gems of the agean

[cbmagic]

hi please could anyone give me some feedback for this cruise ports of call etc .we went on the adriatic last year how would it compare ?....thanks

[kruzseeka]

hi please could anyone give me some feedback for this cruise ports of call etc .we went on the adriatic last year how would it compare ?....thanks

 

 

Hi - it's a good itinerary - we'd booked it before they altered the ports and then we cancelled mainly becasue we'd done most of these ports before and they'd dropped Skiathos and Thessaloniki which we wanted to visit. But I don't think you'll be disappointed - we've done the Adriatic one twice and thought it was great - but this shapes up well! :)

 

Mykonos is a gem - just walk around and get lost in the maze of streets. It's lovely - no need to plan to do anything other than explore IMO. The tender drops you right in the town.

 

Rhodes - also a just walk off and explore type of place - easy to adopt a DiY and again walking distance from the dock. Good shopping - see my recent post to mtt on this thread (post #33) for more on Rhodes

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1347471

 

Mytilene we haven't done so sorry can't help with that one.

 

Kusadasi: if you haven't been before I'd recommend the half-day Ephesus trip - it really is impressive and then leave yourself a bit of time to look around the bazaar in Kusadasi - lots of 'Genuine Fake' shops here but some good shopping! ;)

 

Istanbul is fab. We did a DiY appraoch here. You really need to do a bit of research and decide where you want to visit - there are a lot of attractions. You can get the tram from near the port or even walk over the Galata Bridge (about 40 minutes to get to the square outside the Hagia Sophia which is the centre for most of the top sites). It's best to plan your day here to avoid wasting time. my top tips would be go to the Topkapi Palace early before the tours arrive but make sure you go into the Harem - it's the best bit but you have to pay extra (need TL to pay for tram and official sites - cafes, shops and bazaar all take any currency!). I thought the Hagia Sophia a bit over-priced and not what I expected although others rave about it. These two and the Blue Mosque are all grouped in the same area (also the Cisterns). The Blue Mosque is free and certaily worth going into. After that I'd say the Bazaar and Spice Market (separate) are certainly worth visiting (quite an experience) although things are much cheaper in the shops in the narrow streets just outside the Bazaar.

 

If you want any more info i'll help if I can. Enjoy! I'm sure you will.:)