mediterranean/Greek Isles cruise

Has anyone been on a cruise to Piraius(Athens), Kusadasi, Turkey (Ephesus),
& Civitavecchia (Rome)? Instead of purchasing expensive excursions from the
ship, can you purchase sightseeing trip at the port where the ship is
docked?

AF

Has anyone been on a cruise to Piraius(Athens), Kusadasi, Turkey
(Ephesus),
& Civitavecchia (Rome)? Instead of purchasing expensive excursions from
the
ship, can you purchase sightseeing trip at the port where the ship is
docked?


From Civitavecchia (Rome) you can buy a train ticket into Railway station
(about 300 mt)
This ticket is valid from Civitavecchia to Rome with train and in Rome you
can use metro and bus
The price is under 10 euro (about)
Don't take a taxi. It's very expensive.

At Pireo you can also take a metro ticket valid 1 day and
travel to Athens without problem. Cost: about 5/6 euro.

I don't know other port

Frank from Italy
"GF" ha scritto nel messaggio
e.rogers.com...
Has anyone been on a cruise to Piraius(Athens), Kusadasi, Turkey
(Ephesus),
& Civitavecchia (Rome)? Instead of purchasing expensive excursions from
the
ship, can you purchase sightseeing trip at the port where the ship is
docked?

AF

"GF" wrote in message
e.rogers.com...
Has anyone been on a cruise to Piraius(Athens), Kusadasi, Turkey
(Ephesus),
& Civitavecchia (Rome)? Instead of purchasing expensive excursions from
the
ship, can you purchase sightseeing trip at the port where the ship is
docked?

AF

For Ephesus, By taking a bus tour, they drive you up to the highest point,
have a guide waiting and everything is interesting and in a downhill
direction from there on...Go for it!

Sylvia

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 04:21:05 GMT, "GF" wrote:

Has anyone been on a cruise to Piraius(Athens), Kusadasi, Turkey (Ephesus),
& Civitavecchia (Rome)? Instead of purchasing expensive excursions from the
ship, can you purchase sightseeing trip at the port where the ship is
docked?

AF


I rarely take cruise excursions, but you have named three I might
purchase. All the destinations are a long way from the ship and the
transportation systems in the countries are not terribly reliable.
Italy isn't too bad for reliability but it's also the longest of the
trips by far. You really don't want to miss the ship on a self-booked
excursion.

The one I would be most likely to book myself is Ephesus, but I would
get a reservation with a reputable car and driver in advance. This
is mostly because you can get such a better tour, in a private car at
a reasonable price, than packed into a cruise bus.

I wouldn't go to Rome at all, personally -- book a land vacation to
see it. If I did, I would get the cheapest cruise bus there and
back.

In Greece it's more of a traffic problem.


Mason Barge

"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
-- Abraham Lincoln

I've been to each of the places you mention by both land tour and
cruise ship. The decision on 'how' to do Rome and Athens depends
mostly on your own reaction to 'large foreign cities.' Do you
regularly travel alone -- and feel comfortable -- in such places? If
so, ignore the cruise excursions and go it alone. Both cities are
easy to reach from their ports and once there, are easy to get around
in (Rome by bus or subway, Athens by bus or taxi). On the other hand,
if such cities are intimidating for you, then the excursion is of
course the way to go: you won't see anything off the beaten path but
you'll get all the 'basics' covered -- without worries.

For Turkey I agree with the view that you hire a private driver/guide.
Economics are such -- and Turkey is such a wonderful and unusual
place -- that you'll get much higher 'value' by going 'private.' (I
would make the same argument for most Eastern Med. destinations).
When you hit the dock in Kusadasi you'll have many options for a guide
-- but definitely verify (i.e., ask for ID) that the person you're
going with is certified (by the state) as a tour guide. The last
thing you want is to get hooked up with some 'hack.'

P.S. - Watch the metro in Athens: it is the only place anyone has
successfully picked my pocket! (Such pros: you almost admire them!
Rome's gypsy groups were lame by comparison).



"GF" wrote in message le.rogers.com...
Has anyone been on a cruise to Piraius(Athens), Kusadasi, Turkey (Ephesus),
& Civitavecchia (Rome)? Instead of purchasing expensive excursions from the
ship, can you purchase sightseeing trip at the port where the ship is
docked?

AF

In article gers.com,
GF wrote:
Has anyone been on a cruise to Piraius(Athens), Kusadasi, Turkey (Ephesus),
& Civitavecchia (Rome)? Instead of purchasing expensive excursions from
the ship, can you purchase sightseeing trip at the port where the ship is
docked?

I've been on cruise ship tours of all the above cities, and thought they
were reasonably to well worth the price (but what should one expect when
trying to see Rome in one day, including travel time and getting back
to the ship before dinner!?).

The main advantage of booking the tours through the ship is that if the
tour buses are held up in traffic, the ship may wait (and has done so
on at least 2 cruises which I've been on) instead of leaving you behind
at the dock.


IMHO. YMMV.
--
Ron Nicholson rhn AT nicholson DOT com http://www.nicholson.com/rhn/
#include canonical.disclaimer // only my own opinions, etc.

I took a cruise from Athens to Istanbul and we stopped in Ephesus. Athens
you could do yourself with a tourbook as it is pretty well laid out. You
will miss out on some tidbits though!

Ephesus we took the cruise ship tour whcih was very good as usual the tour
guide spoke excellent English and was very knowledgeable about the history
and anecdotes of the area.

The big plus as most people usually state is that while on a ships' tour you
can't miss the ship!

years ago we decided to visit a wildlife refuge on the far side of Barbados
took public bus. If not for the kindness of a few local teenagers we would
have missed our ship!

Wayne

"Ronald H. Nicholson Jr." wrote in message
...
In article gers.com,
GF wrote:
Has anyone been on a cruise to Piraius(Athens), Kusadasi, Turkey
(Ephesus),
& Civitavecchia (Rome)? Instead of purchasing expensive excursions from
the ship, can you purchase sightseeing trip at the port where the ship
is
docked?

I've been on cruise ship tours of all the above cities, and thought they
were reasonably to well worth the price (but what should one expect when
trying to see Rome in one day, including travel time and getting back
to the ship before dinner!?).

The main advantage of booking the tours through the ship is that if the
tour buses are held up in traffic, the ship may wait (and has done so
on at least 2 cruises which I've been on) instead of leaving you behind
at the dock.


IMHO. YMMV.
--
Ron Nicholson rhn AT nicholson DOT com http://www.nicholson.com/rhn/
#include canonical.disclaimer // only my own opinions, etc.