1st Mediterranean Cruise on Jewel Italy, Greece & Turkey Need Advice Please

[windham depot]

Hi My husband and I are planning our first cruise to the Mediterranean, we have stops in Italy, Greece and Turkey. I was hoping we could get some suggestions and tips for this cruise. We leave September 12th on the Jewel for 9 days, any suggestions would be great,y appreciated.

 

Rhonda

[Hoopster95]

Hi My husband and I are planning our first cruise to the Mediterranean, we have stops in Italy, Greece and Turkey. I was hoping we could get some suggestions and tips for this cruise. We leave September 12th on the Jewel for 9 days, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Rhonda

 

Hello Rhonda. I'll be on the newly refurbished Jewel May 23rd for a 9 day for the exact same itinerary. I'll likely be posting a full review on my return. I sailed on the Serenade last year with Messina, Salerno (Amalfi) and Rome within that trip, and I have a lot of photos and documentary in my review. that mat help you... click on the "Serenade review" link below in my signature.

 

Regarding Greece, imho:

Santorini - Oia is a must to visit (google it)

Mykonos - had one of my most memorable days exploring Delos

Athens - 1st time there definitely has to be the Parthenon and surrounding area

Ephesus - definitely the ruins themselves... if booking an excursion or private tour, ensure you get to visit the Terrace houses

 

Have a fabulous time planning and have a great cruise! :D

[T.O.cruisers]

Hello Rhonda. I'll be on the newly refurbished Jewel May 23rd for a 9 day for the exact same itinerary. I'll likely be posting a full review on my return. I sailed on the Serenade last year with Messina, Salerno (Amalfi) and Rome within that trip, and I have a lot of photos and documentary in my review. that mat help you... click on the "Serenade review" link below in my signature.

 

Regarding Greece, imho:

Santorini - Oia is a must to visit (google it)

Mykonos - had one of my most memorable days exploring Delos

Athens - 1st time there definitely has to be the Parthenon and surrounding area

Ephesus - definitely the ruins themselves... if booking an excursion or private tour, ensure you get to visit the Terrace houses

 

Have a fabulous time planning and have a great cruise! :D

 

I will be on Jewel for the same week as you. Have you joined the roll call thread? It has been quiet so far but I expect it to become alive as people start to plan their trip.

 

Rhonda, I suggest you join the roll call for your sailing. You will be able to join others and plan private excursions together.

 

I have been to some of the same ports before. In Naples, I did a full day Amalfi Coast drive and returned to the port from Sorrento on the hydrofoil. In Santorini, we rented a car and drove around the island and had an early dinner on a rooftop patio in Oia to watch the sunset and then returned the car. Mykonos was a cool day so we just walked around, saw the windmills. Unfortunately, we didn't get to a beach. Maybe this time. I'm looking forward to the other ports for my first visit.

 

Have fun planning but be sure to join your roll call.

 

Marsha

[Iluvcruising2]

Which are your ports?

 

We sailed on NCL Jade last year and may have covered some ports in your upcoming cruise. Here was my review -

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2139138

 

I agree with an earlier post that for Athens, it has to be the Parthenon.

For Ephesus, the ruins of ancient Ephesus. Breathtaking.

 

Snippets of our day in Athens (in 2 minutes)

[YOUTUBE]bfABTgvEFRY[/YOUTUBE]

 

Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

[YOUTUBE]uN2fMBjKFuo[/YOUTUBE]

Edited December 29, 2015 by Iluvcruising2

[windham depot]

Thank you all so much for your helpful tips and reviews. I actually started the Thread for our upcoming cruise. I do have difficultly walking I probably should have mentioned that first. We are still in the planning stages and are looking for all suggestions and opinions. I know how helpful cruise critic people can be. I appreciate all your help thank you.

 

Rhonda

[windham depot]

Hello Rhonda. I'll be on the newly refurbished Jewel May 23rd for a 9 day for the exact same itinerary. I'll likely be posting a full review on my return. I sailed on the Serenade last year with Messina, Salerno (Amalfi) and Rome within that trip, and I have a lot of photos and documentary in my review. that mat help you... click on the "Serenade review" link below in my signature.

 

Regarding Greece, imho:

Santorini - Oia is a must to visit (google it)

Mykonos - had one of my most memorable days exploring Delos

Athens - 1st time there definitely has to be the Parthenon and surrounding area

Ephesus - definitely the ruins themselves... if booking an excursion or private tour, ensure you get to visit the Terrace houses

 

Have a fabulous time planning and have a great cruise! :D

 

 

HI Hoopster 95 thank you so much for your link I did read the entire review. You mentioned how much you liked your hotel in Rome however I did not see the name mentioned and could not read it in your pictures. Where did you stay in Rome and would you recommend it.i look forward to your review of this cruise in May but, I am hoping by then we have everything already set up for ours in September. Thank you,

 

Rhonda

Edited December 30, 2015 by windham depot

[merlincrt]

Hi Marsha

I'm doing Naples in May and interested in the day trip you did. Which company did you do the Amalfi coast with? Was it difficult to get the hydrofoil back to the cruise port? Do they ever cancel if weather is rough?

How do you suggest I look into this trip?

 

Thanks so much.

 

 

I will be on Jewel for the same week as you. Have you joined the roll call thread? It has been quiet so far but I expect it to become alive as people start to plan their trip.

 

Rhonda, I suggest you join the roll call for your sailing. You will be able to join others and plan private excursions together.

 

I have been to some of the same ports before. In Naples, I did a full day Amalfi Coast drive and returned to the port from Sorrento on the hydrofoil. In Santorini, we rented a car and drove around the island and had an early dinner on a rooftop patio in Oia to watch the sunset and then returned the car. Mykonos was a cool day so we just walked around, saw the windmills. Unfortunately, we didn't get to a beach. Maybe this time. I'm looking forward to the other ports for my first visit.

 

Have fun planning but be sure to join your roll call.

 

Marsha

[T.O.cruisers]

Hi Marsha

I'm doing Naples in May and interested in the day trip you did. Which company did you do the Amalfi coast with? Was it difficult to get the hydrofoil back to the cruise port? Do they ever cancel if weather is rough?

How do you suggest I look into this trip?

 

Thanks so much.

 

I used APTours and will definitely use them again when I'm in Naples in May. Are we on the same ship? We did not go to Pompeii but we did make stops in Ravello, Positano, Amalfi and Sorrento and also many stops along the way for photo-ops. While we enjoyed our lunch in Sorrento, our driver purchased our tickets for the hydrofoil. I think it took about 45 minutes or so. It was October when I was in Naples. The weather was beautiful so I don't know if they cancel or not. APTours could answer all your questions. Enjoy your cruise.

 

Marsha

[George C]

Hi My husband and I are planning our first cruise to the Mediterranean, we have stops in Italy, Greece and Turkey. I was hoping we could get some suggestions and tips for this cruise. We leave September 12th on the Jewel for 9 days, any suggestions would be great,y appreciated.

 

Rhonda

 

Make sure you join your roll call and see what everyone else is doing we are doing a 12 day leaving on Sep 11. We have a bunch of private tours setup with other people on our ship (we are on Brilliance leaving from Barcelona)