Celestyal Crystal 7-day IST-ATH

[GregInTheOC]

As part of an Insight Vacations tour, we'll spend 7 days on Celestyal Cruises' Crystal starting in Istanbul and ending in Athens. This is will be our first cruise because we've never liked the whole concept of a cruise. We'd rather get to the destination, eat and talk with the locals, and visit attractions. I've read dozens of reviews about this cruise, and they range from bad to so-so. I'm looking for people who have been on this cruise or a shorter one so I can ask some questions, starting with what you have done differently. Thank you.

 

Greg

[tomvet]

As part of an Insight Vacations tour, we'll spend 7 days on Celestyal Cruises' Crystal starting in Istanbul and ending in Athens. This is will be our first cruise because we've never liked the whole concept of a cruise. We'd rather get to the destination, eat and talk with the locals, and visit attractions. I've read dozens of reviews about this cruise, and they range from bad to so-so. I'm looking for people who have been on this cruise or a shorter one so I can ask some questions, starting with what you have done differently. Thank you.

 

Greg

 

I have been on the Louis (as it was known then!) Cristal back in 2009 and found them to be an excellent cruise line.

 

I did the 7 night ATH to ATH calling at Istanbul (o/night); Mykonos; Patmos; Kusadasi; Rhodes; Agios Nikolaos and Santorini.

 

Feel free to ask any Qs.

[GregInTheOC]

Excellent. Of the places you visited, we'll be stopping at Mykonos, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Agios Nikolaos, and Santorini. At each place we'll be looking for places like pastry shops and authentic restaurants where we can get away from the tourist traps, and enjoy the culture of the islands. It doesn't matter that we've paid for food on the ship, we'd rather eat quality local food than stuff from the freezer or out of a can aboard the ship. For instance, on Mykonos, I found a small restaurant that doesn't have electricity, doesn't take reservations, and overlooks a beach. It seems perfect.

 

Being part of an Insight tours, we'll have our own set of optional tours at each island. That makes time even more limited. I have the arrival and departure times at each port, but I'm trying to figure out how much time it takes to off the ship at each place, and how soon before departure we have to return to the ship. I know that they use tenders in Santorini.

 

Thank you.