Celebrity Check In Istanbul question

[HubbieO]

I haven't been able to find any information on this. Booked on the Equinox Aug 24, 2015 sailing from Istanbul. The ship doesn't actually sail until 1pm on the 25th. Does anybody know how Celebrity handles check in? Can you check in and board anytime between noon-ish on the 24th and late morning the 24th? Do they stop handling check in sometime during the night on the 24th? Do they deliver luggage to the cabin continuously or deliver when they've collected a certain amount?

[need2bespoiled]

We're doing our second cruise (first one last year on Connie out of Istanbul) that starts with an overnight in port.

 

They give you check in times on the ticket (12pm-4pm is listed on our cruise in 3 weeks), but I also thought I read somewhere that if you're going to be in late, to let them know. The ship does stay open 24 hours to come and go.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[dutchclogs]

We're doing our second cruise (first one last year on Connie out of Istanbul) that starts with an overnight in port.

 

They give you check in times on the ticket (12pm-4pm is listed on our cruise in 3 weeks), but I also thought I read somewhere that if you're going to be in late, to let them know. The ship does stay open 24 hours to come and go.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Does the ship offer any excursions for Istanbul? (Thinking Day 2 rather than embarkation day)

[villauk]

I haven't been able to find any information on this. Booked on the Equinox Aug 24, 2015 sailing from Istanbul. The ship doesn't actually sail until 1pm on the 25th. Does anybody know how Celebrity handles check in? Can you check in and board anytime between noon-ish on the 24th and late morning the 24th? Do they stop handling check in sometime during the night on the 24th? Do they deliver luggage to the cabin continuously or deliver when they've collected a certain amount?

 

When we boarded in Sydney on an overnight a couple of years ago, there were passengers boarding throughout the day. Some were embarking in the afternoon as we were leaving the ship to explore the city. Once you have checked-in, you are free to leave the ship as you wish. I'm sure it will be the same for us in Istanbul next year. Embarkation times are listed on your cruise docs.

 

We're planning on sightseeing in the morning and then boarding in the afternoon ;).

 

Does the ship offer any excursions for Istanbul? (Thinking Day 2 rather than embarkation day)

 

Gill,

 

Yes, there are excursions available on the second day (similar to Iceland - 4 hour excursions). I recall seeing a Bosphorus cruise and a visit to the Spice Bazaar on the Celebrity website. Are you now considering joining us :D?

Edited October 13, 2014 by villauk

[need2bespoiled]

Transportation in Istanbul is pretty easy, and the spice and grand bazar are totally doable on you're own. In fact, we did everything on our own, on a few tours we had audio the museum provided, read the info provided at the site, or felt we didn't need it. Probably the main location I'd recommend a tour guide would be the Hagia Sophia (and then since it is so close, Blue Masque) thought the Masque probably doesn't need a guide unless you want to have the history as you look at the inside.

 

We definitely would recommend a guide in Eupheses and to spend the extra time and small amount of money to see the terrace houses. It was really a WOW.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[villauk]

Transportation in Istanbul is pretty easy, and the spice and grand bazar are totally doable on you're own. In fact, we did everything on our own, on a few tours we had audio the museum provided, read the info provided at the site, or felt we didn't need it. Probably the main location I'd recommend a tour guide would be the Hagia Sophia (and then since it is so close, Blue Masque) thought the Masque probably doesn't need a guide unless you want to have the history as you look at the inside.

 

We definitely would recommend a guide in Eupheses and to spend the extra time and small amount of money to see the terrace houses. It was really a WOW.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

We've visited Ephesus previously and would agree with you about the Terrace Houses ;).

 

We also plan to sightsee in Istanbul on our own. It appears that most of the main sights are not too far apart, and we are youngish :D and fit :).

[dutchclogs]

 

Gill,

 

Yes, there are excursions available on the second day (similar to Iceland - 4 hour excursions). I recall seeing a Bosphorus cruise and a visit to the Spice Bazaar on the Celebrity website. Are you now considering joining us :D?

 

wait and see...;)

[cruisercon]

A year ago tomorrow we boarded the Connie in Istanbul and sailed the following day, Oct. 20th. I believe they stopped embarkation around 6pm on the 19th as the checkin and port personnel went off duty. Embarkation resumed on the 20th.

We checked in early on the 19th, around 12pm. However, they wouldn't allow people to leave the port until around 3pm due to some technicality. After that since we had checked in and had our seapass card we could come and go as we pleased.

[blindrid]

Transportation in Istanbul is pretty easy, and the spice and grand bazar are totally doable on you're own. In fact, we did everything on our own, on a few tours we had audio the museum provided, read the info provided at the site, or felt we didn't need it. Probably the main location I'd recommend a tour guide would be the Hagia Sophia (and then since it is so close, Blue Masque) thought the Masque probably doesn't need a guide unless you want to have the history as you look at the inside.

 

We definitely would recommend a guide in s and to spend the extra time and small amount of money to see the terrace houses. It was really a WOW.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

In Istanbul, we did one day one our own (pretty good walk across the bridge) and one day with a private guide. The guide was great and they are required to speak good English. The biggest benefit was that the guides (and us) do not have to stand in line at the Mosques, etc. Avoiding the lengthy lines was well worth having the guide. He picked us up in a nice, comfy van by the ship.

 

In Ephesus, we did the same thing - private guide. It's a fair ride from the Kusadasi (the port) so again comfort with a guide well versed in English made it a good day (he had his doctorate from the University of Florida but that's another story) and was able to tell us a lot of things about the archeological sites in Ephesus and went to Virgin Mary's house.

 

Anyway, do what you think is right.

Edited October 18, 2014 by blindrid

[need2bespoiled]

In Istanbul, we did one day one our own (pretty good walk across the bridge) and one day with a private guide. The guide was great and they are required to speak good English. The biggest benefit was that the guides (and us) do not have to stand in line at the Mosques, etc. Avoiding the lengthy lines was well worth having the guide. He picked us up in a nice, comfy van by the ship.

 

In Ephesus, we did the same thing - private guide. It's a fair ride from the Kusadasi (the port) so again comfort with a guide well versed in English made it a good day (he had his doctorate from the University of Florida but that's another story) and was able to tell us a lot of things about the archeological sites in Ephesus and went to Virgin Mary's house.

 

Anyway, do what you think is right.

 

We never had a line in Istanbul, but we were there in November. Maybe a guide would have added to our experience, but we thought Istanbul was pretty accessible on our own. We did see one line for the Basilica Cistern. We too used a guide in Euphesus.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[blindrid]

We never had a line in Istanbul, but we were there in November. Maybe a guide would have added to our experience, but we thought Istanbul was pretty accessible on our own. We did see one line for the Basilica Cistern. We too used a guide in Euphesus.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

We were there in October. Pretty good line and was pretty cold also. With international flight, not sure what day of the week. Maybe that's different.

 

Have a great evening, Randy

Edited October 19, 2014 by blindrid

[need2bespoiled]

We were there in October. Pretty good line and was pretty cold also. With international flight, not sure what day of the week. Maybe that's different.

 

Have a great evening, Randy

 

we were there for 3 days before the ship departed (on a Sunday I think).

 

It was cool at night, and sometimes brisk during the day, but in general, the weather was nice, as we were able to remove jackets in the sun.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna