Back to the Med Greece/Turkey in 2013! Complete!

[MinnieDiva]

I have been following along from the beginning on this trip report but haven't commented. I just wanted to say that my husband and I went to Greece for our honeymoon 15 years ago. We spent a week on Crete, 5 days on Santorini, and 3 days on Mykonos. We LOVED the Greek Islands. I would highly recommend going back for a land based stay. We stayed near the main town on Mykonos and rented scooters for our stay. We drove around the island and found a completed deserted beach one afternoon. Greece is a truly magical place!

Thanks for following!! Youre honeymoon sounds amazing! We can't wait to go back, but it's so hard to decide where to go next....

 

[LadyOfNawlins]

Thanks for following!! Youre honeymoon sounds amazing! We can't wait to go back, but it's so hard to decide where to go next....

I have really enjoyed reading your trip report. We were going to do a Disney Med cruise this summer but couldn't make it work. We are actually deep in the planning stages for next summer. Our plan is to spend 2 weeks in Europe for our 15th anniversary and take our 2 girls who will be 9 and 12. We are going to stay in apartments in Paris, Villefranche, Sorrento, and Rome. We thought about doing the cruise since we want to go to most of the same places, but my husband wanted to spend a couple of days in several places instead.

Anyway, thanks for sharing all of your experiences with us!

 

[MinnieDiva]

I have really enjoyed reading your trip report. We were going to do a Disney Med cruise this summer but couldn't make it work. We are actually deep in the planning stages for next summer. Our plan is to spend 2 weeks in Europe for our 15th anniversary and take our 2 girls who will be 9 and 12. We are going to stay in apartments in Paris, Villefranche, Sorrento, and Rome. We thought about doing the cruise since we want to go to most of the same places, but my husband wanted to spend a couple of days in several places instead.

Anyway, thanks for sharing all of your experiences with us!

You're welcome!!

We'd planned on doing 2 weeks this coming spring break and doing a Rick Steves-like trip using the train to bounce around, but I had to go and get a real job. Imagine having to work and EARN my vacation time!! Horrors!

Our vacation next year is around my 40th b-day, so I guess that 2 weeks dedicated to Disney will work in place of Europe. Ya know...the things I sacrafice myself for....

 

[MinnieDiva]

I was sorting thru some stuff this morning, trying to decrease the huge pile that sits on my dresser, and I came across the mixology recipe sheet they gave us. I scanned it in to photobucket in a larger format and you should be able to read it and possibly download it from this link:

http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/skamerrill/media/2nd sea day pics/file.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

 

[MinnieDiva]

You will NEVER guess what else I found in my organizational attempt....





$160 USD. In an envelope.

 

[mindelmouse]

You will NEVER guess what else I found in my organizational attempt....

$160 USD. In an envelope.

Why the heck did you have money in an envelope?

 

[MinnieDiva]

Why the heck did you have money in an envelope?

When we got onboard, we took the US cash out of our wallet and put it in the safe in an envelope. Guess we forgot about that.

 

[nzdisneymom]

When we got onboard, we took the US cash out of our wallet and put it in the safe in an envelope. Guess we forgot about that.

We did the same thing with our US cash on board. I thought I had all the Euro out but when I went to lay for lunch today, I found 10€. I am keeping it as seed money for another trip

 

[mindelmouse]

Hold for Kusadasi: June 22, 2013

This was another port we'd intended to go thru DCL, but with all the private tours once again gone after Platinum/Concierge booking, we did the obligatory research and opted to go thru Magical Steps Travel: http://www.magical-steps.com/ephesus-tours . Their fee was slightly higher, $470 USD (dollars!!!!) for a party of 8 but included lunch, a guide, and all the admissions except the Terrace Houses (which seems to be standard amongst all the tour companies). We actually ended up adding another family to this tour and are now a party of 14. It reduced the costs from $60/adult and $30/child to $50/adult and $25/child.

Suggested dinner attire: Cruise Casual
Menu: Mediterranean
Show: Mysteries of Anatolia

My first foray into Asia!!! Sadly, this was not to be so for DD and DH. DD once again was ill overnight, and as DH left dinner early the evening before with a headache, he offered to stay onboard with her. So, I scooted out early to let them sleep and took pictures of our arrival. The port was a lot prettier than some we had been to!!





Our party, now reduced by to to 12, met our guide (not a clue what his name was), outside the port terminal. Actually, I was the last to come forward, and as I was the one who had made all the arrangements, he was looking for me....and a bit disappointed to find out that I was a woman. As I was standing next to Mindy's DH, he looks at him and assumes "he's my husband???". Um, no. Clearly the opportunity to do business with a woman did not excite him. Dismay is the term I'd think I'd use to describe the look on his face when he realized that I was Kim. Oh well....

Our guide's name was Tevik (he gave Jim his card so we could write about him on trip advisor, I'm thinking he's regretting it now, not because it was a bad review just a little mediocre. He spent a lot of the tour trying to convince Sam to talk with his son who was about the same age but didn't speak a word of English and seemed to be a bit shy. Sam tried for a couple of minutes and then gave up.

So...our party was reduced by 2, right? But they didn't know that...so imagine our surprise when the bus only sat 12. There was a bench seat that 2 small adults or kids could have used in the front by the driver, but the guide's son was with us that day....???? Ok. Odd.

So we were off to Ephesus. Our guide was clearly educated about the area and the history, but did not gear any of his lectures for kids. So it turns out that DD chose the best day she could to get ill enough to stay on the ship. The 4 remaining kids were pretty bored as well. As he was very accented, it was a bit difficult to understand some of what the guide said. What he did do very well was be respectful of our older members with mobility issues. That was very nice!!

Ephesus was beautiful, but it was very, very hot. I want to say the high that day was about 95, but fortunately very low in humidity. At the beginning, we were able to purchase water if for some reason we hadn't brought any. That, and use the restroom, as the guide was clear that it would be at least 2 hours until we had another opportunity. We went from shady spot to shady spot to see the different ruins, before getting a break from the intense sun inside the Terrace Houses. This area is a neighborhood that is still an active archeology site. There were people in there doing archeology stuff while we were there!! It was so neat to see! The mosaics and whatnot were still so vivid. In addition, we saw areas that were blue...lapis lazuli...showing how wealthy this area was!

And let's not forget the shot we got of the "Mystical" Logans

We left there and went for lunch. At this point, I was beginning to tune out the guide, until most of the bus practically rioted protesting that there would be no carpet visit. What??? Not mentioned in the booking and not wanted. By ANY of us. So as we get out of the bus, I tell the guide it's a no-go, and he was trying to convince me that it would be ok. I walked over to Mindy's DH and (as the guide seemed drawn to him for some reason) and told him to deal with it as apparently a woman wasn't going to be able to convince him. His tactic? Told the guide that there had been a bad carpet incident in the past and that if he went there he'd never hear the end of it from his wife. HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Totally worked.

If you remember the carpet story in Tunisia from our last trip, you will totally get why there was going to be no carpet store in our future on this trip. Plus when we were walking out of Ephesus one of the vendors ran up to me and told me our guide would be taking us to a carpet store and not to trust him he got a 60% kick back...I don't know where that came from but it strengthened my resolve not to go.

Lunch was pretty good. We had no say in what we got to eat, but what showed up looked completely normal and tasted really good!! And...there was wifi!

Lunch consisted of an appetizer of eggplant salad, olives, cheese and barekas. Then we had a main dish plate of lamb, chicken, French fries, rice and hot peppers. They served watermelon for dessert. The lunch was included in our tour, we just had to pay for drinks.

After lunch, we headed to the Isabey Mosque. It was supposed to be one of the oldest and biggest in the area. It was simple inside with a beautiful courtyard, and we were greeted by the Iman of the mosque. He was a friend of the guide. They were doing some arabic writing thing for the kids, but I wandered off for pictures and to see what dad was up to as he hadn't gone into the mosque himself. He was in the shade!

The courtyard at the mosque:

The last stop of the day was the Temple of Artemis...the one remaining original 7 wonders. Well, one post remained, and I'm pretty sure it had fallen down and been resurrected. But....I've seen it!!

The Temple of Artemis:

It was back to the ship!!!! Before heading onboard, I went to Starbucks hoping for a mug with the location on it, but all I got was an iced coffee. Back onboard, I checked on the peeps and headed to the gym for a workout. DD was feeling better and DH's headache was gone. After a shower, we headed to the show. It was ok. I get that it was cultural in nature, but The music was a bit loud for my taste. I get the feeling like they were a touring group. The announcer spoke very broken English off a card, but was so enthusiastic that you really couldn't fault him for it . I appreciate the cultural touch with this show.

Before dinner, the hubby and I took the opportunity to do one of the professional photo sessions, just the 2 of us. Dad and DD were no where to be found. Dinner that night was far better than the previous evening. The mediterranean theme was tasty.

While Kim was in Starbucks we got gelato and were ripped off...I told jim there was reason the guy would only take cash because he was being overcharged...it I realized what he paid I would have fought with the guy. 25 Euros for 4 1 scoop cups of gelato...PLEASE.... we went back to the ship, went to the Adult pool for a swim. Actually skipped the show (didn't really interest me) and met Jim to play Bingo...we actually won so that was cool. I agree dinner was much better...they actually had real Spanikopita and they didn't call it that...go figure.

Link to Kusadasi Navigators:

http://s1236.photobucket.com/user/skamerrill/library/Navigators/Kusadasi?sort=3&page=1

 

[mindelmouse]

hold for Mykonos: June 23, 2013

Currently, 7 of the 8 of us are booked on the Delos excursion. My dad has still yet to book...he's a newbie to DCL and has to wait until that stinking 75-day mark . There initially seemed to be some issues with availability, so we'll see what pans out. Worst case scenario is that we do this on our own. He could also do an adult-only excursion. We shall see...I've read that it's fairly easy to get to Delos once you get off the ship, but my fear is that I'd get nudged out of making a ferry and not making it back to the ship on time. UPDATE: 8/8 booked on 10:45 excursion!!

Suggested dinner attire: Pirate Night.....which then brings up the question....to bring Pirate attire or not? I'd have to make something new for DD. Easily enough accomplished, I guess...Update: Pirate attire packed and ready to go for all! I also made my dad a pirate shirt so he could join in the festivities!

Menu: Master Chef
Show: Scott Pepper (magician)

Mykonos was beautiful!! It has a very rugged, barren landscape that is juxtaposed by the amazingly scenic white and blue buildings. It is the iconic Greek island...the one you see in your mind's eye when you think about what a Greek island is. As we were on the 10-something excursion, we got the opportunity to take it a bit easy that morning and sleep a bit.

View from ferry back at ship and the old port:



We docked in the "old port" and for those of us on the DCL Delos excursion, we walked off and went right onto a tender (ferry??). It was about a 30 minute ride over, and before we boarded, we were handed our headset device for our tour. Our tour guide met us on the island. I'm assuming that they went over with the early Delos excursion. The boats that we took over to the island actually stayed there while we toured. I didn't see any that were coming and going, so that may be why people can do this on their own and not get left behind....the reason I was worried about doing this on our own. Maybe they pack out the people they pack in?? Hope that gives y'all that are thinking about doing this on your own something to research and chew on.



Our tour was to last 2 hours. As with all DCL excursions, we had our bottle of water, and while it was very warm, there was a lovely breeze. Our guide was lovely...very educated and easy to understand. She did a great job trying to time our progress thru the ruins so that we didn't fight other crowds in the same area. Our route took us around to the museum, where there was a bathroom . And cats. There were cats all over Europe, and the kids seemed to always be drawn to these things. Interestingly, in Athens (I think....), they actually would round up the strays, fix them and vaccinate them, before letting them go again. It was actually a city project! But I digress......

We continued on thru some amazingly intact housing areas. Pictures will come.....



The famous Lions (these are reproductions):



These are the real ones in the museum (with the elements of wind and water a lot of stuff had been preserved/replaced):



More cool stuff in the museum:



A mock-up of what the houses had looked like:



As we finished up the tour, we were herded back to the boat. Before we boarded, they collected the electronic device thingie, but we could keep our 1-bud earset if we wanted. LOL! Yes...only one bud (see the pic of DH and my dad above...).

The boat ride back was choppy. Very, very choppy and windy. Let's leave it there, shall we? I wandered to an area that would result in me not being SOAKED by ocean spray.

We were dropped off at the town port, as opposed to being let off at the old port to go back to the ship.

View from ship of new port and town:



Dad headed toward the buses to get shuttled to the boat, but the rest of us decided to have some lunch and wander. DH took the lead and led us off the main drag. We found a GREAT restaurant (with wifi) that had.....get this.....a pet pelican!!!!! Those are large birds, let me tell you!!! This bird wandered into the kitchen after wandering over to one of the staff for petting. The chef had to head out of the kitchen with a fish to feed to the pelican to keep it from getting underfoot. You had to wander thru said kitchen to get to the bathroom and I do have to insert here that the whole place was very, very clean.




After we ate, we just wandered. There was no rhyme or reason to the street layout, but then again I'm a bit directionally challenged. We ended up over by the famous windmills and got our pictures!! After this we headed back toward the shuttle buses. We ended up seeing more friends at the beach on our way back...their kids were having a great time!! DD was a bit jealous......she wanted to go swimming....




Back on ship, we all parted ways, and I went to the gym. I need to look at pics to really be able to tell you what we did the rest of that evening, but I do know that we went to the show. The magician was pretty good!

Added in to add: By this time we'd discovered the lecturer that was onboard. After the show and before dinner almost every evening he was in the Buena Vista Theater lecturing on something that was coming up (usually). It's on the Navigator. This particular evening was Rome: Victor or Vector? (roger, Roger....hahahahahahaha! Not many of you will get that joke, I think. Sound off if you do!)

This night was one of the new menus, I think. In spite of the pending sea day, I was ready for bed....

I think of all the places we went, I think Mykonos was the most beautiful Just like any picture that you've seen of a Greek Island, with the white buildings and blue roofs. It seemed very quiet and peaceful. Definitely on the list of places to go to again.



As Kim described, Delos of very interesting, to think a whole civilization uncovered and pretty much in tact. I loved following Sean around the interior roads or passageways of the little town. It was neat seeing all the little shops. It was at this point I realized my daughter had majorly burned her shoulders on Delos (guess cause it was windy, she didn't feel herself burning). It turned to a bit of sun poisoning and blistering, but all is good now..the skin has finally stopped peeling.

The fun part about the restaurant was Sam actually ate Greek food ok so it was fried cheese but it was still out of the ordinary for my very picky eater. I finally got proper Moussaka and was very happy. I also knew in this port I had to get the requisite souvenirs for the office, since we weren't given any time to shop on our other tours. So with olive oil, a painted bowl and ouzo in hand I was ready to return to the ship. Where I did the usual - a little pool action, spoke with some friends, went to show and had dinner. Spent some time after dinner getting to know some of our new friends and then off to bed, hoping to sleep in on our next sea day.

 

[mindelmouse]

Just a note, the night before every port, DCL put a pamphlet in the room for the kids about the port we were going to and some games. Sometimes the pamphlet turned up after the port, but I managed to get one from every port. They are in good shape since they were geared towards younger kids and mine didn't show much interest. There were also maps that they left us, but I only have some of those. If anyone is interested in seeing them, I can scan them. Just let me know.

 

[MinnieDiva]

Yesterday I started hanging up some of the Shutters pics. I need to get more frames and create another "wall of shame" going up my staircase. My shadowbox moved upstairs to my office, but I spent part of the weekend cleaning stuff up and haven't yet decided where to hang it.

I still have not received my updated Shutters CD's. Rather annoying. I sent an email the other day and got a reply today stating:

The ship is locating the Cd abd will be forwarding to Disney shortly. Thanks for your patience.


Define "shortly"? Anyone? For the amount they charge for this thing "shortly" should have meant a lot faster, IMO.

 

[pxlbarrel]

Yesterday I started hanging up some of the Shutters pics. I need to get more frames and create another "wall of shame" going up my staircase. My shadowbox moved upstairs to my office, but I spent part of the weekend cleaning stuff up and haven't yet decided where to hang it.

I still have not received my updated Shutters CD's. Rather annoying. I sent an email the other day and got a reply today stating:

The ship is locating the Cd abd will be forwarding to Disney shortly. Thanks for your patience.


Define "shortly"? Anyone? For the amount they charge for this thing "shortly" should have meant a lot faster, IMO.

I think Fed Ex tried to deliver my CD yesterday. I wasn't home but they left a door hanger. When I tracked the package, it came from Orlando. They're going to try to redeliver this afternoon.

It left Orlando on Thursday and if they shipped a lot of our cruise's out the same day, it'll probably arrive any day now.

 

[pxlbarrel]

I got my new Shutters CD....and promptly sent another email to complain. argh

 

[disprincess4ever]

I got my new Shutters CD....and promptly sent another email to complain. argh

What was wrong with it? We were on the 6/27 cruise and are waiting for ours still. Hopefully it will be what we want

 

[pxlbarrel]

What was wrong with it? We were on the 6/27 cruise and are waiting for ours still. Hopefully it will be what we want

Our original CD had some photos with the wrong date on the borders (the hard copy we picked up on the ship had the correct borders). I had also complained that I had wanted photos without the borders ... like it used to be.

Because I had so many that had to be redone on the CD, they had said to me that they would redo the CD for me and remove the borders since they were doing it for me anyway. The CD I got today only had 19 photos on it and was missing 2 that had the wrong borders. So...they only did 17 of the photos that needed correcting, left 2 out and then didn't do the rest for me.

 

[MinnieDiva]

That bodes poorly.

Hopefully mine will show up shortly..

 

[pixie08]

Mykonos looks beautiful! I have been to Greece quite a few times ( my dad's family lives there) but I really want to get to Mykonos and Santorini. Nice pics., and nice cash find! Hope the pics show up soon.

 

[mrsmalato]

really enjoyed your trip report

 

[MinnieDiva]

really enjoyed your trip report

Thanks! Hoping to finish it up this weekend!,