Live from the Voyager, Istanbul to Dubai, 31 Oct to 21 Nov 2015

[Eager2Travel]

Safe travels. We leave tomorrow.

[Travelcat2]

Safe travels. We leave tomorrow.

 

Safe travels to you and Shel. I am wondering if my memory is correct....... did you take the Istanbul to Dubai cruise with us 2-3 years ago? I seem to recall that you had a private tour guide in Israel that was very good. If I am correct, I am not surprised that you would want to return to these areas. However, at least for us, we have reached the "been there - done that" phase when we think of the Middle East. We are thrilled that we did it but would never do it again.

 

Looking forward to the group posts:)

[irishwitchy]

Where is the cooking class in Istanbul? We are very interested in those details. Thank you.

[NJBelle]

Hi, we are now in the lounge - our flight has been delayed. BUT, at least they arranged for the longe to stay open until we board our flight. So things could be worse!

 

Anyway, with regard to what cooking class - well, when we were in Istanbul a few years ago, we took one at Cooking Alaturka. It was really fun, lots of hands on, not very pricey, and a nice meal with wine. While we enjoyed that, this time we are going with Turkish Flavours - really just for something different. Both companies are on the Internet, so you should check them out and see what is available and what appeals to you.

Edited October 27, 2015 by NJBelle

[Gig103]

I will be following along - we almost booked this cruise, and if we hadn't bought nonrefundable airfare when the price dropped, I would have loved to be with you.

[Art Instructor]

Yes, please do stay in touch, Gill. Thank you for the good wishes!

 

Wish I knew how to create a "like" button. Do they only exist on Facebook?

 

Travel safe, everyone. We begin this journey tomorrow night from Chicago O'Hare!

 

Marcia

consultm2.blogspot.com

Edited October 27, 2015 by Art Instructor

[NJBelle]

Well, we have been in Istanbul over 24 hours now. Due to a late flight, a 10 hour flight and a 7 hour time difference, we got in after dark yesterday. Was actually good, since we got showered and unpacked and then went to a nice dinner. Had a pretty decent night's sleep and then had a great day. We are staying in the Sultanahmet and that has proven to be a good choice for us. Easy to get around and also to walk places; also has been nice for great local restaurants. We enjoyed a really fun cooking class with Turkish Flavours today. We started in the Spice Market and then took the ferry to the Asian side. We had the class in a private apartment and it turned out to be just the two of us. We are pretty accomplished cooks, but we learned new stuff and had a really lovely meal with wine.

 

A warning for any of you arriving Istanbul today or tomorrow. Be sure you have the right time. iPhones and iPads do not give the correct time. The correct time is 7 hours ahead of the US. This year, Istanbul has a different calendar than normal so some clocks show a different time. Just check with your hotel to be sure. We were late to our excursion due to this (but all turned out okay).

[irishwitchy]

Can you share a link to the cooking class? Thank you.

[Travelcat2]

Can you share a link to the cooking class? Thank you.

 

I looked this up the other day. Here is a link http://turkishflavours.com/

[Portolan]

Made it to Zurich this (Thursday) morning after a delayed departure from Washington due to the remnant storms from the hurricane down south. Plenty of margin since we were supposed to have a 4-1/2 hour layover, now 3-1/2. Not officially in Switzerland since we are in the transit terminal. Look forward to arriving in Istanbul late this afternoon and our all-day Bosphorus/Black Sea cruise tomorrow...a pre-cruise cruise! Then on-board Voyager at mid-day Saturday, setting sail for Greece that evening. Good timing since there is a Turkish election Sunday.

 

CC meet up at the Pool Bar 30 minutes after undocking from Istanbul.

 

P.S. thanks for the upthread comment on the time zone issue in Istanbul. Had expected 6, not 7, hour difference.

[UUNetBill]

I'm looking forward to reading some of the entries from Haifa/Jerusalem - our cruise next summer changed from docking in Istanbul to Haifa, and never having been to Israel before we're interested to see what everyone's favorite excursions/activities are.

 

Thank you all for posting!!

 

Bill

[Eager2Travel]

We just returned from a great day in Istanbul. The time issue is a little confusing. We were told it was because of the presidential election next week. We showed up at the hotel last night and discovered it was an hour later than we thought.

 

We spent the day seeing some major sites with an excellent guide. She was accommodating and waited until 11am to start. For us it is a 10 hour time difference and was a 13 hour flight.

 

Rachel, you are correct about Turkish Air. The food and service was excellent. They had two people in chef's outfits to prepare the food. That was a first for us. The final touch was led candles in miniature plastic sacks to accompany food service.

 

TC you are also correct in remembering we had an excellent private guide in Israel. The decision to spend two nights in Jerusalem cut down on the 10 hour tour bus rides. I think the cruise we were on together was Barcelona to Dubai. It was the Istanbul start that drew us to this one.

 

We met two other couples on our plane trip. The trip is off to a fine start.

[Linda VH]

Portolan - please tell us about your Bosphorus cruise. We've looked into that previously but our friends nixed it.

[Art Instructor]

Delightful flight from Chicago O'Hare with amazing service and food on Turkish Air. They made up beds for us which provided for a decent sleep en route. No glitches, landed early and our driver was waiting for us when we exited baggage claim.

 

We are ensconced in the Ritz Carlton (picked on the advice of our TA) in a lovely room with a view of the bridge and the Bosphorus. However, I really didn't realize how far away from the old city we are. We enjoy public transportation and finding our own way around a city, however, I think we may be very challenged in the morning. Maybe when we are fresh, it will seem less daunting. Or, if we surrender, we'll order a car. :o

 

In any case, we are thrilled to be in Turkey and look forward to meeting everyone on board the Voyager on Saturday.

 

Marcia

consultm2.blogspot.com

 

PS...absolutely loved the chefs and tea light candles on our flight. Plus, drinking tea from the most exquisite tea cup, ever! (posting a photo of this elegant cup on my blog, soon)

Edited October 29, 2015 by Art Instructor
Additional information

[NJBelle]

Glad everyone is making it into Istanbul. So far we have had a great two days. The weather was a bit cloudy today, but the temperature was (for us, anyway) very nice. We enjoyed the Istanbul Modern today - had not been there before. Had a Context Tours guide and spent two wonderful hours learning about history, politics and art in Istanbul/Turkey. Also enjoyed walking and shopping in the Sultanahmet. Having seen all the big sites before, we really liked just strolling around and taking in the ambience. Had a great dinner tonight at Maya. It features a chef who does Ottoman cooking with a modernist approach. We found out she had been at Eleven Mdaison Park in NYC - maybe that is why we liked it so much! In any event, although a "hot" restaurant, we still spent less than $100 total. We have found tha food and accommodations are really a bargain these days.

 

We also flew in on Turkish Air Busness. We found the food to be delicious. Overall, we really liked the service (although not the world's most efficient, they had a lot of staff, so it didn't matter in the end) and the accommodations were fine. Would definitely fly them again.

 

Oh, and TC, thanks for providing the Turkish Flavours link. Tomorrow we are doing a day long foodies walking tour and will start in Besiktas but end up on the Asian side.

 

Janice

[RachelG]

The tea cups on Turkish Airways are indeed the prettiest I have ever drank from!

 

Marcia, taxis in Istanbul are really inexpensive, so I would just use those to get around. I often do use public transport in cities, much to my husband's distress, but in Istanbul, it is so inexpensive to take a taxi that there is really no need.

 

Linda, I am not Portolan, but we have done the Bosphorus cruise and really enjoyed it. I think there were about 12 people on the boat which was quite comfortable. We did a couple of stops, one at where the Bosphorus goes into the Black Sea. It was a fun afternoon.

[Art Instructor]

I looked for those tea cups today. Alas, I could not find them.

 

We walked all day. Uphill/downhill...wore ourselves out, but had fun doing it. Loved the Spice Bazaar or was it the handsome man who gave me his phone number in one of the shops? :)

 

Toured Istanbul like natives. The tram was easy and a fun experience. Even hopped on the Funicular up to Taksim Square.

 

This morning we watched the Voyager sail in while looking out our hotel room window. Can't wait to board tomorrow!

 

Marcia

consultm2.blogspot.com

[Travelcat2]

Sounds like you had a lovely day in Istanbul! IMO, it is an amazing city. Hope that people that have concerns about Istanbul are reading this thread.

 

It is evening now in Istanbul - hope you have a great dinner (and please share it with us).

[Eager2Travel]

We spent two days seeing the sights of Istanbul with an excellent private guide. She was knowledgeable, competent and fun to share the time with. Yesterday we walked everywhere and today we had a driver.

 

Last night we went to a fun restaurant for dinner. I had shisk kabob cooked at a grill right in front of me and Shel had a delicious Ottoman lamb dish. It was interesting to compare the different flavor of the lamb between the two dishes. Also have a fine bottle of rose wine from Turkey.

 

We enjoyed the location of our hotel right next to the Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet. Everything was close by. We too saw our ship sail into the harbor from the terrace of the Dolmbahce (not sure of spelling) Palace. We just happened to be at right spot at the right time.

 

Istanbul was a wonderful addition to our cruise.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Eager2Travel

[Art Instructor]

...and I can't sleep. I am not adjusting to the time change or perhaps it's my excitement about "coming home" to the Voyager, mid day, tomorrow.

 

No dinner for us last night. We enjoyed the nibbles in the hotel club room as well as the delicious wine and champagne.

 

A note about Istanbul: we were everywhere and never felt the least bit uncomfortable. We found lovely people all along the way and know that a smile is part of a universal language. It's "spoken" in all parts of this welcoming city!

 

Marcia

consultm2.blogspot.com

[Portolan]

Out of 12 people on the trip I previously mentioned (in the roll call thread) and booked through Viator, 8 (4 couples) are part of the CC role call for the Voyager cruise. I'll speak for ourselves and they may chime in to agree or disagree.

 

We had a great time. It was a perfect compliment to our previous visits to Istanbul where we'd done most of the highly recommended sites, some more than once, that others have been describing. This day trip cruise took us to two places on the Asian side, one of the Ottoman Empire's palaces and a small fishing village. On the European side we visited the Rumeli fortress, an extensive fortification dating to the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453.

 

We'd previously transitted the length of the Bosphorus twice on the Navigator, but both times at night...neat enough for all the flood-lit mosques and the fortress...but nice to see it all in the daytime!

 

The northern extent of the trip was to touch the Black Sea underneath the still-under-construction third suspension bridge spanning the Bosphorus. As a civil engineer, this was an unexpected treat for me.

 

It was, and remains cool (60 degrees) and windy in Istanbul. Really felt this yesterday near the Black Sea going north before turning back and running with the wind to the city. The boat had an enclosed lower deck and open top deck where some of us spent much of the trip.

 

All in all, it was a great day for us.

 

Please note that Viator lists two half-day (morning or afternoon) shorter versions of this trip. A few folks (non-CC) were with us for the morning, leaving after the palace and fotress stops, and a few more joined for the afternoon (lunch, fishing village and "touching" the Black Sea). We're glad we did the whole thing, but if you only do half we'd recommend the morning as both stops were very good. The fishing village was interesting for some local color and shopping, but less interesting to us than the morning stops.

 

The boat used was of modest size, but the crew and especially the guide (ashore) and narrator, Aslan, were very personable. Between the morning stops there was a snack, and after the fortress, they served a traditional Turkish lunch on-board which was quite nice...better than you'd expect given the size of the boat. More snacks on the way back. Pickup and drop-off at the hotel went smoothly...afterwards they were willing to drop people off at old city sites, as well.i

[Art Instructor]

We are on board. Our driver arrived at our hotel early. Quick trip to the entrance to the port. Effortless check in on land and on the ship. Relaxing by the library until 2:30 when we will find our suite and settle in for the next 21 days!

 

First item of business: purchasing unlimited internet! That was easy, too.

 

Very happy to be back and looking forward to meeting our fellow CCers at sail away!

 

Marcia

consultm2.blogstop.com

[Portolan]

Likewise on-board and enjoying the new (since our last time on Voyager) double chaise lounge under cover at the rear of the Pool Deck.

[RachelG]

Portolan, your Bosporus cruise sounds identical to the one we did, not surprising since it was the same company. I too was impressed by the quality of the lunch served.

[NJBelle]

I will make this quick since we are in total prime time for Internet use right now. Enjoying a nice afternoon on board after an excursion in Kavala, Greece. I really hadn't heard of this port before, but it seems to be a lovely little city. And we had a fabulously beautiful day. Cool and sunshine. Our excursion included the archeological site of Phillipi - of Biblical and historical fame (where Paul built the first Christian church in Europe). Lots of busses to the sites, but really the choices are a bit limited to where you can go in some of these smaller ports. We thought the guides handled everything very well.

 

Ship is great, so far. We were on Voyager about 15 months ago. Things look fresh and everything is comfortable. Service has been great. Food has been really good. And we are really excited about the lectures on this cruise. We are a bit nerdy, so are thrilled to have joined up with the Artful Traveler group. It is associated with PBS and they have lots of their "stars" on board.