Bottom line - have two weeks in October 2024, want to see some of Turkey as part of some sort of trip and see places we haven’t seen. Here are the options I’m considering -
Non-Cruise: Week in Istanbul (and explore around) plus week in Sicily (Palermo and Taormina).
Cruise 1: NCL Getaway from Athens. Ports - Jerusalem, Haifa, Alexandria Egypt, Port Said Eqypt, Limassol Cyprus, Rhodes Greece, Kusadasi Turkey, arrives Istanbul where we would spend 3 nights. This one gives us some places we would likely not go as a normal trip but do interest us (Egypt and Israel).
Cruse 2: Celebrity Infinity from Athens. Ports - Volos Greece, 2 full days in Istanbul, Kusadasi, Santorini, Rhodes, Mykonos. 2 days in Istanbul gives us a taste, we love Greece - have been to Santorini but not the others on this itinerary but it won’t be as “exotic”.
Any thoughts on the NCL experience vs Celebrity? We’ve been on RC, Carnival and NCL in the past with RC being our favorite and NCL the least, but the NCL was a New England cruise on the Gem.
Appreciate any feedback you all have and hopefully someone has done these itineraries before with some feedback! Thank you.
