Question regarding shuttles and excursions in Athens on turnover day of B2B cruises.

[lackcreativity]

We have taken a Barcelona to Venice back to back cruise with the turnover in Rome, but that was not an overnight in Rome. At the start of that cruise we were offered a choice of a few excursions in Rome for those of us who were continuing the cruise.

 

I wonder if that will be the same now as we continue the rest of that trip, from Venice to Istanbul. This time there will be an overnight in Athens, and there are scheduled excursions for the second day. Does anyone know if there will still be excursions offered on the turnover day, or at least shuttles? Selecting shore excursions is imminent (like tomorrow!), and I am trying to decide what to choose for the second day. This will be our second visit to Athens, so we have already climbed to the Acropolis. I am considering the National Archaeological Museum (included excursion) and/or the New Acropolis Museum (optional excursion). If there are shuttles, is one of those easier to DIY ?

 

As always, thanks in advance!

 

 

 

 

[MSEm]

We did a B2B in 1999(?).  Unfortunately the New Acropolis Museum was not open.

We did the National Archaeological Museum. Both museums should not be missed, There were NO English paper guides and No maps or the many exhibit rooms.  Because of no written guides I would take the excursion or find a recommended guide. I would also purchase a guide book for the museums or area before you leave on the cruise.

I would tour the New Acropolis Museum on the turn over day.  If shuttles are not running , have the front desk call a taxi for you.  Note where your ship is docked before you leave.

There is also a small museum in the area the cruise ships will be dock.

Enjoy your cruise

[Mich3554]

I can’t tell you whether there will be excursions on turnover day in Athens, but when we boarded there (so it was turnover day for others) I noticed the shuttle in the adjacent lot, and there was a shuttle schedule at the entrance.

This was fall 2021, so assuming it will continue.

Edited August 13, 2023 by Mich3554

[SantaFe1]

Our experience wasn’t quite on point.  But we did the two day pre cruise extension and visited the National Archeological Museum on our own.  It was wonderful.  Full of treasures.  You walk right in and see Agamemnon’s golden death mask.  We took our hotel’s shuttle into town and it was pretty easy.  The problem is that the ship docks pretty far out of town.  I can’t remember if there was a shuttle, since we used our second day on the ship to go to Corinth, which we enjoyed.  But you could always take a taxi into town to explore the museum and have lunch.  
 

[LunaSeaRetreat]

We did this in October 2022. The first day we did the included tour, PANORAMIC ATHENS & ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM. During that tour the guide showed everyone the shuttle stop. So on the turn around day we took the shuttle and did the THE NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM & PLAKA DISTRICT on our own with no problem.

Cynthia

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

22 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

Agamemnon’s golden death mask

Actually, it was misidentified and is not Agamemnon. Viking TV has a lecture about ancient Troy and part of it deals with the dig at Mycenae. This is also mentioned when you visit Mycenae, a tour I highly recommend. 

Anyone planning a trip to Greece should watch this video

https://viking.tv/tv/this-week-on-viking-tv/tuesdays/unravel-the-mysteries-of-the-trojan-war-with-author-david-rohl

Mycenae

Edited August 13, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[SantaFe1]

30 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Actually, it was misidentified and is not Agamemnon.

Well, I think “misidentified” is the wrong word.  It is known as the mask of Agamemnon.  And I have known of this mask since I took art history in college many, many moons ago.  When we were there, I sent the photo to a well-known archeologist friend of mine, and she wrote back, “oh how wonderful to see the death mask of Agamemnon.”  So regardless of whose face this mask was found upon, it has been known as the mask of Agamemnon since Schliemann found it in 1876.  But I will enjoy watching the video.  Thanks for the link.  Wish I had know about it before we went last spring.  

[shmabbies]

We've stayed in Athens for a week and also visited it many times as a cruise stop (albeit not Viking). I understand the logistics of the overnight as we just went thru this in Chioggia in March.  Personally, based on the choices you gave, I'd take the National Archeological Museum as the included tour (because of the logistics of getting to it & because if you have any free time after the visit, it's in a busy traffic area & not in the Plaka) and take the included shuttle from Piraeus into Athens on the turnaround day.  It's my understanding it drops you (and picks you up) at Hadrian's Gate.  From there, it's a short walk to the Acropolis Museum.  I am NOT NOT NOT a strong walker so for me to say it's a do-able walk is a statement DH will choke on when I tell him I said it. 

 

From what other posters have said, you need to verify that there is a shuttle from Piraeus to Athens on the turnaround day, that it drops you at Hadrian's Gate, and that the museum is in fact open on the day of your visit.  You are basically in the Plaka pedestrian area when you are done in the Acropolis Museum and that is a great place to end up!  If you wanted to see other sites during your "shuttle visit," be sure to buy the combined ticket vs. paying at the individual sites.  It doesn't cover the Acropolis Museum, but it does cover a lot of other sites (Agora, Tower of the Winds, and others) and you can buy it in advance on line.  

 

 

[lackcreativity]

Thanks everyone! I knew I could count on getting good advice here. As recommended, I think I will schedule the included excursion to the NAM, and find our own way to the New Acropolis Museum. On our first visit to Athens with Viking, we stayed in the Plaka district after our tour for a meal, and used the shuttle bus to return to the ship. Should not have trouble doing that again.

[KTRaveller]

15 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Actually, it was misidentified and is not Agamemnon. Viking TV has a lecture about ancient Troy and part of it deals with the dig at Mycenae. This is also mentioned when you visit Mycenae, a tour I highly recommend. 

Anyone planning a trip to Greece should watch this video

https://viking.tv/tv/this-week-on-viking-tv/tuesdays/unravel-the-mysteries-of-the-trojan-war-with-author-david-rohl

Mycenae

Agreed -- this video was excellent!  We won't see Mycenae but it's very relevant for Troy, too.

[kcpvwill]

 

Posted 16 hours ago

We have taken a Barcelona to Venice back to back cruise with the turnover in Rome, but that was not an overnight in Rome. At the start of that cruise we were offered a choice of a few excursions in Rome for those of us who were continuing the cruise.

 

 

Hi Lackcreativity 

 

We are doing the Barcelona to Venice in October and wondered if you could tell us the tours offered to you on change over day in Rome, so that we have an idea of what to expect.  Thanks.

[Peregrina651]

22 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

I wonder if that will be the same now as we continue the rest of that trip, from Venice to Istanbul. This time there will be an overnight in Athens, and there are scheduled excursions for the second day. Does anyone know if there will still be excursions offered on the turnover day, or at least shuttles?

 

There are usually no shuttles on the changeover day (but Athens may be an exception to the rule; email tellus@vikingcruises.com and ask). Once you are on board, Viking will give a list of optional tours that are available to continuing guests only. They will not be available to arriving or departing guests hence they are not available for booking until you board the ship.

[MSEm]

Correction to my earlier post. We did a B2B in May 2009 not 1999.  Small ship R/T Athens.

[shmabbies]

4 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

There are usually no shuttles on the changeover day

We were docked in Chioggia March 16,17,18 this year and per my Viking Dailies, there were shuttles between the Chioggia port terminal and Chioggia town all three days.  I realize this does not help with the issue of whether there are shuttles from Piraeus to Athens, but there were definitely shuttles on changeover day.

[Peregrina651]

3 hours ago, shmabbies said:

We were docked in Chioggia March 16,17,18 this year and per my Viking Dailies, there were shuttles between the Chioggia port terminal and Chioggia town all three days.  I realize this does not help with the issue of whether there are shuttles from Piraeus to Athens, but there were definitely shuttles on changeover day.

 

That is why I said 'usually' and why I said to ask Viking directly.  There are exceptions to the norm and they are unpredictable.

 

 

[lackcreativity]

18 hours ago, kcpvwill said:

Hi Lackcreativity 

 

We are doing the Barcelona to Venice in October and wondered if you could tell us the tours offered to you on change over day in Rome, so that we have an idea of what to expect.  Thanks.

I wish I could remember all of the options, but I can only remember the one we took. Rome is one of my favorite cities, and we have been there by land more than once. For that reason, we did not consider any of the optional excursions.

 

We did take the include excursion which is a panoramic bus ride with a few photo stops and maybe 90 minutes on our own in Vatican City. Since it happened to be Easter Saturday, the atmosphere at the Vatican was extra special. We also had enough time to stop in a local pizza place we had visited on our first trip to Rome. Given our background, we were satisfied with our visit.

 

For a first visit to Rome, I think it would be disappointing. Our included excursion was just six hours, and about two hours of that is travel time.  The optional excursions run about 10 hours, which gives you time to see more. I believe they only offered a limited selection compared to an overnight in Rome, but we were in port from 5:00 AM until 11:00 PM, so I am pretty sure there were at least a few of the optional ones.

 

Watch for the paper from Viking in your stateroom which offers these choices early in the trip. We didn't find it right away, and were glad we didn't miss it!