Seabourn Spirit July 18 Rome/Athens

We are sailing on the Spirit departing Civitavecchia 7/18 with calls at Capri; Taormina; Katakalon;Itea;Navplion and Piraeus. Any tips from past cruisers as to Ports of Calls, Vessel, Crew etc. ?

Jorge

We were just on the same cruise June 20-27. It was wonderful. We had some rough seas the first night and it was difficult to get on the tender in Capri, because you had to wait until the ship and the tender were on the same level. The crew did a good job of getting us all safely on. We took the ships excursion that went to Anacapri and then up to the highest point by chair lift. The chair lift ride was really awesome. Because of the rough seas, the Blue Grotto was closed. After Capri, the seas were really smooth.

We loved Taromina. We took the excursion that ended up at the villa where some of the Godfather movie was filmed. We had a lengthy lunch and entertainment in the wine cellar. We really enjoyed this. It was pretty pricey, but we were glad we did it.

In the next two ports in Greece, you really need to do a tour because there is not much to the port towns. In Katakalon, you tour Olympia, where the ancient Olympics were held. There are lots of ruins there. The guides that do the tours follow the ship to the three ports in Greece. They are very good. You can stick with the same guide or try a different one each day.

In Itea, the tour goes to Delphi. More fabulous ruins. This is where the Oricle was. You learn so much historical fact and mythology.

Navplion is a really nice port. There is a castle that you can tour or go to the ancient ruins of Maecenia. We did the ruins tour, whick was again very interesting, however, we would have probably been better off if we had just gone into town on our own. By the end of the cruise, we were getting tired of setting an alarm almost every day to get to our tour on time.

We stayed over night in Athens. I had arranged for "George the Famous Taxi Driver" to pick us up at the ship and give us a four hour tour of the sights and then deliver us to the hotel. He picked us up the next morning to get us to the airport. This worked out really well. It was so much cheaper than the tour that Seabourn offered.

Thanks for you reply and suggestions. Can you tell us how to contact George ? We will be in Athens for two days therefore we would be interested in some tours etc. Also can you advise as to his fees ? Thanks again ! Jorge:D

George has a website http://www.greektravel.com/taxi

The price for a 5 hour tour for up to 4 people was 140 Euros, the airport transfer was 55 Euros. We did not actually have "George", but one of several driver/guides. We had Demetri, and he was very good. They drive new Mercedes taxis.

Brenda

Two years ago we spent two weeks on the Spirit Athens to istanbul -- last September we spent two weeks ( Rome to Athens and Athens to istanbul). We have visited many of the ports you hare going to on multiple occasions -- and while we tend to not take tours -- my husband and i are a couple of independent cusses who prefer to hike up to the top of the higherst hill (we never used the funiculat in Capri -- if you are interested I'll tell you about how we discovered Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs hiking up from the port) BUT.. we did make and exception and take both the Delphi and Olympia tours ( we had to, one year before the Olympics return to their birthplace, how could you not?) and we very pleased albeit the fact that we chafed a bit adhereing to group timetables and waiting for the inevitiable people who can't tell time and were always late returning to the bus!!!Our favorite port ( next to istanbul, which we adore, is navplion -- we really enjoyed climbing to the tops of the castle ( all 1000 plus steps). Very nice, unspoiled by tons of tourists and unique ( read not touristy) shops.A nice surprise was the tranist through the Corinth canal ( which of course most cruise ships can't do) . You do really feel like you can reach out from the balcony of your suite and touch the crumbling walls. And of course, Seabourn turns it into another opprotunity for more champagne.I'm so jealous!!!

Chairsin,

We were on the Spirit last year (Athens to Istanbul) and we're back on her this Sunday (Rome to Athens).

My wife and I are travelling with our 11-year old son. We would like to see Olympia and Delphi, but ideally we would like to do a quicker, more independent tour than Seabourn offers.

Do you remember if it is possible to arrange such a tour when we get into port. We are happy to "wing it" and find someone locally to guide us, or even to rent a car and get to these places ourselves.

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide---thanks also for your many helpful and sensible posts on this board.

You can always ask the Travel Manager to arrange a car and guide for you. That way you don't run the risk of trying someone hanging around the dock...

Have a great cruise.

bgood

Yojimbo,

The tough part about Delphi is that you are only in port until 1PM. Complicating matter further, at the last minute our ship decided not to dock in galadaxi, as stated on the itinerary, but rather in another nearby town. Thus, if you made plans in advance that could be a bit risky. In Olympia the town you dock in is about 45 minutes, as I recall, from Olympia, and is not the typical large port town with numerous tour agencies.( Unlike Kusadasi, Bodrum, Capri). But there at least you have all day and could feel more comfortable booking something in advance. If your T.A. is a Virtuoso member I would feel 100% secure that they have the best tour guides around. We went on the complimentary Virtuoso tour in Taormina and found our guide Marco to be extremely knowledgeable, personable and drop dead handsome (ok, that was my take, not my husband's). Sorry I don't have a specific suggestion for you. Please raise a glass for me when you transit the canal.