Greek Cruise Questions
 

We have just sugned up for a cruise tour in the Greek Islands starting in April. We will spend three days prior to the cruise in Venice then board for a 10 day cruise. If anyone out there has been there, can you give us suggestions as to what hotels you would recommend and any other tourist type info. Also, we still need to book airline tickets. Thanks in advance.

Last year we went to Mikonos. You do not need to take a tour. You can just walk and shop! Venice is a great city and my favorite of all the cities we went to on our Mediterranean cruise. Go to all the travel sites such as Tripadvisor, expedia, travelocity, etc,. and they will rate the hotels. And you can get information on everything on cruisecritic.com. We stayed on the cruise ship so we did not need a hotel. Have a great time!

Check out this Bed & Breakfast for Venice:

http://www.locandaorseolo.com

Our favourite vacation was a cruise of Venice, Mykenos, Santorini, Rhodes, Dubrovik, etc. It was magical. We loved every minute of the cruise, and Dubrovnik was a very pleasant surprise.

We especially loved that we had booked a room with a balcony on the Italian cruise line. The scenery is spectacular. We are planning to do it again soon.

Barefoot, which Italian cruise line did you use?

Thanks to all of you for your comments and information. We are really looking forward to this trip. The planning of it is also fun.

We were on a Royal Caribbean mediterean criuse. W e rented scooters for the day went to the beach {nude beach optional) in Mykonos,Greece and then came back an walked through town. If you go to thr Isle of Capri they view is fantastic from top, of the cliffs.

Venice Return Flight
 

Once again, thank you for your comments. We are still in the planning stage of our transportation to Venice and are somewhat confused on the return leg. Our ship dosen't dock until 6:30 AM, but it seems that most of the flights out of Venice are at 10:00 or 10:30 AM. It dosen't seem possible to be able to clear the ship, travel to the airport and clear security in time to make those flights. We did talk with a trave agent that assured us that this is enough time. However, she has never been there and we have been given bad information from other agents in the past. Open for any advice and thanks again.

Personally I would never book a flight that close to disembarking a cruise ship. There are so many variables that can cause a delay; we have experienced quite a few delays ourselves. Sign on to cruisecritic.com and ask the question there and you will get tons of advice on booking air. Have a wonderful trip, take lots of pictures and share them with us.:beer3:

jmark:

My rule of thumb is this: "If it sounds 'uncomfortable' then don't do it!"

Despite traveling quite a lot in Europe, and having as many as 15 cruises under my belt, I would still consider staying another night at your last port of call, making suitable arrangements for transfer to the airport.

Another travel outlook of mine: Do Not Inject Stress!

SWR
:beer3:

Jmark,

We took a flight before 11 a.m. that left Venice after a cruise and made it. That was 3 years ago and I was a wreck about it. We were one of the first off the ship and took a cab to the airport (less than 30 minutes). At that time the airline allowed us to check in within an hour of our flight. Boards.cruisecritic.com should be able to help answer your question. I would also recommend contacting the cruise line and find out what the earlies flight was that they would permit you to book. You may also want to ask them for available flights for personalized air - there's no obligation to book with the cruise company but it may give you ideas regarding alternative flights.

KC

Costa Cruises and we loved the ambiance.

Beware if purchasing gold...
 

The cruise I took was back in the early 80's, visiting Mykonos, Santorini, Crete and Rhodes. We were on a Greek cruise ship, whose name I don't recall. Wonderful trip. We sailed from Athens, so I don't have any suggestions for hotels. I suggest that if you are in the market for gold jewelry, do visit only the shops recommended by your cruise line staff. There was a jeweler (a fellow tourist) who was on our cruise and he checked our jewelry purchases once we were back on the ship. One woman went to a shop that hadn't been recommended. The gold necklace she purchased wasn't real gold. But, by the time she found that out, we had already set sail. Enjoy your trip!

Your comments have helped us alot. The comment that "if your not comfortable don't do it" and the advice to stay an additional night makes sense to us. Could potentially be less expensive in the long run. Many thanks again.

We make a practice of staying the night before near the
 

cruise port. Even when driving to Ft. Lauderdale. If flying we also stay overnight the day the ship gets back.
Takes ALL the stress out of transfers and unplanned what ever!

btk