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NCL Gem to Greek Isles = Heaven

Mooder

By Mooder,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Mooder

Mooder

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Thanks for the geat review. Travelling on the Gem in July for the first time and was getting worried by a lot of negative reports so good to hear some positivity. :)

 

Really interested in the Corfu tour. Did you book by email? If so do you have an address as the address on the website keeps pinging back to me as incorrect! :mad:

 

Neil

 

Neil' date=' I just heard back from Spiros at Corfu Taxi Tours, He said his website contact has been working today, but if you have trouble, you can email him at either of these addresses: corfutaxitours@gmail.com, spiroskr@hotmail.com Both seemed to work for me.

 

Good luck and enjoy!

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sandydownunder

sandydownunder

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Thanks so much for the review. I'm doing this cruise in October with a friend. Did you notice if there were people offering tours at the dock? I usually book independent tours months ahead but thought I'd try at the port this time. I usually see lots of tour offers in the ports I've been in.

 

Thanks,

 

Sandra

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Kiwi935

Kiwi935

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So thrilled to read your comments. We are leaving Boston 7/29 and will be on the 7/31 sailing, if the volcanic ash cooperates.

I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind?

Did the Gem have a "chocolate buffet"?

Is there a fee for bowling? Does lane need to be reserved in advance?

Thank you

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Mooder

Mooder

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Thanks so much for the review. I'm doing this cruise in October with a friend. Did you notice if there were people offering tours at the dock? I usually book independent tours months ahead but thought I'd try at the port this time. I usually see lots of tour offers in the ports I've been in.

 

Thanks,

 

Sandra

 

This is a little hard for me to answer since I was not looking for this. I do know it was nothing like sailing the Caribbean where you are often swamped with tour opportunities. But from what I observed:

In Split, there was nothing immediately at the dock. But we did pass, and stop to ask for directions, a tourist office on our way to the Palace. They could help you find tours.

 

In Corfu, there was a line of taxis at the dock if you wanted to take a tour with one of them.

 

In Mykonos I saw the signs for ferry and tours to Delos, but didn't notice any other options.

 

I saw nothing in Santorini, but I'm not sure if it's because I wasn't looking.

 

In Crete, there is absolutely nothing at the dock. Not sure what you would find if you went into town on your own.

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Mooder

Mooder

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So thrilled to read your comments. We are leaving Boston 7/29 and will be on the 7/31 sailing, if the volcanic ash cooperates.

I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind?

Did the Gem have a "chocolate buffet"?

Is there a fee for bowling? Does lane need to be reserved in advance?

Thank you

 

There was a chocolate buffet. Unfortunately, we did not make it there. We didn't find time to bowl, but I am sure there is a fee. When we cruised the Gem a few years ago, I believe we paid $5 per game, but someone who has bowled more recently would know better. I'd be shocked if it was necessary to reserve a lane since no one seemed to be participating in anything on this cruise. (Even the casinos were empty! :eek:) On the other hand, by the time of your cruise, there may be more families with children which may affect things. Timing is everything. :) But overall, I feel people are on this cruise for the ports more than the ship.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

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Mooder

Mooder

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Great photos!! Are there any from day 2?

 

Thanks!! Days 1 and 2 were combined - I think you saw these - the pics of Venice and sailaway. (We are calling the Split photos "Day 3" because this was day 3 of our trip, but it is day 2 of the Cruise.)

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/baross76/2010GreekIslesCruiseDay12Venice?feat=email#5472773769800126034

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b0684

b0684

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Great pictures. Could you give me a little info about your hotel. It looks nice and right on the canal. We have a hotel that came with the cruise when we booked for the first 2 nights but I have to book something for the night after the cruise. Any info on your hotel would be great. Thanks in advance

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Mooder

Mooder

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Great pictures. Could you give me a little info about your hotel. It looks nice and right on the canal. We have a hotel that came with the cruise when we booked for the first 2 nights but I have to book something for the night after the cruise. Any info on your hotel would be great. Thanks in advance

 

Sure. We paid 143 euros for 1 night at Hotel Arlecchino the night before the cruise. It is not at all fancy, but it is very well situated for arriving and departing Venice (and there was a great gelato shop just down the street!). It had a very small bedroom, but a nice, large, modern bathroom. Perfect for our needs. As I mentioned above, while they tell you it has an elevator, the elevator only took us part way. We had to walk another 2 flights to our room. If this is an issue, they have rooms on lower floors that would be accessible by elevator. The man at the front desk was very helpful. Not sure what else - ask any questions you may have.

 

The night after our cruise, we stayed at Hotel Ducale on the mainland, very near the airport. That was 80 euros for one night and very nice, if basic, as well. The room was larger and the bathroom also modern. It was fully accessible by elevator. It offers a shuttle to the airport, but unfortunately it does not operate on Sundays. We paid (I think) 15 euros for the taxi to the airport in the morning, which was a very fast trip, 5-10 minutes. It was also 15 euros to get to Hotel Ducale from Piazza Roma late Saturday afternoon. I'd recommend this hotel to anyone with an early morning flight out of Marco Polo airport.

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Freckles_51

Freckles_51

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Wonderful pics Mooder, thanks for sharing. Looking forward to seeing your pics from other ports. :)

 

I had to laugh at the pic with the Dalmatian - those 2 blokes must be locals, but they look totally lost!! :p

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Mooder

Mooder

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Wonderful pics Mooder, thanks for sharing. Looking forward to seeing your pics from other ports. :)

 

I had to laugh at the pic with the Dalmatian - those 2 blokes must be locals, but they look totally lost!! :p

 

You're right. LOL There were lots of tourists there, even if they were from other parts of the country. Right after my sister snapped the photo, she got the impression the guy thought she was taking a picture of HIM. I'd hate to have to tell him his dog is cuter than he is. ROFL ;)

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misspupule

misspupule

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You're right. LOL There were lots of tourists there, even if they were from other parts of the country. Right after my sister snapped the photo, she got the impression the guy thought she was taking a picture of HIM. I'd hate to have to tell him his dog is cuter than he is. ROFL ;)

Had to look that word up!!! Never heard it before. So pick me up off the floor cuz i needed some depends at that moment, since i was LMAO!!:D:p You're right Mooder, the dog is cuter than both of them and they look like "DUH!":eek::confused: The pictures are fabulous and can't wait for our cruise. Think i'll do the hop on hop off bus there in split, will get there $$ (kunas) there when we get off the ship. Loved the venice pics also, we will be there 5 days before cruise. Haven't been to venice but diane has so will enjoy our adventure finding our way around. While i am at the wine festival in bardolino oct 3 and 4 I will give a toast to all my cruise critics i have met here and raise my wine glass that we will meet on some cruise in the future!!:) got a reply from corfu taxi and can't wait to see those pictures, thanks again for your positive reviews. hope to meet someday soon.

happy cruising

miss pupule

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Cruisin'cockney

Cruisin'cockney

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Neil, I just heard back from Spiros at Corfu Taxi Tours, He said his website contact has been working today, but if you have trouble, you can email him at either of these addresses: corfutaxitours@gmail.com, spiroskr@hotmail.com Both seemed to work for me.

 

Good luck and enjoy!

 

Many thanks. I have now booked a tour with Spiros. Couldn't decide between the 4 or 5 hour tour and have booked the 4 hour as wanted to spend more time in Corfu town but it omits Gastouri and Achillion - are these worth seeing?

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

Neil

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wolfgangz

wolfgangz

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Based on you suggestion we have booked the tour with OceanWave tours.

 

We will arrive on the 26th of October and have told Demitris we will meet him at 5PM . He responded that we should try to get on the first tender. From my experience in the past the early tenders are used by the people that are taking a cruise tour.

 

Any suggestions on getting off the ship early.

 

wolfgang

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Mooder

Mooder

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Had to look that word up!!! Never heard it before. So pick me up off the floor cuz i needed some depends at that moment, since i was LMAO!!:D:p You're right Mooder, the dog is cuter than both of them and they look like "DUH!":eek::confused: The pictures are fabulous and can't wait for our cruise. Think i'll do the hop on hop off bus there in split, will get there $$ (kunas) there when we get off the ship. Loved the venice pics also, we will be there 5 days before cruise. Haven't been to venice but diane has so will enjoy our adventure finding our way around. While i am at the wine festival in bardolino oct 3 and 4 I will give a toast to all my cruise critics i have met here and raise my wine glass that we will meet on some cruise in the future!!:) got a reply from corfu taxi and can't wait to see those pictures, thanks again for your positive reviews. hope to meet someday soon.

happy cruising

miss pupule

 

I hope we share a cruise together sometime as well!

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Mooder

Mooder

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Many thanks. I have now booked a tour with Spiros. Couldn't decide between the 4 or 5 hour tour and have booked the 4 hour as wanted to spend more time in Corfu town but it omits Gastouri and Achillion - are these worth seeing?

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

Neil

 

I think you are fine skipping these, but if you change your mind or find you have extra time, Spiros will modify as you go. Enjoy!

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Mooder

Mooder

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Based on you suggestion we have booked the tour with OceanWave tours.

 

We will arrive on the 26th of October and have told Demitris we will meet him at 5PM . He responded that we should try to get on the first tender. From my experience in the past the early tenders are used by the people that are taking a cruise tour.

 

Any suggestions on getting off the ship early.

 

wolfgang

 

We had priority tender tickets so we were off the first tender and had to wait a good 15 minutes for Demitris as we had arranged for him to meet us at 5:00, so I wouldn't stress too much if I were you. Get on the line for the tender tickets as soon as possible, get the earliest tender you can and I think you will be fine. The tenders moved very quickly. Enjoy!!

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Corby114

Corby114

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Thank you so much for your beautiful photos. Corfu looks absolutely stunning. Thanks to your great review and photos, we can't wait for our cruise on June 26th. We were on the Gem last summer and are looking forward to her sailing from Venice. We'll watch for your Santorini and Mykonos photos.

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Corby114

Corby114

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Just looked at your Santorini photos. Incredible! What a beautiful sunset. We plan on having dinner at Fanari at 8:30, since sunset should be approx. 8:50. Our tour ends at 8:15, which times the sunset perfectly. Keep posting those great photos.

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