Celebrity Reflection Mediterranean Excursions

[jaclynmiles]

We are going on a Celebrity Reflection Mediterranean Cruise August 2017 but having a hard time selecting excursions. I would like to go to some beaches but see only one beach excursion and nothing really for Santorini. I heard Santorini has beautiful beaches!

I feel like everything that is offered is long, drawn out touristy stuff. We don't really want to spend the day driving around and stopping in random places in the city to see the people.

I want to try the food, the wine, the beaches, beautiful blue water/caves and if there are any archeological/historical sites.

Any suggestions that aren't a waste of time/money?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[bunnyette]

I never do cruise excursions, research the ports yourself and you will find out some info...here in the ports of call forum or other tourism sites. In Majorca, DH & I walked into the local tourist office and asked how to get to the beach! Our excursion that day cost us $25 (mainly lunch & bus fare).

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Marmaduke]

The local bus service in Santorini is very good. There are regular buses from Fira bus station (about 3 an hour) to Oia, and Kamari for the beach which is black sand. Much cheaper and less restrictive than taking the ships tour.

[Essiesmom]

People usually do not go to the Med. to see beaches. Mykonos is the only port I see mentioned for a beach. And don't expect white sand like in the Caribbean. Get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports and see what there is to offer in your ports and what you can do in the time you have. And how to do it without an organized tour. EM

[Spursgirl]

We are going on a Celebrity Reflection Mediterranean Cruise August 2017 but having a hard time selecting excursions. I would like to go to some beaches but see only one beach excursion and nothing really for Santorini. I heard Santorini has beautiful beaches!

I feel like everything that is offered is long, drawn out touristy stuff. We don't really want to spend the day driving around and stopping in random places in the city to see the people.

I want to try the food, the wine, the beaches, beautiful blue water/caves and if there are any archeological/historical sites.

Any suggestions that aren't a waste of time/money?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

i

 

I note that this is your first Cruise Critic post so wonder if you are new to cruising.

 

It is very easy to get around by public transport in Mediterranean ports and so much easier to do exactly what you want to do.

 

If you share with us some of the other ports on your itinerary we may be able to give you advice from our personal experiences that you may find useful

[FiggyWig]

Agreed...6 cruises (just a novice compared to many here on CC), numerous ports of call - all in the Med and only ever done 1 ships tour.

As already said, decide what you want to do/see, go on the internet and research, research, research. All the answers are out there - maps, bus times, entrance fees etc... fellow CC posters and not forgetting our friends over on Trip Advisor.

Planning is all part of the pre-holiday fun.

Happy Cruising !

[jaclynmiles]

Thanks everyone. First Mediterranean cruise. I've done others in the Caribbean. Concerned about booking things that aren't with our cruise line. I've read here that it is very busy in August and traffic is unpredictable so people miss the boat. Thoughts? What is the best thing to see?

We go to:

Rome

Sicily

Naples

Malta

Mykonos

Athens

Santorini

Rhodes

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cobeck]

I second the book Mediterranean Cruise Port by Rick Steves. It has a lot of practical and up to date information including local site seeing and public transportation information. We used this in Athens, Kusadasi, Naples and Rome. Also be certain to connect on your roll call as there may be organized tours that still have seats available. Relax and enjoy your port intensive cruise! It is our favorite!

[DYKWIA]

This site is a good starting point. Offers good advice to a lot (but not all) Med ports

http://www.tomsportguides.com/mediterranean-cruises.html

[Les43]

I just came home from this cruise on Monday. We did a Celebrity excursion on Santorini to Oiea and then wine tasting and back to Fira. I have posted a review and reflected that this was not a good excursion. Traffic on the island is very very busy and roads so narrow that you spend more time on the coach than seeing the sights.We didn't see any beaches there but if we were to go again, we would do our own thing on Santorini and just enjoy Fira. There were 3 ships in that day and as a result it was extremely busy. We much preferred Mykonos.

[nini]

I "third" it for Rick Steve's book! It is wonderful!:D

[OurDogCisco]

I highly recommend a private guide if you don't want to do it on your own.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Miaminice]

Thanks everyone. First Mediterranean cruise. I've done others in the Caribbean. Concerned about booking things that aren't with our cruise line. I've read here that it is very busy in August and traffic is unpredictable so people miss the boat. Thoughts? What is the best thing to see?

We go to:

Rome

Sicily

Naples

Malta

Mykonos

Athens

Santorini

Rhodes

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I can offer some reviews that might give you ideas about the ports. No beaches though...

 

http://www.travellove.one/Our-Trips/Reflection-Eastern-Med-01/reflection-eastern-med-01.html

 

Malta

http://www.travellove.one/Our-Trips/Adriatic-Constellation-1---Ven/adriatic-constellation-1---venice.html

 

Some ports are also included in this one

http://www.travellove.one/Our-Trips/Holy-Land-Cruise-01/holy-land-cruise-01.html

[villauk]

Head on over to the Ports of Call board for Europe; there's an endless amount of information there as most of your ports are the regular stops.

[upwarduk]

Have you been to the Roll Call for your cruise?

You should get some good ideas there, from others discussions.

Just be aware that Rome is 90 minutes drive from the port.

Adventurous passengers took the train on our recent cruise.

We did 'Rome on your own' from the ship, but I wished we had gone on the train as we returned at 2pm. Not nearly long enough.

[Sandyrella]

If you are sailing in August 11th, feel free to join our roll call. There is not much talk about beaches but there are so shared tours you may be interested in.

 

We have a private tour booked with another couple in Santorini that has us being dropped off at a beach for a couple of hours after visiting Oia and then a winery plus a few other highlights.

 

The same couple is planning to go to the beach in Rhodes and in Mykonos.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2318329

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[FiggyWig]

Have you been to the Roll Call for your cruise?

You should get some good ideas there, from others discussions.

Just be aware that Rome is 90 minutes drive from the port.

Adventurous passengers took the train on our recent cruise.

We did 'Rome on your own' from the ship, but I wished we had gone on the train as we returned at 2pm. Not nearly long enough.

We did the train for Rome..easy enough and quicker than by road. Be aware that there are fast and slow trains but even the fast train goes painfully slowly once it gets to the outskirts of the city..Sooo many stops. From memory I think they mostly end a Termini (pretty much City Centre) but we got of at the stop for the Vatican - S. Pietro I believe, then had our 'on foot' route to all the major sites already mapped out.

One good tip though - for the return trip join the train at Termini as you will most likely get a seat..which is unlikely at the later stops.

 

HAPPY EXPLORING[emoji1]

[cruisin lady ca]

I encourage you to join the roll call for your cruise and look at the excursions that are being organized by folks on your cruise. We signed up for a number of small group tours which were wonderful.

 

Check out MondoGuide Shared Tours for Rick Steves for tours out of Naples. We did the Sorrento, Amalfi Coast and Pompeii tour enough people signed up to have a tour guide with us on the bus for the entire day as well as a tour guide at Pompeii.

 

 

In Athens, we toured with PK Travel on the full day semi-private tour. It was a very good tour with visits to the Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, Plaka (for lunch on our own), changing of the guard at the Parliament.

 

 

We took a private tour on Sicily with 3 other couples. We used Rome In Limo and saw Taormina (where we had a couple hours to explore on our own. We also drive to Mt Etna and stopped at a honey/olive oil factory.

 

 

We shared a private tour on Santorini with two other couples. The best part of our day was the stop at a lovely winery overlooking the water. The wine tasting was accompanied by cheese, olives and crackers.

 

 

We walked around Rhodes on our own. Did the same in Mykonos.

 

 

The advice your were given re: reading the destination boards was on point. So much info is shared here on CC.

 

 

I'd suggest downloading the Rick Steves' podcasts too. They are also full of good information.

 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[jaclynmiles]

I encourage you to join the roll call for your cruise and look at the excursions that are being organized by folks on your cruise. We signed up for a number of small group tours which were wonderful.

 

Check out MondoGuide Shared Tours for Rick Steves for tours out of Naples. We did the Sorrento' date=' Amalfi Coast and Pompeii tour enough people signed up to have a tour guide with us on the bus for the entire day as well as a tour guide at Pompeii.

 

 

In Athens, we toured with PK Travel on the full day semi-private tour. It was a very good tour with visits to the Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, Plaka (for lunch on our own), changing of the guard at the Parliament.

 

 

We took a private tour on Sicily with 3 other couples. We used Rome In Limo and saw Taormina (where we had a couple hours to explore on our own. We also drive to Mt Etna and stopped at a honey/olive oil factory.

 

 

We shared a private tour on Santorini with two other couples. The best part of our day was the stop at a lovely winery overlooking the water. The wine tasting was accompanied by cheese, olives and crackers.

 

 

We walked around Rhodes on our own. Did the same in Mykonos.

 

 

The advice your were given re: reading the destination boards was on point. So much info is shared here on CC.

 

 

I'd suggest downloading the Rick Steves' podcasts too. They are also full of good information.

 

 

Enjoy your cruise![/quote']

 

 

 

How do you join the roll call? Thank you for your advice!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[jaclynmiles]

If you are sailing in August 11th, feel free to join our roll call. There is not much talk about beaches but there are so shared tours you may be interested in.

 

We have a private tour booked with another couple in Santorini that has us being dropped off at a beach for a couple of hours after visiting Oia and then a winery plus a few other highlights.

 

The same couple is planning to go to the beach in Rhodes and in Mykonos.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2318329

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

Oh that's so awesome! Thank you! I have no idea what a roll call is lol but I will join! It's our honeymoon so I really want to make this special :)

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruza]

We are going on a Celebrity Reflection Mediterranean Cruise August 2017 but having a hard time selecting excursions. I would like to go to some beaches but see only one beach excursion and nothing really for Santorini. I heard Santorini has beautiful beaches!

I feel like everything that is offered is long, drawn out touristy stuff. We don't really want to spend the day driving around and stopping in random places in the city to see the people.

I want to try the food, the wine, the beaches, beautiful blue water/caves and if there are any archeological/historical sites.

Any suggestions that aren't a waste of time/money?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We visited Santorini 2 times. Every time we rented a car (from Tony's car cost appr. 50 euro) and we shared it with another couple. Very easy to navigate (just 1 road) and irt will give you mobility. We went to Perissa and we went to Oia afternoon.

[cruisin lady ca]

How do you join the roll call? Thank you for your advice!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

There is a link "Find Your Roll Call" at the top of the Cruise Critic page. Once the that page, you can search for your cruise and join the roll call. Some roll calls are quite active well in advance of the cruise. Others are quiet until the last month or two before the departure date. It's a good idea to read through the thread and post your interests and questions on your roll call. I've found fellow cruisers to be very helpful and joining shared excursions has worked well for us on a number of cruises.

[Easyone]

We are going on a Celebrity Reflection Mediterranean Cruise August 2017 but having a hard time selecting excursions. I would like to go to some beaches but see only one beach excursion and nothing really for Santorini. I heard Santorini has beautiful beaches!

I feel like everything that is offered is long, drawn out touristy stuff. We don't really want to spend the day driving around and stopping in random places in the city to see the people.

I want to try the food, the wine, the beaches, beautiful blue water/caves and if there are any archeological/historical sites.

Any suggestions that aren't a waste of time/money?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We, the seven of us, got off Reflection on July 10 and thoroughly enjoyed the ship and private excursions - except Messina and Mykonos which we DIY'ed. For Messina we took a short ferry to Reggio di Calabria. For Mykonos we took a short boat ride to Delos to visit the ancient ruins (dating back to 3000 BC).

 

The excursions we hired were private tours meaning you can customize them almost any way you'd like. For Santorini we hired OceanWave. We told Dimitris we wanted to visit Akrotiri to see the ancient civilization of the Menoans, and it was an amazing experience! Unlike Delos, the excavated ruins here are all housed under one huge air-conditioned building which was a blessing in the July heat. Aside from Oia and Fira, he also took us to a beach-side restaurant for lunch and swim.

 

For Athens we hired PK Travel and gave our driver guide Dimitris (no relation to the other one) our wish list. He gladly complied and took us all over ancient Corinth, Cenchrea and back to Athens for the Acropolis, Areopagus, Stoa, and the Plaka.... Dimitris with PK Travel was the best driver guide we've ever had, hands down!

 

If you have a list of places to visit and things to see, hiring a private tour is the way to go. They know the best routes and how to avoid congestion, and can give you commentaries on history, legends, and whatnot while they drive. We knew where we wanted to go, but our drivers gave us suggestions on priority based on traffic and distance that we otherwise would not have known. Were we to take the buses or rental car, we would not have been able to visit every place on our list. This was again the case in Rome on our final day. Our driver modified our routes in order to fit all the sites on our wish list. Anzo with Bob's Limo did not disappoint us.

 

Your will enjoy your cruise.