Showing posts with label Celebrity Equinox Mediterranean cruise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Celebrity Equinox Mediterranean cruise. Show all posts

Friday, November 15, 2013

Celebrity Equinox Mediterranean ports of Santorini and Naples: stressand repose


By Jane Feehan
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The Equinox pulled into the Greek isle of Santorini, along with four other ships on the same day. I’m told this doesn’t happen often. About 9,000 people made their way on tenders at nearly the same time like an invading army to the shores of this picturesque port. To see anything, visitors must make their way to the top of this volcanic island via cable car or donkey. We didn’t pay for a ship excursion, which runs about $90 to $345 per person. The $345 tour takes visitors to a volcanic site, another port and a wine tasting—not worth it. Many told us before our cruise that few take excursions on Santorini.

So … we were on our own, along with most of  9,000 others. Locals offer a 20-minute boat trip as an option (for 12 Euros) to the very long wait for the cable cars to another part of Santorini where a bus took us to the beautiful village of Oia. There, we wandered through narrow streets amid brilliant white stone buildings for about 45 minutes before hopping a waiting bus for a 15 minute ride to Fira.

There are many stores in Fira, some operated by Americans, all targeting tourists. Small cafés with spectacular views abound. We lunched at a place we picked at random where we took in a spectacular, panoramic view. The food—Greek salads and fish—was nearly as good as the view.  It made up for the ordeal to come.

Literally thousands waited in a line for six cable cars to catch their tender to the ship. We decided instead to walk down a cobble stone donkey trail (rides are five Euros one way) picking our way over smelly mounds of manure through hundreds of tethered or wandering animals. It took an interminable 45 minutes in warm weather; it was extremely stressful. One woman collapsed at the bottom of the cliff and was placed in a wheelchair. The descent diminished our Santorini experience. Thankfully, we had a day at sea to recover before a stop in Naples.

Though steeped in history, and a chief port in Italy, Naples is not a tourist destination. But the ruins of
Pompeii lie a few miles away as well as the beautiful Amalfi coast, Positano and Sorrento. We weren’t up for a nine-hour day on this stop (too much night life) so chose a five or six hour Sorrento excursion ($50 each). Other excursions to Pompeii and the Amalfi coast ran $135 to $345 per person.

We relaxed on an hour and a half drive along the coast, took photos and spent two free hours in this pretty town for a couple of hours. This was a Sunday and plenty of locals (who look so stylish even in jeans) and tourists were out walking about enjoying the good weather and Christmas decorations. Sorrento is known for producing fine wooden lacquered boxes, olive oil, and lemon soaps. Tip: don’t buy anything at a store the guide steers you to to as a meeting place; it’s twice as expensive than others with the same merchandise because they get a commission.

We arrived back at around 2 p.m.—ready for another night of culinary glee, fine wine and good music. Our last stop: Rome. Check labels for additional Celebrity posts on this blog.

Tags: Celebrity Equinox Mediterranean cruise, Sorrento, Santorini



Saturday, November 9, 2013

Celebrity Equinox Mediterranean cruise: Mykonos and Ephesus

By Jane Feehan
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Two days back to back, two ports, two countries ...

We stopped at the Greek island of Mykonos where it was warm for November - about 75 degrees. This port caters to tourists so there's plenty of shopping. Friendly "Aegean" cats abound. The island is small so there is no need for a paid excursion. We passed up the stores in favor of a leisurely stroll to the end of the island where there are picturesque windmills used to grind wheat. Mykonos is quite windy throughout the year. We decided to lunch back on the ship. This island, though beautiful, does not appear very clean. 

We docked at Kusadasi, Turkey the next day where we took an excursion to Ephesus,  an important port
Library at Ephesus
city of about 200,000 residents  from 300 BC until about 700 AD. River silt has since eliminated water access but what a booming place this once was. 

Apostles Paul and John visited Ephesus to preach about their new religion (letters of St. Paul to the Ephesians). Some Christians believe the Virgin Mary lived out her days in this ancient city. A shrine on a mountain top marks that site. We took an excursion (about $94 each) to that shrine and to the marvelous ruins. The hoards of tourists arriving on buses at the shrine diminished prospects of a religious experience. The ruins were far more interesting with what was once the third largest library in the world. Only 15 percent of the city's ruins have been excavated (money issues, Turkey is a poor country).

We lunched at the Pine Bay resort, a Double Tree property. They presented a fantastic buffet with local dishes galore. The trip ended at a Turkish carpet retailer where they tried their best (but failed), to make a few big sales. It was a bit of a turnoff.

Cruise tips and info:

Celebrity does a great job organizing disembarkation and embarkation at their port stops; there is very little waiting. The best dollar value is in Kusadasi and Ephesus, so shopping is worth the time. Beware of the hard sell here. Turkey may be going on the Euro and our tour guide told us residents hope it does not come to pass. The Celebrity crew does their shopping in Kusadasi so they also hope the Euro does not come to pass.

Don't fear a virus outbreak on the Celebrity. Attendants stand at dining room entrances with bottles of disinfectant. They also greet us at the gangway with hand wash when we return from shore. The ship's stores stop business transactions every 30 minutes to wipe down counters and cash registers. Bartenders use tongs for fruit and anything else they add to drinks.  Impressive.Check labels for additional Celebrity posts on this blog.

Tags: Celebrity Equinox Mediterranean cruise, Ephesus, Kusadasi, 



Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Celebrity Equinox cruise, a day in Athens

Acropolis

By Jane Feehan

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Quite a day we had in Athens. We hired a driver  instead of opting for one of the Equinox tours. Our guide, Stelios Spinoulas, was knowledgeable and charming. I will be writing a post about him when we return.

One of the first "sights" we encountered driving into Athens was a pack of about four or five dogs looking right and looking left as they were attempting to cross a busy street. I feared they were about to be run over but Stelios assured us this is a common sight in Athens. Strays are picked up by the police, brought to a vet where they are examined for disease (and probably neutered) and set out again with collars. People are quite good about feeding these creatures; we didn't see a thin stray anywhere. Fat cats also abound ... and I'm an animal lover.

Stelios showed us so many highlights of Athens, I can't remember them all: Parthenon, Acropolis, ancient markets, President's palace, old city (Plaka), the Olympic stadium, where the modern games commenced in 1896, and the port city of Piraeus.  It was a day we will long remember, thanks to our guide.
Happy dogs at the Temple to Zeus where they are cared for

More cruise tips and info:
Equinox tours for Athens run about $40 to $140 per person. We arranged our private tour months ago.

The food on the ship continues to amaze us. We have not had a bad meal and have eaten in a number of venues, including specialty restaurants. 

Shopping is not great on the Equinox. There are very few sundries such as shampoo and mouth wash on two or three shelves in one store. There are clothing shops but with a limited selection of items and sizes such as T-shirts and hats. A high end cosmetics shop is available but again, limited in items.

Many people from around the world are on this ship, but Americans are in the majority.
Temple to Athena
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Tags: Celebrity Equinox cruise, vacations, Athens, tours in Athens, Stelio Spinoulas