Wilfam

Thank you so very much.

I decided to book Sea Song Ephesus as well. :) Thank you

Thank you and will do on a report back.

oops on board! just noticed my typo

Hey all, I am still doing research, becoming a bit more excited each day.

Of all the Islands below, which would you miss....and why?

Hydra:

Sifnos:

Parikia, Paros:

Patmos:

Kusadasi, Turkey: Booking a private tour here already, adding on the houses as well.

Mykanos:

If you Dive is there a site near one of these that is mind blowing?? I have dove many places, but do prefer to be underwater when possible. With my hubby along I will try to pick one dive spot along the journey and stay above water with him. ;)

I love the water and am hoping to enjoy the sports platform and perhaps a dive or two god willing the seas are calm and visibility is excellent.

Thank you again for the information you are able to pass me, I truly appreciate all you are able to share. :D:D:D

Thank you for your great answers.

Two questions for you all:

?? Do most people who board show up to board right at the start or is it a steady flow from 2pm through 4pm?? Should I plan on being at port a bit earlier than the 2pm boarding time??

?? Is the boarding process better on SD than other ships??

I have found large or small the Big Company Ships seem to be soooooo slow in the boarding process. I know the Trimaran Trips we have done are so easy and so quick it takes no time at all, the other more Commercial Holiday Vessels take so much more time.

Thank you for your concern. I am well traveled and quite aware of the security risks and awareness issues in all of Europe, some of Asia and the US. In all honesty, this is one of the reasons I do not like to travel in groups. I was in the travel industry for years and have my own travel style, which just does not seem to be grouped up following along. I do appreciate the ease and having people to chat with, we often end up in smaller groups who want to adventure around with us, I just prefer to not be scheduled or in big groups vying for a preferred seat or rushing to catch the ride when I find something I am interested in. :o:o:o

I am not sure on the Bali Beds as I am the one, not my hubby who likes Dark and Quiet, as well as perhaps being one of those people still at the Toy Bar. :D

I am planning on being at the dock as close to the allowed boarding as possible, unpacking, purser, questions, upper deck!! I love being on the deck near the edge with a view as we leave Port!!

Love the Cocktail Hour Tip!! Thank you

I appreciate all of your answers and concerns, I have hooked up with the preferred travel company Sea Song in Istanbul because of the security and instability I have decided to hire a guide for our day of walking Istanbul both for efficiency and knowledge of normal Istanbul life, so if something is off we have someone who knows. All tix for Mosques etc will be pre purchased, no standing around in Public Areas and with just Hubby and I with our guide we should not have to worry to much about bunching up with others. We are in Istanbul for 3 days and due to the heightened issues we are using Sea Song for the entire time. From Airport Pick up to Airport Drop off and in between, this is not my type of travel, but hubby is concerned so this makes him happy and I will not worry as much so it is a no brainer for me at this point.

Please if you have anything else, type it up and hit Submit.

Cheers all

Hey all, we are on the changed itinerary for this cruise. We are still going to Istanbul for a few days prior to our departure out of Athens.

First time in this area of Europe and the Greek Isle's. First Time SD'rs

On the land adventures??

1. Does the crew always have a join us type of thing on each Port Stop?

2. We are not really the big organized bus style of Port Tour persons, is there many things we can do individually during our stops? any hints welcome

Hydra:

Sifnos:

Parikia, Paros:

Patmos:

Kusadasi, Turkey:

Mykanos:

3. Anyone with hints n tips for our first few hours aboard, please chime in, I love forums n boards, am an active member on other forums.

We are healthy, active, wine sipping, foodies with a love for historic sites, but not the need to see every single one, we love (ok I love, hubby comes along with me) seeing sites, but also spending time observing and watching as life goes by in the different destinations. I am not the rush around for 8 hours to check things off, I like to check n visit n experience a bit of where I am.

Thank you all

Cheers

We did a huge group with Otto at Bio Maya when staying with a family wedding group. We waited until there was no cruise ship in port to do the trip. As with another poster we did the drive stopped at Pedro Santos Bakery and to purchase some pineapples and oranges on the road side.

First off we were the second group to do the Zip Tour, the first was late so we had to wait in a rough parking lot as there is only one large army type transport bus which takes you down to the ZipLine Admin area where you pay, they set you up with your gear and give everyone a quick training info session before heading through the jungle to walk to the first Zip Tower.

Note: During the walk there is a talk on the history of the area which if you are at the front of the group is very interesting, but if you are behind a bit not so easy to listen.

Also Mosquitos on the trail as you walk can be voratious.

Once you reach the first tower a double winch is sent down where two persons are hooked into two slings and winched up to the platform for the first of your 4 zip line trips. The view is stunning and the staff is great on each of the 5 towers you will see. We viewed 5 parrots flying around us as we all zipped away. We had young and old, including my Dad who has a heart condition, but refused to not take part.

My mom did the I will walk, not zip and had to pay 35.00 (I think the cost was 35.00)to just walk and if we were to do this again that was not money well spent, not at all, she would have stayed at the bakery or in Bacalar and enjoyed the beautiful Fort and the Views of Lake Bacalar. Instead she walked to the end and had to fight the Mosquitos etc.

At the end of the fourth zip we did the tubes in the lake, some kayaked and some just swam. We loved the lake, we did not pull ourselves on the rope we just swam and had fun jumping in and swimming etc. There were at least 20 0f us. We asked to please have the truck pick us up as the long walk through the jungle was way to mosquito filled for us to be able to enjoy the beautiful jungle.

I also would suggest to anyone to use Otto at Bio Maya, and do it prior to arrival through Otto not the ship you are travelling on.

A taxi would be better than the bus or a rental car, of which there are not many in Mahahual so the rental cars are pricey, all of the taxi's we used during our 2 weeks in Mahahual were fantastic. Enjoy the beautiful Mahahual as we did. Otto also offers many other tours and I would recommend him to any one, I used him for all of our family tours.