2-day stop in Istanbul - RCCL tour or Ephesus Tour?

[stephanienolting]

Hello,

 

We are stopping on Istanbul for 2 days and are trying to decide between 2 tows. The first is the RCCL tour through the ship called complete Istanbul, which I haven't seen any reviews for. The 2nd is the 1-1/2 day tour through Ephesus Shuttle and they have many great reviews on cruise critic. Both tours are the same price, length, and pretty much go to the same places. Has anyone been on the tour through the ship or recommend one or the other?

 

Thanks,

Stephanie

[Zukini]

Hello,

 

We are stopping on Istanbul for 2 days and are trying to decide between 2 tows. The first is the RCCL tour through the ship called complete Istanbul, which I haven't seen any reviews for. The 2nd is the 1-1/2 day tour through Ephesus Shuttle and they have many great reviews on cruise critic. Both tours are the same price, length, and pretty much go to the same places. Has anyone been on the tour through the ship or recommend one or the other?

 

Thanks,

Stephanie

 

I can't speak specifically to your question, as I haven't used either RCCL or Ephesus Shuttle for Istanbul, but I'd just like to add a bit of insight.

 

We used Ephesus Deluxe for both Ephesus and Istanbul. We learned that they don't really have dedicated guides in Istanbul...they simply subcontract to a local guide. I wouldn't be surprised if Ephesus Shuttle does the same thing.

 

We lucked out in Istanbul...they set us up with a fantastic local guide, who I would highly recommend. The guide they supplied in Ephesus was only "ok". You might be better off arranging directly with a particular guide than relying on a broker like Ephesus Deluxe or Ephesus Shuttle. If you'd like details, you can find a short review of our tour, including contact info, in this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=29301692#post29301692