Celebrity Galaxy - Med Shore Excursions - Dress Code?

[Matteo17]

Hi Folks

My husband and I are taking our first Med cruise in November. Crusing from Rome to Greece and Turkey Any feedback on where to go in Mykonos, Rhodes or Santorini would be helpful.

We only have one day in Naples. So what should we do? Naples

Capri or Pompei. Any feedback would help.

 

We've done about 20 other cruises, but none in Europe. Feel like a first time cruiser again! We're on Celebrity Galaxy, is the dress code more formal?

[RMSeadog]

Hi Folks

My husband and I are taking our first Med cruise in November. Crusing from Rome to Greece and Turkey Any feedback on where to go in Mykonos, Rhodes or Santorini would be helpful.

We only have one day in Naples. So what should we do? Naples

Capri or Pompei. Any feedback would help.

 

We've done about 20 other cruises, but none in Europe. Feel like a first time cruiser again! We're on Celebrity Galaxy, is the dress code more formal?

 

Pompeii or Herculaneum in Naples you will only have time to do one or the other. Any of the excursions in the Greek Ilse are good. If you like Greek food and wine look for one with food tastings. They are great with lots of wine. Leave some time for walking around. No knees or bare shoulders for the ladies in Turkey. Turkey is not as strict as some other countries, However, we like to show respect for their customs. You will just love with the East Med. ~ Ric

[Sheik]

Well...In Europe there is no real dresscode, but in most European countries and cities it's just different than in the US.

 

How do we know you are an American tourist? ;)

- white socks

- white "New Balance" shoes

- large t-shirt (or with words like "Liberty", "Yankees" etc.)

- Flip-flops with socks

- Jeans shorts

- hip bag

- Jeans that look different than ours :)

 

When you visit a city in Europe, it's usual to dress properly, not like a stereotype tourist. Comfort is important, especially on vacation, but the visual aspect is also very important.

On islands like Santorini the "dresscode" is less important, but keep in mind that you will be notice by Europeans as a real American tourist. Especially in cities like Naples, Barcelona and Rome you have to watch out for pickpockets. American tourists have the image of "easy to catch" if you understand what I'm trying to say :D.

 

If it's your first time in Naples, then I would suggest to skip Naples. I highly recommend you Capri (whole day) or the Amalfi coastline (Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi) Enjoy one of the most beautiful views and scenery. Check Google for some pictures! Naples is a nice city, but very very very dangerous. I visited Napels for work a lot, but experienced dangerous situations sometimes.

 

Have fun in Europe!!!

[TourDeCruise]

What to do in these ports really depends on preferences. The recommendations given are excellent ones.

 

Our preferences are for ancient history & archaeology, so our Naples recommendations would be Pompeii (or Herculaneum, but for first time I would recommend Pompeii). Naples also has a fantastic archaeology museum which you can take a taxi to or walk, but as previously mentioned beware of pickpockets. Actually, you have to beware of taxi drivers too -- not in the pickpocket sense -- but because of the horrific driving in Naples. You will never see anything like it, except for Rome (Naples is even worse IMHO). They don't pay attention to red lights or even staying off the sidewalks. If you want a more active shore excursion, you might want to climb Mt. Vesuvius and then go to Pompeii.

 

If you like archaeology, then in Mykonos definitely take the Celebrity excursion to Delos, an island which is an archaeology site and a major religious center in its day.

 

If you like archaeology, then in Santorini go to Akrotiri, the ancient Minoan site (make sure it is open before going as they close it often for restoration/excavation), and/or the archaeology museum right there in Fira after you go up to the top by cable car or donkey (or climbing on the stairs the donkeys use but beware that the donkeys so their business on the steps). Oia is another lovely nearby town (not archaeology) too. If you want some hiking, consider taking the ferry from Fira (get ferry at the bottom very close to where the tender drops you off) over to Nea Kameni and hike up to the top of the volcano. Or do the ferry that takes you to both Nea Kameni and the hot springs where you can swim. You will see Nea Kameni from the ship -- it's the volcano across the way.

 

You can walk around Rhodes on your own. There is a fortress there, the remains of the Temple of Venus, a great archaeology museum (closed on Mondays I believe), and some nice, relaxed shopping. We plan to take Celebrity's excursion to Lindos, ancient Greek temple, in 2009.

 

It sounds like you are doing to Galaxy Eastern Med cruise. Of our 18 cruises, that is our favorite one with the other Med cruises close behind along with the Norwegian Fjords and Arctic Circle cruises. We just loved having ancient archaeology every day.

 

Regarding the dress code on the Galaxy itself, it is not formal except for 2-3 formal nights where a suit, tux, or dinner jacket is required for men and a cocktail dress, dressy pantsuit, or gown is required for women. During the day, shorts are fine. But the dining room does not permit shorts or jeans at 6:00pm or after.

 

The previous posters gave good recommendations for port clothing. In Europe, we prefer to wear 3/4 pants (capris) versus shorts. European women and men for the most part do not wear shorts (some teens will though) that are above the knee, but wear the 3/4s instead. American flag t-shirts don't go over all that well in Europe either.

 

Let us know if you have more questions about these ports or the others.

 

Kathy

[Dog Mommie]

Hi! And welcome to Cruise Critic!

Have you checked here on the site for a roll call on your ship? There may well be others lookiing into booking private tours that would like to share the cost...it's a great way to typically see more, and of what interests you, over the run of the mill cruise tours.

[BrusselsGirl07]

The cruise you are doing on the Galaxy was our first ever cruise!! Now we are hooked!

 

On formal nights on the ship there was anything from long gowns and tuxedos to cocktail dresses and black suits with ties. On the other evenings people wore clothes you would wear to a smart restaurant - skirts and bluses, dressy pants and tops etc.

 

Naples is very dirty and noisy and feels a little dangerous. We had spent a week in Naples earlier in that year, and so we did not get off the ship at that stop. Pompeii is amazing, and Herculaneum is a smaller better preserved site. Capri and Sorrento would also be great. I would go to either Pompeii or Herculaneum in a heartbeat, but depends what you like.

 

Santorini was fantastic - so beautiful! We did not do a tour here, but walked all over the island, and then took a taxi to another town, Oia, to see more of the beautiful buildings and scenery. We did a bit of shopping at the shops near the cable car before taking the cable car back down to the tenders.

 

Rhodes is easy as you can just get off the ship and walk around, again a beautiful city. Lots to see, so just do a little research on line to see what you must see.

 

We did not get to see much of Mykonos as our ship was late to port, then we did a tour of Lindos (another nearby Greek island) which was fantastic. By the time we got back to Mykonos it was dark and we could not see much.

 

In Istanbul it snowed!! We were there in October and noone was expecting snow. We all froze! But we still had a great time. We did a ship tour as we did not feel confident exploring there by ourselves.

 

Hope this helps! Have fun!

[excitedofharpenden]

If you are going to go into Rome a couple of days early and plan a trip to the Vatican be aware that there is a dress code that precludes skirts above the knee, shorts and bare arms. Otherwise I remember dressing pretty casually and for comfort when I was off the ship. I guess I might have looked a bit like a tourist, but did leave the sandals and ankle socks at home:D

 

Capri was very busy when we were there in September, but should be less so in November. I loved Capri with the chair lift up to Monte Solaro and the Blue Grotto. The trip across by boat was quick and fun and we left from right next to the cruise ship dock.

 

Phil

[terrydtx]

If you are going to go into Rome a couple of days early and plan a trip to the Vatican be aware that there is a dress code that precludes skirts above the knee, shorts and bare arms. Otherwise I remember dressing pretty casually and for comfort when I was off the ship. I guess I might have looked a bit like a tourist, but did leave the sandals and ankle socks at home:D

 

Phil

 

The same Vatican dress code carries over to any of the old cathedrals and churches in Italy for both men and women. We did a land trip to Florence and Pisa for a week in 2006 and the most of the tourists we saw in shorts were from the cruise ships. The day we visited the Santa Croce Church the the Duomo (a must in Florence) there must have been 300-500 cruise ship tourists int he Plaza in front of the church and many of them were disappointed when they were denied entrance into the church because they were wearing shorts, both men and women. You do not have to have your arms totally covered but no bare shoulders for men and women are allowed and low cut or provocative blouses on women showing too much cleavage can keep you out too. Many tourists forget that most of the 1000 year old Catholic Cathedrals are still working churches and not just archaeological sites.

[DebraD56]

Matteo17.

 

We are on the same trip. There are 44 of us from Rhode Island that are taking this tour, plus we have 6 nights stayover in Venice and Rome before we pick up the ship in Rome. My son was in Greece last year and he says the same thing as the others say on this board. Mykonos, Santorini and Rhodes are ports that you can do on your own

As for as the other ports, like Napli, Athens, check out Shoretrips.com for some great shore tours. Some of them are even cheaper than the ones that the Galaxy have. See on onboard. Debra

[gfkcruiser]

Which November sailing are you taking? I am interested in the Nov 15 sailing.

[DebraD56]

We are departing from Rome on Nov 14 at night, then sailing to Messina, Sicily; Athens, Mykonos, Turkey, Rhodes, Santorini, Naples, Capri and then back to Rome. We are sailing on the Galaxy. Second trip on a Celebrity. First on Galaxy. Can't wait to see her after her refurb.