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Cruising

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Security Back on Ship

Each time we leave the ship, we punch out with our personal sea card. This functions as our room key, credit card for any purchases on board (the ship is essentially cash-free), and general ID. And when we return to our ship, we punch back in. They know exactly who’s on shore and who’s on board at all times. And no one comes back on board without having everything they carry run through the X-ray machine for security. After security, someone tries to get me to use a little Purell (which I avoid), and we’re back into our fantasy ship world. Here’s the security action from the point of view of my camera. (If you’ve never personally gone through an X-ray machine, you’re in for a treat.)

The cruise ship security was very impressive. It was a comfort to know that no strangers could ever get on board. How was your cruise ship security experience?

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar

Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is a must-see on any cruiser’s sightseeing list. In fact, our ship had a free shuttle bus ready to take you there and back throughout the day. (When taking you to a place where there’s no shopping, shuttle buses are generally not free.) As you can see from this clip, the market is thriving — and it’s a hit with locals as well as tourists.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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The Istanbul Tram Crush

Of course, many on the ship opt for a cruise excursion specifically so they will not have this experience (see below). But for me, feeling the crush of Istanbul’s only tram is a travel highlight. I suppose a grunge rocker who leaps into a mosh pit knows the thrill, but words can’t describe the sweaty crush of the Istanbul tram. Maybe this video can help put you there.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Ports of Embarkation

Here are four photos (with captions) relating to Athens and Istanbul. Do I understand correctly that nearly all Mediterranean cruises start and stop in these ports: Barcelona, Rome, Venice, and Istanbul?

 

Athens' port, Piraeus, is busy with both ferries and cruise ships. It is well-connected to downtown and all the ancient Greek sites by subway. But Greece is dealing with a bit of economic chaos these days, and on the day we were there, all the public transit was on strike. To show their support, the taxis went on a solidarity strike that day, too. So anyone planning on going into town on their own was in a fix. Shore excursions sold out that day. While I was impressed with Athens' cruise port, apparently it's not big enough to work as a place for cruises to start or finish, so officials are scheming to build a big new one. With Greece's economic challenges, no one knows when — or even if — that will actually happen.
  

While for many on the ship, the cruise experience was just a floating Vegas, lots of people were on board to mix the fun of cruising with some serious sightseeing. I was impressed by how many people were packing our new Mediterranean Cruise Ports guidebook or one of our city guidebooks. While working on their tans, travelers were prepping for their next port of call. I'm learning so much on this trip; I can hardly wait to huddle with my staff and fine-tune our cruise ports guidebook for its second edition. I'll admit that I've gained a greater appreciation for cruise travelers — from a book-sales point of view — on this trip.
 

Istanbul is my vote for the most exciting port on the Mediterranean. Ships tie up right in the center of town. It's a 10-minute walk to the Galata Bridge and just a few minutes to the tram that'll jostle you just about anywhere you want to go. And from so many places in this fanciful urban jungle, you can peer out and see your big, shiny ship in the distance.
  

In Istanbul many ships spend the night in dock, giving you a day and a half in Istanbul — and a chance to really enjoy the after-dark scene. Getting away from the touristic crush is easy. At a café over looking the Golden Horn a bit from the center (and therefore without much international tourism) we met a happy Turkish couple who invited us into their photo shoot and wedding album.
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Santorini Delights the Masses

The problem built in with cruising is that you hit port with literally thousands of people at the same time. Many of these people are into shopping and gambling as much as they are into travel. In fact, for many, travel is just a way to clean your consuming palate between more rounds of shopping and gambling.

In two weeks of cruising across most of the Mediterranean, congestion wasn’t as big a problem as I expected. But still, the sightseeing focus is on the clichés; everyone seems to do and get excited about the same things at roughly the same time.

The Greek island of Santorini is spectacular and seems to live off of the cruise industry. Its main town of Fira is high above the port. To avoid the long line for the gondola back down to the port, we just hiked half an hour of donkey-pie-strewn switchbacks.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.