Kusadasi

[Starbright]

Just looked at the webcam for Grand Princess. It says en route for Kusadasi.

 

We're on the Grand on 11 September and really hoping to visit Ephesus, so looks like our excursion might be on. Fingers crossed anyway! :D

[Guest Host Tink]

That's great news to hear! Kusadasi is such a beautiful port and Ephasus is breathtaking. Make sure to look for the rock with the footprint that will point you to where the brothel used to be! LOL

[ijkh]

According to the Grand's cruise cam it is alongside in Kusadasi. It looks like another big ship sitting right next to it. That is a nice sight.

[Starbright]

Just had a quick look - fantastic, just what we wanted to see!

 

We're really looking forward to the whole cruise, but Ephesus was the one thing we wanted to see the most. I'm sure Princess has the safety of its passengers at heart, and must think it's OK to stop at Kusadasi. :) :) :)

[Starbright]

Confused now! Just had another look at the webcam, and although Grand Princess appears still to be in port, it says "en route to Istanbul" (actually it says Instanbul, but assume this is a typo!)

 

Just where is she? Does anyone know? :confused:

[vacationhappy]

We were on the Grand last week and Kusadasi was cancelled.

[dsawyer]

It was in Kusadasi last night before I went to bed. It said "alongside Kusadasi" but I never saw it actually dock. Now its on the way to Istanbul. I guess the Captain changed his mind for some reason. :confused:

[Starbright]

Think I've figured out what is going on. I had a look at Cruise Cal. It shows that the Grand Princess was in Kusadasi today from 7.00 am to 1.00 pm, and then is in Istanbul tomorrow. When I looked at the webcam it must just have been leaving Kusadasi. It's now at sea. :D

[dsawyer]

That's a reasonable explanation. We sail on Sept. 23 with an all day stop in Kusadasi.

[MarciaL]

Ephesus was one of my favorite places to go. We were there several years ago, and I loved the walk thru the city.

[virgenia]

The Grand is currently on a different itinerary from the Greek Islands cruise. It is doing the Grand Med cruise and it goes from Kusadasi to Istanbul, so it is right on schedule. Took me a minute to figure that out.

 

Starbright, have you checked in on the roll call thread for our cruise. Couple of people there from the UK.

[queencath]

My family and I are leaving tomorrow for Barcelona-- getting on the Grand next Tuesday. (And NO, I'm NOT packed!!!) I had booked the "Elite Collection- Terrace Houses and Ephesus" tour, then was notified last week that the shore excursion was cancelled. Whether or not that was just the Terrace Houses or Ephesus in general I wasn't quite sure. Guess we'll wing it when (and if) we stop there.

[Lynno4760]

We are going on the Grand on Oct. 17th. How did you like the ship? Anything we should be aware of? Are capris allowed in the churches? We have an 8 a.m. flight back the morning of disembarkation in Venice, do you think we'll have any problem making it? How long is it from the ship to the airport? THANKS for your info.

[britneyangel]

I just wanted to post that yes, we had a good day in Kusadasi on the Grand this last cruise. There were 3 ships in port that day. Ephesus was wonderful, of course since there were so many ships it was VERY crowded. I'm really glad we made the stop.

 

Lynno4760 - I did see many people wearing longish capris in the churches. Shoulders had to be covered though. The Grand Princess is a beautiful ship. There was a little wear and tear in our cabin, but we weren't in there much anyway! We did the cruise the opposite way, Venice to Barcelona. We arrived in Barcelona at 3am and they started disembarking early flights as early as 4:30am. I would imagine since you have an overnight in Venice, that they might do the same. The airport is probably about 30 mins travel time at the most. Have a great time, you will love it!

[Breezey]

We are taking a private tour to Ephesus. Do most of the private drivers who offer "free lunch" take you to a rug factory? While I appreciate their pride in local rugs, we are definitely not interested in going but dont want to offend.

[britneyangel]

I have heard that most of them do take you to some kind of rug shop (or similar). We went on a Princess tour and were taken at the end to a "carpet demonstration". I always find this really annoying, so escaped and walked back to the ship.