Jim_Iain – Edge Live Post – B2B – Greek Islands and West Bound TransAtlantic

[Redking]

22 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We have looked at Azamara but have not yet booked one.   We are wanting to go to Africa so may be in the cards.   To my knowledge the only thing that Celebrity occasionally offers is a stop in Marrakesh.   We would love to spend sometime in Southern Africa and then take a side Safari trip.   We have some friends from Sydney  that did a Safari and loved it. 

Thanks Jim. I thought that was the case. We too are keen on a safari and then cruising back to Australia. Happy cruising.

[Chrissi3010]

Wow, northern lights...what a great sight to start your vacation with. 🙂

[h20cruzer]

It’s a real treat to see the northern lights. I have seen them twice, both times unexpected. Please let us know how the free shuttle to Rome is and where it drops and picks you up at.

safe travels once again.

Norma

PS 3 more sleeps before I leave for Ft. Lauderdale.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks much.    I'll have to remember that about Santorini.   Was there an alternative to the cable car?

Yes. There is a path you can walk down.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

3 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

only alternatives are donkeys (which I think translates to “cruelty to animals” or by foot). Therefore, you’ll need to factor in the long wait to the cable car (depends how many ships “in town” and the length of the stay in port

As I said above, you can walk the path yourself. It’s all downhill, so not really that bad. Definitely beats an hour and a half wait for the cable car.

[ecslady]

18 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

As I said above, you can walk the path yourself. It’s all downhill, so not really that bad. Definitely beats an hour and a half wait for the cable car.

 

Walking down the donkey path is the way to go. Just make sure you give the donkeys the right of way. 

[ecslady]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks.   You make a really good point about Capri.  May be our best plan to do Capri by Celebrity. 

 

If you decide to do Capri on your own, make sure you purchase round trip tickets for the hydrofoil.  Don't wait to purchase your return ticket once you are on Capri.  Capri is very nice to walk around on your own.

 

I've also done the underground in Naples, on a day when it was raining a bit and we decided to nix going to Capri that day.  It makes for an easy alternative in case weather is unfavorable.

[vtcruising]

51 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

As I said above, you can walk the path yourself. It’s all downhill, so not really that bad. Definitely beats an hour and a half wait for the cable car.

We were told that there is a lot of donkey excrement to avoid by our tour guide (and can be slippery due to that). Is that true? We waited for the cable car in the hot sun for about an hour, but had some great people watching. 🙂

Edited October 20, 2019 by vtcruising

[bluwes]

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Sorry to hear that you missed the ports.  We have missed ports before and most of the time enjoyed the substitutions.    We were really disappointed to hear that Captain Kate has gone on vacation before we got a chance to sail with her.   I've heard such good things about her. 

 

She was amazing, I've never seen a Captain out and about around the ship as much as she was. I even asked her have they cloned her as there must have been more than one of her.

We weren't too disappointed at missing the  two ports as they were replaced by what we considered to be better stops. I was seriously impressed with Celebrity, as I know of other cruise lines who would have just shrugged their shoulders and made them sea days.

 

[vtcruising]

Jim, glad you landed safely and are soon going to be living on the Edge! 🙂

 

When on the Reflection, for Santorini, we did a private tour with Santorini Tours (in case anyone is in the planning stage).  We went early to get a tender (probably 8:30ish) and had very short wait for the cable car. We met our guide at the top at 9:15 and took off for Oia to get there before the buses and had the place mostly to ourselves for about 10 minutes. Our guide and driver were wonderful - tailored the day to us and ended up going to the Crazy Donkey Brewery (still have the hats and t-shirts 🙂) and the amazing Argyros winery nearby for an elegant wine tasting with local cheese/meat. It was so good that we bought some wine to take with us and toasted a full moon on the balcony one night. At the end, they brought us to a gorgeous restaurant right on Black Beach and we had a memorable lunch there.

 

Itin: Oia, Imerovigli, Firostefani, Prophet Ilias, Pyrgos or Megalochori Venetsanos Winery, Black Beach

https://santorinitours.com/

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

17 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

We were told that there is a lot of donkey excrement to avoid by our tour guide (and can be slippery due to that). Is that true? We waited for the cable car in the hot sun for about an hour, but had some great people watching. 🙂

I did not find that much - and what there was could be easily avoided. (And this was in July, so at the height of the tourist season.)

[vtcruising]

Just now, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

I did not find that much - and what there was could be easily avoided. (And this was in July, so at the height of the tourist season.)

Thanks! It sounded like it would be bad so we waited for the cable car. Live and learn....

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 minute ago, vtcruising said:

Thanks! It sounded like it would be bad so we waited for the cable car. Live and learn....

You’re welcome! I had done a volcano hike/hot springs swim to begin the day and that had the cable car ticket with it. I did take the car up, but was tired and hot and verging on dehydrated (my fault) and getting hangry (the people at the restaurants I stopped to inquire at gave me the distinct impression that Greece is not super gluten-free friendly), so I walked down rather than wait in the line. Next time I will definitely take water and pre-packaged snacks with me! 

[vtcruising]

1 minute ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

and getting hangry (the people at the restaurants I stopped to inquire at gave me the distinct impression that Greece is not super gluten-free friendly)

Thinking of our food experience there, you are probably correct. Maybe a Greek salad? I had a Greek salad in each of the 4 ports - different ingredients in each locale and all so good. I guess it would be hard to know about dressing and other additions...

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, h20cruzer said:

It’s a real treat to see the northern lights. I have seen them twice, both times unexpected. Please let us know how the free shuttle to Rome is and where it drops and picks you up at.

safe travels once again.

Norma

PS 3 more sleeps before I leave for Ft. Lauderdale.

Hi Norma -

The free shuttle to Rome was perfect.    It leaves every 2 hours from 08:00 and returns on the Odd hours from 9:00.     The stop is in City Center -  Via del Teatro Marcello which is just across from The Forum.    It is very centrally located and is in a nice area.

 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Yes. There is a path you can walk down.

Perfect.   We are big walkers so just may be the way we go instead of waiting for a Tram.   Thanks for the insight.

 

[Jim_Iain]

35 minutes ago, ecslady said:

 

If you decide to do Capri on your own, make sure you purchase round trip tickets for the hydrofoil.  Don't wait to purchase your return ticket once you are on Capri.  Capri is very nice to walk around on your own.

 

I've also done the underground in Naples, on a day when it was raining a bit and we decided to nix going to Capri that day.  It makes for an easy alternative in case weather is unfavorable.

Thanks for the information.    Iain has me looking to see about a ships tour to Capri this afternoon.  

[Jim_Iain]

9 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

You’re welcome! I had done a volcano hike/hot springs swim to begin the day and that had the cable car ticket with it. I did take the car up, but was tired and hot and verging on dehydrated (my fault) and getting hangry (the people at the restaurants I stopped to inquire at gave me the distinct impression that Greece is not super gluten-free friendly), so I walked down rather than wait in the line. Next time I will definitely take water and pre-packaged snacks with me! 

I'm hoping that the weather will be more moderate for our visit.   Just checking and they are projecting 19-22 C (67-71F).   I always try to bring along a bottle or 2 of water in my backpack as I dehydrate quickly in hot weather.   

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

8 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Perfect.   We are big walkers so just may be the way we go instead of waiting for a Tram.   Thanks for the insight.

 

You’re welcome!

[hcat]

We did a ship's excursion to Oia.. They tendered us to a meeting place on shore where the waiting bus went up a big hill..  Arrived at Oia quite awhile before  anyone else. Loved it. Great photo ops.   Trick is to get an early bus number. The excursion included an island tour, winery.. for wine and cheese,  great views and mini tour of  the main town.  Well worth the price!

 

By the time we got back to the main town, Fira,  it was  very crowded...lots of street beggars.   It was very hot and very touristy, so we decided to skip the museum visit we had planned and  lunch in town. We bought a few things  and went to line up for the cable car, ( great views). Takes you  down to the tender launch area,  limited snacks there.   Headed back to the ship early.  No wait at the cable car and maybe 15 min for the return tender.  Those returning later had long waits..

 

If we ever go back,  we'd try to get a look at the ruins at Akotiri.....very interesting excavation going on there.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

10 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks for the information.    Iain has me looking to see about a ships tour to Capri this afternoon.  

I don’t know if X offers an “on your own” option, but if so that would be a way to combine doing things on your own and having that insurance if the water gets questionable for returning.
 

I did the “on your own” option via Royal a few summers ago. I will say, if you do that, the guide will be offering boat tours around Capri for the same price as you would pay on your own - but without the “no line scramble” to get on the smaller boats. I had pre-purchased a boat tour not knowing this, but was unable to convert it to the smaller group the guide from the ship had and had to be in the no-line mess. 
 

Capri is lovely though!

[Jim_Iain]

We had a really fun today in Rome.   We grabbed the noon bus into town.    The bus is a quick 25 minute trip into town (at leas on a Sunday afternoon).   The bus dropped us at Via del Teatro di Marcello.   The Theater is a open air theater that was build in 13 BC.   It is located almost across the street from the Forum and is in a very nice section of town.   

 

 

 

 

We strolled around the area for awhile and then decided to take a 2 mile walk to the Vatican.   It was a beautiful day for walking.   Neither hot nor cold.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to the hotel on the 3:00 bus and are just kicking back and watching some snookers (in German).  TV is limited with only 2-3 English language stations.   

 

I got a kick at the Coffee Shop

 

Edited October 20, 2019 by Jim_Iain

[Reel Love]

Thank you Jim, for once again taking us along on your vacation/cruise!  I thoroughly enjoy your live blogs and am very much looking forward to your reviews, especially as we are also looking into booking a Greek Isles cruise in the (hopefully) near future.  Your reviews are always well written, fair and offer a lot of good information and fantastic pics!   Wishing you and Iain a fabulous cruise ☺️

[wv4891]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

 

If we ever go back,  we'd try to get a look at the ruins at Akotiri.....very interesting excavation going on there.

 

We did the ship's tour that started at Akrotiri.  You take the tender to the other end of the island, away from Oia, and tour Akrotiri.  It is quite a large ruin and is covered by tarps and temp roofing to shield from the sun, highly recommend.  Then you are taken by bus and tour all the way back to Oia, arriving near sunset on our tour.  

 

Did that coffee shop serve "Dutch Coffee"?  😉

Edited October 20, 2019 by wv4891

[suzyluvs2cruise]

9 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Sorry to hear that you missed the ports.  We have missed ports before and most of the time enjoyed the substitutions.    We were really disappointed to hear that Captain Kate has gone on vacation before we got a chance to sail with her.   I've heard such good things about her. 

 

My understanding is that Capt Kate is returning for the Transatlantic. 

 

Since there were 6 ships in Santorini when we were there...and we'd been before....we made it a Sea Day and enjoyed the ship. 

Edited October 20, 2019 by suzyluvs2cruise