Recommended excursions Empires of the Mediterranean

[mimijes]

Best excursions in Koper, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Santorini, Athens? 
Especially looking for advice on Kotor and Corfu. 
thanks!

[OneSixtyToOne]

2 hours ago, mimijes said:

Best excursions in Koper, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Santorini, Athens? 
Especially looking for advice on Kotor and Corfu. 
thanks!

Be sure to walk the walls of Dubrovnik.

[mimijes]

We did the Dubrovnik walls a few years ago. Amazing. We may just do the included town tour this time. Also did Athens acropolis and Parthenon. Thinking of Corinth canal, or maybe Delphi ( a 9.5 hour excursion!). 

[Messybill]

2 hours ago, mimijes said:

We did the Dubrovnik walls a few years ago. Amazing. We may just do the included town tour this time. Also did Athens acropolis and Parthenon. Thinking of Corinth canal, or maybe Delphi ( a 9.5 hour excursion!). 

 

We did the Corinth Canal tour in May.  The canal is interesting although the buses park at a touristy very busy snack/souvenir/restroom stop. The ruins are good, but not as good as at Olympia (Katakolon).

 

In Koper we took the included walking tour which was fine.  It’s a small city and easy to walk around.  There are plenty of other tours that will appeal to specific interests.

 

In Zadar, the falconry tour was one of our favourites on the whole cruise — as has been detailed by my DW here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2954738-empires-of-the-mediterranean-port-times/?do=findComment&comment=65937656

 

We visited Dubrovnik twice because we were actually doing two cruises back to back: first Odyssey and then Empires.  The first time we did the included walking tour of the city which was quite informative and certainly gave us ideas about what to do the second time we visited.  On the second visit, we took the cable car to the top of the hill which is definitely worth doing and provided some great views.  We returned to the city and took the ferry to the island of Lokrum which we highly recommend, especially if you are interested in birds.  Lokrum is basically a large park with some ruins and a great number of wild peacocks.  It is a very short and inexpensive ferry ride from Dubrovnik harbour.  You can spend as long or as little time on Lokrum as you like.  There were also people snorkelling there if that is something that is of interest to you.

 

In Kotor we again took the city walking tour.  It is a very small place with a scenic backdrop, but in our opinion there is not a lot to do there.  We took the afternoon off and relaxed on the ship.

 

Corfu we visited twice.  The first time we took the tour to Theotsky Winery which is excellent if you like wine for breakfast.  But even if you don’t this tour is definitely worth doing.  In addition to the winery there were some scenic stops.   The second time in Corfu we started out on the Traditions of Old Corfu walking tour but somehow ended up wandering around the city on our own which was just fine.  We bought some awesome Kumquat liqueur.

 

Santorini is a very busy place.  We had previously been to Santorini twice on our own and stayed there for some time.  So we know the island well but chose not to disembark because the facilities for cruisers are extremely taxed.  The island is enormously busy and we had a great time sitting on the 2nd deck behind the restaurant floating around the Caldera on the ship and watching the crowds on the shore.  If you have not been to Santorini the best (in our opinion) place to visit is Oia.  There you will see the picturesque blue-domed churches and have some great views of the Caldera.  Fira is also an interesting place to visit and to shop but it will be very busy.

 

We stayed on our own in Athens after disembarking and explored it for a few days.  We loved the Plaka district and did the Acropolis which is a must-see but it is invariably hot and crowded.

 

View from the top of the hill in Dubrovnik

Edited August 19, 2023 by Messybill

[mimijes]

What about the Cape Sounion?  Anyone done that?

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, mimijes said:

What about the Cape Sounion?  Anyone done that?

It’s part of my writeup for my Almost Live Journey to Antiquities in a previous thread.

It’s a picturesque bus ride along the coast to the cape and about 45 minutes at the site. We took it because we had mistakenly double booked the Acropolis (the Acropolis Experience when onboard is identical to what you are given on the Classic Greece extension). Cape Sounion was the only other available tour that took us somewhere we had not yet been. It was an ok tour. We were a bit jaded after our previous three day adventure.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[madmedic]

15 hours ago, Messybill said:

 

We did the Corinth Canal tour in May.  The canal is interesting although the buses park at a touristy very busy snack/souvenir/restroom stop. The ruins are good, but not as good as at Olympia (Katakolon).

 

In Koper we took the included walking tour which was fine.  It’s a small city and easy to walk around.  There are plenty of other tours that will appeal to specific interests.

 

In Zadar, the falconry tour was one of our favourites on the whole cruise — as has been detailed by my DW here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2954738-empires-of-the-mediterranean-port-times/?do=findComment&comment=65937656

 

We visited Dubrovnik twice because we were actually doing two cruises back to back: first Odyssey and then Empires.  The first time we did the included walking tour of the city which was quite informative and certainly gave us ideas about what to do the second time we visited.  On the second visit, we took the cable car to the top of the hill which is definitely worth doing and provided some great views.  We returned to the city and took the ferry to the island of Lokrum which we highly recommend, especially if you are interested in birds.  Lokrum is basically a large park with some ruins and a great number of wild peacocks.  It is a very short and inexpensive ferry ride from Dubrovnik harbour.  You can spend as long or as little time on Lokrum as you like.  There were also people snorkelling there if that is something that is of interest to you.

 

In Kotor we again took the city walking tour.  It is a very small place with a scenic backdrop, but in our opinion there is not a lot to do there.  We took the afternoon off and relaxed on the ship.

 

Corfu we visited twice.  The first time we took the tour to Theotsky Winery which is excellent if you like wine for breakfast.  But even if you don’t this tour is definitely worth doing.  In addition to the winery there were some scenic stops.   The second time in Corfu we started out on the Traditions of Old Corfu walking tour but somehow ended up wandering around the city on our own which was just fine.  We bought some awesome Kumquat liqueur.

 

Santorini is a very busy place.  We had previously been to Santorini twice on our own and stayed there for some time.  So we know the island well but chose not to disembark because the facilities for cruisers are extremely taxed.  The island is enormously busy and we had a great time sitting on the 2nd deck behind the restaurant floating around the Caldera on the ship and watching the crowds on the shore.  If you have not been to Santorini the best (in our opinion) place to visit is Oia.  There you will see the picturesque blue-domed churches and have some great views of the Caldera.  Fira is also an interesting place to visit and to shop but it will be very busy.

 

We stayed on our own in Athens after disembarking and explored it for a few days.  We loved the Plaka district and did the Acropolis which is a must-see but it is invariably hot and crowded.

 

View from the top of the hill in Dubrovnik

Lokrum sounds interesting to me having been to Dubrovnik previously. Where does the ferry go from and can you get a ticket on the day? Xx 

[millybess]

27 minutes ago, madmedic said:

Lokrum sounds interesting to me having been to Dubrovnik previously. Where does the ferry go from and can you get a ticket on the day? Xx 

The boats leave from the harbour at the base of the Stradun.  (If you come through the Pile Gate, walk all the way down the Stradun).  There are lots of hawkers selling all sorts of tours there.  You can buy tickets there in a shop near the clocktower, before you pass through the gate and into the harbour.

[madmedic]

5 hours ago, millybess said:

The boats leave from the harbour at the base of the Stradun.  (If you come through the Pile Gate, walk all the way down the Stradun).  There are lots of hawkers selling all sorts of tours there.  You can buy tickets there in a shop near the clocktower, before you pass through the gate and into the harbour.

Thank you that sounds like a plan. 

[longterm]

19 hours ago, mimijes said:

What about the Cape Sounion?  Anyone done that?

We hired a private guide in Athens, and she took us up to Cape Sounion. It was about 4 in the afternoon, on a chilly blustery day, so there were only 2 other people up there.

 

Having said that, we really liked it; it's a commanding view, a beautiful ruin, and we were glad we saw it. Stopped at a great little Greek restaurant on the way back to town and had a wonderful meal.

 

[mimijes]

1 hour ago, longterm said:

We hired a private guide in Athens, and she took us up to Cape Sounion. It was about 4 in the afternoon, on a chilly blustery day, so there were only 2 other people up there.

 

Having said that, we really liked it; it's a commanding view, a beautiful ruin, and we were glad we saw it. Stopped at a great little Greek restaurant on the way back to town and had a wonderful meal.

 

Were you there for sunset?  Supposed to be beautiful. 
From all the discussions and some research, I’m thinking I’d prefer Cape Sounion to Corinth.   Maybe we’ll take the Viking excursion. 

[longterm]

8 minutes ago, mimijes said:

Were you there for sunset?  Supposed to be beautiful. 
From all the discussions and some research, I’m thinking I’d prefer Cape Sounion to Corinth.   Maybe we’ll take the Viking excursion. 

We were, but it was really cloudy; we drove over Corinth, but that was it; I don't know what there is to see there, but it's definitely a fascinating construction.

[mimijes]

I’ll try to book the Viking Cape Sounion tour when booking opens on the 22nd. First Viking cruise, first time booking excursions with them. Hopefully it will go well. 
if I don’t get the Viking one, maybe I’ll try Viator  or George’s taxi. 
thanks for your help!

Edited August 20, 2023 by mimijes
Spelling

[BluebonnetTexan]

We did Cape Sounion last fall on a small group land tour. It was a last minute add-on that our tour manager suggested. He ordered a couple of minibus drivers to take those in our group who wanted to go for sunset, then took us to a seafood restaurant on the way back. We were glad we did it. Sunset pics are hit and miss. But we managed a couple of nice shots that evening. 
 

[madmedic]

We're reading this thread with growing excitement. We are doing the same itinerary October next year. Is there any way I could see a list of the excursions with prices offered for this year? Obviously it would only be a rough guide this far out.

[mimijes]

Bluebonnet, Beautiful photos. Thanks. 

[mimijes]

Madmedic, hope you can open this. ShoreExcursions.pdf

[madmedic]

17 minutes ago, mimijes said:

Madmedic, hope you can open this. ShoreExcursions.pdf

No it won't let me open 😞. Thanks anyway. 

[CDR2001]

5 hours ago, madmedic said:

We're reading this thread with growing excitement. We are doing the same itinerary October next year. Is there any way I could see a list of the excursions with prices offered for this year? Obviously it would only be a rough guide this far out.

You can get an emailed PDF of excursions for a recent cruise via the Chat on MVJ. Explain that you understand that the prices and tours may change by next year. Only once has the chat agent not known how to send this, so try another time if you don’t have success. 

[madmedic]

1 hour ago, CDR2001 said:

You can get an emailed PDF of excursions for a recent cruise via the Chat on MVJ. Explain that you understand that the prices and tours may change by next year. Only once has the chat agent not known how to send this, so try another time if you don’t have success. 

I tried this once but will have another go.

The agent said that it was not possible 😕.

[CDR2001]

I’ve had success 4/5 times! I think the confused agent in my case thought I wanted the actual excursion list for my exact cruise dates, which wasn’t available. Keep chatting until you get results! 

[Jjg34219]

7 hours ago, madmedic said:

No it won't let me open 😞. Thanks anyway. 

I was able to open

 

our cruise is in a year but gives me an idea

 

thanks!

 

 

[madmedic]

20 hours ago, madmedic said:

No it won't let me open 😞. Thanks anyway. 

After a few tries I was able to open the link. Very helpful thank you and just what I was looking for.

[mimijes]

Today was excursion booking day for us, DV stateroom. I got on at 3:00 pm Eastern time and was able to get the 3 paid excursions we want, as well as our preferred times for the 5 included excursions. Yay!

[mimijes]

Thanks to all who gave me information and advice!