marazul

@GCrafter

You should visit Corinth, Mycenae and Epidaurus on your way to Nafplio. You drive past them to get there.

If possible, on day 4 leave Delphi early for Meteora. It's about 3 hours.  You really don't need a guide there since you have a car. Just visit on your own (or with the guide) on the afternoon of day 4 and if you haven't seen them all, visit one or two the morning of day 5.

On your way to Athens make a quick stop in Thermopylae to see the waterfall. This will give you a lot more time in Athens the afternoon/evening of day 5.

Use your two days in Athens to visit the sights there. If you want a tour on the way to the port, go to Sounion.  There is no point in backtracking to Corinth when you already drove through it twice on your trip to Nafplio.

1 hour ago, rurn0321 said:

Looking for recommendations for a hotel pre cruise.  We will be there for just one night and as we have been to Athens several times on cruises we don't need any excursions.  Close to the port is preferable.  Also the best way to get from the airport to the hotel, taxi, car service etc.  We used Rome Cabs in Rome and prefer something like that. Thanks.

www.georgestaxi.com for your transfers.  It's just like Rome Cabs, but they also provide guiding and tour services if you wish.

I have also been to Athens many times and I would still stay in Central Athens rather than in Piraeus. Check out the Hera hotel.

9 minutes ago, JerryInIL said:

A full day tour to Delphi would involve about how many hours on the bus?

It's over 2.5 hours each way.

2 hours ago, tauntoncheer said:

Has anyone stayed at this hotel? Can you recommend restaurants and things to do that are close by? We have one day before our cruise and looking for suggestions. Also is it easy to get to the Gothic Quarter? Thank you in advance. 

It is not centrally located for sightseeing.  It's about a 40 minute walk from Plaza Catalunya. If you haven't reserved yet, take a look at hotels near the Plaza. Then you will be within easy walking distance of the Gothic Quarter, Ramblas and Passeig de Gracia.

It is very doable.. Check the schedule: 

https://www.alilaurogruson.com/Ferry-Amalfi-Sorrento

1 hour ago, zinniagirl said:

Thanks... How would I arrange to have a taxi there?

How are you planning to get there? If it is a taxi, you can arrange for it to wait for you and bring you back. Do that before you get in the taxi. 

I thought you might be doing this as part of an independent tour.

You should be ok. The visit is one hour, but you should be ready to end it by 4 pm if need be so you can get back to the ship by 4:30. You need a little extra time just in case. 

1 hour ago, Virginia Huskers said:

So do you who know think we can make an 11:45 flight at ATH if the ship docks at 7AM?

Yes.  Plenty of time to get there by 9-9:30 am.  Take a taxi or book a transfer.

12 minutes ago, EliseL said:

So these are three shared tours with set itineraries so we can’t alter the destinations and we won’t be driving ourselves. This day 2 is the only full day we’ll have in Athens.  I am leaning towards the half day Corinth as you’ve said the others would be a long day. And yes we were planning on doing the Acropolis the morning of the cruise since that leaves at 5pm. 

That works. There is a lot more to see in Athens, such as the Acropolis Museum and the National Archaeological Museum. However, the Corinth-Mycenae-Epidaurus combo is very popular and you might find other tour companies that offer it.

Enjoy your trip.

16 hours ago, EliseL said:

Full day to Argolis(Mycenae-Epidaurus-Nafplion Tour)

Half day to Cornth.

You do realize that to get to Mycenae you have to drive through Corinth.  Consider going to Corinth, Mycenae and Epidaurus and skipping Nafplio.

Are you in Athens three full days (4 nights) or two full days (3 nights)? If it is two full days, you can save the early visit to the Acropolis for the morning you embark on your cruise.  You have plenty of time to go there and then return to the hotel to check out. Get your tickets as soon as you can to guarantee an early admission.  

1 hour ago, martyap said:

We will be porting in Marseille and spending the morning in Aix and the afternoon in Cassis. Any suggestions for a restaurant for lunch? Nothing that requires a reservation, good views would be great. Also a shop to purchase nougats. We will be there on a Tuesday, Mid May. Thanks

The waterfront is lined with restaurants, all with the same great view and outside tables.  No reservations needed.  The menus are all posted outside, so just look at them and pick a place to eat.  We have been to several and they are all good. Local specialties: soupe de poissons (fish soup), moules-frites (mussels and fries), daurade grillée (grilled sea bream). 

For nougats there are a few souvenir shops around and near the port. Most of them will have them.  

1 hour ago, EliseL said:

Hi.  Looking for opinions.  We have three days in Athens before our cruise.  First day will be mainly sleeping from the overnight flight.

 

Second day we would like to do a tour outside of Athens and I've narrowed it down to three:

Full day to Delphi

Full day to Argolis(Mycenae-Epidaurus-Nafplion Tour)

Half day to Cornth.

 

For Athens itself we were thinking of either doing the hop on hop off bus or doing a walking tour.

 

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.  Just too much to do and so little time to do it.

Thanks!

The ho-ho bus is a bit of a waste in Athens.  You are really packing it in the rest of the time, so here is how to add more to it. On the day you arrive, take a walking tour of Plaka in the afternoon to keep you awake and get over jetlag. On the third day, get tickets to the Acropolis and visit it on your own first thing in the morning.  Then go to Corinth in the afternoon and make sure you add a short boat ride on the Canal to see the sinking bridges in action. 

8 minutes ago, HMSDingy said:

Not that easy to delete once posted here on CC and I apologize for the multiple posts. But you're the only one who seems to have taken exception, One of the reasons I try not to ask too many questions here.

I am not taking exception and you do not need to apologize.  I was only pointing out that you are not going to get any new info on this topic with multiple posts.      

23 minutes ago, HMSDingy said:

We are a Canadian couple taking a European cruise onboard the Island Princess this August and are wondering what form of currency should we bring. I know the onboard payments are done in US but what about when ashore? Would it be better in cash being the local currency, or a credit card?  

You are posting this in every forum. The answer is the same for all euro countries 

Ashore you can use credit cards for practically everything.  However, you should carry euros for small purchases (like coffee, snacks) or for when a vendor (maybe a taxi) refuses the credit card. Always ask first if they take cards, this is particularly true for taxis and small purchases.

Always charge the transaction in euros, never in your currency.  In that way you get the lower interbank exchange rate rather than whatever exchange rate the vendor decides to charge you.

There are lots of posts on this subject. Search these forums.

2024 or 2025? September 5 this year is on a Thursday; next year it's a Friday. Are you tied to a particular cruise line? If not, you will find plenty of Friday, Saturday or Sunday sailings on other lines.  That will give you another day to board your cruise. Or you might want to do a few days of land travel first and maybe board a cruise in Venice a few days later.  Why risk missing embarkation or add all that stress to your plans?

1 hour ago, tauntoncheer said:

What is the best way and cost to get from the Barcelona airport to the Via Sants Hotel? Thank you

Taxi. About 35 euros.

On 4/1/2024 at 9:25 AM, Gourmet Gal said:

When paying deposits and making purchases by credit card in a foreign country always pay in that country’s currency.  Many offer the choice to pay in your own currency or theirs.  You will incur an extra conversion fee on top of the foreign transaction fee (if applicable).

If you are in the foreign country, always charge in the country's currency. 

If you are making internet purchases from home, you might have the choice of charging in your own currency or in the local currency.  If so, go to a website such as https://www.xe.com/ and enter the amount they ask in local currency to check what your own currency amount would be at the current rate.  If the amount the vendor offers you in your own currency is more than the official rate, charge in the local currency.  

We have used https://www.georgestaxi.com/ many times over the years and we re very pleased with their service.

2 hours ago, Gem9739 said:

Struggling with Google as it keeps giving me companies based on mainland Italy!

They are probably national companies that have rental offices in Sicily. Just check them out.

I agree with @Kane.

We were caught in the great European travel snafus of June 2022.  We got our flights through Flight Ease.  We stayed in Lisbon for three days after the cruise.  Our flight to the US got canceled repeatedly on the day that we were supposed to leave.  Seabourn was out of the picture since we were no longer on the cruise.  The airline put us up on a hotel and we got rerouted the next day.  We did our own research on new flights and told the airline the flights we preferred.  At one point we tried to call Flight Ease, but we had already found good alternative flights on the airlines app.

After we returned we also spent months filing claims with the airline and Seabourn Shield.  Everything was resolved eventually, but it was not the end of the trip we had envisioned.

Just be prepared to fend for yourself. 

It seems that the new website will be https://www.colosseo.it/

Unfortunately, it isn't working.  At least, I keep getting error messages today.

2 hours ago, JRos said:

Turkey is indeed not Africa - but I wasn’t sure if it was Middle East or Europe. In any regard, it wouldn’t let me delete the thread. This community is for Middle East, so Turkey is deemed to be a Middle Eastern country, but definitely isn’t part of Africa. 

It is listed under "Other Mediterranean Ports" because so many Med cruises stop in Turkey.

Nothing negative right now.  I just checked the local newspaper and there are no news of unrest or closings in Marseille. A group of teachers staged a small protest in Avignon yesterday. They are expecting floodings this week from Avignon to the sea.

https://www.lamarseillaise.fr/

On 2/11/2024 at 9:36 AM, JRos said:

My husband and I want to see the ancient city of Ephesus, when our ship docks in Kusadasi. We aren’t interested in the Christian pilgrimage site - we just want to see Kusadasi with a guide.
 

If you have a guide or company that you’ve used and recommend, I’d really appreciate if you could post information and their info below.  🙏

Thank you! 

You should post in Mediterranean ports.  Ephesus is in Turkey. Turkey is not in Africa.