Star Pride 9 night Turkey / Greece Aug - Sept

[Meggiemotu]

We have only been on one other cruise this past Aug: Paul Gaugin 10 day tahiti / Tuomotus and we loved it, though we are land travelers mostly and just returned from Italy. We are very interested in the Istanbul - Athens trip on Star Pride because we would like to visit some of the islands and Turkish coast which seems most doable by boat. Do you have any information about Windstar, Star Pride or cruising thus area ? Any information is most appreciated. Thanks so much, Meggiemotu

[Strenz]

We just sailed the Istanbul-Athens on the Windstar in early October. It was fantastic. Make sure you spend some days in Istanbul, a fascinating city. We loved Ephesus and Bodrum not to take away from the Greek Islands for they were beautiful, but we loved the Turkish islands, less commercial. We are very independent travelers with little tolerance for groups so we hired our own tours and only for Ephesus (Magical Tous, Gonka was the contact she was great ) wonderful guides. Given that comment we love being on the water more than the land. We hired taxi's for Mykonos and Santorini. Athens now is a sad city however, the new Acropolis Museum is a must, it was incredible, the Archeological Museum is huge but we concentrated on the statues and sculpture and it was again incredible. We hired a van with friends and went to the island of Agenia to the Temple of Aphia which was a highlight as well as seeing the miniature chapels with the Byzantine frescos, in our mind a must see! Magical Tours help us with that as well. Going through the Dardanelles was a wonderful day. We have sailed Winstar 13 times, love the company and the product, wonderful staff, generous. This was a GREAT cruise in every way. Enjoy have a terrific time. Susanne

[Meggiemotu]

Thanks so much Susanne. Do you think it is best to do Istanbul first to get in a few days or do Athens on the front end ? We can do either, but unsure . When we got off the Gaugin we stayed one night and thought it a good idea that we did extra days on the front end because we didn't think anything could compare to the extraordinary time we had and wanted to end on a high note,. Not sure if we should leave Turkey and 2-3 days in Istanbul for the front or back end. Any suggestions ??

[Strenz]

Hi again, we had no choice for our departure city? Given that I have to say that of all the sail aways we have done this was the best, leaving Istanbul Harbor was thrilling, it is a busy, exciting harbor, Europe on one side, Asia on the other, the visuals of Istanbul and the Blue Mosque and the Galate Tower, the music of 1492 that they play, it was wonderful. Based on that I would say Istanbul. We had 3 days could have used another. I did hire a guide for the big three Blue Mosque, Topakpi Palace and the Hagia Sophia because I read time and again the lines were so long to get tickets, with a guide you get right in and again I used Magical Tours , Gonka got us superb tours it was about 5 hours long. Also, we heard that the currents going from Athens to Istanbul tend to be rougher, we had a very smooth sail?Get up early on the day at sea going through the Dardanelles for we saw the most beautiful early morning low fog banks, that was spectacular. You should have a great time, wonderful cruise. Susanne

[stcruise]

Unless Athens is a "must see" on your bucket list, I would tend to agree with Strenz. We did the Istanbul to Athens itinerary and she is right when she talks about how beautiful the trip is leaving Istanbul in the evening and going through the Dardanelles in the early morning hours.

 

We only had two days pre-cruise in Istanbul and enjoyed every minute of it. We, also, hired a guide for one of our days to see the main sites and felt it was definitely the way to go.

 

I had been told by Captain Todd that the trip from Istanbul to Athens is usually the direction that they are able to use the sails more and tends to be smoother. Unfortunately for us, that didn't hold true but Windstar can't control the weather!!!! We had some rocky weather into and out of Bodrum, but this was definitely not normal. And the sea was like glass at Mykonos which is frequently a port that people complain about the rough seas! Go figure:D!

 

Whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be a wonderful cruise. I'm looking forward to all the reviews for the Star Pride next spring when she begins cruising under the Windstar banner.

 

The "other" Suzanne (with a z)

[jojos77]

I see the two groups who already did the cruise hired guides. How did you find them?

We are a group of 5 taking the Istanbul-Athens cruise on Star Pride and I am kind of the "travel planner".

Normally I am not a skittish traveler but a bit concerned about safety so I thought guides were the way to go.

Any suggestions about the trip would be greatly appreciated.

A Greek Island cruise has been number 1 on my bucket list but someone else picked this itinerary so a bit disappointed about the Turkish Islands.

Reading your reviews has helped make me more excited about the trip.

Thanks:)

[Strenz]

Hi JoJos77, We were on the Istanbul -Athens cruise last October and we loved Turkey and the Turkish islands. We never felt unsafe for one second, the people were friendly and delightful. We are very independent travelers but for time sake and trying to avoid long lines we had Magical Steps Tours help us with the main attractions and they were great. Gonka is the manager. We also were so looking forward to the Greek islands but we found the Turkish islands so much more interesting and less touristy. While the Greek islands we visited were so beautiful from the boat on land I found then to be over the top touristy. I was a bit disappointed. When we were in Athens we took a tour I organized to Agenia that was a beautiful island, not touristy, the beautiful ruin of Aphia all part of the holy equal lateral triangle along with the Parthenon and Posiden ruins. Also the tiny Byzantine chapels all located over the hills with amazing frescos. Unfortunately Athens had an edge because the people have really struggled economically, friendly but aggressive to get the business totally understood. However, the new Acropolis Museum was thrilling. The last time I was there was 1971. I would say embrace the islands, do not worry about safety and have a great time. Wonderful cruise we have been on 13 Windstar Cruises. Susanne

[jojos77]

Thank you for the info. Makes me feel quite a bit better about Turkey.

When you stayed in Istanbul which hotel did you stay in?

I may continue to pick your brain seeing as you are a Windstar veteran.

Seeing that you have been on 13 gives me confidence that we picked the correct line. A bit of luxury without stuffiness.

I was afraid we would have to bring our super manners and dressy clothes with us. This sounds like just the right mix of small, luxury and relaxation.

[Strenz]

Hi, We stayed with Windstar, the Marmara Pera, it was very nice in a great location, near the main and nice shopping area, I am not a shopper, but it was right near the street car line and we had a great experience with the driver. For our first night we stayed at the Hilton Doubletree in the old town, we are points people so for no other reason we stay where we can accumulate points and it was a terrific hotel. Traveling is a passion and points allows us to do more!

Magical Steps Tours is on the web, highly recommend them, They were recommended to us by other passengers of the Windstar when we did a Trans-Atlantic. If you contact Gonka tell her you were recommended by Susanne from Cape Cod. It is a terrific cruise, we also had Gonka organize a tour of Esphesus and Mary's house. If you have questions you can email me at sstlulu@gmail.com

Enjoy. We are doing the Trans-pacific with Windstar from Tahiti and the Tahiti cruise in April/May can't wait. I love traveling and helping people so do not be shy. Susanne