Scubadoobie2

On 4/23/2024 at 10:29 AM, getawaygirl said:

Hi there, we will be arriving in Ephesus late May. We're trying to decide on which tour to take. Not really interested in 'Mary's House" but would like to see the other ruins and the "Terrace Houses." We've been looking at Viator tours (much less expensive than RCCL) however, according to reviews, they all seem to end up at a rug factory. Are there any tours that don't end up at the rug factory? Or any recommendations for other tours? Thanks for any info.

Hi, getawaygirl.  Late May?  Our cruise on Odyssey of the Seas arrives in Kusadasi on May 29.  Is that your ship, too?  Are we already in touch with each other?  I don't recall.  (Been in touch with a lot of people, almost 500 members in our Facebook group for our cruise).  I've been to Kusadasi twice before, in 2012 with my wife and in 2013 with my wife and our two young adult kids.  We used Ephesus Shuttle both times and we are using them again on this cruise.  What's really cool about our private tour group is that we are skipping the House of Virgin Mary AND we are skipping the rug factory hard sell.  AND, we are including the Terrace Houses in our excursion.  Sounds exactly like what you want. My tour group is maxed out.  So, I cannot invite you into our tour if you are on our ship.  But, you may be able to arrange a similar tour with Ephesus Shuttle.  Here is a link to their website: Private & Small Group Shore Excursions (ephesusshuttle.com) 

BTW, are you in Facebook?  If you are, are you also in our May 26 FB group for this cruise?  If you are not in that FB group, and if you don't HATE Facebook, consider joining right away.  

On 1/30/2024 at 5:45 PM, erby2283 said:

Was looking at using them for a tour this September.  Any idea why they need our DOB and home address when making a reservation? I just felt a little uncomfortable giving out that info.

Here is the email reply I received to my question about why they need birth dates and home addresses:  

Hello Edward,

These places are not compulory.

Ages of guests are important for us to organise guide.

If group members are young, we would like to organise a young guide for them.  

If group members are older, we try to organise a guide whose age is close to our guests.

They can share just the State where they live. Most of our guides have been in USA. We prefer to organise a guide who has been in their state before.

As I have told you before, these sections are not compulsory sections

If they do not want to send us a form, they can email us names, tour  name , date and cruise name

We will send them their confirmation

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any question you may have .
With our warmest love and greetings,
Fevzi Turhan
Specialized in Private and Small Group Tours in Turkey & Greece since 1993
Ephesus Shuttle
www.ephesusshuttle.com
info@ephesusshuttle.com

11 hours ago, erby2283 said:

Was looking at using them for a tour this September.  Any idea why they need our DOB and home address when making a reservation? I just felt a little uncomfortable giving out that info.

I've sent an email to my contact at Ephesus Shuttle, Fevzi, asking why they need to know date of birth and home address.  He will likely respond within a day, maybe two.  Just to be safe, please post same question in a couple of days to remind me where this question came from.  

52 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

That's the danger of online info. Things change. Just in the years since Covid the shuttle situation has changed 3-4 times (and I'm not just talking about prices), as well as the fact that the Civitavecchia station now has elevators....

 

Always look at the date when gathering info online. 

Thanks for the update about elevators.  Yes, always best to look for CURRENT information and not rely on years-old stuff.  Lesson learned.

Here is a link to another Youtube video on getting from the Civitevecchia train station to your cruise ship. 

Here is a link to a Youtube video that you might appreciate.  It shows you, among other things, the stairs you'll have to go down and up at Civitavecchia's train station (I recall those stairs), the bus you can catch in front of Civitavecchia's train station to get to Largo della Pace (which is where you hop aboard the bus that takes you to your ship), and the convenience of buying a train ticket that also includes fare for the bus to Largo della Pace.  (If bought separately, I understand that the cost for the express shuttle to Largo della Pace is 6 Euros.  I'm told it is 3 Euros for a local bus that makes multiple stops before reaching Largo della Pace. 

 Civitavecchia train station to Largo della Pace cruise passenger shuttle pickup (youtube.com)

Dear Cheapo-harryfat1, 

Thanks for your cruise trip report.  I really enjoyed your commentary, your pictures, your videos and your writing style/personality.  I took the liberty of downloading one of your videos -- the partying in Two70 -- and posted it to our private group on Facebook for our particular sailing.  I DID give you credit in the post and informed the readers how they could access your review on Cruisecritic.com.  Our sailing on the Odyssey OTS will come toward the end of this May.  It will be an Eastern Mediterranean/Greek isle cruise that visits Santorini, Kusadasi, Turkey (from which we'll be able to visit the spectacular Roman ruins at Ephesus), Mykonos and Naples, Italy. 

Again, thanks for your terrific report. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about a future Mediterranean cruise. I'm not a travel agent.  I'm just a happily retired county attorney who has cruised the Mediterranean several times before, eastern and western.  I may have some suggestions that could help you make your future Mediterranean cruise just that much more special. 

A MUST VIEW VIDEO BEFORE YOU PLAN A SANTORINI VIST -- Before you decide what to do when you visit Santorini do yourself a HUGE FAVOR and watch at Youtube a video entitled, "Santorini cruise port HELL!!"  From watching that video you will learn what you definitely should NOT do.  And, it will likely give you some idea of what you might want to do. I'm glad I stumbled upon it before I visit Santorini next May.  Here's a link to that video:  

On 12/18/2023 at 9:45 AM, CCJack said:

thank you for posting, I am interested in booking this.     Also, did this tour take you to the terrace houses?

 

thanks.

When we used Ephesus Shuttle ten years ago -- BTW, we have them booked for another private tour next May when we return to Kusadasi -- we modified the offered private tour to include the Terrace Houses.  Ephesus Shuttle was quite accommodating.  We skipped the rug factory (sales pitch), too. 

IT'S ALL ABOUT DEMAND - If you are not seeing great deals from RCI (or any major cruise line, for that matter), that's because demand for cruise vacations is now higher than pre-covid years.  So many people are cruising and filling ships that many (if not most) cruises have no need to offer discounts, especially significant discounts.  

Thank you, doghog and curisegirl1, for the quick replies. 

Does the Odyssey of the Seas have any laundromats where you can wash your own clothes and maybe use an iron?

I really enjoy a meaty spaghetti Bolognese, and the best I've ever tasted on a cruise ship (or in any restaurant, for that matter), was on the Celebrity Edge back in 2019.  What made that experience even better was that it was one of the choices available in the ship's buffet of all places.  Have any of you pasta lovers found a great spaghetti Bolognese on any other cruise ship?  If you did, please share.  Of course, I wouldn't choose a particular cruise just because it had a good spaghetti Bolognese, but if in having to choose between two cruises, if all else is pretty much equal, a good spaghetti on one cruise could influence my choice of cruises.  🙂 

What is the trick to booking a solo cabin with Norwegian?  My experience thus far has been that every time I've looked online with Norwegian to book a solo cabin none were available.  Must you call Norwegian?  Is it a matter of booking more than a year out in order to find a solo cabin?  Do they sell out that quickly?  Thank you for any info you can provide. 

Wow!  Thanks, MBP.  Your post taught me a new, easy way to approach the search for hotels.  Nice! 

If you are willing to put in some time to do your own research for Civitavecchia hotels you can try what I did:  Type "Civitavecchia" into Google.  Hit the ENTER key.  Then, click on "Maps" (which you will find toward the top of your screen).  When the resulting map appears place your cursor over the map and start zooming way in.  You will see names of hotels and other businesses start popping up.  You can then place your cursor over a hotel and watch a little window pop up that tells you about the hotel.  Read reviews and make your choice.  We just booked the Hotel de La Ville on what I consider the town's main street that parallels the shoreline.  We'll be able to walk from there to the shuttle bus at that fort that takes us to the cruise ships.  Happy hunting. 

I'd like to hear from some of you who have been on the Crown Princess recently and used the internet service Princess offered, especially the one that costs around $140.  Was it good enough to send and receive emails?  To check airline websites?  In general?  Thank you in advance for your responses.    

16 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I am glad the "mystery" has been solved.  What's up with Princess propulsion issues?  The Caribbean Princess, the Crown, and the one that went through the canal (Emerald?).  

 

Moth balls and cob webs

Yes, I wish we knew what the propulsion issue is.  I cruised the Mexican Riviera last month on the Carnival Panorama and it, too, had propulsion issues that caused the original itinerary to be changed.  It seems that this issue has plagued Carnival's other Vista Class ships as well.  Perhaps fixing it involves more work or time or expense, or all three, than for more ordinary dry docks.  Not trying to make an excuse for the cruise lines, but their failure to remedy the issue during the pandemic slow-down suggests that the fix is unusually complicated or expensive.

So, "fully vaccinated" gets 2 days but "up to date" vaccinated people get 3.  Everyone has to be VERY CAREFUL about knowing their vaccination status.  Interesting, but a hazard for cruisers who aren't paying close attention to definitions. 

Thank you, Miss G.  I found that page.  In case anyone else is interested here is the link:  

CruiseHealth™ FAQ: Sailings from the United States - Princess Cruises 

Thank you, tonit964.  That is great news.  Can you direct me to where you found that info?  Is it somewhere on Princess' website?  When I looked it said 2 days for Antigen.  

If you want a simple beach day where swimming is safe/allowed, consider Medano beach.  You can walk there once you get off the tender, or, because it is a bit of a walk if you have little kids, you can catch a little water taxi there on the cheap.  There are restaurants/bars there and, if you are willing to check around and haggle, according to a shipboard friend of mine, you may be able to secure a beach umbrella and chairs for $20 (it might have been $20 for the umbrella and $5/chair for two chairs; I don't recall precisely).  Try going to Youtube and searching for videos involving Medano beach.  We were just there a week ago on a Carnival cruise.

I recently did a Carnival cruise out of Long Beach.  For that cruise Carnival permitted covid tests THREE days prior to cruising, and did not differentiate between rapid antigen and PCR tests.  For my Princess cruise coming up in May Princess seems to require that rapid antigen tests be done within TWO days of the cruise.  Since Carnival owns Princess, I'm wondering why they don't have the same testing requirements.  Anyone have information that provides a rational reason for the difference?  

13 hours ago, lennythenose said:

Mine with the foil cutter was confiscated in Galveston in October.

That's what I was afraid of.  I figured mine would make it to the departure port because I would put it in my checked luggage.  But, I feared that security at Carnival's terminal would seize it.  So, I have ordered the kind of opener that has the wheels to cut the foil.  Should arrive in a day or two.  It will come in handy for future cruises.

When you say you have had no problem with the corkscrew you had in your carry-on, was it the kind they call the "waiter's corkscrew" that has, in addition to the corkscrew, a small blade used for cutting the foil?