Athens Last Day - options?

[zennor]

We have a June 2013 cruise finishing in Athens & I haven't yet booked our flights/transfers etc. & am wondering about the options & what Azamara may provide & then I'll book.

 

I can get BA flights to LHR at 08:15, 13:40, 14:50 or 19:05

 

If I choose 13:40 or 14:50 then we'll need to arrange transfers - should I book taxi myself or can I book a transfer via Azamara before departure or on-board? Any ideas on costs?

 

OR should I hope that there will be an ship excursion that includes transfers & then book the 19:05 flight? I realise this still may include a few hours at the airport.

 

We've been to Athens years ago - it was very hot! - & so don't really mind if we do or don't see the Acropolis again.

 

Can anyone who's finished at Athens comment - thanks. :)

[tango9]

I am booked on the 11/4/12 sailing which ends in Athens and I see that Azamara has a ship excurision which then drops you off at the airport , probably by 1:00 or so You might want to look at the excursion lists on the sailings which end in Athens, to get more information. I think Azamara often offers this type of thing.

[zennor]

I am booked on the 11/4/12 sailing which ends in Athens and I see that Azamara has a ship excurision which then drops you off at the airport , probably by 1:00 or so You might want to look at the excursion lists on the sailings which end in Athens, to get more information. I think Azamara often offers this type of thing.

 

Thanks. It appears that they do & a tour including transfers costs 87 USD pp (at 50% discount!).

 

Does anyone know how much Azamara would charge for transfer only if available?

[GrumpyOldWesty]

Be aware that BA do not open bag check-in at Athens until 2 hours before the flight so if you arrive early you have a long wait complete with all your luggage. This happened to about 80 of us this July and did take the edge off the end of an Azamazing cruise. This was using the Azamara transfer from the ship which dropped us off at the airport by 10 in the morning.

 

The Azamara sightseeing transfer is only for those with flights after 3.30 in the afternoon.

 

We will be doing the same again this November, but this time are arranging a private transfer including some sightseeing which will drop us at the airport at about 12.30. The cost looks like being around 100 Euro's each.

 

Hope this helps

 

Peter

[zennor]

Thanks Peter. It looks as if the excursion with transfer should get us to the airport at about 12:30 (leaves 8am takes 4:30 hrs) but it says for flights departing after 3:30 pm so may be too tight for a 14:50 flight? & way too early for 19:05 flight!

 

If Azamara transfer drops you at 10 am still a bit early for 13:40.

 

Perhaps your private option is best but I assume will cost more if only 2 of us. We did the same in Rome last September & the tour was brilliant but I'm not so enthusiastic about Athens. Is it OK if I email you? I've seen your posts on your roll call,

 

Zelda

[GrumpyOldWesty]

Zennor

 

Yes feel free to email me. Quotes I have at moment are 200 Euros for up to 3 people.

 

Peter

[nanwel]

Last fall, during the not so great tourist time in Athens, we took a private van - Do not know cost, or name of the company - I did not book it.

And we went to Corinth for the day, very calm no riots to deal with, and could leave our luggage on the van, 4 of us, and he stopped in a small town and we all had a very nice lunch at an outside cafe - then dropped us at the airport for 6pm flights.

Look to see if the cruise have this private van available, if not - does anyone else have a tour guide in Athens or go online and see what you can find.

The ruins south of Corinth,and the canal were spectacular, and very few people around, very natural not a tourist trap.

[zennor]

Thanks Nanwel. Corinth sounds interesting. For some reason I don't fancy seeing Athens again. Maybe we should book the later flight & then sort out a Private Tour with transfer to airport.

[little britain]

On the last day we were able to take advantage of the stay late on board offer. Apparently they do not know whether they are able to offer this until approved by the port authorities, so we did keep checking with GR daily to see if they had clearance yet. This cost $25pp. We had to vacate the room by 8.30, we then went to breakfast and we had to go to the gangway to check out of the ship – our cards made a funny sounding ‘dong’ which indicated we were stay-laters....we went to the pool, and then had lunch (with wine) before disembarking around noon. Outside several taxis waited (obviously not a strike day) to take us to the airport for €50 which appeared to be a set fare.

[nanwel]

Our day was wonderful, very relaxing way to end our lovely cruise! And, we got to see something else that we really enjoyed. Traffic was scarce once we got past the main ports, and the guide chatted to us about what we were seeing, he asked us if we wanted to be at the airport 2 or 3 hours ahead of our flight, we chose 2, and he got us there 2 1/2 hour before flight time, lots of time to check luggage and go through customs and not panic about our flight time (mine was 7:20 to Amsterdam, on to Toronto, the other couple were heading to S Africa, and flight was a little later.) Sorry I do not remember his name, he was excellent. It was arranged with the conciege on the ship. Perhaps Azamara have a contact you could make, or ask if they still offer this as an option on your last day.

[zqvol]

We ended a cruise in Athens in late July. Airport transfer by private taxi was 65 Euro for the two of us. Let me know if you want the link to the cab company. The cab was a nice Mercedes.

[rbdb]

We just recently finished a B2B cruise ending in Athens in August and took advantage of the Greek.taxi service offered by the a lovely local Greek family. Go to Azamara Cruise Reviews for the Quest and look up my review on the Greek Isles and Black Sea - it provides details of the company and the day trip we took. They offer a comprehensive range of tours tailored to suit your interests - and the car is an E type Mercedes.

[zennor]

Thanks very much for all your suggestions. Originally I had thought that we would just go to the airport on the last day as we weren't that impressed with our last visit to Athens - but it was more or less 31 years ago, to the day, on our honeymoon when we were backpacking around the Greek islands. I now think we had better give Athens another chance! Based on our experience of a private tour in Rome that was brilliant, I am now thinking of booking the Athens/Corinth day tour (offered by the same company you used rbdb - they get lots of good reviews) & booking the 7pm flight home.

 

So thank you all for changing mind. :)

[GrumpyOldWesty]

Pleased to see you have a plan for Athens Zennor. It may be 'the day to return home' but it's still not a day to be wasted.

 

Enjoy that day.

 

Peter