Hi all...
I went on Aegean Classic 3/29/08-4/5/08 & it was awesome! this was my 1st contiki tour but def. won't be my last. Some advice I wish I knew beforehand:
--electrical outlets on cruise are American (at least on the Aquamarine)
--you can take as much luggage as you want & there is not a weight limit
--We had a theme night: blue & white...bring some sort of clothes with these colors
--Optional excursions cannot be paid for with an American Express
--you can do laundry in Rhodes (i think) for fairly cheap
--definately do the excursions the tour managers recommend, it's worth it in the end.
--the hike up the mtn in Patmos is strenuous, but we made it!
--don't do the Mykonos excursion, hopefully your TM will know the island & be able to save you some $$ by telling you its history.
--Kusadasi Turkey is Awesome--bargain bargain bargain!! They love to barter!!
--Wish we had more time in Santorini!
--Crete doesn't have much to look at...save your time & stay on the ship!
--hair dryers are not in the rooms on the ship, but you can borrow one from the ship so don't pack one unless you have to.
--the hotel beforehand is beautiful & I def. recommend the dinner the 1st night--it's very cool.
--If you are staying an extra night when the cruise gets back, book the hotel ahead of time & see if your travel agent can book it for you.
--You disembark off of the cruise around 8am so if you need to catch a flight, you shouldn't have a problem. They will bring you back to Syntagmo Square. You can store your luggage in the hotel also.
--don't overpack. You only have "formal night" once & you can still wear jeans if you need to.

Please ask me any questions. The trip was great! It was about 40-60 deg. farenheit (min. 8deg.C when we were there) so check the weather before your trip.

have fun!!

thank you!! I am leaving this Saturday. One question what do you recommend regarding money? Are ATM machines easy to find?

Yes, ATM's are easy to find, however I exchanged some @ the airport & also before I left the USA just to have for taxi, etc. (4 of us shared a taxi from airport to Platka & it was about 43 Euro). I've heard the bus is pretty easy & cost about 3 Euro. The ATM in Turkey wasn't working last week, but I was able to last until Lindos & took money out there. Most shops accept credit cards also but receipts are in Greek! Have a great time--bring warm clothes to layer as it gets warmer as the day goes on.

Thank you so much for the feedback!!!
How much money did you spend overall???
What attire do you recommend for this trip?
What are defintely the excursion to take if you are on a budget?

The Excursions to definately take:

GO TO THE DINNER THE 1ST NIGHT, NO MATTER HOW TIRED YOU ARE!! YOU CAN MEET LOTS OF PEOPLE. IT'S ONLY 35 EURO BUT YOU GET LOTS OF FOOD,WINE & ENTERTAINMENT! Otherwise....

1) Kusadasi, Turkey--a guided tour through the ruins of Ephesus instead of aimlessly walking around. Plus you ride on a Coach bus instead of forking $$ out for a taxi & they give you a bottle of water b/c you shouldn't drink water in Turkey!!
2) Santorini--Cities of Eios & Fira (sp?). They don't give you much time in Santorini, but the guided tour is nice & they give lots of history. You have time to wander through the shops. You can either take a donkey down the mountain (which I heard were fast & you stepped in donkey poo) or take a "gondola" or Finicula down the mtn. Either way, you wait in line for about 25 mins while rushing to get back to the ship but both of these are included in excursion.
3) We did Rhodes & Lindos also. They stop at a pottery place which is nice & the coach bus takes you to the acropolis in lindos (you can ride a donkey up to the excavation site for 5 Euro--very nice ride & fun.

We also did the Athens City tour on the last day b/c we were staying in the hotel in Platka, but a lot of people did that one on their own (to save $$). Our total for the 4 tours were 198 Euro (which we figured out is almost $380 amer. dollers).

Attire: bring pants/jeans or comfortable walking clothes, walking shoes, clothes you can layer b/c it got warm in the afternoon. Sunglasses are a MUST (all of that white & marble!) a scarf or you can barter for pashmina's in Turkey (down to 5 Euro at some shops)definately a "spring jacket", plus a "hoodie" or hooded zip front sweatshirt. I wore gloves too, but that was only when it was 35 deg f (& I am from S. Florida). Bring some short sleeve shirts & long ones to wear under them also (in case it gets warm). Some sunbathed @ the pool, but mainly if the ship wasn't moving. The weather was still breezy in Early April.

The only extra money you'll need is for drinks on the boat (they can charge to your room or you can get an all-inclusive drink package) otherwise water, hot tea, coffee is always served & juice @breakfast. You can buy bottled water & soda fairly cheap on the islands. If you want to eat on the islands, bring $ for that & souveniers. You'll have to pay for taxi's, metro or bus to & from airport as well & all excursions can go on CC or Euro.

Overall, I think I spent about $500-600 amer. dollars (mainly excursions). My travel agent booked the hotel so I pd for that prior. I had money left over that I exchanged in Athens Airport prior to leaving the country.

If you've spent this much on the trip already, just go for it & get the most out of the excursions!! You can always pay your credit card off later!! have fun. Hope this helps.

Hey! Thanks for all this information I am not going until October but it is still very helpful!

You mentioned the ability to make it an "all-inclusive" for drinks etc. Do you do that before you go or once you are there? Because we are going on two tours and this one last so it would be nice to have that all taken care of for us.

Thanks!!

A few questions regarding money:

1. How much cash did you need to have on you during the entire trip?
2. What do you NEED to have cash for (credit cards not accepted)?
3. Where did you have to tip (maid on cruise? tour manager? excursion guide?), and what is the tipping structure in Greece?

Thanks!

Hi, sorry I did not reply to this. the All-inclusive drinks package & any excursions you sign up for the 1st day on the ship...1st thing. They will take a credit card & then you just settle it at the end of the trip.

quote:

Originally posted by Explorer1110715:
A few questions regarding money:

1. How much cash did you need to have on you during the entire trip?
2. What do you NEED to have cash for (credit cards not accepted)?
3. Where did you have to tip (maid on cruise? tour manager? excursion guide?), and what is the tipping structure in Greece?

Thanks!

Hi. I did not use much cash on the trip...mainly taxi's and buying sodas/water on the street & any kind of shopping I did. The Credit Card receipts are all written in Greek so I preferred to shop w/ cash. We tipped out Tour Manager about $20 Euro each. But you do not have to tip anyone on the cruise. Some excursion guides you mainly gave them a 5 Euro coin or 2 Euro coin depending on how well they were & how long the tour was. I can't remember, but I think the tips are included in Greece. Ask your tour manager on the first night. They will have a "meeting" with everyone on the trip & give out room assignments, etc. It's now been 5 months since my trip, so I can't remember exact details. Hope this helps.

Thanks for all of the great advice! If we do the guided tour through the ruins of Ephesus in Kusadasi, Turkey, do we get free time to go through the markets?

I saw that Americans need a visa to travel turkey and can be obtained at the border. Is that the case for the cruise? If so how much does it cost?

There is an optional excursion around Athens after the cruise. How long does it take? My flight to London leaves at 7pm. Will I have enough time to get to the airport?

What kind of souvenirs did you buy and where and what souvenirs would you want now that your back home.

It is very nice of you sharing your experiences. My first time with Contiki will be on August 22-29 in the Agean Classic, and I can't wait.

I have only heard and read nice things.

Thanks!

does anyone know how far away the airport is to the port? we're planning on possibly visiting the acropolis & parthenon area before our flight leaves at 2.30pm on the same day..

do you think we'll make it? does anyone know how far apart these places are?