Trip report - Galaxy, E. Med, 6/12/06

[mlbcruiser]

Since there were many ports on this 11 day itinerary, this review will be rather long (don't say I didn't warn you!). Nevertheless, I am leaving out a lot of detailed information so if anyone has questions, please ask on this thread and I will try to answer. Since we spent one week on land in Spain prior to going to Civitavecchia to catch our ship, I will post that part under the port section (Europe/Spain).

 

About the our ship, Celebrity's Galaxy: Our Cruise Critic roll call thread got going well close to the trip and we had the BEST turnout! Tip for CCers, or those of you sailing other lines and plan to have your roll call posters meet on board: In the future see if you can get the CCers to agree to bring a little gift commemorating where they are from to trade. This cemented the attendance of eveyone and we met the NICEST people! We had arranged some independent excursions w/some as well as van rides to/from the port ahead of time from/to Rome. A whole bunch of us met about 4 times on board during the cruise, plus spent much time together on outings. The ship's event coordinator was very helpful getting the information out to everyone when we decided to plan our 2nd meeting.

 

The Galaxy is a nice ship, but is definitely ready for a bit of refurbishment. Though not of major importance to us, our sink and toilet were badly stained (hard water?), plus our blankets - well, they were stained & dirty! I've never before (in 21 cruises on various lines) asked the steward to change any, but these were pretty bad, so I did. Otherwise, our cabin was fine w/lots of storage, etc. No noise problems, either, although we were just a few cabins down from the purser's desk and main atrium area, as well as one floor above the cinema. Our hall seemed about 3 times wider than usual! Additionally, our cabin steward and his assistant gave us very good service.

 

Since we had been on RCCL 10 times,we were given the same status in Celebrity's frequent cruiser (Capt's?) club, which meant we got fresh flowers twice during the cruise! And we were allowed to use the thalassotherapy pool in the spa area for free!! It's a huge hot tub/small pool really, w/different stations of very forceful water.) Man, it felt good! Usually you have to pay $20 pp per use or "join" for the cruise, which isn't cheap. My thanks to Celebrity for this perk!

 

The food: It was DEFINITELY the BEST we ever had on a ship. I was expecting to get smaller portions and wondered if the food would really be that good - or would be a bit too exotic for our tastes. Celebrity is so known for their food, but guess I'm always a bit skeptical. Take if from me, what you hear about how good Celebrity's food is is true!

 

As for activities/shows, Celebrity is a bit low key. The shows in the main showroom were NOT good, although they did have a couple of singers who were pretty good. They also had this one male performer who has a VERY PIERCING voice, and we heard MANY complaints about him from other cruise critic friends! Although he tried hard, he was very irritating! Most of the performers were both singers and dancers and I can't say the dancing was anywhere near tops in the cruise industry. This is one area in which we felt Celebrity needs to improve. However, the main band by the pool was very good, though. They were from Italy, I think, but were modern and played international types of contemporary music. (No reggae stuff which I like fine on a caribben cruise, but we had that on our European cruise on RCCL 5 yrs. ago for our 30th anniv. cruise and it seemed out of place.!) There was a computer class given on board that was free - about downloading photos. I think that was something we SHOULD have taken advantage of.

 

The service on the rest of the ship? Really good (except in the dining room!). They had a concierge who helped w/questions about the port and didn't try to push the ship's excursions on you, although I noticed the future cruise consultant doing that. (In fact, I heard her advising 4 women NOT to take a bus to Oia on Santorini; saying there were not enough buses and the waits were often 2 hrs. so they might miss the ship. (And that wasn't the only misinformation I heard her doling out, even though she wasn't a concierge, but I guess she was being asked, so ???) Other people we spoke to had pretty good service in the D.R., so I guess we just got the wrong waitstaff. We had a bad table against a window and a wall, and the noise from the ship's vibration and general D.R. rucus was awful! Trying to hear the table conversation was tough. We found it surprising that the table was so bad as the other people (6 of them) we sat w/all had balcony suites and had cruised many times. You'd think Celebrity would treat them exceptionally well. Whatever. Our waiter and busboy just didn't seem to be real adept at serving. Forgot things a lot, etc. Also, we didn't expect the service to be quite so rushed in the D.R. Not that we were every rushed out the door. Dinner took long enough. But the staff seemed so overworked! We are used to sailing RCCL, Princess and other lines during the peak of spring break as a rule but this was not spring break so we expected a bit more calm in the D.R. We'll maybe do Celebrity again since the food, general service, and perks are SO good, but it will have to be on a newer ship that perhaps has a bit more "energy" in it's activities. Some people advised us to try one of their newer and larger ships next time. Since this cruise was so port intensive, it didn't matter much that there weren't so many bells, whistles. As I always say, I've never met a cruise I didn't like!

 

Shopping on board: Usually you find things as cheap in the ship's shops as in port when it comes to "local" souveniers, etc. Celebrity's prices were definitely higher than in the ports. I got glass coasters in a shop on Santorini for only $23 (priced as high as $42 in some shops), when on board they were, I believe, $50-something! There were several things like this that I noticed. Also, their "store" that sold over the counter medications and toiletries did not carry quite as comprehensive a stock as I've seen on most other ships.

 

One last thing before I go on to the ports. The embarkation and debarkation were smooth and the ship always left port at the time stated.

 

Mykonos, Greece, our first port: (I think we expected a bit more there, but some people liked it a lot while some seemed a tiny bit disappointed.) It was sort of charming, and sort of over-rated as well. Too many jewelry stores and not the upscale yachts of the rich and famous (like Onassis') we expected to see in the little harbor. There were 3 windmills but they didn't have the "sails" on them. Still, they were a photo op! As was this pelican that roamed about the small harbor! But the narrow lanes and colored shutters, etc., were picturesque.

 

Next was the Greek Island of Rhodes, which was very interesting. There is an ancient section of the city (Rhodes Town) that has cobblestoned streets, a kind of fortress, etc., that is a World Heritage site. It is a fine sight as you cruise into the port. Lots of souvenier shopping there and prices aren't bad. There are deer statues on each side of the small harbor where the original Collosus of Rhones once supposedly stood. We were told an earthquake detroyed what was believed to be the 90 ft. statue guarding the harbor. We went to a town called Lindos by cab. (Lindos is quaint and scenic.) A "tour" was $60 for however many fit into the cab. We merely stood near the cab area and asked people over and over until we were able to find 2 ladies to share our ride. The cabbies said we should have gotten off the ship sooner as many more people were passing by. (We did not hurry off the ship that day, I must admit.) With four of us, we each paid $15 for the RT. Our cabbie set a time and place to pick us up 2 hrs. later and was prompt. In addition he stopped at various overlooks and told us things about the area that we otherwise would not have known. There are some nice views along the way of the coast and a few ruins, etc. He also stopped at 2 shops - one having Greek pottery and one jewelry, but we were not pressured and did not stay overlong in the shops. Lindos overlooks the ocean which seemed to be pretty clear in the little bays below. The "site" is at the top of a small mt. We rode up on donkeys up a stone street! ($5 U.S. for the donkey rides and it takes maybe 10 min. to get to the top.) There were some ruins at the very top and we asked some people coming down if they were a must see, but they said no. Since it cost $4 pp, we skipped that part. There were some wonderful little shops near the base of the area. A few vendors line the path that we walked coming down. (WARNING! We didn't purchase anything from them but I almost bought a table scarf, only to learn that it was priced three euros higher than in the stores below or in Rhodes Town! )

 

Next was the MOST BEAUTIFUL place we have EVER seen - Santorini, Greece. (We have been to such beautiful spots as Kauai, many places in the caribbean, the Amalfi Coast, rocky mts., Vail, Bora Bora, Moorea, Big Sur, CA and other places of great beauty. But I guess we were not prepared for the stunning scene we cruised to! IF you EVER get a chance, GO THERE! The island sticks way up out of georgeous water. The main town (Fira) looks like tiny white bldgs. lining the top of a ridge - kind of like snow from a distance! You have to ride a funicular (like a ski gondola on tracks, sort of) or ride a donkey for half an hr. to get to the town at the top. Additionally, there are cool looking boats - almost like small pirate ships or Cleopatra's barge plying the waters around the island. Ferries, I was told. I think you can take them to beaches, etc.??? We rode a bus (very cheap) from the main town of Fira to the most picturesque town, Oia (pronouced ee-ya). It takes your breath away, it's that pretty! Simply enchanting! (This is where those blue domed churches you see in photos of Greece are.) The tiny town sits way up on the top of the island and consists of winding streets and the little white buildings just kind of tumble about 1/4-1/5 of the way down the cliffs. Some are inns, high quality craft stores in many cases, homes and restaurants - many of which have an open air balcony - maybe covered or maybe not - jutting out over the hillside. There was a beautiful Greek Orthodox church that was very elaborate inside. EVERYONE in our Cruise Critic group agreed that they want to go back to Santorini and we all thought it was the best port of all. Certainly the most scenic.

 

Next was Istanbul, the only city in the world straddling 2 continents, Europe and Asia. (Yes, we did cross the Bosphorus Strait by bridge so we can say we've been to Asia!) It is DEFINITELY an East meets West city and very tolerant of all religions. So there are many Muslims, Christians and Jews there, and they seem to all get along just fine. It's always been that way there. The people are pretty good looking and it's a modern city w/many ancient ruins and such, along with beautiful mosques. With an independent tour guide we had found via these boards, we visited the Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, and Topkapi Palace. All are beautiful and OLD, but the stuff they have in the palace is something! Everything from the bones of John the Baptist's arm/hand to very bejeweled helmets, swords, a chest of "money" that was huge emeralds, and all manner of such things. Also robes of Sultans over many, many years. You can notice how the fashion of these robes slowly became less Oriental and more "western" over the centuries. We also visited the Grand Bazaar and Spice Markets (closed on Sundays!) and there were all sorts of wonderful and different things to buy here! Very exotic items, carpets, beautiful lighting, things w/the good luck "eye", jewelry, lovely painted "camelbone" boxes, sets of tea glasses, belly dancing suits and so forth. (There are 4,000 shops in the halls of the Grand Bazaar and it would be easy to get lost!) At night (ship stayed overnt.) we went to a nightclub called "Orienthouse" where they did Turkish folk dances and had belly dancers (good ones, too!), along w/a very nice dinner. The restaurant was very pretty, kind of touristy, and fun. There was a singer - kind of the Turkish Julio Iglesias, I guess, who spoke probably at least 20 languages! The place was full of tourists from every nation you could think of. We all had flags of our countries on our tables. He spoke to each one - no, conversed and sang, actually- in English, Spanish, Swedish, French, Bulgarian, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Greek, Romanian, German, Italian and more. Unbelieveable! For those interested in a good, independent tour guide in Turkey, there is a man named Nejat Indocen (see Ports of Call section under Europe/Turkey for threads about him) that is a super conscientious, well known around town, tour guide. He seems to have backup guides as well, and charges according to how many people are in your group. (He also does tours in Ephesus). Nejat went to school for 2 yrs. in California and speaks English well. People who took the Celebrity tours also seemed to enjoy these a lot. I didn't hear any complaints from our tablemates and they mostly took the ship's tours, as opposed to most of the cruise critic people who booked tours independently.

 

Next it was on to a beach resort area in Turkey called Kusadasi. It's the gateway to the ancient city of Ephesus (of the Ephesians of the bible. It was a Roman city predating Jesus). It has great ruins and was reallyl something to see. Nearby was the Bascilica of St. John (the evangelist, not the Baptist) w/his burial site. We also went up into the wooded hills to a house that was supposedly the home of the Virgin Mary. The story they told us was Jesus had given John the job of getting Mary out of Dodge (so to speak) when he was being crucified. There was so much unrest over religious issues that it was dangerous to be a christian and stay in Jerusalem. So John took her to the area we saw that was kind of her home/hideout, where no one would bother her. The area is sort of like a nat'l. park or something and is very wooded. Her house is just a little stone 2-3 room house. The upper walls are not really the orig. stone, although the lower ones are, but still. . The area is very sacred to the Muslims, too, as they value Mary highly as Jesus' mom and felt he was a great prophet. There were many there paying their respects.

 

Next was Athens. Yuk. No one liked it. It's very polluted, has traffic problems and was dirty. The people there were fine. Seeing the Acropolis was work. It was hot, VERY crowded, and the Parthenon was missing much of the upper portion as it's disassembled at present for preservation purposes. We took the metro from Piraeus on our own to get there. I'm glad we saw it, but once was enough. We also went to an area called the Plaka which is the older section of Athens and where the main shopping area is located. We had a good lunch there and 2 guys played Greek "guitars" (since I don't know what they are really called) in the restaurant. (We ate inside instead of at the outside tables, but we wanted A/C and were so glad we did due to the music.) But everyone said the same thing about Athens and no one seemed to care to return - unless to catch a flight to Santorini!

 

Next was a day at sea (thankfully by now!) and on to Naples. Naples itself doesn't have a lot to offer, and is kind of downtrodden w/a fairly high crime rate to match it's 25% unemployment rate. (A man at our table believed he suffered an attempted pickpocketing not that many blocks from the ship.) But as a jumping off point, it can't be beat. Many people did tours to either Pompeii, Herculaneum and/ or the beautiful Amalfi coast towns of Sorrento and Positano, or ferried to Capri. We took a ferry over to Capri. It's also very beautiful and we had done this 5 yrs. ago as well, as that time had 3 nts. booked in Positano after the cruise and knew we'd then be visiting Pompeii and Postiano a few days later. But this time the ferry cost over 3 times what it was 5 yrs. ago (It was about $13.50 E to Capri and $16 E back.) and this chairlift we rode to the top of a mt. there was about 12 times as much as it was 5 yrs. ago ($6.50 now compared to about 50 cents then!) So here our cheap day turned out to cost much more than we expected. (Thank you, euro!- NOT! )

 

Day of disembarkation: We shared a van w/8 other CCers back to our various hotels in Rome, and spent the night in Rome again (same hotel). Decided to ride a hop on/hop off bus around the city which was a waste of money and didn't run at ALL on the schedule presented. As we had the night before the cruise, we stayed at the Hotel Kennedy near Termini Station and were very pleased with it. Our final night we took the metro over to the area of the Spanish Steps and then walked to the Trevi Fountain (both plazas were FULL of people!). Afterwards we had a nice dinner in a restaurant we had passed on the way. The waiters were cut ups and insisted I try grappa (ICK!!!!) and brought us a free lg. bowl of cherries for dessert. They made the evening fun as they goofed around a lot although it was a nice place. (In Spain they often give you free plates full of green olives and some even have the stems or leaves still on them! Talk about fresh!) Again, no problems w/any of our flights (AA), although later we learned several people (on Delta, I think, and some others) had LONG delays and other issues heading back to the U.S.

 

So, to kind of sum things up, I would say it was quite a cruise! We did most things on our own but did use the independent tour guide in Turkey, although it wasn't absolutely necessary. Biggest problems were having clean clothes and too much luggage, which was necessary to drag along w/out overwt. suitcases for a 3 wk. trip - w/3 formal nts. on the cruise and the wk. in Spain first - plus all the stuff we bought. (This and that for gifts, & I collect ceramic plates which are heavy. Also bought an embroidered Spanish shawl (managed to forgo the flamenco dress but I'm telling you, I REALLY did want one!) Then there were the bottles of lemoncello and ouzo and sangria! Some lovely and heavy glass coasters I'd gotten our dd and SIL, etc. Much of the glass stuff needed to be hand carried and we had to buy a Celebrity beach bag for that - lol! We, for the first time ever, had to have some laundry done on the ship (mostly underwear which we had done the 1st day on the ship!) and I still washed out several things by hand and hung them from hangers to dry. Also, we took too many pictures! Therefore it's hard to pick and choose which ones are the ones we can set aside for a more manageable number to show friends, etc. At no time during our entire trip did we ever feel uneasy, threatened or scared in any of the places we visited. Yes, we wore our moneybelts, but we were always treated respectfully and kindly. As for speaking English, there were always many English speaking people in all of the tourist areas and cities we visited. Language was NOT a problem anywhere!

 

This is as good a place as any to mention that as bad as our gas prices are (currently just over $3 a gal. for the first time ever in STL!), in Turkey the same amount of gas would cost $12!!! All of the European nations have exhorbitant gas prices and it kind of makes one feel like a whiner when complaining in front of those citizens. I believe gas was about $8 or $9 in Greece. W. Europe was a tiny bit less, but not much.

 

This was a wonderful itinerary. If you get the chance, do it!

[canlobef]

hey mlbcruiser, i was on the same cruise aboard the galaxy and i couldnt agree wyou more. Yeah, there were some minor inconveniences but overall, itinerary wise, this cruise was one of the best. We had a blast, esp on the karaoke night, LOL, it was hilarious and fun. I also posted a cruise member review under Angelcruiser, not as detailed as yours though but somewhat similar. We've booked our next cruise aboard Century for the Baltics on June 2007. Hope its as good as the East Med. Take care.

[uktog]

Thanks for your wonderful review. We are doing that trip next year in May so I have taken note of how you went about your excursions. I would concur about the gift idea. We did it on our Baltics cruise and I have a lovely picture from Texas (postcard size) - it is so pretty and reminds me also of a lovely person

 

A

[jplewis]

MLBCRUISER, thanks for a wonderful review! We are doing this same trip in Nov. and also have Nejat booked so it's great to hear he did a good job.

Patsy

[uktog]

Thank you for this excellent report. We will be on that cruise next May and your report is a huge help as I start to plan how we might do our excursions. I agree about the little gifts at the CC party. As I recall on our Baltics trip a limit of $10 was set. It was great fun - we just had a lucky dip and I have a beautiful postcard sized block print of fields in Texas to remind of a lovely holiday with new friends. Indeed the lady who had "put this in" was a special friend I had chatted on the roll calls with so it was all the more special

[bububr]

I LOVED YOUR REVIEW!!!!!!!

 

I am doing this next year and I can't wait!

 

BTW:

 

"The story they told us was Jesus had given John the job of getting Mary out of Dodge (so to speak) when he was being crucified.":D

 

So much for Sunday school:p

 

Dave:eek:

[Belle]

Read both of them..as were on the B2b Galaxy in Nov.

doing your cruise and the next one that has two

ports in Spain.

 

I'm glad you had a great time and didn't let some

of Galaxys conditions get you down. They say

there changing the bedding this summer..Hope So!

 

In Turkey you talked about the nightclub..Orienthouse.

Was that on a tour or did you do it on your own?

If you wanted to do on your own..was it easy to get to?

Could you just walk in? Do you remember the cost?

 

Thank you again for a great review and for answering

my questions.

[sunsetme]

thanks for the great review. How did you handle the money issue. did you use ATMS? Have any trouble? Looking forward to these cruise.

[florisdekort]

Wow, great review :D It must have taken you forever to put all this to 'paper', thank you so much! I will be sailing on Galaxy next year; now I am really starting to look forward to it!

[mlbcruiser]

You are all so kind! I was kind of afraid to post anything knowing what a terrible editor I am and figuring it would be way too long for anyone to want to read it. I'm so glad it was of interest to someone.

 

Belle, yes, you can do Orienthouse on your own. It's $75 pp and includes the food and floorshow. It does not include transportation, but you could get a cab. I'm sure any cabbie knows the place. I don't remember if their price included drinks, however. I had emailed them directly (orienthouseistanbul.com - you can even see their menu and the music will really make you excited to go!) about 6-8 months before our cruise to get the info., but that was too early to make a reservation. I ended up being glad I didn't, since we decided to go w/Nejat. At first his price was $75 (which included transportation from the ship), but he reduced it at the end because he took about 23 or so people from our roll call in 2 small buses and charged only $70. (He does that on the tours, too, if there are more people. And he covers all entry fees - like to Topkapi Palace, which if you do those places yourself you will spend a fair amount anyway.) A couple in our group was on their honeymoon and the wife had a birthday as well, so we ALL got free champagne at Orienthouse and our beverages (incl. wine) were refilled once or twice. Also, Nejat has known a man who is a mgr. (or the owner?) of the place from way back, and therefore gets good tables. The ship had an excursion to a place w/dinner and a show for about $75 as well, but it wasn't orienthouse and I don't think it had the wide variety of performers that our's did. Although tablemates said it was good. By the way, Nejat took dollars or traveler's checks. No credit cards.

 

Re: how we handled money. We got about $150 in euros at a local bank here that carries them all the time just to get started. Then we traveled with an ATM card (which my dh used just a couple of times in Spain), 2 credit cards (be sure to notify them before you go that you will be in Europe and the dates), and I took travelers checks. These proved to be VERY handy as Celebrity cashed them on the ship at no charge. As many as we wanted. They will give you money in euros or dollars. (In Turkey Nejat took care of everything except when we shopped in the Grand Bazaar and spice market and there they took our U.S. dollar! You can easily change dollars into Turkish money off the ship, though.)

 

A CC roll call board friend was the one who urged me to post this review. Ironically, she ended up not going on this cruise after having booked it before me! But she will be doing the Baltic one in 2008. That will really be interesting, I'm sure.

 

Don't hesitate toask if any of you have any more question!

[C 2 C]

Great review. We were on Galaxy from May 6th to June 2nd.

 

Anyone who wants a picture highlight of any of the stops just ask.

Service in the dining room was great on our TA but mediocre for the second cruise. We found the mani problem concerned disembarkation in the ports of call. It was very disorganized and I hope it improved.

 

Our guide in Istanbul was fantastic.

http://www.leventsolmaz.com

 

He provided the transportation to the nightclub as well.

 

This cruise is the best there is. It was our third visit to some of the ports. Enjoy.

[dock]

Thanks for the info mlbcruiser.I was waiting for someone from your sailing to provide a review. We are on the 14/08 sailing and have started counting the days. Did you use the spa at all and is there an Aquaspa cafe? Any tender ports apart from Santorini and did you find it difficult to get to the metro at Piraeus and finally which were the formal evenings? Thanks.

[eyemd1]

Were you able to pick up local guides easily on the docks in the Greek Islands as well as Kusadasi and Athens?

Do you have a web site or e-mail for Nejat in Istanbul?

Thanks,

Eyemd1

[mlbcruiser]

dock, it is easy to take the metro from Piraeus to the Acropolis. But it does take 20- 30 min. of walking to get from the ship to the Metro. Leave the ship/port & stay on the road that curves left around the harbor. The train station will be on the right, near a corner, and I THINK it is light yellow. But it's not well marked. A lot of people will be going in and out. Ask someone "train?" every few minutes and they will point or tell you the way. This all sounds more confusing than it is.You might even see people pulling suitcases along the way. We did. (We saw a few "picture" signs indicating we were on the correct route to the train station, but not many.) Be sure to validate your ticket in the little (orange?) machine before you board. Take the green line from Piraeus to Monastiraki, change to the blue line to Syntagma, then again to the red line to Acropolis. It sounds complicated, but it isn't. Once you exit the metro, you will be VERY near the Acropolis and will see picture signs to it, plus you will see part of it way up on a hill. (Yes, you walk up a long hill to get to it.) It doesn't take more than 20-30 min. to get to the base of it once you board the first train.

 

Re: The formal nights and tenders, I am going to check w/a CC friend who we sailed with to make certain my answers are correct. I'm not 100% sure I would be giving entirely accurate info. there. I promise to post on this thread when I get the right answers for sure.

 

We did not use any of the spa facilities except the thalassoptherapy pool. I think my husband may have used the gym a couple of times. I can tell you they have showers, hair dryers (not that powerful, but they'll do), lotion and razors in the ladies' locker room besides towels and lockers. I did not SEE an aquaspa cafe, but recall reading about one. Perhaps that was in the brochure stating the Millenium had one (?).

 

eyemd1, there were taxis at the exit areas of most of the ports willing to give you a "tour", but not as extensively (except in Rhodes, from what I recall) as we have seen in most of the caribbean ports. I remember there were many guides in Turkey at the port w/their vans or small buses holding signs to pick up their clients. In Mykonos and Fira you won't see the buses (for the beaches or Oia) but have to walk a little ways to where they park. Ask the shopkeepers or locals and they will direct you. Plus you will get little maps from the ship. (Good place to mention this: the ship really does talk a LOT about buying rugs and jewelry, etc. There were salespitches for every port. It just seemed kind of tacky to me because of all the other beautiful and historic things one would want to do when visiting such places.)

 

C 2 C, I don't doubt you did have disembarkation problems, but on our cruise things seemed to go VERY smoothly in this area. Except for when we had to meet Nejat, my dh and I weren't always that gung ho to be off the ship the second we docked - except at Santorini and Mykonos. Sometimes we were still eating breakfast when people were leaving the ship. But at no time did we hear any complaints. We have stood in packed hallways for 45 min. waiting to get off ships at spring break, etc., so this seemed very civilized. There were a couple of times we waited in the hall maybe 5-10 min. but that's it.

 

Again, I'll check on the formal nights and tender ports and post again.

[mlbcruiser]

Woops! :o I forgot to give Nejat's contact info.: **********@yahoo.com.

[TWOJERSEYGIRL]

Mlbcruiser:

 

Taking The Same Itinerary In Sept. Using Nejet Also. Did You Need A Visa For Turkey? Some Much Confusion With Some Yes & Some No. It's Costly To Get Something You Don't Need. I Heard Very Good Things About Nejet. He E-mailed Me Today & Said No Visa Was Necessary. X Says Yes With Independent Tours.

 

Thanks For The Info.

 

You Can E-mail Me At coronadonbc@aol.com

[Compass Rose Monica]

Mlbcruiser,

 

Great report!!!

 

No, no visas are needed for Istanbul unless are on a land-based tour.

[C 2 C]

He E-mailed Me Today & Said No Visa Was Necessary. X Says Yes With Independent Tours.

 

 

Don't believe the X-employee you talked to this time. We used a private tour in Istanbul in May. The topic of a visa never came up. I believe the visa requiriement is for people landing and staying in Turkey for a tour, not for a "day-trip".

[Chick's pal]

We are sailing this itinerary in Oct-Nov and are very happy to read of your good times. Istanbul is our main travel priority and it sounds like we won't be disappointed. We are also in a cabin on Deck 5, so relieved to hear that it was not a noisy area.

 

Thanks for all the great details. We'll continue to check this thread for more info as you answer.

[C 2 C]

No Visa Was Necessary. X Says Yes With Independent Tours.

 

Now I have the visa question. We entered Turkey as a passenger on Galaxy. But what if you were to fly to Turkey and:

1. Stay there prior to boarding the ship

or

2. Arrived by air to catch the ship in Istanbul the same day?

 

Would you then need the visa to enter?

 

I have no stamp in my passport to register my stay in Turkey while on Galaxy, nor for any other country in the Mediterranean.

[signman]

What time did your ship return to Civitivecchia? I'm booked for next fall and the scheduled arrival time is 5 AM. Wondering if it is possible to make a 10:30 AM flight from FCO.

[C 2 C]

What time did your ship return to Civitivecchia? I'm booked for next fall and the scheduled arrival time is 5 AM. Wondering if it is possible to make a 10:30 AM flight from FCO.

 

Yes ours left about that time. There is no customs nor immigration procedure to slow you down. You get up get on a bus and you're at the airport about 7:30

[dock]

Thanks mlbcruiser.

[canlobef]

signman, we did arrive in civitavecchia at 5 am and since our luggage had been collected the previous night, we were out of there by 830 am, our flight wasnt until 130 pm though, just to play it safe. I would suggest 1130 or 1230 as it gets really crazy at FCO.

[mlbcruiser]

Just noticed the comment about FCO being "crazy". A lot of our fellow CCers posted about the airport commotion and problems w/a few time changes (Delta?), etc. However, our wing of the airport both coming into Rome (we had a 4 hr. layover before our flight to Spain) and leaving was NOT bad at all! Pc. of cake. (We flew AA.) Our flight left at about 1 p.m or so, though, and was the day AFTER our ship came back, so maybe that had something to do w/it.

 

We disembarked the ship at 8:30 by choice and there were MANY vans picking up to be taken back to Rome. It was pretty hectic, but in an organized way.