Have you sailed to Greece & Italy? I really need your help!

[RCCL Fan]

We're sailing to Naples, Ephesus, Mykonos and Santorini on Odyssey of the Seas

 

I know zip about any of these places but am looking for private tours.

 

Who is the Peat Taylor, Bodden Tours or Nativway Tours or these places?

 

Where's there version of Paradise Beach club?

 

I cross posted this on the ports pages.

 

We want a beach/snorkeling day

a day with some countryside tours, scenic photos,

maybe a motor scooter drive around day. 

 Food and wine

 

Which is best for which?   Any companies/tour guides you recommend?  I have a couple gift cards from viator, anyone use them?  suggestions?

 

 

Thanks so much!

[Biker19]

7 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

I cross posted this on the ports pages.

Assuming there is one, the roll call thread may have some ideas as well.

[Norwich Cruiser]

Naples I would get the high speed ferry / hydrofoil over to Capri.

 

The ferry station is a two or three minutes walk from where the ship docks.

 

Then tour the blue lagoon if it takes your fancy ( boats are there waiting where you dock ) followed by a trip on the bus up the steep hill to where it stops then take the chair lift up to the top and visit the doctors villa fantastic gardens.

 

So easy to do on your own and you’ll probably be on the same ferry as the Royal tours only a lot cheaper.

 

Ephesus get off the ship and taxis will be there waiting to take you to the ruins.

 

They drop you at the entrance and pick you up again two hours later at the exit.

 

There’s plenty of time of your return to grab lunch and walk around the shops.

 

Mykonos a beautiful place just walk around the town/village and enjoy a leisurely lunch.

 

Santorini go up the cable car ( don’t ride the donkeys ) to the top again just wonder round admire the fantastic views enjoy lunch and a drink.

 

But allow plenty of time to get the cable car back down to the ship enjoy  lunch the wait time can be a couple of hours.

 

Or get the ferry it’s waiting dockside over to Oia and again enjoy the views and a drink and lunch.

 

Been to Paradise Beach several times but I can’t honestly think of anything like it in any of these places.

 

We’ve never used any tour companies in any of these places everything is very easy.

 

Enjoy.

[cruisequeen4ever]

We’ve been to all of those ports. We’ve done both cruise line as well as Viator in Naples, cruise line in Ephesus, independent in Mykonos, and boat transfer to Oia in Santorini. 
 

In Naples, I recommend sticking with a cruise line tour because there can be bad traffic to/from the Amalfi Coast. The time we used Viator, the tour was great, but we came way too close to missing the ship because the driver was focused more on the return time of the other ship in port and forgot ours. The food in Sorrento and really anywhere on the Amalfi Coast is out of this world! 
 

Ephesus is a pretty long drive out of the city, but I’d say it’d all come down to what you want to accomplish touring Ephesus. If you want a personalized tour, go private. If you just want to tour it in general, a group tour would be fine. 
 

Mykonos would be a prime beach day. The water is perrrrfect! It’s also a very walkable place. You must eat lunch there; the food is so fresh and delicious!

 

Santorini is easily done on your own. You can buy boat transfer tickets right at the dock to get to Oia, and then they bus you back to Fira to explore. The cable car to get back down to the dock can have a long line, so beware. 
 

Have fun! I adore the Med!!

[Nunagoras]

Pretty much all said from the last posts. Permit me just to add:

 

If Pompeii ruins is your sort of thing, go for it. As someone said I'd go with a ship sponsored shore ex because while the distance is not that big, traffic might to be a nightmare. You can go by train on your own, but they're generally old fashioned commuter trains with a bad fame of lots of pickpockets, so beware.

 

Surely I went to Mykonos some 10 years ago, and things might to have changed, but bear in mind that it used to be a tender port of call. If done at night it might to be an opportunity to experience their night life. Once weather didn't cooperate I opted to stay at ship that evening, so no comment on what it really can be. If done at daytime, it would be as described above such a prime beach day.

 

General advise: Bear in mind that most European tourism attractions are mostly historical places. Dress accordingly if some of those ones you happen to visit are Churches, especially in Italy where they're quite conservative on that one.

 

Have a nice day!...

[George C]

Naples is one of my favorite ports, home to the best pizza in the world, close to Pompeii and the island of Capri .

[RCCL Fan]

5 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

allow plenty of time to get the cable car back down to the ship enjoy  lunch the wait time can be a couple of hours.

 

 

Oh that makes me a bit nervous if it take a few hours wait to get down.  Sounds like a tour might be in order! lol 

[RCCL Fan]

1 hour ago, Nunagoras said:

Pompeii ruins is your sort of thing, go for it. As someone said I'd go with a ship sponsored shore e

Pompeii is definitely on the list or the Amalfi coast.  no ship tours left so i'm hoping to find someone to take us to one (figure both is too much)   Anything else there I should consider?

[RCCL Fan]

2 hours ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

Ephesus is a pretty long drive out of the city, but I’d say it’d all come down to what you want to accomplish touring Ephesus. If you want a personalized tour, go private. If you just want to tour it in general, a group tour would be fine. 
 

Mykonos would be a prime beach day. The water is perrrrfect! It’s also a very walkable place. You must eat lunch there; the food is so fresh and delicious!

 

 

I know nothing about Ephesus and don't really want to see ruins.  Would this be a good place to fart around on a scooter?  or would santorini?

 

Mykonos over Santorini for beaches?  Cool!  Any beach resorts? names?  I should know. 

[dani negreanu]

16 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

Pompeii is definitely on the list or the Amalfi coast.  no ship tours left so i'm hoping to find someone to take us to one (figure both is too much)   Anything else there I should consider?

 

I can highly recommend Joe Banana's tours -- my vote would be for a tour which includes Positano and Ravello - just stunning. 

 

https://www.joebananalimos.net/

 

For Ephesus -- We went outside the terminal, and hired a taxi by ourselves (Virgin Mary's house). No shopping and no carpet demonstrations. Payment -- AFTER the tour.

 

[dani negreanu]

37 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

Oh that makes me a bit nervous if it take a few hours wait to get down.  Sounds like a tour might be in order! lol 

 

Just check how many ships in port with yours.

 

And take into consideration worse come to worse -- 2 hours to get down to the tenders.

 

We were many ships in port that day. We got out early, booked the transfer to Oia, wandered there when it was still quite empty (and cool, don't forget that the Med in the summer is HOT), and took the 11AM bus to Thira.

 

We had an "all aboard" of 4.30PM, and when we saw to queue (it was past noon when we got to Thira), decided that it was HOT and might as well go back to ship and queued.

 

For US, Oia was the highlight.... YMMV  😁

Edited May 3, 2022 by dani negreanu
should be wandered and not wondered...

[bonsai3s]

3 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

I can highly recommend Joe Banana's tours -- my vote would be for a tour which includes Positano and Ravello - just stunning. 

 

https://www.joebananalimos.net/

 

For Ephesus -- We went outside the terminal, and hired a taxi by ourselves (Virgin Mary's house). No shopping and no carpet demonstrations. Payment -- AFTER the tour.

 

Dani, what would be a fair price for a taxi to take us to Ephesus and House of the Virgin Mary? Thanks.

[George C]

30 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

Pompeii is definitely on the list or the Amalfi coast.  no ship tours left so i'm hoping to find someone to take us to one (figure both is too much)   Anything else there I should consider?

Have you checked your roll call to see if there is a private tour you could join , we did most of our tours with private tours from roll call. We did Pompeii by taxi that we hired for the day.

[dani negreanu]

Just now, bonsai3s said:

Dani, what would be a fair price for a taxi to take us to Ephesus and House of the Virgin Mary? Thanks.

 

2013 -- We paid 60 Euros for 3 hours. As I said, we walked a bit outside the terminal, where there was a very long line of taxis looking for a fare. Bargained [I'm from Middle East 😉...].

 

He took us to Ephesus, we gave him money for the tickets, he skipped the line, and showed us where he'll be waiting for us after one and a half hour. It was very hot that day, so we actually finished in less time, and just people "watched" (Genuine Fake "watches" shops too). Might have had time for the Virgin Mary's house too, but hubby wanted back to the AC...

 

On our way to the ship, the driver, although I told him "no shopping, no carpets, NO", tried to convince me otherwise. Couldn't get his head around "a lady who doesn't like shopping"... but I was adamant.

 

[bobmacliberty]

I second (or third?) the idea of Capri when stopping in Naples.  The high speed ferry is right next to where the cruise ships dock and they run back and forth to Capri frequently.  We caught the earliest ferry that we could (before the tours left) and then took a bus straight up to Anacapri...the high side of the island.  We toured through Villa San Michelle and took the chairlift to the very top of the island before any real crowds showed up.  The views were spectacular.  

 

 

 

 

We then caught a bus back down to the other side of the island where the stores and bigger hotels are located.  That's where we found all of the crowds.  We ate lunch and shopped for a bit before taking the funicular back down to the marina to catch a return ferry.  We caught an early afternoon ferry so that we would have plenty of time to get back to the ship should something go wrong.  All of the organized tours use the same ferries so if something was to go wrong, it would impact a lot of people.

 

We were supposed to take the same Greek Isles cruise as you but it was cancelled due to Covid.  On that stop in Naples, we had booked a private tour of the Amalfi Coast...Carmine's Amalfi Coast Secret Tour.  Since the cruise was cancelled, I can't say how good the tour was.  He's endorsed by Rick Steves, for whatever that means to you.

[bonsai3s]

3 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

2013 -- We paid 60 Euros for 3 hours. As I said, we walked a bit outside the terminal, where there was a very long line of taxis looking for a fare. Bargained [I'm from Middle East 😉...].

 

He took us to Ephesus, we gave him money for the tickets, he skipped the line, and showed us where he'll be waiting for us after one and a half hour. It was very hot that day, so we actually finished in less time, and just people "watched" (Genuine Fake "watches" shops too). Might have had time for the Virgin Mary's house too, but hubby wanted back to the AC...

 

On our way to the ship, the driver, although I told him "no shopping, no carpets, NO", tried to convince me otherwise. Couldn't get his head around "a lady who doesn't like shopping"... but I was adamant.

 

Dani...thank you!

 

RCCL Fan...I apologize for jumping in...not trying to hijack your thread.

All the info here gave us some great ideas.

 

* We are onboard the Odyssey now and we'll be visiting all these ports .

[Welly9]

RCCL Fan, what cruise? We are doing same may 16th, coming up very fast!! 

same as your ports but with crete

Naples - we have done Amalfi by water, if you dont want to stress over traffic, and it can be, go by water, smaller but still bi bots, for 10 to 16 passengers, and visit Amalfi, Positano etc by water, its stunning! Swim, see caves, have lunch , they normall have Prosecco on the Boat and snacks, - only warning, have a camera! and take your sea bands if youre susceptible to sea motion, as there are many boats going in all directions that the water gets choppy, when moving not a problem, when anchored or drifting, the boat bobs, we had 2 or 3 who didnt feel well, me _ i had their share of Prosecco! ;O)

This time private group doing pompei, naples and Positano from the top.

 

Mykonos and Crete - doing beach, lunch with day stays then back in Port to walk around

 

Sanorini - private tour all the POI sites and beach and wine tour

Athens - private tour all the POI's.

Euphesus - private tour all the POI's

 

 

[GEORGIEGIRL]

16 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

We're sailing to Naples, Ephesus, Mykonos and Santorini on Odyssey of the Seas

 

I know zip about any of these places but am looking for private tours.

 

Who is the Peat Taylor, Bodden Tours or Nativway Tours or these places?

 

Where's there version of Paradise Beach club?

 

I cross posted this on the ports pages.

 

We want a beach/snorkeling day

a day with some countryside tours, scenic photos,

maybe a motor scooter drive around day. 

 Food and wine

 

Which is best for which?   Any companies/tour guides you recommend?  I have a couple gift cards from viator, anyone use them?  suggestions?

 

 

Thanks so much!

When we have cruised to the Greek Isles we have always used "Achtypis Tours'. (we are a travel agency and use them for group tours. I believe they also do smaller group bookings as well). They are awesome and will definitely take good care of you should you chose to use them.   https://www.achtypistours.gr/

[Nunagoras]

2 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

Pompeii is definitely on the list or the Amalfi coast.  no ship tours left so i'm hoping to find someone to take us to one (figure both is too much)   Anything else there I should consider?

Both is definitely too much for a cruise day, sadly. Decision will mostly depend on what you really want and the amount of time ship will be in port. For Pompeii you'll need such a single half a day tour and have the extra time for delays or at best rest at or near ship. For the Amalfi cost coast it can be more time. Sometimes cruise lines will open more shore ex once the sailing approaches or save seats to sell at boarding day, so stay tuned, but there are several companies doing a reliable work. On the ports of call section someone can give you more details, in addition to the ones that have given them beforehand. Have a nice day!...

[fishiecrackers]

10 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

Pompeii is definitely on the list or the Amalfi coast.  no ship tours left so i'm hoping to find someone to take us to one (figure both is too much)   Anything else there I should consider?

We are looking at a similar itinerary for summer 2023. We are going with italytours.eu for our Amalfi Coast port, as they are highly recommended and guarantee to get you back to your ship on time or cover the cost. Reviews on the forums I've read said they are great to work with and do a wonderful job with their tours.

I've heard the ruins in Ephesus are awesome, but I think we'll be done doing ruins by that point in our trip. I think we might head to one of the beaches near the port, or possibly one of the waterparks there in Kuradasi.

In Santorini we are going to just walk around and probably another beach day in Mykonos.

[cloud_nine]

12 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

Oh that makes me a bit nervous if it take a few hours wait to get down.  Sounds like a tour might be in order! lol 

A tour won't help with the wait times unfortunately. All the tours do is drop you off in Fira with a ticket for the cable car. You still have to queue for the cable car with everyone else to get down to the tender boats. We've had both good luck and bad luck with the queues. Once we didn't have to queue at all, another time we queued in the hot sun for over an hour. It all depends on how many ships are in port that day and the times they need to be back on board. What a tour will help with is getting off the ship and onto the tender boats early, as the tours are always the first off in the morning. 

 

Just be aware that Santorini is busy! Oia is lovely and the views are phenomenal, but the crowds can get pretty insane. As for beaches, they will be volcanic. So, they'll be red and black sand ones. If you're looking for white sand beaches, Mykonos is your best bet. 

[kernow]

14 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

Pompeii is definitely on the list or the Amalfi coast.  no ship tours left so i'm hoping to find someone to take us to one (figure both is too much)   Anything else there I should consider?

We once did a full day ship tour that did Sorrento in the morning and then took us to Pompeii after lunch, don't normally like organised tours but this one was fab. Keep an eye out if more places open up or maybe another company offers it too.

 

We've stopped at Kusadasi a few times and never been to Ephesus as it doesn't appeal to us. Kusadasi is a nice resort town with a beach close to the ship, a good place to just have a wander around (don't forget to barter in the shops). I don't know about scooters, personally I'd feel safer in Greece rather than Turkey but I'm sure you can do them anywhere.

 

I hope you're planning to do a live review, I always love your posts.

Edited May 4, 2022 by kernow

[FionaMG]

55 minutes ago, kernow said:

We've stopped at Kusadasi a few times and never been to Ephesus as it doesn't appeal to us. Kusadasi is a nice resort town with a beach close to the ship, a good place to just have a wander around (don't forget to barter in the shops).

 

Just to slightly sidetrack, is there somewhere in/near the port where we could change up some euros for Turkish lira, in case we want to do some shopping?

[kernow]

11 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

 

Just to slightly sidetrack, is there somewhere in/near the port where we could change up some euros for Turkish lira, in case we want to do some shopping?

Not sure but from memory everywhere we went accepted Euros (and probably dollars). They all speak good English too.

[alfaeric]

We did this cruise 7 years ago, so I have no idea about if any of the tours are even still in business.

 

The ruins at Ephesus are pretty amazing- we organized a tour in advance of getting there, and the guide was a historian who took us through the ruins.  But if that's not appealing, wandering around the town area would be about it- while nice, it wasn't really remarkable.  

 

The other ports we did tours you are not visiting....

 

We wandered around Naples and Mykonos, for Santorini, we hiked to Oia and bussed back.  The line taking the tram back down was hours long, so we walked back down, too.  Kinda messy dealing with the donkeys.