NCL Noobie- Greek Isles Questions

[barbiecruiser27]

Hi There!

NCL Noobie! A few questions- we are looking at the 10/3 Greek Isles cruise on the Jade.

 

1. The embarkation time is listed as 11pm for Athens (departure port)- does this mean you could spend the afternoon in Athens before boarding? 

2. We plan to use NCL air. Anyone experienced this with a Greek cruise flying from East Coast- did you arrive 10am ish  day of departure?

3. When using NCL air- do they require their own transfers? Ideally we'd take a cab to the Parthenon to view it and then head to board. Not sure if this is plausible. 

4. Any must do NCL sponsored excursions for Greek Isles?

 

[complawyer]

5 hours ago, barbiecruiser27 said:

Hi There!

NCL Noobie! A few questions- we are looking at the 10/3 Greek Isles cruise on the Jade.

 

1. The embarkation time is listed as 11pm for Athens (departure port)- does this mean you could spend the afternoon in Athens before boarding? 

2. We plan to use NCL air. Anyone experienced this with a Greek cruise flying from East Coast- did you arrive 10am ish  day of departure?

3. When using NCL air- do they require their own transfers? Ideally we'd take a cab to the Parthenon to view it and then head to board. Not sure if this is plausible. 

4. Any must do NCL sponsored excursions for Greek Isles?

 

hopefully this will help. as long as you are checked in and onboard the ship 2 hrs prior to sailing (9:00) in you case, you should be able to tour athens.

 

i have never used the ncl air, but i checked it once, and its basic economy. we called ncl to check if we could upgrade, and the costs were higher than booking it ourselves with another airline.

 

transfers have always been extra and take you directly to the ship after you get your luggage.  if it's a foreign port, we like to fly in a few days early to see the sights, but you can grab a taxi, see the city and have the driver get you back to the pier in time. just remember that the airport is in athens, and the ship sails from piraeus. but what you want to do is feasible, as long as  you give yourself enough time.

 

a few weeks ago, ncl insisted that only their excursions would be acceptable, and if you went off on your own, they might not let you back onboard.  i believe this has now changed and you can in fact do your own thing.

 

hope this helped you out.  

 

[SpainAlien]

When we went from Athens twice, we got https://www.athenstourdriver.com/ to meet us at the airport. The first time they took us on a tour of Athens including tickets to the Pantheon and got us back to the ship for checkin 2 hours before departure. The second they took us out to the Corinth Canal so my husband could do a bungee jump.  They were friendly and reliable both times we used them, we would highly recommend them. 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 14, 2021 by SpainAlien

[KeithJenner]

With NCL air you have very little control over when you arrive in Athens, so it is not certain that you would arrive in time to visit Athens before boarding. It depends a bit where you are coming from, but I wouldn’t try on this.

 

Regarding the transfers, I can’t imagine there would be a problem with you not using them, but obviously you would lose the guarantee that the ship won’t sail without you. I would let them know I was making my own way to avoid someone looking for you at the airport.

 

As for excursions, there are certainly some on these itineraries which are worth looking at. We don’t usually do excursions but the prices on some of these seem quite reasonable at the moment.

 

Im not sure of exactly where you are visiting, and what your preference would be regarding excursions, but in Santorini you have to be on an NCL tour to get a tender direct to Oia. If you are doing something independent then the tender takes you to the bottom of the cable car at Thera, so it can take a while before you get doing what you want, so it is worth considering a tour there.

 

I suspect that you aren’t going to Kusadasi, but if you are then the NCL tour prices to Ephesus look very low (actually they look incorrectly low for our Easter cruise), so it may be worth booking one of those if it will fix you in to a good price.

 

Many other ports are quite easy to do yourself, but you need to consider what appeals to you and decide what the best way of doing it is. As I said, we rarely do excursions (maybe one every three or four cruises on average), but are looking at booking two or three for the Jade at Easter due to convenience or very good pricing.

[nolatravelgirl]

I would plan on arriving to Athens at least a day in advance just so you can tour the city without a whole lotta hassle. You don't HAVE to arrive on the departure day just because you are using NCL air. I would plan on a relaxing day touring and then get up early for the Parthenon. The walk is easy if you are in good shape but it will be hot and would be much more enjoyable first thing in the morning. Secondly, you can buy a multi site ticket that is available for 5 days on your arrival day and then skip the huge ticket line at the Acropolis and be one of the first up the hill.

Edited June 14, 2021 by nolatravelgirl

[KKB]

You can arrive/depart up to 2 days ealier/later. Transfers are included but you can call to have them dropped--do that NOW, as I have heard people have called & been told it was too late to drop them. I don't know at WHAT POINT is too late.

 

Coming in early does allow you to work through jet lag a bit & see Athens.

 

Regarding ship sponsored excursions...I'd say this is a fluid situation. Greece is open to international travelers so it would seem so, but October is a few months off. 

[hernando52]

I agree with all who say to come in early.  You or someone you are with will most likely be hit with jet lag.  Arrive a day or two early, check into your hotel, get some sleep/rest, and hit the sightseeing trails later in the day or early the next morning....perhaps stay at a hotel close to the sights you want to see.