cristal 7 day louis cruise time of disembarking in Istanbul

[fuzzysimba2]

Hi

 

What time did you disembark in Istanbul I am wondering if I have enough time to go to the Spice market and/or Grand Bazaar, The Cristal suppose to get into Istanbul around 3pm on Saturda and disembarking right after is this correct?

 

 

Thanks

 

Dawn

[Steamboatin]

We cruised last August on the Cristal but did not go to that part of Turkey so cannot answer your question.

 

The reason I am responding to your question is our prior experience with sailing on the Cristal.

 

Just be prepared that when you use the shower you will FLOOD the entire bathroom floor. This is a design flaw of the entire ship regardless of what type of cabin you have.

 

In August the air conditioning in your cabin was poor at best. It took until the following morning before it cooled down. Just in time for you to leave your cabin to go on tour.

 

The "Lido" eating area is extremely poorly designed and small. Highly recommend eating all meals in the main dining rooms. There the service and meals were good.

 

The single "store" on board was extremely poor.

 

The single pool was very small. My guess would be maybe 8 feet by 12 feet to maybe 10 feet to 16 feet in size. Never saw anyone in it.

 

Consider it a nice ferry and you will be OK. It is faster than the other smaller cruise line vessels so we always beat everybody else into port and got the best docking or tendering positions.

 

Something to laugh at happened at a luncheon meal. On the menu was "Chilled strawberry soup". The guy next to me and myself ordered it. We both enjoyed it very much. The guy next to me asked the waiter to ask the chef how to make it. The waiter came back laughing his head off. The "secret" to the soup - it was melted strawberry ice cream.

 

Hope you all enjoy your cruise of the Greek Islands on the Cristal as much as we did.

[fuzzysimba2]

You are right. This is a ferry for us, but with a window. Mostly we are going to be in town and to eat on the ship in the morning and maybe at night if we are there. It's somewhere to rest and that is about it. I have just seen some site that The Cristal ports at 3pm and other sites that The Cristal ports at 6pm. I really want to make it to the spice market and if not I really hope the is shopping on Sunday not at the mall but just some shops.

 

I like the story about the chill strawberry soup. I may have to try that if available and smile knowing that I know the secret ingredient and watch other people faces. LOL

 

Dawn:p

[tully07]

We arrived in Istanbul around 3 p.m. and we went to the Spice Market as soon as we were able to get off the ship. We also spent some time at the Grand Bazaar.

 

Concerning the shower comments by "Steamboatin", we did not encounter any problem at all with flooding with the shower in our cabin --the shower is small but functional. We ate all our meals in the main dining rooms and found the service to be very good.

[fuzzysimba2]

Hi

 

Thank you Tully for answering. I have been worried that I will not have a chance to get to the spice market and/or Grand bazaar. My husband needs a new leather Jacket and I will love to get some yellow saffron because it is so expensive here. It seemed that you had a couple of hours to explore the markets which one should I go to first and is it walking distance from the port or do I have to take a taxi

 

Thank You so very much

 

Dawn

[tully07]

We went by bus -- the ship will be organizing tours to the bazaars... we didn't have a lot of time there, though. We were there during Ramadan and the streets were packed with people -- it was hard to get around the city. I think you would have to take a cab in order to have sufficient time to shop - the bazaar is huge.

 

You will also be able to shop in Kusadasi....I heard that it was easier to find leather goods there. Lots of saffron for sale in the Spice Bazaar.

[fuzzysimba2]

Thank you

 

I will take a cab so I will not have to wait for anyone. If you have any other tips (getting around, restaurants, how to bargain, even organized tours) for me about the cruise or the ports feel free to post them, I am such a newbie and this is our first cruise over a day.

 

Thanks again

 

Dawn

[tully07]

They are pretty efficient at disembarkation but keep in mind that there are about 1200 people disembarking from the ship when it arrives in each port. Generally, the travellers going on ship organized tours get to disembark first - the buses come right beside the ship. To get a cab in Istanbul, I think you will have to go through the port entrance out on to a nearby street. [You return to the ship through the same port entrance.]