Ephesus shore excursions

[Joal]

My wife and I are booked on Celebrity's Silhouette in September. One of the stops is in Ephesus. We have not been there before, and we have booked a shore excursion with Ephesus Deluxe. They have mostly very good reviews on CC and TripAdvisor. However, a common complaint is a stop at a carpet weaving factory, with people subjected to some pressure to buy. We are not interested in going to a carpet factory, nor we will buy any carpets (we have enough carpets. Would very much appreciate anyone sharing his/her experience with this company, and the "visit" to the carpet place. Thank you.

Joal

[cherylandtk]

The tour part was actually quite interesting, especially where they show you how the silk cocoons are processed and the threads pulled and then dyed. The part at the end where they display the finished carpets was not high pressure IMO, they sit everyone on benches around the edge of the room, serve you a little glass of tea while the men display carpets. In our group, nobody asked to see any carpets, so as soon as we finished the tea we all stood up and left.

 

In our case, we had booked a full van for just our group and we had all agreed ahead of time that none of us would be doing carpet shopping. I imagine if someone in your group decides to shop, it could be a bit awkward while everyone else waits. The carpets were very beautiful, and if we did not have higher priorities with our time in port I can see being tempted to shop, so do try and agree in advance as to time limits.

 

One other thing I would add; when touring Ephesus, be sure and tell the guide at the beginning if there are any specific areas, carvings or locations you would like pointed out. Our guide didn't think our group would be interested in seeing the ancient directions to the brothel, but a couple of folks had been collecting photos of these in Pompeii, Herculanaeum and wanted to add Ephesus....so do a little research on what you may want to have pointed out to you.

[Brigbound]

Agreed that between touring the ancient ruins (like the Library of Celsus) and the factory, the ruins win hands down. We appreciated the art and cultural/historical pride they have for their carpet making but didn't feel compelled to buy. Unless you have a private tour you'll just have to go with the flow. If it's the same factory we went to, there are other trinket shops nearby to pass the time. Their pottery is beautiful too.

[LHT28]

if it is a private tour just tell the guide you are not interested after you tour the ruins

we went to the carpet place we did enjoy the presentation & the tea so no big deal ..we had time

[Joal]

Thank you all for the replies. This is a semi private tour. I am sure we will enjoy the tour. If they take us to the carpet place, we will try to go with the flow. We will surely learn something about carpet weaving!

Joal

[Cruiserbillyboo]

We were there in June, we used Ephesus Shuttle.

 

http://www.ephesusshuttle.com/

 

Many different tour options, very professional service, superb guide, very responsive to emails. A fabulous company.

They did suggest at the beginning of the day that we stop at a ceramic place after the tour, but we all said that we prefer not to, and they never pushed us further on it.

[4x4bob]

We found the tour of the Carpet Factory to be very interesting, and were surprised by the "Flying Carpet".

 

Bob

[Langley Cruisers]

If they take us to the carpet place, we will try to go with the flow. We will surely learn something about carpet weaving!

 

It seems that many or most tours end up at a carpet factory somewhere along the way. There are commissions to be made, the tour operator gets a little kickback I'm sure, plus it is their livelihood. We sat politely and patiently while they explained the process to us but in the end, were absolutely not interested in buying. There seemed to be one salesperson for every person or couple on the tour - personalized service if you were interested!

 

Your attitude is great going in, and Ephesus was definitely one of the highlights of our Med cruise. Enjoy yourselves. :)

.

[jmckay331]

Ephesus is so good interesting and I loved the Turkish tour guides. Also we did the stop at a carpet factory...probably all tours do this seems like. It was extremely interesting from a cultural standpoint and the Turkish" tea"was yummy--think hot apple cider. We didn't feel pressured to buy anything although my husband surprised me at Christmas that year with a 10-12 silk "carpet"from there although he actually bought it on a separate trip to turkey. So sweet. Anyway I say at least check it out even if you aren't interested in buying. Learning how they make them is amazing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[cruisemom42]

I would just reiterate that if this is a private tour (arranged by a group of people together), then you are perfectly entitled to tell the guide you want to skip the carpet stop -- or any other stop they might suggest.

 

There is plenty of shopping available right in Kusadasi next to the the ships. When I pay for a tour, I want a tour -- not a shopping stop. ;)

 

That said, I booked a tour with Ephesus Shuttle last time I was in Ephesus and made it clear that we did NOT want any shopping stops. It was not an issue at all.

[SPacificbound]

I booked Ephesus Port Tours for just DH & I. Really loved it there. No carpet hustle.

[navybankerteacher]

On a private tour you certainly can tell the guide to skip shopping opportunities - of course the presumed kick-backs tour guides/operators receive represent part of their anticipated income - and logically hold down the costs of the tours. It is essentially similar to having to watch commercials on TV - as a cost of what is seen as "free" programming.

[zqvol]

My wife and I are booked on Celebrity's Silhouette in September. One of the stops is in Ephesus. We have not been there before, and we have booked a shore excursion with Ephesus Deluxe. They have mostly very good reviews on CC and TripAdvisor. However, a common complaint is a stop at a carpet weaving factory, with people subjected to some pressure to buy. We are not interested in going to a carpet factory, nor we will buy any carpets (we have enough carpets. Would very much appreciate anyone sharing his/her experience with this company, and the "visit" to the carpet place. Thank you.

Joal

 

I haven't been with your particular company but the stop at the carpet factory is rather interesting, though pretty much a waste of time, and I have never felt any pressure to buy. If you are on a privet tour just tell them not to go to a carpet factory is you don't want to visit. I will say that when people think of carpets they think room size, but you can buy some very nice ones to use as art. I have some that are on the wall that I got in the area. One is 2 X 3, and the other is 1x1. You should try it you might see something that works as a nice souvenir.

[rockdoctor]

In several visits to carpet show rooms, I have never felt any pressure to buy. Recommend you go once just to see what it is like. It's easy to skip the demonstration and simply walk back to the ship. With some port calls to Kusadasi being cancelled, make sure you have an out if you set up your own tour.

[Joal]

Thank you all for your responses. That is why I love CC. So far, Celebrity is still going to Kusadasi, but we still have a month and a half before we sail, so we will see...

Joal