Patmos at night???

[ISLABONITA]

Can someone explain why there is a stop at Patmos at 6:30pm till midnight on the NCL, Oct, 2, 2022 itinerary? NCL has  2 excursions listed , it gets dark at 7:30pm. Hope they change this! Not sure I would take this excursion let alone get off the ship!

As you contemplate the life of the revered saint, relish free time in town to explore and appreciate the sweeping views of the azure Bay of Patmos and the scattered islands beyond. REALLY?? IN THE DARK?

 

https://www.ncl.com/shorex/225079079/45979431/shorex-detail/PMGN01#?productType=EXCURSION&lang=&date=10%2F03%2F2022

Edited April 9, 2021 by ISLABONITA

[Hlitner]

On 4/9/2021 at 12:29 PM, ISLABONITA said:

Can someone explain why there is a stop at Patmos at 6:30pm till midnight on the NCL, Oct, 2, 2022 itinerary? NCL has  2 excursions listed , it gets dark at 7:30pm. Hope they change this! Not sure I would take this excursion let alone get off the ship!

As you contemplate the life of the revered saint, relish free time in town to explore and appreciate the sweeping views of the azure Bay of Patmos and the scattered islands beyond. REALLY?? IN THE DARK?

 

https://www.ncl.com/shorex/225079079/45979431/shorex-detail/PMGN01#?productType=EXCURSION&lang=&date=10%2F03%2F2022

Perhaps they are thinking similar to why cruise lines will often stop at San Juan in the evening!  Patmos does have its share of nightlife including clubs, bars, restaurants, etc.   I agree with you on not taking an excursion.  But DW and I would certainly be off the ship taking in some of the early nightlife at a bar that has live entertainment or perhaps enjoying dinner at a cafe/restaurant.

 

DW and I were just thinking about heading over to Greece later this summer and island hopping to Santorini, Naxos and Patmos so seeing your post did make me smile. 

 

Hank

[ISLABONITA]

Hank, thanks for your insight, but right now their summer itineraries do not include Turkey nor Patmos and I am hoping it will be something they change on this itinerary.  I wanted to see as much as Greece as possible and I am past the age of nightlife entertainment. So why offer excursions that require daylight, why not a foodie or club hopping tour of sorts.   Have fun on your travels.. iliana

 

[Hlitner]

On 4/15/2021 at 9:41 PM, ISLABONITA said:

Hank, thanks for your insight, but right now their summer itineraries do not include Turkey nor Patmos and I am hoping it will be something they change on this itinerary.  I wanted to see as much as Greece as possible and I am past the age of nightlife entertainment. So why offer excursions that require daylight, why not a foodie or club hopping tour of sorts.   Have fun on your travels.. iliana

 

I agree with you on the evening situation.  Some cruise lines do offer some evening-based excursions around the world which would make sense with the NCL itinerary.  The situation in Greece has caused DW and I to have a lot of discussion in the past few days.  We were on the verge of booking a 2 week Greek Island itinerary (Seabourn) in late July and then extending our stay a couple of weeks to do some independent island hopping.  I do believe that Greece will open to American tourists (as early as next week).  But where it gets interesting is that Greece will obviously require all visitors to abide by their current COVID restrictions.  And Greece is now seeing a surge in COVID and has locked down much of the tourist popular parts of their country.  So while a tourist will be able to enter Greece they may not find any restaurants open for other then take out and might run into curfews (now set at 9pm in some parts of the country).  

 

For now, Mexico remains my place of choice for International tourism since that country is open with minimal restrictions in most places.  Mexico also does not require testing and their support of tourism goes all the way to the top as their President (AMLO) has been opposed to draconian lockdowns which discourage tourism.  There are also a few other countries that are welcoming visitors (usually with a COVID test requirement).

 

None of this COVID stuff is helpful to the cruise lines.  Most cruise itineraries need to be developed months (or years) in advance and last minute changes are difficult to impossible.  While the Greek government is dong a lot to encourage cruises that does not mean they are going to lift the lockdowns that exist in many ports.  DW and I do enjoy visiting Greece but would not be happy folks if we found our favorite shops. restaurants, and sites closed.  A wonderful place such as Oia (Santorini) is somewhat depressing when most places are shuttered (that happened to us when we once made a pre season visit).

 

Hank

[roomba920]

I'm pleased to see a topic on this subject. I was wondering the same thing. Our NCL cruise next year has an evening in Patmos and they're offering excursions to the Monastery of The Revelation.

First, the ship comes to port on a Monday, and according to the Monastery's website, they're closed on Mondays. Second, on days that they are open, they close by 4:00 pm, and our ship doesn't even arrive till 6:30pm.

How can NCL be offering this excursion? It doesn't make sense.

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by roomba920

[marazul]

Venues usually open for group tours, such as cruise tours, on days and times they are closed to the general public.  Money talks.  It makes sense.

6 hours ago, roomba920 said:

I'm pleased to see a topic on this subject. I was wondering the same thing. Our NCL cruise next year has an evening in Patmos and they're offering excursions to the Monastery of The Revelation.

First, the ship comes to port on a Monday, and according to the Monastery's website, they're closed on Mondays. Second, on days that they are open, they close by 4:00 pm, and our ship doesn't even arrive till 6:30pm.

How can NCL be offering this excursion? It doesn't make sense.

 

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by marazul

[BruceMuzz]

I just finished a four month contract sailing around the Greek islands. My ship spent every day in a different Greek port, sailing between them at night.

We received many complaints from guests who wanted to spend an evening in a Greek port.

You can have that experience.

 

Patmos is a really interesting place - not the Disneyland experience of Santorini or Mykonos.

Evening in Patmos is a great way to see a real Greek Island port city at night; have a nice dinner and a few drinks at a local cafe. What you won't see is the horde of tourists that departed on the other cruise ships a few hours before you arrived.

 

Why do some cruise ships arrive late in the day and stay for the evening?

Often, it is a logistics challenge. The ship needs to sail a certain distance and does not have jet engines mounted on the sides to make it go faster.

 

Turkey is now open to cruise ships. But be aware that visiting Turkey from Greece will require additional PCR Tests in both directions, foreign exchange, passports being held by the ship, and the Greek 24%VAT gone from onboard purchases.

[Hlitner]

On 10/14/2021 at 8:52 PM, BruceMuzz said:

I just finished a four month contract sailing around the Greek islands. My ship spent every day in a different Greek port, sailing between them at night.

We received many complaints from guests who wanted to spend an evening in a Greek port.

You can have that experience.

 

Patmos is a really interesting place - not the Disneyland experience of Santorini or Mykonos.

Evening in Patmos is a great way to see a real Greek Island port city at night; have a nice dinner and a few drinks at a local cafe. What you won't see is the horde of tourists that departed on the other cruise ships a few hours before you arrived.

 

Why do some cruise ships arrive late in the day and stay for the evening?

Often, it is a logistics challenge. The ship needs to sail a certain distance and does not have jet engines mounted on the sides to make it go faster.

 

Turkey is now open to cruise ships. But be aware that visiting Turkey from Greece will require additional PCR Tests in both directions, foreign exchange, passports being held by the ship, and the Greek 24%VAT gone from onboard purchases.

Glad you mentioned the 24% Greek VAT!  When we cruised the Greek Islands in August our ship had a few decent items in their shop.  But any advantage of so-called "Duty Free" was lost because they had to add that tax onto every item!  The ship's shop did not do a good business :(.

 

Hank

[kochleffel]

On 10/14/2021 at 8:52 PM, BruceMuzz said:

Turkey is now open to cruise ships. But be aware that visiting Turkey from Greece will require additional PCR Tests in both directions

Wait, what? For a half-day port call at Kusadasi, with another port call at Patmos on the same day? Two PCR tests, one of which would have to be administered and analyzed in the few hours between Kusadasi and Patmos?

[kochleffel]

On 10/14/2021 at 8:52 PM, BruceMuzz said:

Evening in Patmos is a great way to see a real Greek Island port city at night; have a nice dinner and a few drinks at a local cafe.

 

Which is probably all I would be looking for, as I'm not much interested in St. John.

[Crazy planning mom]

48 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

Wait, what? For a half-day port call at Kusadasi, with another port call at Patmos on the same day? Two PCR tests, one of which would have to be administered and analyzed in the few hours between Kusadasi and Patmos?

Good point.  I wonder if itineraries will need to be altered.

[kochleffel]

1 hour ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Good point.  I wonder if itineraries will need to be altered.

 

Turkey also requires U.S. citizens to obtain a visa. Maybe both requirements are waived for cruise calls without an overnight stay, just as many countries do for transit to another country. BTW, the State Department advises against all travel to Turkey: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/turkey-travel-advisory.html. This wouldn't keep me from going ashore, but I would wear a mask at all times and avoid associating with the populace.

[ISLABONITA]

I would rather have another Greek island visit as they had over the summer.

[kochleffel]

Another island, replacing both Patmos and Kusadasi, would be fine with me, but others might see Ephesus and Kusadasi as important sites and may have booked specifically for them. Actually, I'd be happier with a sea day. A couple of years ago I had a western Mediterranean cruise with only one sea day, and so many ports in a row is tiring. This itinerary has no sea days; in fact it has more ports than days.

[soxfan1495]

Glad to see this discussion!  We are also booked on NCL Jade's cruise that stops in both Kusadasi and Patmos on the same day.  I actually am looking forward to visiting Patmos at night, as it will be a nice change of pace.  By the way, for those who are on this itinerary, I'd recommend a book called "The Summer of My Greek Taverna."  It takes place on Patmos.

 

I am more troubled by making the Kusadasi part of the day (06:30 to12:30) work.  In any event, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed like everyone that the public health situation improves before May....

[ISLABONITA]

I have yet to book any excursions,  I have been busy trying to cancel my Jan 30th and rebook similar one on MSC>  

I have been told some ports you don't need any guided tour.. 

I need to revisit my notes . 

Anyone booked semi private excursions?  I know of some walking tours. 

[vanchelle]

I’m super curious what others are considering or have found to do so on the Patmos stop in the evening?

[kochleffel]

On 2/18/2022 at 8:35 PM, vanchelle said:

I’m super curious what others are considering or have found to do so on the Patmos stop in the evening?

 

The Monastery and the Cave of the Apocalypse don't really interest me, so I'm thinking about just drinks and dinner.

 

[kochleffel]

On 1/18/2022 at 8:41 PM, soxfan1495 said:

I am more troubled by making the Kusadasi part of the day (06:30 to12:30) work

 

I've noticed that in all of the ports, except obviously Patmos, the Jade's excursions start quite early. I am not much of a morning person.

[vanchelle]

On 2/20/2022 at 3:18 PM, kochleffel said:

 

I've noticed that in all of the ports, except obviously Patmos, the Jade's excursions start quite early. I am not much of a morning person.

Yes, this. We’re in the planning stages now of which, if any, excursions

[pdmlynek]

On 2/20/2022 at 3:18 PM, kochleffel said:

 

I've noticed that in all of the ports, except obviously Patmos, the Jade's excursions start quite early. I am not much of a morning person.

You know, I am not an early morning person either.  Except on vacations.  I love getting up, going to see everything before people are about.  I've taken picture of places in Venice without any people that are normally overrun with tourists.  Moreover, due to the sun, on my vacations I'd rather go to sleep at 8 pm and get up at 4 am, than going to bed at 3 am and get up at 11 am like I do during workdays.  

 

 

[pdmlynek]

On 11/3/2021 at 2:46 PM, kochleffel said:

Another island, replacing both Patmos and Kusadasi, ..

They can't replace Kusadasi with another island.  They need to land someplace in Turkey, in order not to run afoul of cabotage laws.  

[ISLABONITA]

???

[marazul]

9 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

They can't replace Kusadasi with another island.  They need to land someplace in Turkey, in order not to run afoul of cabotage laws.  

2 hours ago, ISLABONITA said:

???

 

Cabotage laws regulate maritime traffic within a country.  They are designed to protect the domestic maritime and shipping industries.  One of the basic laws in most countries is that a foreign-flag ship cannot carry (embark and disembark) passengers or goods between two of its ports.  A foreign ship can bring them in to one port, but a domestic ship has to transport them between domestic ports. 

 

In the case of cruise ships in Greece, it means that a foreign-flag ship can pick up passengers in Athens, but it must stop in a foreign port before they finally disembark again in Athens (or another Greek port).  Only Greek cruise lines can sail exclusively between Greek ports without stopping in Turkey, Cyprus, etc. along the way.   In fact, Greece relaxed its cabotage laws a few years back during the financial crisis.  It used to be that cruise ships could not sail round-trip Athens.  They had to start or end in another country.  Now they only have to stop in another country during the cruise.

 

Cabotage laws go back centuries.  They now apply to air travel too.  For example, you can fly Air France between Paris and JFK, but you cannot fly Air France between JFK and Atlanta. There are international conventions that regulate common aspects of all cabotage laws, but each country has its own regulations.

 

BTW - The main US cabotage law is called the Jones Act.

Edited February 27, 2022 by marazul

[ISLABONITA]

35 minutes ago, marazul said:

 

Cabotage laws regulate maritime traffic within a country.  They are designed to protect the domestic maritime and shipping industries.  One of the basic laws in most countries is that a foreign-flag ship cannot carry (embark and disembark) passengers or goods between two of its ports.  A foreign ship can bring them in to one port, but a domestic ship has to transport them between domestic ports. 

 

In the case of cruise ships in Greece, it means that a foreign-flag ship can pick up passengers in Athens, but it must stop in a foreign port before they finally disembark again in Athens (or another Greek port).  Only Greek cruise lines can sail exclusively between Greek ports without stopping in Turkey, Cyprus, etc. along the way.   In fact, Greece relaxed its cabotage laws a few years back during the financial crisis.  It used to be that cruise ships could not sail round-trip Athens.  They had to start or end in another country.  Now they only have to stop in another country during the cruise.

 

Cabotage laws go back centuries.  They now apply to air travel too.  For example, you can fly Air France between Paris and JFK, but you cannot fly Air France between JFK and Atlanta. There are international conventions that regulate common aspects of all cabotage laws, but each country has its own regulations.

 

BTW - The main US cabotage law is called the Jones Act.

THANKS for the explanation.