Questions about a future sailing! Not covid-related!

[arianna.capri]

Hi everyone! 

I figured we could all use a break from the typical covid/vaccine post. However, I will start by saying that both my traveling companion and I have been vaccinated, so there are no issues there.

I recently booked an 11-day Greek Isles (and Italy and Turkey) sailing on the Norwegian Jade for March 2022. We have our air booked thru NCL (yikes, I know) but despite being a repeat cruiser of NCL, I still have some questions I would rather ask the community than a Guest Services Agent. Plus maybe this will take minds off vaccinations and COVID regulations for a minute. I have sailed NCL multiple times, but this will be my boyfriend's first cruise. It will also be the first time doing major international travel for both of us outside of Mexico and Canada. I will take any advice you have for me!

1. If anyone has any tips for the following ports: 

Kusadasi, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Thessaloniki, Greece

Volos, Greece

(Iraklion) Crete, Greece

Corfu, Greece

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Messina (Sicily), Italy

Napes (Pompeii), Italy

Livorno (Florence/Pisa) Italy

Please let me know what experiences or excursions you did that you would recommended! While I am 99.9% sure this ship will sail, I am not sure if shorex will still need to be booked entirely through NCL (likely but not guaranteed that will be the outcome). My boyfriend and I are both college students, and it would cripple our budget to do 100/per 3 hour activities in each port, but we do not want to stay on the ship either. I've searched the boards already (to avoid asking the same question a million times) and there are a bunch of resources for other Greek ports, and Naples/Livorno, but not the others on my itinerary. We are both avid lovers of history, and are not at all afraid of physically demanding activities, if anything we prefer them. Otherwise we would not have chosen an itinerary with no sea days! :)

 

2. Our schedules are a little limited (college students, this is our spring break) so we can only do a pre- or post-cruise stay. We are most interested in staying in Rome for 2 days post-cruise rather than flying out a day or two early to Athens, but we are a little nervous about arranging our transportation to/from the Hotel in Rome since we typically go for packages with transfers included. Given the choice, would you spend a day in Athens pre-cruise for peace of mind or two days in Rome post-cruise. These post-cruise days would be to primarily to explore the Vatican and the Colosseum- we know the Sistine Chapel is not likely to happen for us. 

 

3. This is our first cruise with both of us being 21+, so are there any drinks we must try? This is also our longest cruise yet, does MDR food get repetitive after 7 days? 

 

4. More for me rather than my boyfriend- how should I dress to visit religious sites (the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, etc.) because I do not feel comfortable wearing blue jeans in such places. It just feels entirely out of place, but so do slacks or dress pants, but it's going to be March weather, so a dress won't exactly work either.

 

Thanks in advance for all your help :)

[ColeThornton]

2 minutes ago, arianna.capri said:

1. If anyone has any tips for the following ports: 

Kusadasi, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Thessaloniki, Greece

Volos, Greece

(Iraklion) Crete, Greece

Corfu, Greece

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Messina (Sicily), Italy

Napes (Pompeii), Italy

Livorno (Florence/Pisa) Italy

 

 

If you haven't already done so, start your research on the European and Mediterranean ports of call forums here on CC.   Lots of great info on places to see and things to do.  Here is the main link to the sub-forums for those countries:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/8-europe/

[arianna.capri]

4 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/8-europe/

Thank you! This is an awesome resource I didn't even know existed. I really appreciate it. 

[ColeThornton]

You're welcome.   Also, I just Googled the dress code for the Hagia Sophia, basically conservative clothing, no shorts or revealing garments and you must now wear a head scarf.

[thedarklord]

As far as drinks to try - somewhere on this board is a list of cocktails. On our last cruise, I believe my wife and I managed to try 52 different cocktails between us - that was a lot of fun!

[SpainAlien]

12 minutes ago, arianna.capri said:

Hi everyone! 

I figured we could all use a break from the typical covid/vaccine post. However, I will start by saying that both my traveling companion and I have been vaccinated, so there are no issues there.

I recently booked an 11-day Greek Isles (and Italy and Turkey) sailing on the Norwegian Jade for March 2022. We have our air booked thru NCL (yikes, I know) but despite being a repeat cruiser of NCL, I still have some questions I would rather ask the community than a Guest Services Agent. Plus maybe this will take minds off vaccinations and COVID regulations for a minute. I have sailed NCL multiple times, but this will be my boyfriend's first cruise. It will also be the first time doing major international travel for both of us outside of Mexico and Canada. I will take any advice you have for me!

1. If anyone has any tips for the following ports: 

Kusadasi, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Thessaloniki, Greece

Volos, Greece

(Iraklion) Crete, Greece

Corfu, Greece

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Messina (Sicily), Italy

Napes (Pompeii), Italy

Livorno (Florence/Pisa) Italy

Please let me know what experiences or excursions you did that you would recommended! While I am 99.9% sure this ship will sail, I am not sure if shorex will still need to be booked entirely through NCL (likely but not guaranteed that will be the outcome). My boyfriend and I are both college students, and it would cripple our budget to do 100/per 3 hour activities in each port, but we do not want to stay on the ship either. I've searched the boards already (to avoid asking the same question a million times) and there are a bunch of resources for other Greek ports, and Naples/Livorno, but not the others on my itinerary. We are both avid lovers of history, and are not at all afraid of physically demanding activities, if anything we prefer them. Otherwise we would not have chosen an itinerary with no sea days! 🙂

 

2. Our schedules are a little limited (college students, this is our spring break) so we can only do a pre- or post-cruise stay. We are most interested in staying in Rome for 2 days post-cruise rather than flying out a day or two early to Athens, but we are a little nervous about arranging our transportation to/from the Hotel in Rome since we typically go for packages with transfers included. Given the choice, would you spend a day in Athens pre-cruise for peace of mind or two days in Rome post-cruise. These post-cruise days would be to primarily to explore the Vatican and the Colosseum- we know the Sistine Chapel is not likely to happen for us. 

 

3. This is our first cruise with both of us being 21+, so are there any drinks we must try? This is also our longest cruise yet, does MDR food get repetitive after 7 days? 

 

4. More for me rather than my boyfriend- how should I dress to visit religious sites (the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, etc.) because I do not feel comfortable wearing blue jeans in such places. It just feels entirely out of place, but so do slacks or dress pants, but it's going to be March weather, so a dress won't exactly work either.

 

Thanks in advance for all your help 🙂

Wow what a fabulous itinerary.

 

1.  From Kusadasi go to Ephesus it is incredible.  Istanbul you have to include Hagia Sophia.  In Dubrovnik there is a shuttle from the port to town then you can wander around the walled city which is beautiful and then just outside the wall is the entrance to the cable car for some great views, there isn't anything to do once you are up there really except a tourist shop.  In Messina make sure you are in the town square at 12 noon to see the clock, you can also pay a few euros to go inside which is well worth a visit.  From Naples I would recommend Herculaneum if you get time, it is better preserved than Pompeii and so emotional when you see the skeletons at the pier waiting for the boats to save them.  From Livorno I like to go to Lucca and Pisa but many prefer Florence.

2. Athens is good but you can do a tour fairly quickly so you don't really need to spend a long time there.  We did a tour after my husband bungee jumped into the Corinth canal 

 

In Rome there is easily two days worth of sights to see.

 

3. The food in the MDR changes every day apart from some staples.  My favorite cocktails are B52, Mango Meltdown, Long Island Iced Tea and Bloody Mary

 

4. Churches in Europe recommend that you cover your shoulders and knees but in Turkey you may also need to cover your hair.

 

I hope this helps

 

Gail 🙂

 

[ColeThornton]

7 minutes ago, SpainAlien said:

4. Churches in Europe recommend that you cover your shoulders and knees but in Turkey you may also need to cover your hair

 

 

Hagia Sophia is a designated mosque, so yes..a head scarf is required.

[kaprin02]

Can't help much for the other questions, but for #4, I like to wear leggings with a skirt or dress - this covers me for modesty, dressiness, and warmth (and if it's warm out, you can always take the leggings off later).  🙂  And as other posters have said, you may need to cover your head - I've found a rectangular pashmina-type shawl/scarf works well - it can provide warmth if it's cold or fold up relatively small to fit in your bag if it's warm, and will easily cover your head (and shoulders) if needed.  I've traveled a lot (including cruises) with just a carry-on size suitcase, so I'm all about versatility and options! 

[Sixtytwo]

With limited time, my vote would be an extra day or two in Rome. It is pretty easy to get from the port to the main train station in Rome. From there a number of places to stay that are walking distance from Termini Station. Some good advice we got from the hotel when we stayed there was to do a hop on - hop off tour. The tickets are good for 24 hours. Take a full round without getting off. This will give you a good idea of where you want to actually spend some time. Then, on the next round, get off and see the things you wanted to see, get back on and go to the next stop where you wanted to spend some time. Rome is full of great sites and some excellent eating places! Whatever you do, I hope you have a great time!!