letsgo39

This makes sense to me as no cruise line would want to spend hours upon hours just getting people off a ship then spend hours upon hours getting them back. I didnt understand the previous poster commenting about it taking hours to get people tendered to Santorini and the same situation back.

Well I am not lying I can assure you. We were on the Celebrity Equinox and we took a ship excursion so we could get off the ship early.We visited Oia and a winery. Celebrity used local boats for tendering, it was very rough in the bay and they were still tendering people off the ship when we were in line at the end of our tour to take the cable car back down the hill.The lines were so long for the cable car that we had to wait about 2 hours to get back down the hill to catch a tender. There was one other ship in port that left while we were standing in line.There are 3 ways to get down the hill. Donkey,walk or cable car.If you still don't understand do some research on Santorini and then maybe you will understand.Your post is insulting.

You don't want to go to Athens either?

I guess Kusadasi is now out too, it's around the corner from Izmir which is a no go for Americans..

I see Istanbul is listed but I don't see anything about Izmir. Is Izmir included too?

Are you docking somewhere else as a substitute for Istanbul?

Thank you.Following because we are scheduled to stop in Izmir in June on Carnival Vista.

The VAT is refundable at the airport or after you get home.You will receive a form for the refund.

Santorini can handle multiple ships, it is a tender port.

Can you imagine getting 4000 people off the ship by tender? When I was there on Celebrity it took until 3 PM to get everyone off and then they had to hold the ship getting back because the only way to get back down the hill is walk or Cable car.We waited in line for the cable car for 2 hours.I guess we could have walked if we felt like slipping and sliding down the hill in donkey poop.Not fun at all.

Mykonos is also a tender port and a very small town.Neither one of those would solve the Vat problem.

Pro tip, by the way: if you are in the good habit of not booking excursions with the cruise line, you may want to consider making an exception for Izmir (Ephesus, Pergamon, etc.). If the ship were to be diverted, you'd be assured of an easy refund. Not to say that an good independent outfit wouldn't refund, but it may not be 100% guaranteed.

Ephesus Shuttle does not charge in advance.Considering the attack last year on the cruise ship excursions a ship excursion is the last thing I would want to do.I have been to both Mykonos and Santorini on Celebrity and both ports were tender ports. It took until 3 pm to get everyone off the ship in Santorini.it was a mess and that was a much smaller ship.I would not mind at all a sea day but I have been to just about all the Med ports so probably look at it different.

It says they have NOT been ordered out of Izmir. We will not be in Southeast Turkey.

Was curious about this as well, just got off the phone with a Carnival rep (today is March 25th). As far as he can tell, Izmir is still on the itinerary for the summer sailings, and specifically still on for the June 11th departure date.

 

Of course, he could be wrong and the situation could change, even at the last minute.

 

This is why I think that if I book this sailing, I'll go with the official excursions rather than go independent: greater chance of a smooth refund in case the ship is diverted.

 

Be a shame if it was, of course. The ruins of Ephesus are magnificent and landing there allows you say that you have visited Asia!

I have never had to pay in advance for a tour in Ephesus with Ephesus Shuttle.I would much rather be on a small private tour than a big bus with46 people.As a matter of fact with several cruises to Europe and many trips on our own the only place in Europe I have had to pay in advance is the British Isles and even there you are guaranteed a full refund if the ship does not dock.In the Med I have never paid in advance for a tour.

How would anyone here possibly know? Besides, Izmir is HUNDREDS of miles away.

Izmir is 324 miles from Ankara.As far as the question.....who knows? Carnival is the only one who knows and they are only saying that they are monitoring the situation and thus far there are no changes.

Another bombing in Turkey

When? Where? never mind. I just found it.Aankara is a long way from Izmir.

We are also staying at the Hotel Continental Barcelona on La Ramblas. We have stayed here before and loved it.They have a 24 hour Buffet with free wine,beer,soda,ice cream. It is also a lot of fun to sit on your balcony and watch the action on Las Ramblas. Also free internet.They book up early.

The Sea trials were scheduled for January and have not been done yet. the latest date is March 22nd.

Read the article. The delay is blamed on changes to the original plan and labor/union problems at the ship yard.I hope it will be ready but guessing that there will be things not ready. Better bring your screw driver with you.:D

Izmir is currently in the center of the refugee-crisis of Europe. A lot of refugees try to reach Greece from Izmir and surroundings. The Vista will literally sail alongside dinghies filled with refugees when it's navigating into Izmir. Media here in Holland are reporting refugees with their life-jackets on in the centre of Izmir.

 

Doesn't seem like a place where you want to take a cruiseship carrying 4000 passengers. Seems akward for both the passengers and the refugees themselves.

 

Strange Carnival doesn't seem to take any action in this matter with the first cruises coming up.

I just don't think they will cancel Izmir for that reason unless there are lots of complaints after the first few cruises.I think they would cancel the port if they consider the port to be unsafe.

There is a very active Roll Call for the May 1 sailing.Check it out.

We have booked a full transit on the Coral Princess for April 2017.We start in Ft Lauderdale and disembark in Vancouver. When I booked it a couple of months ago many of the balcony cabins were already gone.

That makes it a convoluted route, but if your Istanbul flight can't be cancelled I guess it's cheaper than starting over.

And no, Istanbul isn't too dangerous - so if your stop-over is long enough to be worthwhile do take the opportunity to see this amazing city. :cool:

You'll have to allow at least an hour of airport formalities on arrival, 35-45 mins each way (but potentially longer at the wrong time of day) for the drive between city and airport, and check-in an hour or more before your onward flight. So if you have less than about 7 or 8 hours between flight arrival & departure it wouldn't be worthwhile

Also check that your flights use the same Istanbul airport - they're on opposite sides of the city, which could give you a problem with luggage storage.

 

JB :)

If you've already booked your flights Costa should be willing to pay your change fee.

Don't the snacks at Red Frog cost? Also, we've only had the Taste Bar on the Freedom and hardly ever saw it open...is it more consistent on the newer ships?

The Red Frog Pub is not free not even the food there.

We used Ephesus Shuttle in 2012 and will be using them again in June.You can go to their web site and look at all the tours that they offer.That way you can choose exactly what you want to see on your tour.

Don't jinx it for those of us who have been yet :D

I promise you I have no influence whatsoever.;)

It's been shown as a sea day on the June 11 sailing since I added it a year ago.

Good to know. Having been to Izmir before I really wouldn't mind a sea day.Have mixed feelings about it.

There is a lot of discussion on the F B Vista page right now that according to s h i p m a t e the port of Izmir has been dropped for several sailings and replaced by a sea day for the Med cruises in 2016.

Hope not.

Guillain–Barré syndrome ...... But close enough. It's an auto-immune dirorder that is very rare but very serious.

Our Vet developed this disease this year and it is horrible.He will recover but it will take at least a year. When he first got it they thought he had a stroke.They eliminated a stroke and transferred him to Vanderbilt where it was finally diagnosed.

Do we know if there has been any announcements regarding ship entertainment - headliner shows, musicals, comedy shows? I remember on the Breeze, we had to make reservations for all these events (and I believe on most RCI boats, we make reservations as well).

Thanks in advance!

Reservations? Really? I've only cruised on Carnival a couple of times in Europe and have never made a reservation.We have been on Princess too and never made

a reservation either.

I bought my nephew his first real luggage of his very own specifically for our May cruise on the Vista. I got a Delsey brand "light 360 spinner" has a 10 year warranty. The luggage itself has the weight listed. He loves it and has flown 2 x cross country so far- Vancouver to NC then NC to Vancouver and back, looks like new. If you are flying "international" for one the Med. Cruises - you get 70 lbs per suitcase. I got it at a smoking hot sale price - Originally $360 Canadian - paid $85 Canadian

It's 50 lbs,sorry.

I have always used 'IT worlds lightest' brand so I can pack more stuff in.

 

They do a size that is just under the size restrictions for planes and they are pretty sturdy with a good price tag...the biggest size is about £60 I think.

 

Just make sure you dont cram them full as it can affect the wheels.

 

I do not think they do 4 wheelers if thats what you are after.

Two years ago before our British Isle cruise I picked up 2 large and 2 carry on size IT luggage from T J Maxx for a very good price. I needed something very light weight because of the much lighter weight restrictions in Europe and because we are old.:D All of this luggage is 4 wheels and held up great for that British Isle Cruise and our Norway cruise in 2015.I'll be using it again in 2016 for our Med cruise with out family.T.J. Maxx and Marshalls are great places to get luggage for a very discounted price. IT makes some pieces that are very bright colors and easy to spot.