Royal Princess Greece, Turkey, & Italy Medley Cruise

[CruisingCoral]

Hi everyone! I'm about to book the 14 day Greece, Turkey, & Italy Medley cruise for next summer (June 2017). We have never been to Europe before or have sailed on the Royal Princess. Does anyone have any feedback for this trip? Any feedback is much appreciated!

[CruisingCoral]

 

Here's the itinerary

[Lucky TGO]

Take me with you. I'm sorry I couldn't help myself :D :D

Tony

[A.stew12305]

Interesting that it has Athens as a port stop and end port. Is it also sold as a 7 day RT from Athens?

 

We are going on the Adriatic Medley in a couple weeks and have a couple of the same ports. I'll report back if you are still interested in early June.

Edited May 7, 2016 by A.stew12305

[CruisingCoral]

Take me with you. I'm sorry I couldn't help myself :D :D

 

Tony

 

 

If you don't mind sharing an interior room with my family, you're more than welcome to join! [emoji6] lol

[CruisingCoral]

Interesting that it has Athens as a port stop and end port. Is it also sold as a 7 day RT from Athens?

 

We are going on the Adriatic Medley in a couple weeks and have a couple of the same ports. I'll report back if you are still interested in early June.

 

 

Yes, the two week cruise is also sold as two separate cruises. I think these are a good group of ports? I know nothing about Europe. Lol.

 

Have a wonderful cruise! I am very interested to hear about your trip!

[emmak8]

Excellent ports! You'll be busy doing your homework. Check in to the roll call and see what's happening.

[CruisingCoral]

Excellent ports! You'll be busy doing your homework. Check in to the roll call and see what's happening.

 

 

Thanks for your feedback! They sound like cool ports but I definitely need to start doing my homework on them. Thankfully I'll have a little over a year to plan!

[long cruiser]

Great itinerary!

long cruiser

[moki'smommy]

Kusadasi was the best port ever. My TA had arranged a private excursion for just their bookings. We were in a group of 6 that with a guide that did the Mary shrine and Ephesus (very worthwhile), then a factory where they make rugs (got to see silk worms, how they collect and spin the silk, weaving the rugs, etc. as well as a sales pitch). Then we had a Turkish lunch on an estate and could tour/use all the outside areas as well as a portion of the house.

 

Your other ports are good. Do your homework. And hopefully you will fly over several days early and spend some time in Rome. There is a very inexpensive public train that will get you from Rome to Civ....no need for costly cruise line transfers unless you are uneasy doing the train. Actually, there are several train options--one that stops at ever little place, an express that makes no other stops, and a middle sort that makes maybe 3 stops total en route. It will be hot. Take your walking shoes.

[paul929207]

Great itinerary. We will be getting off the day you board, so we will just miss you.

 

We were on the Royal Princess in February and March. We had a wonderful time. Getting around the ship requires patience. It takes awhile to learn the layout.

[eclue]

We are doing a similar trip this year in August - we've done the Med before and it is simply the " best ".....you will enjoy.

Istanbul is our favorite port and I see there is an overnight there - we might have to go back again next year....

This is an unforgettable trip so keep planning.

eclue:rolleyes:

[TwoBadKnees]

Nice itinerary. Being port intensive, if your party has stamina issues, pick your port activities carefully. You may not want b2b2b2b full day excursions.

 

Ephesus is a wonderful place, but not much shade. Every time I've been there the sun was brutal.

 

I can't remember the specific port, but the cable car ride had extremely long lines and it was quicker to take a different method to the top.

 

You'll enjoy the trip.

[RoadTripFanatic]

How exciting! We are doing one of the Royal Princess cruises this summer. Our friends are doing the 14 days out of Barcelona. We are joining them for 7 days out of Rome! So much fun!

Ephesus- Go. :) It's really a cool excursion. It's one of the few ship excursions we did on our cruise to the med 3 years ago. Amazing.

Istanbul: OMG! One of my favorite cities in the world. It is simply beyond amazing. We stayed there for 3 nights during a spring break trip. The Cistern and grand bazaar are musts in my book. The topaki palace is pretty cool too. In all honesty it's an easy to do on your own kind of city if you plan properly. Having an overnight there will help.

Athens: Read on how to do it on your own. We had a great time taking a taxi to the Acropolis and doing things on our own.

Rhodes. I loved this city even though we got completely loss trying to get into the city. We walked around and somehow ended up in the mote. While we were there we took a public bus to Lindos. The acropolis there is adorable. After visiting Athens it seems small but it was a fantastic day for us.

[CruisingCoral]

Thanks everyone! Just booked it!! Can't wait!!

[stunnedinva]

Thanks everyone! Just booked it!! Can't wait!!

 

What a fabulous itinerary! I've been to all the ports except Chios. I could LIVE in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul if they'd let me--or just back up a U-Haul to load up my purchases. In Volos, I recommend going to the Meteora monasteries: https://www.visitmeteora.travel/en/what-to-see/the-meteora-monasteries We did a private tour (no way we could scale those cliffs), and it was exceptional.

[CruisingCoral]

Great itinerary!

long cruiser

 

 

Thanks! We're really looking forward to it!

[CruisingCoral]

Kusadasi was the best port ever. My TA had arranged a private excursion for just their bookings. We were in a group of 6 that with a guide that did the Mary shrine and Ephesus (very worthwhile)' date=' then a factory where they make rugs (got to see silk worms, how they collect and spin the silk, weaving the rugs, etc. as well as a sales pitch). Then we had a Turkish lunch on an estate and could tour/use all the outside areas as well as a portion of the house.

 

 

 

Your other ports are good. Do your homework. And hopefully you will fly over several days early and spend some time in Rome. There is a very inexpensive public train that will get you from Rome to Civ....no need for costly cruise line transfers unless you are uneasy doing the train. Actually, there are several train options--one that stops at ever little place, an express that makes no other stops, and a middle sort that makes maybe 3 stops total en route. It will be hot. Take your walking shoes.[/quote']

 

 

Thanks for the tips! Did you feel safe in most of the ports? Especially doing stuff on your own and not with the cruise line?

[paul929207]

Thanks for the tips! Did you feel safe in most of the ports? Especially doing stuff on your own and not with the cruise line?

Yes, never had any problem.

 

In Kusadasi, get a tour to Ephesus that includes the terrace houses. Princess did not include them when we were there a few years ago. But our private tour did. These were the homes of the super rich in the days of Paul. They were still excavating them when we visited.

[eclue]

Need to mention here - the Arasta Bazaar is just behind the Blue Mosque and has better prices / more negotiating power than the Grand Bazaar.

eclue:rolleyes:

[4cats4me]

Booking private excursions as opposed to cruise line excursions are an option. We just went on a Med cruise 6 months ago, had over a year to plan, and we met others on the roll call and were able to coordinate and share tours. We had 8 ports of call, 12 day cruise, and didn't book one cruiseline excursion. We were able to tailor tours to our liking. Tours of anywhere from 6-12 versus 25-40, payable in cash at end of tour, no money upfront. I haven't looked at your whole itinerary yet, but we used companies in Kusadasi for Ephuses, (can't recall the name right now) and we used a good company in a Athens, ROME, Florence, Southern Italy and In the Greek Islands and southern France. For some reason, all the names are escaping me right now. I will go back and look and get back to you. We saved a LOT of time and a lot of money by branching out on our own. Granted, In some ports you might feel more confident going with the cruiseline, but we fared just fine and were not EUROPE experts.

if you have any questions give me your email and I will email you with suggestions if you need any [emoji2]

DANA

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[4cats4me]

Thanks for the tips! Did you feel safe in most of the ports? Especially doing stuff on your own and not with the cruise line?

 

 

 

YES

please see my response below regarding private touring

[4cats4me]

Yes, never had any problem.

 

In Kusadasi, get a tour to Ephesus that includes the terrace houses. Princess did not include them when we were there a few years ago. But our private tour did. These were the homes of the super rich in the days of Paul. They were still excavating them when we visited.

 

 

 

Agreed. The terrace houses were fascinating and we are so glad we toured them

[Montrealais]

We have visited Athens 3 times, Istanbul twice and Kusadai twice.

 

Beautiful destinations but ... :confused:

 

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES

 

 

ANKARA - TURKEY

 

 

Message for U.S. Citizens

Security Message for U.S. Citizens: Credible Threats to Tourist Sites

April 26, 2016

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara informs U.S. citizens that the U.S. Government continues to receive credible indications that terrorist groups are seeking opportunities to attack popular tourist destinations throughout Turkey. The U.S. Embassy reminds U.S. citizens that foreign tourists in Turkey have been explicitly targeted by terrorist organizations, and advises U.S. citizens to be mindful of the potential for danger in crowded public areas and at popular tourist destinations.

Edited May 8, 2016 by Montrealais

[easyboy]

Thanks everyone! Just booked it!! Can't wait!!

Only been to Civitavicchea (Rome) and Kusadasi ports in your itinerary. Aside from Vatican city, the port is also nice explore its attractions around.

Took the Princess shorex to see the Virgin Mary's house in Kusadasi, with a nice countryside view along the way.

We liked the Royal Princess much esp. the Horizon court and the enlarged atrium.