I finished my gate 1 tour in the morning in Istanbul and took a taxi to the ship. Embarkation was smooth and easy although the Galataport Cruise Terminal was a bit challenging to locate as a pedestrian. (Look for a small storefront in the mall in D block). You then take escalators down to the underground complex.
Azamara is a “small” ship line that is a notch above some of the big cruise companies. We had 550 passengers on board and it made for a friendly atmosphere right from the start. It is also destination intensive meaning it travel overnight arriving in ports early in the morning and leaving late (often 9 or 10pm) to give maximum time in port. Our first night we stayed docked in Istanbul and we left at 8 pm the following evening. Most here aren’t really interested in the ship as much as the ports so my report will focus on them.
Istanbul- I had already seen quite a few of the major sites in Istanbul during my tour. I took a Bosporus Cruise with Turkish Breakfast as an excursion. 9 passengers, private charter boat, amazing breakfast in restaurant. In the afternoon I went independently to the Mehter Band Concert at the Military Museum. This happens at 3 pm every day except Mondays and costs 6 euros which includes admission to the museum as well.
The museum is perhaps a 10 minute walk from Taksim Square and easy to find. The concert was great and a wonderful snapshot of Turkish Cultural traditions.
Canakkale: I took a day long excursion called “Battlefields of Gallipoli”. We spent the day visiting various sites and reviewing the history from World War I and the terrible losses that both sides of the conflict endured. The tour size was 26 with several Aussie and New Zealand members with family connections to the battlefields here.
Kusadasi : The main sight from this port is Ancient Ephesus which is truly amazing. I had just been there a week or so previously on my tour so I opted for an excursion called “Three Ancient Cities”. There were six people on this excursion and we went to some great Archaeological sites that are off the tourist beaten path. Priene, Miletus, Didyma. Very interesting examples of temples and a theater.
Bodrum: I went to the Castle for a guided tour. The castle includes the Underwater Archaeology Museum so if you see one you are actually seeing both. Our last port in Turkey….
Santorini: Beautiful location, but a poster child for the effects of overtourism. I went to Oia and Fira and basically walked around in crowds trying to dodge photobombing. Interestingly, there was 1 large cruise ship in the harbor and our smaller cruise ship. We were told that it was a light day for tourists and sometimes there are as many as 5-7 ships plus all the hotel rooms on the island.
Napflio- The exact opposite experience from Santorini. We were the only ship and combined with the land based tourists there were no real crowds. I got off the ship early since I had a walk I had seen on you tube that I wanted to do while it was cool. A pleasant walk around a headland with mostly local Greeks. (Tourists tend to stop at the locked gate. I knew Greeks just walked around it). I then rode a cheesy tourist train for 20 minutes to get an overview of the town. Afterwards I shared a taxi with a couple I met in the train up to the highest castle (10euros for the 3 of us). I spent about an hour exploring and then took the 900 or so stairs down from the castle to the town below. Very glad I did the taxi up!
Athens: our final stop and point of disembarkation. I spent 2 nights at the Acropolis View Hotel which has a fabulous location and will spend the final night at the airport hotel. Hints : Go to the Acropolis the first thing in the morning. Later the crowds are quite large. I took an Acropolis Museum tour with Walks of Athens that was excellent and a day trip to Corinth.
A wonderful, very memorable trip!