Private Tours

[muddsmom]

We will be taking our first Oceania cruise, Istanbul to Venice, September 26, 2006. We have cruised into Istanbul before and also Athens. We will probably stay on the ship for Athens and would be interested in something a bit different in Istanbul. What is the best way to find out about private drivers in the different ports? We visit Italy two times a year, (not cruises), so we know Amalfi drivers. After taking the ship tours previously, I don't want to go that route. Also, do most of you use the ship transfers to and from the airports or take taxi's?

[ClaudiaF]

If you tell us what ports you would like drivers for, I am sure that you will get many referrals.

You should also ask on the Europe board ( here at Cruise Critic).

[ElleninNY]

We, too, are looking for private guides on the 7/2/06 Nautica sailing, Athens to Istanbul. The ports are primarily "off the beaten" path - Yalta, Sochi, Russia, Sevastopol, Odessa, Constanta, Romania, Nessebur, Bulgaria, Kusadasi. We've been to Santorini and Athens and I have the name of a guide in Istanbul. Does anyone know of private guides in these ports or how I could locate them?

[mike35]

We sailed the Insignia Istanbul to Athens cruise in April, and we lucked out by finding an absolutely outstanding guide. We were with him for 3 days in Istanbul (pre-cruise) and all day in Kusadasi. We really can't praise him enough - his knowledge, command of the English language, and personal attention were fantastic. The respect shown him by his fellow Turks - guides, shopkeepers, etc., enhanced our opinion of him.

 

His name is Nejat Incedogan.

 

His e-mail is *****@yahoo.com

 

I would be happy to answer any additional questions about Nejat or other guides we used on this itinerary.

 

Mike

[calexand]

Thanks Mike for the info. We are also on the Sept 26, 2006 sailing Istanbul to Venice and will be on the hunt for private guides/drivers. You can share balexand@rogers.com

 

Carol

[muddsmom]

Thanks Mike. We would like something a bit different from the regular sights in Istanbul since we have visited that city before. We may just stay on the ship unless we can find something really different. You can e-mail me at jacobsiv at aol dot com

 

Sharon

[lucinjo]

My husband and I will also be on the Nautica - Istanbul to Venice - 9/26/06. This will be our first Oceania cruise as well as our first Med cruise. We would be very interested in sharing info/guides for our trip. We think Oceania sounds like a great cruise line (my husband is thrilled about no formal nights) and we can hardly wait! You can reach us at lucindalaw@aol.com.

Thanks,

 

Cindy and Joe

[calexand]

Surprised on viewing this thread how many online for the Sept. 26, 2006 sailing. Carol and Bill from Toronto, Canada sending greetings to Cindy and Joe and Sharon.

We have also previously sailed in the Med. but there are a number of ports that we will be experiencing for the first time. Will be looking for interesting private tours/drivers for our day jonts.

[muddsmom]

It will be fun putting faces to the people on this board for the September 26, 2006 cruise. I have never visited any of the Greek Islands and also look forward to Croatia. We do land trips to Italy twice a year, but this will be our first visit to Sicily, so we will definitely want to do a tour there. I have a great driver I use is Rome and he vacations in Sicily every year, so perhaps he can give me some leads.

 

Sharon

[sandbag7]

Istanbul is an amazing City; there are many cites you can find that are not trumpeted (such as the tile mosque and the catacombs). It's a city worth exploring in depth; I've been there for a total of 12 days and still haven't seen all it has to offer. Staying on board is certainly your choice, but seems a waste of an opportunity.

[muddsmom]

We wouldn't mind doing a different type of tour in Istanbul but we don't want to see the main tourist sights again. We travel a great deal and find we like taking things a bit slower. We usually rent apartments or cottages staying in one place, taking day trips. On our Anniversary cruise six years ago, we were exhausted from getting up every morning at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m, eating a quick breakfast and out the door for the 8:00 a.m. tour. We would return back around 5:30 or 6:00, only to rush getting ready for dinner at 7:00. Sometimes, the most fun for us is sitting with a bottle of wine, snacks and watching the world go by for several hours. It's not a bad thing for us to stay on board with most people gone. We summer every year on the Amalfi Coast, so that will be another place where we may stay on board.

 

I will say Turkey has been the most fascinating country we have ever visited. We fell in love with it, so we would like to explore off the beaten path this time if possible. Also, I'm becoming a bit nervous with what's going on there, but we have plenty of time for making decisions about venturing out. The reason this cruise appeals to us so much is the fact that it seems to have a slower pace to it. If we don't see something the first time, we can always go back.

 

Sharon