Disembarkation in Istanbul

My wife and I will be on the Aug 27 - Sep 6, 2015 Mariner cruise from Rome to Istanbul. This is the first time we have had the transfer from the cruise port to the airport included upon disembarkation (in Istanbul). I'm just wondering if we should stick with Regent's included transfer (our flight leaves at 10:55am), or if we would be better off making our own arrangements for a private transfer? I have visions of sitting on a bus waiting for it to fill up while the time is ticking away...

In Istanbul, I would do my own transportation to the airport. It doesn't cost that much , maybe 25-35 euro, and my husband would not be happy waiting for a bus to load. That way, you can leave whenever you want.

kmcqueen, my wife and I are on the same cruise, traveling with friends. We will be staying on in Istanbul post-cruise, but based on prior experience disembarking in Istanbul from our 2012 cruise, catching a taxi can be chaotic and time consuming if you haven't made prior arrangements. There was a taxi staging area just across the street from the point where you disembark, and on the occasion we used it, it was a bit of the wild west, with no organized queue, a dispatcher of sorts yelling at taxi drivers and passengers alike, and a rather considerable wait. It didn't matter much in our case because we were staying on for a few days on that occasion, too (I would not miss a chance to spend time in Istanbul).

You might want to consider arranging a car to meet you on disembarkation if getting to the airport on time is a concern.

My opinion is a bit different. Since your flight is 10:55 a.m., Regent would get you off of the ship and onto a bus at a reasonable time. Typically there is not a long wait. They assign buses several days in advance of disembarkation. Had your flight been much later, I would have recommended a private transfer. Once you arrive at the airport, Regent will take care of your luggage - rolling it on a cart to the check-in area for your airline (something that is not typically done with a taxi or private car).

Enjoy Istanbul -- it is one of our top 5 places in the world:)

The MAJOR problem with taking Regent provided transportation is that everyone arrives at the same time and it can be chaotic, esp if you have a flight to catch and time is running short. Since you have a 10:55am flight, and should be at the airport at least two hours ahead of time, I would make arrangements (while still in the States) for a private car service - it will be money well spent. They are plenty of porters who can assist you.

All you need is for one person who can't find their passport hold up the bus.

We do not like being stressed when we travel, why end a lovely cruise with worry. We never take the provided transportation - depending on our flight arrangements, we get off the ship when we want, go to the airport privately before the mad rush, and then have a leisurely wait in the lounge.

gnomie :)

Just a quickie response -- we almost always use Regent transfers and have never had a delay (in 20 cruises). However, if you want to be 100% safe, certainly do your own thing. We find that using Regent transfers takes the "thinking" out of the equation. A couple of months ago, we used Regent to take us to the airport in Barcelona (a very busy airport). IMO, we arrived at British Airways with the luggage and were in the lounge in record time. Still, you need to do what you are comfortable with. There are many people on Cruise Critic that never use Regent Air, Regent Hotel or Regent transfers. We use all of them simply because they take the worry out of the situation (plus, if there is a problem with air or transfers, Regent will stand behind arrangements that they have made).

P.S. gnomie1, since you "never" take Regent transportation, you would not be aware of the fact that not everyone arrives at the same time. There are multiple buses. Some go directly to the airport (if it is an early flight) while others take passengers on included tours ("included" if you booked air with Regent). Our experience has been that one bus load of passengers arrives at the airport - not multiple ones.

Having transferred from Istanbul to the Istanbul airport last May(different cruise line but that is not really relevant) I would just suggest that you either use the ships transfer or that you book a private transfer through the ship just to be sure that the transportation is there and you are well taken care of.

During rush hour expect the drive will take 45 minutes to one hour.

Not sure who you are flying but if it is British Airways their check in counter opened up around two hours before the flight.

Keith

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It was an interesting range of opinions! I'm not sure what direction we'll take at this point but the discussion has been very helpful. FYI - it is Air Canada we will be flying on.

Having done that, taxis are quite small.

The cab line is pure chaos... with 3 pieces of luggage. it took forever to get a cab that would fit.

Having done that, taxis are quite small.

 

The cab line is pure chaos... with 3 pieces of luggage. it took forever to get a cab that would fit.

That kind of settles it for us since we are disembarking in IST on 16 Sep and flying out to Florence in the afternoon. The Boss packs enough to warrant her own pack mule so will definitely look into getting a transfer.

Z and TB

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It was an interesting range of opinions! I'm not sure what direction we'll take at this point but the discussion has been very helpful. FYI - it is Air Canada we will be flying on.

Had my worst airline experience with Air Canada. I've flown close to 750K miles and Air Canada is on my short list of "no fly".

Other people like Air Canada but I cannot forgive them for what they did to me and to the 100 other people they stranded because of a mechanical failure in Toronto (Hub). The way it was handled was totally amateurish and should have been embarrassing for them. Unfortunately it was a two day event of management ineptitude.

Sorry for the rant. Air Canada holds a special place in my heart.

Istanbul is a top 10 city for me. I have only done the private transfer because I always stay a couple extra days wherever we disembark. If you are not staying a couple extra days, please reconsider and stay in this wonderful city.

The person asking the question is going to directly to the airport. If someone is reading this who is planning to go to a hotel in Istanbul, (not through Regent} my advise is book a transfer. We had been to Istanbul several times and did not book a private transfer.

We did not think we needed one. Neither did our travel agent. As it happened this last time, another cruise ship was in port. It was also raining. It was chaos! My porter was unable to find us a taxi to take us to a city hotel. They only wanted to take people to the airport. Finally we walked out of the port area to a taxi stand a short way from the gate. I gave him a large tip. My husband was not with me as he was taken to the hospital for an MRI. Fortunately, he was OK was able to join me at the hotel.

When looking for a Turkish visa, it is better and more cost effective to get the visa directly from the government rather than through a visa "service". Try this link: http://www.e-visaturkey.org/english/