Encore - docking in Istanbul.

[Dunnedg]

Going on Encore next week which ends in Istanbul.

The information we have is that the ship is docking in  TDI Sarayburnu.

I understand that this is not the main cruise port and have been told it is quite a ‘grotty’ area.

Anyone been on Encore this season starting or ending in Istanbul with any info/experiences?

Particularly interested in the availability of taxis to take us to our hotel.

[shyla100]

Hello Dunnedg,

I have booked this cruise for same time next year and would love to read your thoughts if you have the time .

[Dunnedg]

5 hours ago, shyla100 said:

Hello Dunnedg,

I have booked this cruise for same time next year and would love to read your thoughts if you have the time .

Hi Shyla

Will let you know how we get on when we get back (if I remember😀).

I have been told there are lots of official yellow taxis available at the port.

[Dunnedg]

Hi Shyla

We are home and loved the Cruise. The service on Encore was excellent. Ship was not full (approx 430 guests) and there was a lot of staff under training but with experienced crew with them all the way so no service issues.

Some of the guest entertainment in the Grand Salon was iffy but the regular singers/dancers etc were very good as was all entertainment in the bars etc.

The stops were good although the last 2 Skiathos and Bozcaado were pretty much closed for the season.

Food was excellent and no issues with slow wine service I had heard on other threads.

We started in Athens and boarding was perfect.

The place the ship docked in Istanbul was well positioned also. We stayed on a couple of nights in a hotel in the Sultanahmet, where all the top sights are situated. It turned out that this small port is effectively in the Sultanahmet and we were only 5 minutes in a taxi.

Beware however. The first driver quoted 880 TL (45 euros). When I insisted on the Taxi meter it was the 3 driver before we were accepted. When we got in the 3rd cab he ignored the request to put on the taxi meter saying the hotel is very close. When we arrived he charged 5 Euros, effectively 100TL. He got a good tip and would have been able to go back to the port and get another pick up.

We had a pre-booked taxi to the Airport which was excellent.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[shyla100]

Thank you so much for your reply very much appreciated . What was the weather like? 

 

[Dunnedg]

Weather was ok. Perhaps not as warm as we had hoped. It seemed that in each port weather was better day before and day after than we had which was a bit frustrating. I wore shorts and tee shirts every day however. The main problem was wind. Quite choppy a couple of nights and there were issues with the tenders on two days but we did get ashore at every port.