Greek Isles cruise

[LMac]

:) did you need a visa in turkey? some1 said if you do a ship tour you dont and if you do a private tour you do' date=',,can you help me out?:)[/quote']

 

No VISA needed for Turkey, whether a private tour or ship's tour.

[JPOttCan01]

Yep no Visa required for Tours in Turkey

[b0684]

I've been looking into a Greek Island Cruise for this fall. I think I found one with just the Greek Islands but I'm not too sure about the cruise line. The name of the line is Costa (Mediterranea)and it has a 7 day cruise from Venice to 6 different islands (Bari, Katakolon, Santoni, Mylonos, Rodi and one more, can't think of the name). Splendor of the Seas of Royal Carib. also does one but it doesn't have as many islands. If I do find out anything else on the Costa line I'll let you know.

 

Joanne

[tom_uk]

Costa is part of the Carnival empire, but targeted more at (non-english-speaking) europeans. That said, English is spoken on board and you wouldn't be left wondering what was going on. Their ships are the equal of Carnivals - indeed, their most recent ships - Costa Fortuna, Costa Magica, Costa Serena, and others, and largely the same class as Carnival's own latest big ships, simply deployed to Costa. So you don't need to have any fears about the standard of the cruise or the ship.

 

There's another Italian company, MSC, that competes head to heads with Costa. Most of their ships are very modern but a little smaller than the Costa ones. They had a big ship (90,000) new last year (MSC Musica) and a sister ship (MSC Orchestra) this year. Again, perfectly good quality.

 

The only reservation with both these lines is the limited amount of time they spend at the various islands. E.g., don't they do Mykonos & Santorini in the same day? I actually think that for both these lines, their western med cruises are better than the eastern med. cruises.

 

I did a western med cruise with MSC in 2005, and I posted a review here:

http://www.cruisereviews.com/MediterraneanShippingCruises/Sinfonia1.htm

[cruisingmimi]

Yep no Visa required for Tours in Turkey

 

Ok, this whole visa thing is driving me nuts! LOL Some say yes, some say no. We will be visiting Istanbul for an overnight stay in Nov., Kusadasi & Egypt.

 

Egypt - ????? anyone have a clue?

 

Thanks, guys,

 

Mary

[avidtraveler92583]

Hi first of all you do need a visa for Turkey if you are an American citizen. Easy to obtain through Turkish consulate or if you are flying into Istanbul you can get one at the airport. On our cruise Oceania thought we did not have one and told us we must have one to get off the ship. Also to those women traveling and thought that they might not get off the ship we found Turkey to be an amazing place. We stopped in Ephesus which is a must to see.....sooooo amazing and we spent 5 days in Istanbul which gave us enough time to take in this incredible city. The people were friendly and helpful. While their sales techniques are alittle pushy, with a smile and a polite no thank you was usually all it took, even in the bazaars. Go, get off the ship and have fun.

[venicia]

yes, you must have a Visa to visit Turkey, but it can be obtained at your port of entry

 

Visas are required for American citizens. A multiple entrance/exit visa (necessary for combination tours) to Turkey is offered at the port of entry for a cost of $20 per person in cash.

 

This is not the same as if you were going to visit Australia (just an example) where you will have to mail your passport to the passport office to be cleared by the country, have the visa placed in your passport and mailed back to you.........when you get to Turkey, it is much easier to show your passport and pay $20.00 per person for your entry/exit visa.

[Jade13]

Try Holland America Line. They have a roundtrip from Rome.

[Cruise Junky]

yes, you must have a Visa to visit Turkey, but it can be obtained at your port of entry

 

Visas are required for American citizens. A multiple entrance/exit visa (necessary for combination tours) to Turkey is offered at the port of entry for a cost of $20 per person in cash.

 

This is not the same as if you were going to visit Australia (just an example) where you will have to mail your passport to the passport office to be cleared by the country, have the visa placed in your passport and mailed back to you.........when you get to Turkey, it is much easier to show your passport and pay $20.00 per person for your entry/exit visa.

 

Are you sure about this? Everything I've read is you only need a visa if you stay on land overnight not just day trips.

[venicia]

http://www.turkishembassy.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=144&Itemid=132

 

this is a question and answer from the Turkish Embassy, we have toured twice in Turkey and had to pay each time......these were port options where we got off ships and spent a few hours in Turkey.

Have not heard that anything has changed and know when we go on the next cruise to Greece, it will port in Turkey and we will again pay this Visa price for getting off the ship

[Cruise_Dreamer]

I cruised with Costa Victoria last July and really enjoyed it. The staff was very pleasent and helpful and we had a fantastic time. We left from Venice and cruised to Bari (Italy), Olympia, Rhoades, Mykonos, Santorini and Dubrovnik. We stayed in venice 1 night pre-cruise and 2 nights post cruise.

 

Yes, Mykonos and Santorini were both in the same day, but I think we got a good taste of both ports. Mykonos we did on our own, but Santorini we did the ships tour and were able to see Oia and Thyra (spelling?) :)

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise!

[bella c]

We are on the June 23 sailing of the Splendor. Can you tell us a little more about the cruise. What did you do on Corfu? Did you have enough time in Dubrovnick?? email me if you can at gogailo2@yahoo.com

thanks

[LMac]

We sailed in May on the Veendam, and Ephesus was one of our stops. We were just there for the day, we did not do a ship tour, and we did NOT need a visa.

 

Do NOT miss Ephesus!

 

Leslie

[whatnot]

Just returned from a Celebrity Galaxy Greek Isles and Turkey cruise. We did not need a visa. The cruise line took care of it for all passengers. We found Turkey to be so much better than we expected. Istanbul is a beautiful city. Crowded, but very clean compared to alot of our big cities. We also went to Kushadasi (Ephesus) in Turkey.

 

This cruise did Athens, Rhodes, Mykonos, and Santorini in Greece as well as Naples in Italy. Great trip!

[MVPinBoynton]

Just got back from our Med Cruise. Turkey was the highlight. Ephesus was the only port in Turkey, but oh so wonderful. People were great and the food wonderful in addition to the remarkable sights. If you go to Ephesus, do not miss the Terrace Houses. Unbelievable.

[NorCal123]

Just got back from our Med Cruise.

 

Mike & Carol, Thanks for all the tips you can provide on the ports and the ship. We are sailing the Grand next year, Sept. 2008, on the same itinerary as you had. We will be awaiting the updates on your home website.

 

Steve

[MVPinBoynton]

Steve,

Please be patient with us, we will be giving plenty of tips. I took over 3,600 pictures and Carol took 1,000, so we have a lot to go through as well as a lot of writing about our experiences. You will love the ports on this cruise. They are just marvelous.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Sorry if the same info has already been posted... I didn't read through all the replies.

 

If you want to just visit greek isles, your best bet would be to book a cruise on one of the smaller and/or local cruise lines which service the mediterranean and greek isles, specifically.

 

My mother-in-law went on one a few years ago (can't recall which line) which stopped at 6 or 7 islands. Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, Crete and another 2 or 3 small islands I can't remember. She said one of the advantages of smaller ships is that they are able to port where many bigger ships aren't able to. The trade-off was less luxurious surroundings (which didn't bother her because she spent most of her time in port).

 

Hope this helps.

[venicia]

Mike & Carol,

 

Thank you very much for sharing your photographs and some of the best comments I have ever read. What caught my eye immediately was your Aussie/New Zeland trip. Chuck and I spent 4 weeks in Australia and 2 in New Zeland and your review was fabulous. I want to go back!!! If you are not compensated by travel companies, they have missed the best and need to bring you onboard.

 

The next trip I was in awe about was your Panama cruise. We are booked for Dec 27 on Coral Princess and I have been trying to find out more about Cartagena. Thank you so much for your information and photographs.

 

Now, for the reason I asked the question about Greek Cruises. I did see you have been on tour's and have the experience of moving quickly as a tour company will have you do. We have no complaints and love to see as much as possible. As my initial post indicated, we would like to be on a cruise ship (one we are familiar with)and see the Greek Isles and not have to pack and unpack for each destination. Look forward to your new photo's and again, have much more to read on your travels and think your comments and photographs are among the best ever.

Mike and Carol, thank you so much for sharing your travel adventures.

V

[Cruise Junky]

Mike & Carol,

 

Thank you very much for sharing your photographs and some of the best comments I have ever read. What caught my eye immediately was your Aussie/New Zeland trip. Chuck and I spent 4 weeks in Australia and 2 in New Zeland and your review was fabulous. I want to go back!!! If you are not compensated by travel companies, they have missed the best and need to bring you onboard.

 

The next trip I was in awe about was your Panama cruise. We are booked for Dec 27 on Coral Princess and I have been trying to find out more about Cartagena. Thank you so much for your information and photographs.

 

Now, for the reason I asked the question about Greek Cruises. I did see you have been on tour's and have the experience of moving quickly as a tour company will have you do. We have no complaints and love to see as much as possible. As my initial post indicated, we would like to be on a cruise ship (one we are familiar with)and see the Greek Isles and not have to pack and unpack for each destination. Look forward to your new photo's and again, have much more to read on your travels and think your comments and photographs are among the best ever.

Mike and Carol, thank you so much for sharing your travel adventures.

V

 

Come and play with us in Greece. Same ship, same itinerary that Mike and Carol just did. Grand Princess, September 23rd, 2008.

[MVPinBoynton]

Venecia,

Thank you so much for your very kind comments. I am so glad that our reviews have helped you in your cruise planning. I have no desire to be compensated by a travel company. It would take the fun out of writing the reviews; plus I like to have the freedom to express my opinions rather than a sponsor's. Now I need to get back to writing on this just completed Med Cruise. Thanks again.

[HawkeyeCruisr]

Have you considered Oceania? We just returned from a 10-day Venice to Rome cruise on this line and LOVED it! We were looking for a Greek Isles cruise and considered their Istanbul to Venice 14-day cruise next May 10th (Istanbul with overnight stay there, Lesbos, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Delos, Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, Amalfi, Taormina, Kotor, Dubrovnik and Venice with overnight stay there). Also, their Istanbul to Athens 12-day cruise looks great (Istanbul with overnight there, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Delos, Mykonos, Santorini, Katakolon, Corfu, Sarande, Dubrovnik and Athens with overnight stay).

 

Even though these looked like great cruises, we ultimately booked Windstar's Wind Spirit Istanbul to Athens 7-day cruise for next May 24th (Istanbul, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Bodrum, Santorini, Mykonos and Athens).

 

These suggestions are only if you want the experience of cruising on a smaller ship - Oceania's contain approx. 650 passengers and Windstar's ship has only 148 passengers.

 

Nancy

[TNTLAMB]

Although, the OP's question centered around Greece, I have to agree that the 12 day cruise itinerary we just completed (the Same as Mike and Carol) could not have been any better. Epesus was a highlite for us as well and meshed well with the relaxing no pressure days on the Islands. I also think the Venice to Rome itinerary makes more sense than the reverse. I would have done on thing much different however. We did 2 days pre cruise in Venice, and 3 days post cruise in Rome. I honestly think Had we done all of our extra days pre cruise, we would have been better off. Doing it again I would fly into Rome, spend 2-3 days, go to Florence for a day on the Eurostar and then on to Venice. That itinerary would have really maximized the days in the greek isles, which are very relaxing indeed and a greta way to end a cruise with a sea day, one day touring and home.

[2DesertRats!]

We're going on Oceania's "Crossroads of History" cruise (12 days) in late October, because we wanted to see more places in Greece/Greek Isles, and because the amount of time in each port was appealing: Ports of call include Istanbul (1-1/2 days(start), Kusadasi (8am-8pm), Rhodes (9am-6pm), Mykonos (2pm-10pm), Delos (8am - noon), Santorini(8am-6pm), Katakolon(8am-4pm), Corfu (8am-6pm), Dubrovnik(Croatia) 8am-4pm), and Athens (1-1/2days, end).

[adgtravel]

We are thinking of cruising Venice to Rome with Greek Isles in Nov. Has anyone done this in Nov? If so, what was the weather like? Thanks!