rahrah50 Posted August 27, 2010 #1 Share Posted August 27, 2010 I am booked on the Athens to Rome Oct 24 the cruise. A half day private tour of Ephesus has been booked. When we return from Ephesus, we should have just a little free time to shop. Will we be near shopping when we are dropped off after the tour????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomC Posted August 27, 2010 #2 Share Posted August 27, 2010 The last time we were there (perhaps 5 years ago) they had built some shops and "tents" for shopping--I seem to remember carpets and jewelry. I was surprised because 20 years ago there was nothing. I wouldn't really call it "shopping" but more like some of the shops you find near the piers in the Caribbean--obviously they are selling different items, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancruz Posted August 27, 2010 #3 Share Posted August 27, 2010 I am booked on the Athens to Rome Oct 24 the cruise. A half day private tour of Ephesus has been booked. When we return from Ephesus, we should have just a little free time to shop. Will we be near shopping when we are dropped off after the tour????? Yes you will and there are so many stores today, you wont know where to start..I always go to old town because I have been there so many times I know some of the store owners..my favorite place in the world next to Vietnam to shop..check out the leather Jancruz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkeyeCruisr Posted August 27, 2010 #4 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Look for the stores selling "genuine fakes"! The Turks are very sincere about their genuine fakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted August 27, 2010 #5 Share Posted August 27, 2010 In Kusadasi, "free time to shop" translates into "We'll herd you into a carpet shop and try like heck to sell one (or more) to you!!" Your private tour may be different, but expect that your guide will have a "cousin" who runs a store somewhere near the dropoff point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palmetto Lady Posted August 27, 2010 #6 Share Posted August 27, 2010 If you think you might be interested in a leather jacket, there is some great shopping. I bought two. It isn't all carpets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted August 27, 2010 #7 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Basically, there are loads of shops all within short walking distance of the ship...chances are that your private guide will just drop you off in this area anyway...When we ended our last tour there, my wife walked directly back onto Nautica and I stayed and browsed the shops a bit, then walked back... Extra time AFTER the tour should be distinguished from shopping as part of a tour...Shopping as part of a tour in Turkey usually means they bring you to a carpet merchant who uses high pressure tactics to sell you overpriced rugs...If it is ever offered as part of a private tour, tell your tour guide that you would like to pass--that you would rather spend the time sightseeing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancruz Posted August 27, 2010 #8 Share Posted August 27, 2010 In Kusadasi, "free time to shop" translates into "We'll herd you into a carpet shop and try like heck to sell one (or more) to you!!" Your private tour may be different, but expect that your guide will have a "cousin" who runs a store somewhere near the dropoff point. Just leave the tour if the guide tries to take you to a carpet store and remember to negotiate on the leather..I bought a jacket that I have seen here in California for $195 and I bought it there for $65 after much negotiating.. Jancruz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahrah50 Posted August 27, 2010 Author #9 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Thanks for all the info. Shopping is not part of our tour... I just wanted some time to shop and was worried about being dropped off at the ship and it was a long ways away to shopping. Also, just the time as I don't want to be the last one on the ship as it is pulling up the anchor to sail to the next port. Just another reason to love Oceania. We were upgraded to a PH1 suite yesterday for a very, very reasonable charge!!!!!!!! I was in a suite on my last cruise and loved it so I am so excited. Oceania is the perfect cruise line for me!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynfaye Posted August 27, 2010 #10 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Oceania is the perfect cruise line for me!!!!! rahrah: Couldn't agree more. We are going to have to meet one day. It was close this time. We are sailing from Venice to Istanbul on Nautica, departing Oct 30 and will be in Kusadasi about two weeks after you. Marilyn San Antonio, TX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahrah50 Posted August 27, 2010 Author #11 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Marilyn - I would love to meet sometime.....My email is rahrah50@satx.rr.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetchpeople Posted August 27, 2010 #12 Share Posted August 27, 2010 I am willing to bet that you will be offered opportunities to buy carpets and tiles and ceramics and leather.......even if you excluded shopping as a component of your private tour. Your guide, should you successfully decline each and every time, will be rather disappointed. On the other hand, there are now a series of quite attractive shops in very close proximity to the ship, mere steps, in fact. Just keep in mind that these shops have location, location, location. And that means high rents paid by cruise ship passengers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted August 28, 2010 #13 Share Posted August 28, 2010 I am willing to bet that you will be offered opportunities to buy carpets and tiles and ceramics and leather.......even if you excluded shopping as a component of your private tour. Your guide, should you successfully decline each and every time, will be rather disappointed. On the other hand, there are now a series of quite attractive shops in very close proximity to the ship, mere steps, in fact. Just keep in mind that these shops have location, location, location. And that means high rents paid by cruise ship passengers. This might be the time to mention that a good deal of the "sponsored shopping" problem comes about when tour prices are fixed at an artificially low figure. There are times when the lowest price is NOT a bargain. Better to stick with a quality individual who knows the worth of their expertise and sticks to their guns, pricewise. This is an area where feedback from fellow Cruise Critics can be worth its' weight in gold. Then again, buying carpets in Turkey, can work to your advantage. After doing our homework in the United States, we chose to purchase rugs in Kusadsi, and darned if we didn't do better than we would have if we had bought a similar quality rugs in Manhattan or Connecticut. Strangely, the really good rugs appear to be recession proof.....Now, we WISH that we'd had the foresight close out the 401K's and shift that money into Hereke silk rugs. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shedridt Posted August 29, 2010 #14 Share Posted August 29, 2010 CLAUSTROPHOBIC!!!! But it was prep for the Grand Market in Istanbul which was even worse. We found the shopping experience there to be awful. Can't recommend it, even though I can't recommend Kusadasi itself highly enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Knitter Posted August 29, 2010 #15 Share Posted August 29, 2010 I think we all agree that what works for one doesn't for another. The Grand Market or Grand Bazaar is part of the experience of being in Turkey. I found several beautiful handcrafted items. One lady was tatting which is a lost art in this generation. We discussed with our tour guide exactly what we wanted to see and not to take us to local tourist traps. We explained his tip depended upon it. I forget the name of the hotel in Istanbul, but at the top you can see a breathtaking view of the Continents. The Blue Mosque is also part of the experience of being there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahrah50 Posted August 29, 2010 Author #16 Share Posted August 29, 2010 Our tour is booked with a cruise critic recommended tour group. A knitter, I am with you on looking for hand crafted items and I also love fabrics so I am always on the lookout for those things. Wish I would be going to Istanbul.....Maybe another trip..... My husband passed away shortly after our Med cruise in 2007 so finding someone to travel with can be a challenge and you do have to take their travel wishes into consideration. I wanted the Athens to Istanbul cruise and my girlfriend didn't. Less than 60 days to wait!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Knitter Posted August 29, 2010 #17 Share Posted August 29, 2010 Our tour is booked with a cruise critic recommended tour group. A knitter, I am with you on looking for hand crafted items and I also love fabrics so I am always on the lookout for those things. Wish I would be going to Istanbul.....Maybe another trip..... My husband passed away shortly after our Med cruise in 2007 so finding someone to travel with can be a challenge and you do have to take their travel wishes into consideration. I wanted the Athens to Istanbul cruise and my girlfriend didn't. Less than 60 days to wait!!!!!!!!!!! Terrific!! It has been 10 years since I was there, but I did get a most gorgeous organza tablecloth with crochet edges. Crafters have radar so we usually find what we are looking for. Everytime I look at it, I decide Istanbul is a must to revisit. Sorry for your loss as I certainly understand and decided as a widow to just travel alone. That way, I travel to the places I have always dreamed of going to. My husband loved traveling everywhere. I just travel O every other year now. Enjoy and please let me know what you do find. Maria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meow! Posted August 29, 2010 #18 Share Posted August 29, 2010 In October, 2008, our Nautica docked at Kusadasi. There were lots of stalls right by the ship. A few locals with those passenger bicycles tried to take passengers, and at 3 euros took us to a fairly newly built "mall" with perhaps a few dozen shops inside. In this mall, there were ATM machines which could dispense USD, euros and local currency. The shops would take all three. There was a local woman demonstrating how to weave carpets, and it was quite expensive if you would buy some samples from her. One shop tried to sell us a "pastouche"(?) scarf for 200 euros, and the item had no authentification. We ended up buying a couple of postcards and stamps to send back to ourselves by giving them to one of the shops. It did arrive after several weeks. From one side of this mall, we could see our ship right beside, within a hundred feet. We asked what could we see besides this mall, and the anwer was carpet shops and factories. Since we were not looking for carpets, we just stayed in this mall a couple of hours and managed to slowly walk back to the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenk2 Posted August 30, 2010 #19 Share Posted August 30, 2010 I am not a huge fan og shopping in Kushadasi or in other Turkish ports. Here is my take and opinion,based upon my experiences. Yes, there are many shops and I expect many good shop owners, hoever I alwys feel that I am NOT getting a good deal. This year we took an amazing full day private tour,saw the jistorical places, enjoyed a wonderful lunch and then were"asked" if we would like to visit a carpet factory. Having done this route before, we refused. The guide appeared to be insulted because we didn't want to purchase rugs. After lunch she wanted to take us to a ceramic or leather factory. We agreed to go to the ceramic factory. They took us to look at plates, bowls etc. We did not buy anything, because we found the prices high and the items not to our taste. When we returned to the ship we stopped in to the stores in the mall attached to the dock, and found the same ceramic items, supposedly touted as hand made, in multiple locations. We left without anything. Last week, visiting my local Homegoods, imagine my surprise finding the same plates at less than half the price quoted in Ephesus, with the same "signature" of the artist.Didn't like them in Turkey, didn't like them in Homegoods, and certainly didn't like being taken for a fool! Leather is available, but quality is not up to anything found in Florence or Milan. Again, just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachluvr65 Posted August 31, 2010 #20 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Our tour is booked with a cruise critic recommended tour group. A knitter, I am with you on looking for hand crafted items and I also love fabrics so I am always on the lookout for those things. Wish I would be going to Istanbul.....Maybe another trip..... My husband passed away shortly after our Med cruise in 2007 so finding someone to travel with can be a challenge and you do have to take their travel wishes into consideration. I wanted the Athens to Istanbul cruise and my girlfriend didn't. Less than 60 days to wait!!!!!!!!!!! RahRah. we took that Istanbul to Athens trip on Nautica in 2008, we would not have changed it for the world. so if you want to do it, meet up with fellow cruise critics and you will have a small travel group to socialize with on ship and excursions. GREAT TRIP, don't miss it simply because someone doesnt want to do it with you, The ship will be full of people who are friendly. We made friends with several couples that we now stay in contact with and are planning a cruise from Dover, England to Stockholm in 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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