Need info on 04-23-06 istanbul-venice

[juicifer]

Hi,

My husband and I are taking our first cruise this April or May. We haven't decided on which cruise line. Wanted to know if anyone has been on the Istanbul to Venice route on the Regatta. Any info would be greatly appreciated

peace-

juice

[brian_uk]

We are doing exactly the same cruise in July and have chosen it for the stops en route and because of the great cruise in June 05 on Insignia also in the Med.

 

If you are looking for history you can do no better than Istanbul.....Athens....Kusudasi and Venice and add to this the Greek Islands and the various other Ports it makes for a very interesting Itinerary.

 

Go for it..

 

Brian

[juicifer]

thanks for the info. We do enjoy history. We've heard the Greek isles are quite lovely.

[Liv4cruzin]

A friend & I (50+ females) are sailing the Regatta on 4/23. She & I did a very similar itinerary in '03 w/ Orient Lines. We wanted more of the Greek Isles so that is the main reason we chose this itinerary. Last time we only had one day in IST; & fell so in love w/ this city. We have decided to spend an add'l 4 nights there pre cruise so that we can venture a little further out in the area & have the time to really get a feel for it. Before, it was a whirlwind day cramming as much in as we could. Our previous visit to VEN we were fortunate to have 3 days & 2 nights onboard the ship. We spent one day exploring the islands of Burano & Murano on our own. Another we took a full day ship's tour to Verona (very nice). That just left us w/ about half a day to explore on our own. But that wasn't enough for us either. So, we're adding 3 nts. post cruise in VEN. I've read here that the way to take in VEN is to slow down & actually "feel" it. This time we probably will take the ship's full day tour to Padua & use the rest of our post cruise time to just wander, get lost & find those out of the way places that make VEN so special. And we're excited about a return to Dubrovnik. Before we did a full day tour to several smaller towns out along the coastline. The trek along the coastal road is breathtaking; & we wouldn't trade that day for anything. But the big draw to DUB is the walled city itself; so we will now be able to meander the streets & see what we missed. Our previous cruise started in Athens/Pireaus; & included 2 precruise nights there. So, we did all the major area attractions & a ship's tour of the Peloponese region (highly recommended). We're hoping this time to leisurely walk around the Plaka area. It is a little more than just a short ride from the pier in Pireaus into Athens proper. It could be quite a whirlwind for just one day. The stop in Mykonos was probably our most memorable. It was one of those picture perfect postcard days. A solid blue sky against all those whitewashed buildings, a strong sea breeze (a relief from the brutal heatwave in Aug '03). The ship provided a short bus ride to the town center where we proceeded on our own wandering through the maze of streets. Had the time of our lives wandering in & out of little galleries, tavernas & shops. Just made us hungry for more of the Greek Islands. Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble on so. You're question was which cruise line would be best.

 

I have no doubt that Oceania & Orient Lines have the best itineraries (after all these 2 lines are known for their port intensive itineraries). Unfortunately, now that Orient is down to just one ship, your options are limited to just the Marco Polo. In comparison you will find the Oceania fleet far superior to the Marco Polo (although she has a VERY loyal following herself). I'm very excited about my first Oceania cruise; & confident that we made the best choice out there. And going this early in the season is smart because the weather will be mild & the crowds will not have converged on the region yet.

 

Good luck w/ your decision; & maybe we'll see you onboard after all. :D

[brian_uk]

Liv4cruzin

 

Please tell me a little more about the tour you took along the Coast....we have been to the walled city and are looking for something different...

 

Is the breathtaking drive on safe and secure roads....NO SHEER DROPS.....Jean is terrified of narrow winding coastal roads .....so I have to plan very carefully.

 

Brian

[Bruin Steve]

We are on the same July 14 Nautica sailing as Brian...

We sailed the Med in August 2003 on the Celebrity Millennium and absolutely loved that cruise (and I tend to like larger ships)...

But we've chosen the Nautica for this one largely due to the itinerary and the choice to hit a number of ports we haven't visited before (We've also been through the region on various other trips as well)...Istanbul, Kusadasi, Rhodesd, Delos, Mykonos, Taormina and Kotor will be new ports for us...

 

We've also been impressed with reviews we've read on Oceania (I don't think I'd take Orient and the Marco Polo--My parents sailed on the Marco Polo once and were not impressed)...

 

You might also want to compare Med cruises offered by Celebrity and Princess...Both offer larger ships (The Celebrity Millennium, although a large ship, actually offers an even roomier space-to-passenger ratio...but, it's a little different experience than Oceania with more big ship amenities...Actually, one of the things that impresses me from whaqt I've read of Oceania is that, although a smaller ship, they still offer a considerable number of amenities often only found on larger ships--like shows--not the big production shows, but at least they have shows--some smaller ships don't)...

There are many choices in the Med...Consider most where it is you want to cruise...what ports you want to visit...Check out the itineraries not only for ports but for time in port...Also consider the starting and ending points and pre- and post-cruise stay opportunities...

 

Good luck...

[Bruin Steve]

Please tell me a little more about the tour you took along the Coast....we have been to the walled city and are looking for something different...Is the breathtaking drive on safe and secure roads....NO SHEER DROPS.....Jean is terrified of narrow winding coastal roads .....so I have to plan very carefully.

Brian,

Last time in Dubrovnik, we took a ship's excursion that drove south and visited Cavtat...As I recall, the road was not scary at all (My wife is the same way)...The bus stopped for an incredible view of Dubrovnik from the side of the road up above...But Cavtat was largely boring and disappointing...I doubt I'd go again...

Celebrity also offered tours to Ston, north of Dubrovnik--and that sounded like it may be a bit more interesting...

 

I don't know what we are going to do this time...We might just stay in the walled city the whole time...even though we saw a lot of it last time...

 

Also, a tag note on Liv4's comment about a ship's tour of the Pelopenese while in Athens: Oceania doesn't appear to offer such a tour--only tours to the Acropolis and Cape Sounion--and we did that last time...We've got one booked with a private guide instead...

[Liv4cruzin]

Steve,

I hadn't even bothered to check & see if Oceania offered such a tour of the Peloponese. I apologize to Juice for building it up so. As I remember now on Orient Lines it was offered as a 3/4 day tour to fill up time between checking out of our hotel early morning & embarkation in Piraeus in mid afternoon. It was a lovely drive through olive groves & small towns built in the hillside. We visited the town of Epidaurus & the ruins at Mycenae, drove over the Corinth Canal & walked around the charming seaside village of Nauplion. We never got around to Cape Sounion; & I've often wondered if we missed much.

 

Brian,

I no longer have the shore excursion book from Orient; but I think the title of the tour was "The Dalamation Coastal Drive". I've refreshed my memory by looking at the pictures I took that day. The drive does follow a well maintained (not narrow) coastal road; & a small portion of it was close to the edge of the cliffs. But in comparison to the Amalfi Coastline, it's much tamer. We traveled north w/ the Adriatic Sea on our left, dotted by hundreds of tiny islands just off shore. We made our way up as far as Ston where was visited salt beds & explored the small village. It was a Sun. morning; hardly any people around; & only sounds were the church bells. Then on to Taverna Bota in Mali Ston to sample their famous seafood w/ wine (at 10:30 in the morning!). We made an afternoon stop at the small but beautiful Trsteno Gardens (not sure of the closest town) before going back to the ship. Our cruise also stopped in Korcula where we also took a full day tour of the smaller coastal towns. We did have an hour or so to walk around Korcula & found it to be quite lovely. These 2 ports made a lasting impression w/ me & made me fall in love w/ Croatia. :)

[ClaudiaF]

Gorgeous, beautiful city!

As you leave the ship there will be lots of taxi drivers asking if you want tours.. you can negotiate a few hours tour with them, fabulous!!!:)

[squeakybigear]

We are taking the April 23rd istanbul to Venice and looking for people to share tours and taxis. Just starting to get info now.

[squeakybigear]

My husband and I just did the Baltic on the Regatta this past summer. We are now booked for the April 23rd on the Regatta Istanbul to Venice. We loved the ship and the cruise. We are looking for othersa to hook up with for tours and taxis. Hope to hear from you. Judy

[Liv4cruzin]

For all who have posted here, wanted you to know that there is an existing roll call thread over on "ROLL CALLS-OTHER CRUISE LINES". I've bumped it up to the top so it's easy to find. There you will see a few other posters who will be on this sailing w/ us. :D

[squeakybigear]

Glad to see you areon our same cruise. How do you locate the Roll Calls on other Cruises, Becky? We want to try and hook up with others for some tours on 04/23/06 cruise. Are you arriving before cruise embark date? Judy

[Liv4cruzin]

Go to the Home Page for the message boards. The 4th section down is ROLL CALLS. The first item listed is "All other Cruise Lines". When you get on that thread, you will see postings for sailings on cruise lines/ships that do not have their own seperate listing.

 

As stated above in posting #4, we are flying over to IST on 4/18 & staying 4 nights at the Hotel Nena in Sultanahmet. Also staying 3 extra nights at The Monaco & Grand Canal Hotel in VEN post cruise.

 

I see you started another thread about a walking tour of IST. Since your hotel is in the Old Town section, you can easily walk to just about everything. On our previous cruise we did sign up for the ship's full day tour which included Chora Church, Topkapi, Hagia Sophia & the Blue Mosque. Although one can easily do that on their own, we did find it convenient to have the guide speeds us through the lines. The drawback is that you can't linger in any one place too long. Some of the architecture is so spectacular that I would have preferred more time to take it all in. The other thing to consider is while walking in Old Town one has to put up w/ vendors hustling you; & in our case 2 females possibly drawing stares & unwanted attention from Turkish males. But a stern no & a swift pace should be enough to hold them at bay. There are some things worth visiting in the Taksim (new town) area which would require a hefty walk or other transport. But I understand their public transport is good.

[squeakybigear]

Great info from you so thanks much. I'll try to locate the roll call as you suggested. Waiting in lines is not one of our favorite things to do so perhaps we should consider a tour guide in Ist.

[squeakybigear]

Does anyone know of this company? I've been in touch with them for a day tour in IST and looking for two more people to join us for a private full dayon April 24th on Regatta cruise. Please write back on my e-mail jpmate@aol.com. Thanks, Judy