Athens, Greek Islands, and Istanbul

[pier]

For a cruise that had problems before we finished packing—our flight on British Airways was canceled due a strike so we had to scramble for tickets, and the guide we hired for Ephesus and Istanbul pulled a fast one on us—it ended very well. Our cruise was on Azamara; however, I am posting on the Oceania board because many good people on this board helped us with this trip. Our previous cruises were on Oceania except for one on the Coral Princess to Alaska. We went on Azamara this time because of the itinerary. I must be honest here: We really missed Oceania food.

 

 

Athens: We went a day early and stayed at The Athens Gate, which was very pleasant and well located. Taking the advice of others, we booked a Superior room rather than the Standard room. We were on the 6th floor and had a view of the Acropolis. Amazing! Be sure to visit The New Acropolis Museum. It’s stunning and has a nice café.

 

Mykonos: We took the ship excursion to see Delos and were glad we did; otherwise we wouldn’t have known what we were looking at.

 

Santorini: We took the tram up, having been warned not to take the donkeys. We took a bus to Oia, a charming village that is supposed to have the best views on Santorini. The views were breathtaking.

 

Rhodes: We spent our time in Old Town, where there is a lot to see. Be careful when you pick out a restaurant for lunch. We did what we usually do, which is ask a shopkeeper where the locals eat. Mistake! The jewelry store shopkeeper pointed to a restaurant just around the corner called Dinoris, where we were ripped off (among the charges was one euro for a single slice of bread!). Within a half hour of leaving the restaurant, we came upon an American at an outdoor café who was shouting about his bill and threatening to call the police. That evening on the boat, we talked to people who found restaurants in Old Town on the back streets where they had good food and were treated well.

 

Ephesus: I can’t say it enough—be sure to see the Terrace Houses. They are incredible.

 

Istanbul: We had three full days in Istanbul, which were packed. Istanbul seemed inexhaustible. It would have been difficult to see as much without a guide. We had the best food we ate on the trip at a restaurant called Amedros, which is on a side street not far from the Sultanahmet tram stop. We usually like to try different restaurants, but this one was so excellent that we ate there two nights in a row. The second night we had a dish called Testi Kebab that was cooked in a clay pot. It was a perfect ending to a great trip. The hotel where we stayed in the Sultanahmet provided our transportation to the airport. The charge was 20 euros because we shared the van with another couple. We were told the usual charge for a transfer is 25 euros.

[marilynfaye]

Thank you for your report. We are on a Venice-Istanbul itinerary in November so will be in some of the ports you were and I really appreciate your comments & suggestions.

 

May I ask who your Turkey guide was and what happened there? You said things worked out, but, as the old saying goes, forewarned is foreamed.

 

Marilyn

[pier]

The guide with whom we had the unpleasant experience was Levent Solmaz. We had booked him in mid-January for our trip in mid-June. A week before we were scheduled to leave for our cruise, he completely changed the terms of our agreement. They were unacceptable, not only to us, but I had to tell two other couples who were supposed to join us in Ephesus that there was no room for them. It was awful. We had to scramble at the last minute to find a new guide. At that point we needed luck and we got it. I found Nur at Ekol Travel (nur@ekoltravel.com) who arranged everything and did splendid job. We had excellent guides in both Ephesus and Istanbul.

[RJB]

The guide with whom we had the unpleasant experience was Levent Solmaz. We had booked him in mid-January for our trip in mid-June. A week before we were scheduled to leave for our cruise, he completely changed the terms of our agreement. They were unacceptable, not only to us, but I had to tell two other couples who were supposed to join us in Ephesus that there was no room for them. It was awful. We had to scramble at the last minute to find a new guide. At that point we needed luck and we got it. I found Nur at Ekol Travel (nur@ekoltravel.com) who arranged everything and did splendid job. We had excellent guides in both Ephesus and Istanbul.

We used Ekol travel 2 years ago and they were wonderful. Got exactly what we booked. Had a great day with them. Richie:)

[gr'aunt]

The guide with whom we had the unpleasant experience was Levent Solmaz. We had booked him in mid-January for our trip in mid-June. A week before we were scheduled to leave for our cruise, he completely changed the terms of our agreement. They were unacceptable, not only to us, but I had to tell two other couples who were supposed to join us in Ephesus that there was no room for them. It was awful. We had to scramble at the last minute to find a new guide. At that point we needed luck and we got it. I found Nur at Ekol Travel (nur@ekoltravel.com) who arranged everything and did splendid job. We had excellent guides in both Ephesus and Istanbul.

 

I read this post with some sadness...perhaps somthing happened beyond Levent Somaz's control? I know that doesn't help "pier" after the fact, and I'm happy that "pier" was able to turn the situation around.

 

A group of 8 of us (who met online on CC last year) used Levent for our tour of Ephesus last summer. It was absolutely one of the two highlights of our trip (the other being our private tour of St. Paul de Vence and Eze). Levent was professional, knowledgable, easy to understand, showed up with a Mercedes van with A/C and cold water, and turned out to be quite the animal lover. He takes cat food with him every time he visits Ephesus in order to feed the stray/abandoned cats who call the ruins home. We were so impressed with him that I sent an email to him once we got back to the US expressing our gratitude.

 

If Levent moniters this site, perhaps an explanation might be in order.

[CintiPam]

We also found dealing with Nur at EKOL Travel very easy and efficient and had a great tour (our first private tour ever:)) through EKOL with Ali of Ephesus, St. John's Basilica, and the Archaelogical Museum in Selcuk.

 

Our tour guide for our four days in Istanbul was Rick Steves:D, and we found his Istanbul guidebook excellent for both walking tours and superb historical site tours. With so many of the major Istanbul sights in a concentrated in a very small area, it was easy to DIY.

[pier]

I read this post with some sadness...perhaps somthing happened beyond Levent Somaz's control? I know that doesn't help "pier" after the fact' date=' and I'm happy that "pier" was able to turn the situation around.

 

A group of 8 of us (who met online on CC last year) used Levent for our tour of Ephesus last summer. It was absolutely one of the two highlights of our trip (the other being our private tour of St. Paul de Vence and Eze). Levent was professional, knowledgable, easy to understand, showed up with a Mercedes van with A/C and cold water, and turned out to be quite the animal lover. He takes cat food with him every time he visits Ephesus in order to feed the stray/abandoned cats who call the ruins home. We were so impressed with him that I sent an email to him once we got back to the US expressing our gratitude.

 

 

If Levent moniters this site, perhaps an explanation might be in order.[/quote']

 

Unfortunately, our experience with Levent wasn't unique. He hasn't honored his contract with others as well. We contacted him six months before our cruise because we were told that he is an excellent guide, but the risk and aggravation in dealing with him should be weighed. It is upsetting to find out just before you're leaving to go on a cruise that the arrangement you had agreed to and planned on has been completely changed. We were lucky to have found Nur at Ekol Travel.

 

There is a Cruise Critic thread discussing cruisers' experiences with guides in Turkey, including Levent, that you might want to read. It is informative.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1221993