Istanbul to Athens - our fabulous trip

[kikki21]

It sounds like you had a fab cruise Zennor!

We had an overnight in Istanbul on our NCL Jade cruise this year and we totally loved the city! My fiance didn't know what to expect re: being in Turkey and he was wowed, both there and at Ephesus.

 

We are calling on many of your stops next year on our Quest cruise, can't wait!

 

I've been to all the ports before on holiday and I love the Greek islands so I am looking forward to going back! :)

[zennor]

Day 6 – Santorini

 

We were last in Santorini nearly 32 years ago on honeymoon! There was no cable car then and we arrived off the ferry with 2 large duffle bags. The only option was the donkeys. My DH is still miffed that we were charged extra for luggage and then had to hold the bags ourselves as well as trying not to fall off the donkeys. He wasn’t tempted this trip. We only stayed for a couple of days then – too many cruise ships!

 

We hadn’t visited Oia that last time and I’d heard about the boat/bus trip there so I booked in advance via SantoriniPlanet in case it was very busy. Initially I’d booked the 10:15 boat as we intended to get up early to watch the sail-in, have breakfast and then get off. But I received an email asking if we’d take the 09:30 boat as there were other bookings from our ship. They seemed to think we were the only ship in that day but in face the rather large Ruby Princess arrived about the same. As soon as you get off the tenders you see the office for the boat trips & you can buy a ticket there. It costs 20 EUR to take the boat to a beach below Oia and then a bus up the hill to Oia itself. The ticket also includes a bus back to Thira at 11, 12, 13 or 14h. We had to wait until the boat was nearly full and then it took around 20 mins to get to the bay. The bus was waiting and dropped us at a coach station on the edge of the town.

 

IMG_1204 by zelda99, on Flickr

 

IMG_1211-001 by zelda99, on Flickr

 

Oia is stunning and very photogenic. We first chose a restaurant for lunch, the Skala, with fabulous views and then carried on looking around. There were loads of groups from the Ruby Princess all with numbers on them – I think they went up to number 10. at least! Oia has some lovely shops – I chose 2 pendant necklaces from a shop called Aquamarine and could have bought a lot more. I thought the shopping in Oia was much better than in Thira.

 

 

Scala Restaurant with a View:

 

 

20130608_102254 by zelda99, on Flickr

 

We returned to Skala at 12 for lunch, so that we could get back to the bus station for the 2pm bus, & enjoyed Octopus in Vinsanto whilst looking at the view and a few donkeys strolling past. Back in Thira it was very hot and quite stifling with all the narrow streets and no waterfront to escape too so we had a drink and made for the cable car to get back down and back to the ship for another lecture.

 

That evening it was the ‘White Night’ party and we weren’t too keen on going to the BBQ. We’d tried it before but had arrived at about 7:30 when all the tables were taken and we didn’t fancy lots of meat so we intended to eat first. It was still pretty hot and we were in port until 10pm. Windows Café was closed (as it had moved to the pool deck for the BBQ) and we couldn’t face eating inside in the MDR, so we went for ‘Room Service on our Balcony’ and it was fabulous. First we visited the MDR to choose from the menu – Coquilles St Jacques scallops & pan-fried Grouper – and then called through the order. I had only just remembered that rosé is now available as a ‘boutique wine’ (we were never offered it in the MDR) so we ordered glasses of that & a fruit & a cheese plate. We forgot to ask for any bread and that didn’t get provided – we’ll know for next time! It was a lovely warm evening and we watched the sunset dressed in our white clothes all ready for the party.

 

And as you can see below, the party was a great success. First we had Eric de Gray with the excellent Azamara singers and then the DJ until 11:30 pm. On deck we had more rosé & then Planter’s Punch (all included!). The little lights you can see are the lights on Santorini.

 

20130608_215815 by zelda99, on Flickr

[Host Hattie]

Thank you so much for your postings - we are in Santorini in August and I was very interested in the boat/bus trip, it looks stunning.

[kikki21]

Made a note of that jewellery shop's name Zennor!

 

I have a lot of them engraved in my memory where I have bought nice things before.... there is one at the end of Adrianou St in the Plaka in Athens which sells silver jewellery (opposite Daphne's restaurant) and there used to be one in Kos in the Square where the Hippocrates Plane tree is situated that I will be heading back to.

 

I always think Oia is more craft orientated and Fira is more commercial but both are stunning places! :)

[CupertinoMom2]

Zennor wrote "We returned to Skala at 12 for lunch, so that we could get back to the bus station for the 2pm bus, & enjoyed Octopus in Vinsanto whilst looking at the view and a few donkeys strolling past. "

 

Our family of 8 was also on the boat to Amoudi/Oia AND ate at Skala at noon AND was on the 2pm bus back to Thira... I guess we just didn't recognize you folks from the Journey!

 

I'm really appreciating your notes and photos from the trip. We have had similar responses, although we did take a private tour of Troy through SeaSong, and really enjoyed it, and another private tour of Ephesus (with the Terrace Houses) through the same SeaSong company which was also excellent. We agree completely with your comments about the Azamazing Evening at Ephesus, about the safety and the food/drinks available.

 

We booked drivers in Rhodes who drove us through the old walled city (before the traffic restrictions took effect at 9am), up to the acropolis above the city for a great view, and over to Lindos for the walk up to the castle and acropolis there. Unfortunately, my sister fell on the steps (slippery marble) coming down from the castle, and broke her arm badly. One of the drivers rushed her back to the ship where they took good care of her. She was in a cast by the next morning and able to do all the Santorini and Mykonos and Athens touring with us, though I think she was in a lot of pain sometimes.

 

Overall, a wonderful and memorable cruise! Thanks for your posts, Zennor!

[mzk90]

Zennor, really nice review. Thanks for making the effort, really helpful for those of us visiting the same ports and informative for all. :)

[Keith1010]

I enjoyed your trip report.

 

Keith

[English Tim]

Thanks for your review, Zennor. FYI, they obviously reacted to your comments about Ephesus, as when we went the following week, there were staff members, with torches, at each staircase and entrance, assisting people, but IMHO it was still very dangerous and folk still had wine glasses and food up there.

 

I'm sure that each event they will get feedback and Heike will act accordingly.

[oddjob16]

We were also on this cruise and enjoy this review very much. Our experiences coinside very much with what you are pointing out.

We were among the unlucky ones who stayed at Grand Hyatt and Hilton around Taksim Square. As we arrived at the hotel the whole block was a chaos and the police fired teargas grenades at us as we ran into the hotel. As we entered the lobby we had to have first aid for our eyes and the place was filled with people who had escaped the revolts in the streets. My wife was taken into another room while I was taken to a station to get my eayes dripped with lemon and sprayed with milk. When i got my sight back I just thought: Is this Bagdad/ Kabul or is it Istanbul? :eek: Very scary.Well we managed to find each other after a short while, and our driver had managed to get our luggage inside. as Zennor stated we had to stay inside the hotel, in which we felt quite safe. They had a great restaurant and we didn't lack anything at all, besides seeing Istanbul. Well not quite true because we did get over to the Sulanhamet on sunday morning, but had to return to the hotel early since no taxis would drive to our hotel after 3 pm.

Another great moment came when a letter from Azamara was delivered to our room urging us to stay away from areas of trouble especially the Taksim area. Well: You put us there, Azamara!:rolleyes: The letter didn't contain any apology for our inconvenience or any numbers to call in case we needed assitance. We looked at each other and... Well we just had to laugh.

When we got on the ship everything was history and we really enjoyed our cruise.:)

[mara01]

Hi Oddjob

 

Did you stay in the Hilton or the Hyatt in Istanbul? We are staying in the Hilton on our next cruise and debating whether to make our own way to the Port or use the included Azamara transfer. We usually let Azamara take our bags to the ship when transfers are included and make our own way there as its an opportunity to experience the local area on the way (notwithstanding riots of course!) and get onto the ship earlier.

 

Did you use the transfer and if so what time did it leave the hotel?

 

 

Thanks

 

Steve

[oddjob16]

Hi Oddjob

 

Did you stay in the Hilton or the Hyatt in Istanbul? We are staying in the Hilton on our next cruise and debating whether to make our own way to the Port or use the included Azamara transfer. We usually let Azamara take our bags to the ship when transfers are included and make our own way there as its an opportunity to experience the local area on the way (notwithstanding riots of course!) and get onto the ship earlier.

 

Did you use the transfer and if so what time did it leave the hotel?

 

 

Thanks

 

Steve

We stayed at Grand Hyatt which is closer to Taksim Square. Hilton is 200 m further down the road. We had Azamara transfer and they picked us up at noon. I would ask for a hotel in Sultanhamet. I would NOT stay in the Taksim area. AVOID at all costs.

[oddjob16]

This is the latest travel advice from US Consulate. I think Azamara should reconsider sending guests into the Taksim area.

U.S. Consulate General, Istanbul TurkeyOn Sunday, June 9, 2013, at 4:00 pm, the Taksim Solidarity group has announced that there will be an anti-government rally at Taksim Square.* The possibility of continued protests and unrest still exists throughout Istanbul.* Taksim Square, Gezi Park, and Dolmabahce Palace (Besiktas) continue to be the prominent areas where large numbers of people congregate.* It is possible that clashes between protesters and police could return and spill over into surrounding areas without warning. *U.S. citizens traveling or residing in Turkey should be alert to the potential for violence, avoid those areas where disturbances have occurred, and avoid demonstrations and large gatherings.* Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence.* U.S. citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if in the vicinity of any demonstrations.

[mara01]

Thanks Oddjob, this what the British Foreign Office says:

 

While demonstrations continue to take place in cities across Turkey, they are broadly peaceful and sporadic. Violent confrontations between police and protesters which mainly occurred in Istanbul’s Taksim Square and the surrounding area; central Ankara, particularly in the Kizilay area; and central Izmir near the waterfront, have now largely abated.

 

We advise British nationals to avoid all demonstrations and to follow the advice of the police or local authorities.

 

We had exactly the same issue in Athens on our Azamara cruise last year with the riots in Syntagma Square a few weeks before we went, by the time we got there it had all settled down and our hotel, the King George Palace was actually in the square with no sign of the disturbances. We had a lovely time. So fingers crossed all will be OK in Istanbul at the end of August:), however, thanks for your advice.