REVIEW!! Ancient Mediterranean Treasures – Viking Sky

[OneSixtyToOne]

6 hours ago, duquephart said:

What cruise/excursion takes you a cuckoo clock store in the Black Forest? And

Rhine river cruise, Breisach, Germany. 
 

[duquephart]

4 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Rhine river cruise, Breisach, Germany. 
 

4 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Rhine river cruise, Breisach, Germany. 
 

13 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

I disagree. “Set-up” implies something nefarious is occurring. This is no different than Viking visiting the cuckoo clock store in the Black Forest. I found it very entertaining and informative.

 

No different? The Black Forest excursion states " --- you may choose your immersion into Black Forest culture: take an invigorating forest stroll, attend a cuckoo clock demonstration --- " (and we all know what "demonstration" adds up to) while I can't find anything beyond "You will have free time to browse the craft stalls at the lower gate before returning to your ship." included in descriptions of excursions for Ephesus. Nowhere, that I can find, does it say something to the tune of "Your guide will take you to a rug 'demonstration' mandated by the Turkish government."  That's a difference where I come from.

[duquephart]

The way the Breisach Black Forest excursion is described makes it sound like the cuckoo clock demonstration is optional - something you can do - rather than something Viking takes you to as suggested. In the case of the carpet demonstration/presentation you are funneled into something that no mention was made of in the excursion descriptions. Maybe that's what I mean by "set-up."

 

[bookbabe]

3 hours ago, duquephart said:

The way the Breisach Black Forest excursion is described makes it sound like the cuckoo clock demonstration is optional - something you can do - rather than something Viking takes you to as suggested. In the case of the carpet demonstration/presentation you are funneled into something that no mention was made of in the excursion descriptions. Maybe that's what I mean by "set-up."

 

It’s mentioned in the Istanbul pre-stay tour description, but not in the descriptions for the various port excursions, I just double-checked.  I guess it didn’t surprise me to have the rug shops at the end of every excursion because we did the pre-stay and heard all about the requirement then.  It really wasn’t a big deal, though.  I don’t see it as any different than all of the excursions where your “bio break” is at a gift shop, arranged in hopes that you’ll shop while waiting for everyone to finish.  At least the rug presentation was interesting, much better than being funnelled into a tacky t-shirt shop or Diamonds International.

 

[duquephart]

There was no rug deal on our post stay. Spice Bazaar instead. in any event Istanbul has nothing to with Kusadasi.

[duquephart]

10 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

It’s mentioned in the Istanbul pre-stay tour description, but not in the descriptions for the various port excursions, I just double-checked.  I guess it didn’t surprise me to have the rug shops at the end of every excursion because we did the pre-stay and heard all about the requirement then.  It really wasn’t a big deal, though.  I don’t see it as any different than all of the excursions where your “bio break” is at a gift shop, arranged in hopes that you’ll shop while waiting for everyone to finish.  At least the rug presentation was interesting, much better than being funnelled into a tacky t-shirt shop or Diamonds International.

 

 

Please elaborate on "heard all about the requirement then."

[bookbabe]

2 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

Please elaborate on "heard all about the requirement then."

Our pre-stay tour guide explained what was going to happen at the rug demo and gave us tons of info about the various government initiatives meant to try to preserve and revive the art of rug weaving.  Pretty much every guide on every subsequent tour in a Turkish port gave us much the same info, so I am relatively confident that the info was accurate.  Stops at rug shops are mandated, shipping is paid for by the government, and a whole series of schools has been established to provide girls and young women with free training in the art alongside their regular education.

[duquephart]

We knew about the whole carpet shop scenario from various threads here and were not surprised when our tour of Ephesus ended at such a place. You have to wonder how the guides choose which shop to "visit" (there are several). Are they allocated/assigned or is the guide free to take you wherever they choose? The guide clearly was getting a cut of the action and maybe the cruise line as well?

[Mitina]

38 minutes ago, duquephart said:

The guide clearly was getting a cut of the action and maybe the cruise line as well?

You get this information from a reliable source or just speculation?

[duquephart]

1 hour ago, Mitina said:

You get this information from a reliable source or just speculation?

 

The "tour" was over at 1:30. We wound up buying a carpet (another story) as well as some jewelry. This took some time. We left the shop not long before 4:00 and outside sat the guide, obviously waiting. To take us back to the ship? Noooooooooooo! We gave her a nice tip which she promptly turned over to a person she had waiting with her to take us back to the ship. Ever seen a tour guide do that? She then entered the shop. Why? We had the guy take us to a pharmacy for some cough drops. On the way back we ran into the guide again. She gave us both a huuuuuuuuuuuuge hug and handed over some more cash to the escort "to get a coffee or something." Connect the dots.

[amtatom]

 

22 hours ago, bookbabe said:

We had a number of Turkish port stops on our last cruise, which had the OP’s itinerary as one of the weeks.  We did the rug shop in Istanbul, very informative, no pressure and free drinks.  We were easily able to skip the other ones, especially in Ephesus where you can easily see the ship from where they are leading you into the shopping concourse and just detour off back to the ship (we tipped the guide first and let him know we were leaving the group).

 

Istanbul - if you have a smartphone and data, drop a pin at both the meeting spot to get back on the bus (for us it was the rug shop) and at your entrance to the Grand Bazaar.  The Bazaar has multiple entrances and is a bit of a maze, it would be easy to get turned around if you aren’t paying attention or don’t have a GPS marker to aim for.

 

Rhodes - I’ll second that the included excursion is definitely not for those with mobility concerns.  Lots of walking, hills, stairs.  And it’s meh.  You won’t be missing much.

 

Ephesus - AWESOME!  Best of all the ports.  We were there twice, did the included the first time and the excursion that stopped at the museum the second time.  DH wasn’t really interested in the Homes of the Elite when we booked, but once we had visited the site he would have been willing to switch to go back and see the homes but it was full.

 

Troy - yeah, it’s a tiny town with not much going on, and the historical site there was okay but not as epic as Ephesus or Pompeii.

 

Crete - the historic site there was okay, it was the Knossos excursion, our guide was channeling his inner “long-winded university prof” so he annoyed us a bit, so that likely coloured our view of the site a bit

Do you remember if you did The Palace of Knossos & the Village of Arolithos excursion or The Palace of Knossos & a Glimpse of Heraklion excursion?

 

We're on this cruise next April, and we definitely want to see Knossos. I've researched and we can take the public bus for probably much less than a Viking excursion. However, this port seems like the only place to see a Greek village. But my understanding is that Arolithos is a restored/recreated village for tourists without actual working residents. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Will it be too Epcot-like?

 

(Yes, there is a Villages of Crete excursion but I’m not sure we can squeeze that in with Knossos.)

[bookbabe]

53 minutes ago, amtatom said:

 

Do you remember if you did The Palace of Knossos & the Village of Arolithos excursion or The Palace of Knossos & a Glimpse of Heraklion excursion?

 

We're on this cruise next April, and we definitely want to see Knossos. I've researched and we can take the public bus for probably much less than a Viking excursion. However, this port seems like the only place to see a Greek village. But my understanding is that Arolithos is a restored/recreated village for tourists without actual working residents. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Will it be too Epcot-like?

 

(Yes, there is a Villages of Crete excursion but I’m not sure we can squeeze that in with Knossos.)

We were on the Glimpse of Heraklion one.  However, I only remember the palace ruins portion, I’m drawing a blank on what we might have seen during the town walk portion.  Obviously, it wasn’t very memorable.

 

Editing to add that the ruins were interesting, just not to the level of Ephesus or Pompeii.  We were off-season, but it was still surprisingly crowded.  I remember it being a decent bus ride from the port, not sure I’d want to DIY unless there was no other choice.

“Home of the Minotaur and Venetian-Flavored Treasures -- You will drive with your guide to the Palace of Knossos, where an interesting walking tour reveals what remains of this once-sprawling building. This is the fabled palace where Minos’s wife Pasiphaë gave birth to the Minotaur, half-bull and half-man, and where Theseus of myth destroyed the beast. This site was uncovered in 1893 and took 35 years to excavate. You will view the Throne Room, a chamber located in the heart of the palace complex that was built for ceremonial purposes during the 15th century BC. Large and small pitharia, or storage jars, are sprinkled throughout, providing insight into the artistry of the day. Then, return to Heraklion’s Old Town for a walk past its most compelling sites. You will have time to explore on your own before returning to your ship.”

 

 

 

Edited June 7 by bookbabe

[amtatom]

2 hours ago, bookbabe said:

We were on the Glimpse of Heraklion one.  However, I only remember the palace ruins portion, I’m drawing a blank on what we might have seen during the town walk portion.  Obviously, it wasn’t very memorable.

 

Editing to add that the ruins were interesting, just not to the level of Ephesus or Pompeii.  We were off-season, but it was still surprisingly crowded.  I remember it being a decent bus ride from the port, not sure I’d want to DIY unless there was no other choice.

“Home of the Minotaur and Venetian-Flavored Treasures -- You will drive with your guide to the Palace of Knossos, where an interesting walking tour reveals what remains of this once-sprawling building. This is the fabled palace where Minos’s wife Pasiphaë gave birth to the Minotaur, half-bull and half-man, and where Theseus of myth destroyed the beast. This site was uncovered in 1893 and took 35 years to excavate. You will view the Throne Room, a chamber located in the heart of the palace complex that was built for ceremonial purposes during the 15th century BC. Large and small pitharia, or storage jars, are sprinkled throughout, providing insight into the artistry of the day. Then, return to Heraklion’s Old Town for a walk past its most compelling sites. You will have time to explore on your own before returning to your ship.”

 

 

 

Thank you! Everything I’ve looked up reports the bus is about a 30 minute ride. But I just checked the official website for the first time in awhile and now you have to have a reserved/timed ticket. I like the idea, but it makes arriving via public transport tricky.

[wine-wine-wine]

2 hours ago, amtatom said:

Thank you! Everything I’ve looked up reports the bus is about a 30 minute ride. But I just checked the official website for the first time in awhile and now you have to have a reserved/timed ticket. I like the idea, but it makes arriving via public transport tricky.

DW and I are very much into archeological sites. I absolutely despise what Arthur Evans did to Knossos - but I do not for a minute regret the visit. 
 

The Heraklion archaeological museum is an absolute must. 

[dd57]

We were there several years ago and went on a small group tour arranged thru our roll call that took us first to Knossos and then took us to the museum where we had 1.5 hours on our own. Even though I studied Minoan history, art, and architecture in college, the tour guide's talk as we went through Knossos added a lot to the experience.  I don't remember seeing much signage.

 

Unfortunately as we did not arrange the tour, I don't remember what company was used.  But there is probably someone out there still doing that.

[KTRaveller]

On 6/2/2024 at 6:32 PM, OneSixtyToOne said:

We took the Roman homes upgraded tour last year and we highly recommend it. The two tours are basically the same except you are granted access to the homes. They are pretty remarkable and are the highlight of the excursion. It’s well worth the extra cost. Admission is only for people who have paid to see them. That are some of the best preserved homes in the ancient world.

 

You can find my review and pictures in this thread starting at post 43…

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2906353-almost-live-viking-sky-journey-to-antiquities-jan-2023/?do=findComment&comment=64669443

 

Hi -- I wanted to see the Roman homes and have a thorough look at Ephesus.  For the first time, we took a non-Viking private tour and were very happy with it.  We booked through Viator.  We were met right on time by our private guide, discovered that we were to ride with him in a luxurious 4-wheel drive with a great driver (not be driven by him in his ordinary car which we'd expected for the very reasonable price) and were asked how we wanted to spend our time.  It was pretty crowded, even in late October and he was able to time things so that we never waited in line.  Not being in a Viking tour with even a dozen other people enable us to move exactly as we liked.  He took us to a great place for lunch (suited to our tastes and chosen after he got to know us a little) and a demonstration of rug making at a government run cooperative with an organic farm.  We would have been allowed another couple of hours touring with the guide, but DH needed to get back to the ship and a nap.

 

We are were 67 and 75 at the time -- DH recovering from shoulder surgery and, as it turned out, less than six months from triple heart bypass -- total surprise, but, in retrospect, explaining his need for a slower pace than I'd expected.  I was a little worried about being outside the Viking bubble and missing the ship, but frankly, if DH had had his heart attack while with that Viator guide, he would have been in a better position to get fast help than on a Viking tour.  

 

I concur that the Roman homes were the highlight of the day -- and it was an extraordinary day!  I hope you have a great time, however you do it.

 

Oh, we did buy a carpet and haven't been sorry!  It was delivered right on schedule to our home in Oregon, where the delivery guys tried hard to sell us another one!  The carpet sales thing is just something to accept about Turkey and the products are impressive, so why not?  

[duquephart]

2 hours ago, KTRaveller said:

Hi -- I wanted to see the Roman homes and have a thorough look at Ephesus.  For the first time, we took a non-Viking private tour and were very happy with it.  We booked through Viator.  We were met right on time by our private guide, discovered that we were to ride with him in a luxurious 4-wheel drive with a great driver (not be driven by him in his ordinary car which we'd expected for the very reasonable price) and were asked how we wanted to spend our time.  It was pretty crowded, even in late October and he was able to time things so that we never waited in line.  Not being in a Viking tour with even a dozen other people enable us to move exactly as we liked.  He took us to a great place for lunch (suited to our tastes and chosen after he got to know us a little) and a demonstration of rug making at a government run cooperative with an organic farm.  We would have been allowed another couple of hours touring with the guide, but DH needed to get back to the ship and a nap.

 

We are were 67 and 75 at the time -- DH recovering from shoulder surgery and, as it turned out, less than six months from triple heart bypass -- total surprise, but, in retrospect, explaining his need for a slower pace than I'd expected.  I was a little worried about being outside the Viking bubble and missing the ship, but frankly, if DH had had his heart attack while with that Viator guide, he would have been in a better position to get fast help than on a Viking tour.  

 

I concur that the Roman homes were the highlight of the day -- and it was an extraordinary day!  I hope you have a great time, however you do it.

 

Oh, we did buy a carpet and haven't been sorry!  It was delivered right on schedule to our home in Oregon, where the delivery guys tried hard to sell us another one!  The carpet sales thing is just something to accept about Turkey and the products are impressive, so why not?  

 

Delivered by the guys who sold it?

 

[Mike07]

On 6/7/2024 at 1:09 AM, OneSixtyToOne said:

Rhine river cruise, Breisach, Germany. 
 

 

Will they ship my cuckoo clock home?

[anaky1229]

On 6/2/2024 at 8:37 PM, Laladee said:

Hi Woggie65

 

I am going on this cruise with my parents (mid 70's) this Fall.  I am not sure the difference between the included Ephesus excursion and the upgraded one with viewing of the home of the elites.  I am interested in the upgraded one, but does that cut down on the viewing of the rest of Ephesus? or its like the included one, but with extra tagged on top of it ?

We just did this cruise in March 2024. We did only the included tours and one paid for in Istanbul. The paid for one was probably the least "worth it" although we enjoyed all of them. I really enjoyed all the other tours and the history lesson that came with them. If you'd like to know anything else, I'd be happy to go into detail

[amtatom]

7 hours ago, KTRaveller said:

Hi -- I wanted to see the Roman homes and have a thorough look at Ephesus.  For the first time, we took a non-Viking private tour and were very happy with it.  We booked through Viator.  We were met right on time by our private guide, discovered that we were to ride with him in a luxurious 4-wheel drive with a great driver (not be driven by him in his ordinary car which we'd expected for the very reasonable price) and were asked how we wanted to spend our time.  It was pretty crowded, even in late October and he was able to time things so that we never waited in line.  Not being in a Viking tour with even a dozen other people enable us to move exactly as we liked.  He took us to a great place for lunch (suited to our tastes and chosen after he got to know us a little) and a demonstration of rug making at a government run cooperative with an organic farm.  We would have been allowed another couple of hours touring with the guide, but DH needed to get back to the ship and a nap.

 

We are were 67 and 75 at the time -- DH recovering from shoulder surgery and, as it turned out, less than six months from triple heart bypass -- total surprise, but, in retrospect, explaining his need for a slower pace than I'd expected.  I was a little worried about being outside the Viking bubble and missing the ship, but frankly, if DH had had his heart attack while with that Viator guide, he would have been in a better position to get fast help than on a Viking tour.  

 

I concur that the Roman homes were the highlight of the day -- and it was an extraordinary day!  I hope you have a great time, however you do it.

 

Oh, we did buy a carpet and haven't been sorry!  It was delivered right on schedule to our home in Oregon, where the delivery guys tried hard to sell us another one!  The carpet sales thing is just something to accept about Turkey and the products are impressive, so why not?  

Do you happen to remember who you booked through? I’m strongly considering a private tour for Ephesus. Thank you! 

[KTRaveller]

6 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

Delivered by the guys who sold it?

 

The rug sellers wait until they have enough sold for a container, then ship to their distributor on the west coast.  Then their van drives all around from CA to WA dropping off the purchased rugs.  We trusted our guide and Viator's reputation not to have given us a bum steer.

[KTRaveller]

35 minutes ago, amtatom said:

Do you happen to remember who you booked through? I’m strongly considering a private tour for Ephesus. Thank you! 

We booked through Viator, which I think is connected to TripAdvisor.  Our guide was Fatih, but there are lots of guides who are well-reviewed on TripAdvisor.  

[duquephart]

5 hours ago, Mike07 said:

 

Will they ship my cuckoo clock home?

 

You need to go to Triberg for a cuckoo clock - unless tourist tat is OK with you.

 

 

[duquephart]

3 hours ago, KTRaveller said:

The rug sellers wait until they have enough sold for a container, then ship to their distributor on the west coast.  Then their van drives all around from CA to WA dropping off the purchased rugs.  We trusted our guide and Viator's reputation not to have given us a bum steer.

 

Maybe just the shop you went to - although I was quoted "eight to ten weeks."

[duquephart]

13 hours ago, KTRaveller said:

Hi -- I wanted to see the Roman homes and have a thorough look at Ephesus.  For the first time, we took a non-Viking private tour and were very happy with it.  We booked through Viator.  We were met right on time by our private guide, discovered that we were to ride with him in a luxurious 4-wheel drive with a great driver (not be driven by him in his ordinary car which we'd expected for the very reasonable price) and were asked how we wanted to spend our time.  It was pretty crowded, even in late October and he was able to time things so that we never waited in line.  Not being in a Viking tour with even a dozen other people enable us to move exactly as we liked.  He took us to a great place for lunch (suited to our tastes and chosen after he got to know us a little) and a demonstration of rug making at a government run cooperative with an organic farm.  We would have been allowed another couple of hours touring with the guide, but DH needed to get back to the ship and a nap.

 

We are were 67 and 75 at the time -- DH recovering from shoulder surgery and, as it turned out, less than six months from triple heart bypass -- total surprise, but, in retrospect, explaining his need for a slower pace than I'd expected.  I was a little worried about being outside the Viking bubble and missing the ship, but frankly, if DH had had his heart attack while with that Viator guide, he would have been in a better position to get fast help than on a Viking tour.  

 

I concur that the Roman homes were the highlight of the day -- and it was an extraordinary day!  I hope you have a great time, however you do it.

 

Oh, we did buy a carpet and haven't been sorry!  It was delivered right on schedule to our home in Oregon, where the delivery guys tried hard to sell us another one!  The carpet sales thing is just something to accept about Turkey and the products are impressive, so why not?  

 

So ----- even private tour providers are, essentially, required to herd you into a carpet shop?