Jennifer

In two weeks I will be leaving for my honeymoon to Greece and Turkey. We will be visiting Mykonos, Delos, Santorini, Rhodes, Ephusus, and Istanbul as part of the Orient Cruise Line. I was wondering if anyone has taken part in the Cruise's planned shore excursions and if so, if they were worth the time and money. Or would it be better to explore the islands/sites ourselves?

Kris

We did this itinerary with Orient a few years ago. we were new to cruising so we did take a couple of shore excursions, now I would probably be looking for ways to do on my own. <BR> <BR>Ephesus should definitely be seen with a guide, whether it be a shore excursion or a private tour. This port was the highlight of the trip, make sure you go out and see the ruins. At the time I thought the shore excursion was a good value. <BR> <BR>Delos is quite small and can be visited on your own. <BR> <BR>Santorini is also easy to do on your own. We took the public bus over to Akrotiri (more ruins) and then a cab over to the other side of the island. <BR> <BR>On Rhodes we took the shore ex over to Lindos. There might be a way to do on your own but I thought that this shore ex was also worth the money. You should have time when you get back to explore the old town. <BR> <BR>In Istanbul, I believe they include a 1/2 day shore ex that included a carpet demonstration, the Grand Bazaar and one other place I don't remember. Beyond that we toured on our own with no problems. Be sure to visit Topaki Palace (go early and get tickets for the harem rooms as they go pretty quickly), the blue mosque and St. Sophia. <BR> <BR>You might also post this question over on www.cruisecritic.com on the Europe board.

Lisa

We felt that using private tour guides on our recent Med cruise was by far a superior experience thatn using hte ships tours. We will never agian do any ship's toru. we did only one and it was fara nd awy the most expensive and the worst tour of the entire cruise. Howver, if there are only 2 of you, private tours can be expensive unless you can find others of similar ages, dispositions, situations to share with you. we also felt that we saw and learned so much more from tour guides than what we would have on our own.

Lisa

Please excuse the typos in the above post. I did not proof read my reply before posting.

judy

We have found from expenience that on our own is best. We took the same tour you are talking about. We got cabs in Rhodes, Santorini, and Ephusus. At Ephusus you can hire a personal guide at the entrance. Cab waits for you at the exit. Mykonos get information from the net and just walk in town. Stop at a resturant on the water and enjoy. Delos is just an island that you are dropped of and can do on your own. Buy a book and do your own thing. Istanbul we love just walking, so interesting and if you get lost someone will help you. We also took a bus to some places. I can't walk all day. We did hire a boat to take us up the horn and we liked. If we were braver we would of tried the ferries, but we couldn't figure them out and our time was limited.