. From you Acropolis you'll pass through Hadrian's Gate to get to the Temple of Zeus. It's only a 5 minute walk to the gate and then another 2-3 to get around to the temple entrance. I notice you don't mention going into the Acropolis. The ticket we purchased for 12 euros included several other sites (the temple of zeus being one of them). Don't know if you can purchase tickets separately to individual sites. You can get a good glimpse of the temple from outside the gates if you don't want to pay to go in. The 1890's Olympic Stadium is only a 5 minute walk from the Temple of Zeus and really is worth seeing...it's beautiful in it's simplicity. It's open on one end so no need to pay. Of the places you mentioned, we did the temple, Syntagma Square, Hadrian's Gate and a bit of the Plaka. Anafiotika and the Roman Agora I believe we saw from up on the Acropolis. All the sites you mention are located within a 1/2 mile radius with Hadrian's Gate being the central point, so you shouldn't have trouble covering all the spots. The ancient area is quite compact. Unfortunately, we just missed the hourly changing of the guard at Syntagma Square and it is supposed to be impressive. The Plaka was OK...I wasn't overly impressed. We had lunch at a nice open air restaurant.

I think Athens' pollution probably shows most in the extremely hot weather. We were lucky that it was only around 80 degrees and with you being there at the beginning of October it should be quite pleasant.

DH and I were sitting on our balcony one evening sailing south and saw the Galaxy sail by in a northerly direction within a mile of us. I guess she was on her way back to Rome.

Have a great holiday and if you have any more questions, ask away.

 

http://www.greeklandscapes.com/images/maps/piraeus/piraeus-map.jpg

 

Lynn

[Putz]

jstducky. We got off the ship as soon as we could, took the aerial car up and wandered around Fira for a couple of hours until it started to get busy. Then we headed for Akrotiri. Akrotiri is much smaller than Pompeii and the dig site covers maybe 4 acres. It's totally covered by a roof (which was under construction at the time of our visit...didn't seem to affect what you could see, other than there was scaffolding scattered throughout). It was a nice way to spend 45 minutes or so. I imagine you could spend longer if you wanted to read all the information boards. I actually enjoyed going for the bus ride. It was around 25 minutes and wound it's way through the country side with some lovely views and through towns along the way. I think the bus ran hourly to that end of the island so we saw Akrotiri, walked down to the waterfront, had an ice cream and waited for the bus. The bus drops you off at the entrance to Akrotiri and picks you up for the return trip down at the water. For 1 euro each way it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours...we were glad we went. We had lunch in Fira looking out over the caldera and then we went back to the bus depot and went to Oia. These buses ran every 1/2 hour. If you don't like heights, do not sit on the right hand side of the bus going to Oia. Wow..there were some mean looking drop offs without guardrails!! But, the views were spectacular. IMHO Oia was prettier than Fira with a lot less people. I'm sure a lot of people stayed in Oia to watch the sunset, but we'd had a full day and headed back to the ship around 5:00. The bus depot in Fira is small and was a zoo...buses everywhere...just keep asking around and you'll find the bus you want. No need to buy tickets at the depot. There's a driver and ticket seller on the bus. Enjoy.

Lynn

[Foxhill]

Putz:

 

Thanks for your helpful comments and insight. I am sure it will help us tremendously. It helps to have some idea in your mind's eye as to how things are laid out and the amount of time it takes to get from place to place.