Reflection Eastern Med Review

[Dmgmd50]

Enjoyed your review Jordan. We are taking the same cruise on the 23rd, with our 12yeat-old grandson in honor of his Bar Mitzvah. What are some of the Jewish sights you visited in Istanbul? It may be too late for us to get your guide but we may try. Thanks for the information.

[Dmgmd50]

No need for a visa if you are there as a cruise port stop (as opposed to a cruise start or finish). We did not need one even with the overnight at the port. All you really need once you board the ship is your sea pass for getting on and off the ship, including entering and leaving the ports.

 

Did you need to bring your passport with you when you visited the synagogues? On the cruise does the ship keep your passports or do the passengers keep their own?

[JordanF]

Our tour guide took us to two synagogues. He had arranged the tours ahead of time and they were expecting us. As a result, we did not need our passports, which we left in our ship safe the entire cruise. I never used any identity card beyond my sea pass. Having said that, I understand that the issue may be different if you are arranging your own visit to a synagogue. We visited the Ashke**** and the Italian synagogues. Both were interesting. If you have some time in Rome, I would also recommend the Jewish Museum there, which includes a tour of two attached synagogues.

 

Security at the synagogues was very apparent, starting with the locked, bomb-proof doors. I think that your chance of just wandering in is very low. This is due a the fact that one of them was bombed a number of years ago, and security has been tight ever since.

[JordanF]

Interesting bleeping out of the last letters above. I get it--just never thought of it that way before.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report! Glad you had a nice cruise.

[Payd]

No need for a visa if you are there as a cruise port stop (as opposed to a cruise start or finish). We did not need one even with the overnight at the port. All you really need once you board the ship is your sea pass for getting on and off the ship, including entering and leaving the ports.

 

So just the seapass - NO photo id required?

 

Lovely review!

[rosssam]

Hi JordanF,

My wife & I are on Reflection 5th Sept 1st time & have booked Aqua Class, on reading your review which I enjoyed & gave us plenty to think about & too plan.Could I ask when you say on formal nights dining in Blu was smart & casual would you suggest we ate else where as we both like to dress for the occasion also can you tell me was there any ballroom dancing.

:):):)

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

 

For example, a few years ago we sailed Princess in the Baltic, including a trip to Russia. We did not need a visa. A family member traveled to Finland and wanted to cross to Russia, but could not because he did not have a visa. Hence my belief that cruise lines have an arrangement with most of these countries.

 

Thanks for your review.

 

The reason you didn't need a visa in St. Petersburg was that your tour operator (whether the ship or a private tour) obtained a group visa for you. You would not have been able to get off the ship on your own without a visa.

 

[JordanF]

As to photo ID: they suggest that you to bring one when you get off the ship, but no one ever asked for it or looked at it. A driver's license was suggested. For us it was all sea pass, all the time.

 

As to Russia: thank you for the clarification. I would hate for people to get stuck on the boat in St. Petersburg--it is an awesome port--the highlight of that entire trip.

 

As to dressing up in aqua class: You can certainly go there all dressed up--by all means, do it. Plenty of people did. I think the dress code is meant as an often ignored floor, not a ceiling. I do not recall ballroom dancing, but as I was not looking for it, I may not have noticed.

[Tommy3putts]

Great review. We sail this itinerary on June 23rd. How was the wifi? I presume slow, but was it at least working? Any internet hotspot tips in port?

 

Thanks!!!

[JordanF]

We did not use the wifi on the ship. We did purchase the smallest internet package for occasional email checks (about $25 for 38 minutes, minus 25% for our Captain's Club coupon), using the computers on board. The internet on board was s-l-o-w! And a minute is a minute, even if all you are doing is waiting for a page to load.

 

In the ports, many cafes and restaurants advertise free wifi. In Santorini we bought a bottle of water and sat in an ice cream shop and used it. The restaurant where we had dinner also had it. There are plenty of places to get free wifi that have a better connection than the ship. Just maybe don't do your banking :).

[Tommy3putts]

True. Thanks. Very helpful.

[chuds]

Thanks for the review. What time did you take the river cruise ? Do you know if the company ran them into the early evening. I have looked online but can't find them :)

 

Thanks for the questions.

 

We had about an hour and a half in Oia. A little longer would have been nice, but it was enough. The winery was good for a snack and a little break, but we did not particularly like the wine. The winery does have nice views. We were let off in Thira with many hours to go. The last tender did not leave Thira until 9:15. We were on the 8:45 tender, and had spent a lot of time in Thira--time to walk around, time to linger over dinner as the sun set, and plenty of time to get through the cable car line and down to the tender. While I do not remember the exact time we arrived in Thira, I would say we spent 3-4 hours there. The cable car line varied in length--it was longer earlier in the evening, and shorter later. It was not a problem at all. If you were to rent ATVs to explore the island, though, I am not sure I would take an excursion.

 

As to weather--we had perfect weather. We were not sure if we would be more warm or more cool. For us, it was more warm, but not so hot that the tours of Ephesus and Athens were hard. We did wear shorts in every port except Istanbul, and that was more for going into mosques than for the weather. We were concerned that going later in the year it could be really hot, and in truth, we really lucked out. It was even warm enough to lie out by the pool on the sea days. A typical day was blue skies and 72. Calm seas the entire time.

 

We did not take the ship's Bosporus cruise. We took one that sold tickets and left from the area between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. It was the Grand Boat Line, and it cruised the Golden horn and the Bosporus up to the second bridge. Our reservation voucher refers to Bezak Travel. Looking back, this was a highlight of the entire trip.

[JordanF]

Our Bosporus cruise left at 7 pm, and got back around 9:15. It was light out and sunset of the ride up, and dark for the ride back. If you go to bezaktravel.com you can see the tour times, a map of where the boat goes, and map with the meeting place. Per the web site, there are tours at 12:30 pm, 4 pm and 7 pm.

[chuds]

[thank you so much for this info. I have found on the internet now thanks to you

 

QUOTE=JordanF;43120064]Our Bosporus cruise left at 7 pm, and got back around 9:15. It was light out and sunset of the ride up, and dark for the ride back. If you go to bezaktravel.com you can see the tour times, a map of where the boat goes, and map with the meeting place. Per the web site, there are tours at 12:30 pm, 4 pm and 7 pm.

[sunluva7]

Jordan - where did your ship dock in Istanbul? Karakoy or Salipazari? Karakoy is the one closer to the bridge.

[JordanF]

I did not know what the names were. The port had room for two ships, and we were tied up at the one that was further from the bridge. However, to exit the port we had to walk past the other ship. In other words, no matter where we were tied up, passengers from both ships left and entered the port in the same place. I hope this helps.

 

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