I'm booked for this trip for the Oct. 5 departure. I have a few questions:
1. How is the mobile (cell) reception? Will I be able to easily call the US and receive calls?
2. Besides the special event in Ephesus, are there any other "dressy" events?
3. Will an iron and ironing board be available?
4. Internet access?
5. For the land excursions, is Visa accepted/preferred? Is it better to use cards vs. cash (Euros)?
Susan from NJ
2:36PM
I'm booked for this trip for the Oct. 5 departure. I have a few questions:
1. How is the mobile (cell) reception? Will I be able to easily call the US and receive calls?
In Athens and other ports, varied but OK. At sea, poor to nil. Depended on location of the ship.
Besides the special event in Ephesus, are there any other "dressy" events?
In addition to candlelight dinner in front of the library of Celsus at Ephesus, maybe the welcome dinner at Grande Bretagne, the farewell dinner aboard ship, and maybe the one or two nights you get to eat in the "special dining room" (fancied up breakfast room ) aboard ship.
Will an iron and ironing board be available?
Don't recall.
Internet access?
Weak to intermittent aboard ship.
For the land excursions, is Visa accepted/preferred? Is it better to use cards vs. cash (Euros)?
It is a personal choice about cash, but would say VISA is accepted everywhere. On recent trip we had trouble with AMEX in France- some places wouldn't accept it and it wouldn't work at others.
We have done eighteen cruises with Wind Star, and I don’t recall seeing any irons nor ironing boards. I believe the laundry will press your clothes. Wind Star used to have a ship named Wind Song. It burned to the waterline in Tahiti. I don’t think they are likely to issue irons to passengers.
I was just looking at some of Windstar’s cruising information sites. Passengers are not allowed irons on the ship. You can get things pressed by their laundry.
I will b e on the Aegean Cruise on the Windstar starting on 17 August. Question...Will I need to buy the laundry package for the entire trip or can I get laundry or just a couple of day? Thanks...
ME: The laundry package on Windstar is a good deal. I don’t know the current price, but for around a hundred bucks you can get unlimited laundry for the cruise. You can have individual items done, but the package is a good deal. We had one load done on our last river cruise that was only a relatively few items and it was more than fifty bucks. We had the same amount done on Windstar every day for around a hundred for the entire cruise. We are now Yacht Club Four Star on Windstar so we get free laundry, and a bunch of other stuff. Sixty-nine days and counting until we are on Wind Star (with Tauck) again. We can’t wait.
I have to chuckle when I read about the obsession with clothing. I was on the Treasures of the Aegean tour in May. Because of storms, my luggage was delayed arriving in Athens. By that time, I was already on the Windstar. Because of our island hopping, I did not receive my luggage until I arrived back on the mainland, 9 days without what I thought were necessities that I packed.
Did I survive? Absolutely, with no extra baggage! Besides what I wore on the plane, I had an extra outfit for sightseeing and a “dinner outfit.” Wearing the same clothes for several days is doable. I picked up an outfit on Mykonos, along with a hat, shoes and sunscreen. I sent a few items to the Windstar laundry and washed underwear in the sink. Nobody noticed or cared that I was wearing the same clothing in different combinations. It was a joke and conversation piece. The longer it went on, the less I cared about my “lost things.” No packing and unpacking. And when I returned home, my clothes were clean and I just had to hang them up.
I had a fabulous time Greece, and especially Ephesus. Instead of buying new clothes, I bought a beautiful hand knotted Turkish rug.
I found that all that I need are good shoes and hat, great friends and a happy attitude. And I will only bring a carry-on to my next trip to South Africa.
friedrich - same thing happened to our traveling companion on a may trip this year. Her luggage arrived Friday. By the time we reached Mykonos we went on a modest shopping trip to supplement what she had. She submitted laundry and clothing under the insurance Insurance claim that just settled. Tauck needed airline refusal before giving her compensation. Air was lufthansa via United which gave her the run around. She received comp from United finally. She was whole. Great trip. She also bought a rug waiting for delivery. Apparently they have a traveling salesperson in US. They keep missing each other!
Bucketlist, your companion and I seem to have had a similar experience. How fortunate that you were able to shop with your friend and give encouragement and fashion advice during a trying time. Time on Mykonos is limited so having a shopping partner helping with quick decisions is a godsent. I am sure your companion was island fashionable in Santorini. All those blues — domes, water, sky. Unforgettable.
MEH: I just re-read my post and realized I did not really answer your question. You can purchase the laundry package when you board for the entire week, or you can pay by the piece. You cannot get the laundry package for just a few days. The package is ‘per room’ not per person. Both people in a room get laundry for one price with the package.
We just got our final documents for the September 14th trip. It looks like there will be 40 Tauck guests among the 148 passengers. The trip shows sold out on both Tauck and Windstar so we will have about a hundred and ten non-Tauck guests. We have been to Ephesus before so we are really looking forward to the dinner in front of the library. That should be an amazing experience. I think I may need to bring the ‘real’ camera.
Mykonos excursion choices-
We have the afternoon free in Mykonos, so the Delos excursion in the am seems good to me. However, it is billed as much more active. I can walk (up to 4 miles) and get hot easily. Is it too much? has anyone done it and have feedback?
Gaildez: When are you going? I’m watching the weather and it appears to be getting a ‘bit’ cooler. We have signed up for the Delos tour which I plan on doing with a walking stick in one hand and an umbrella in the other. If it is too hot, we will switch to the Mykonos tour. We are on the September 14, trip.
Gaildez
12:14PM
Mykonos excursion choices-
We have the afternoon free in Mykonos, so the Delos excursion in the am seems good to me. However, it is billed as much more active. I can walk (up to 4 miles) and get hot easily. Is it too much? has anyone done it and have feedback?
The walking tour on Delos is not hard nor long, but some of it is slightly uneven and up-hill, and there is no shade, so take a hat and keep hydrated if you are going in late Spring thru early Fall. We were there in mid-May 2022- it was warm, bordering on hot, but not oppressively so.
What you see is all within visual range from the port- you walk from the pier with your guide and tour of what was the Agora of the Competaliasts (main plaza), the very dilapidated Theater of Delos, the ruins of a few residences with mosaic floors, columns, etc. If you look at Google Maps you don't get close to the ruins of the small Temple of Isis which is higher up on the rocky hillside. There is not Street View, but Goggle has numerous photo and 3D photo spots which will give you the lay of the land.
Other than the theater and one colonnaded wall of the former Temple of Artemus enclosed in scaffolding, most of what you will see are foundations, partial walls, a few columns, and a variety of marble and stone architectural elements (sections of columns, their bases and capitals, pediments, friezes, statue bases (no statues, except one!) etc. scattered about. . . also pretty wild flowers . . . . . and, like everywhere in Greece, a bunch of cats! Our walking tour ended near the Terrace of Lions. We had time to see and photograph them and leisurely walk a short distance back to the the dock.
So Alan: Was the Delos tour the correct choice for you, or using hindsight would the Mykonos tour be a better choice?
How long is the boat ride to Delos?
Don't get me wrong, we loved the Delos excursion. In its day Delos was grand and the epicenter of Greek religion, however, today, Delos visually pales in comparison to Athens/Acropolis or Ephesus, Turkey, so I don't want to raise expectations.
IMHO we had the best mix- we had a short (just the right length?) walking tour of the old Port town before heading to the boat. The ride from the old port to Delos was fairly short, maybe 30 min. It may have been advertised as longer but it was calm that day so we could go at a reasonable speed.
As far as old Mykonos itself, there is not a lot going on in town- narrow lanes between white-washed buildings (small churches, residences, B&B, bars, restaurants, and souvenir shops, and windmills. One group of waterfront buildings is known as the Venice of Mykonos for obvious reasons (see pic below.)
Our great TD, Sophia, and one of the many tiny churches (there are over 1200 churches today on the island). Wind Star is in the background.
Research question- Mykonos is a rocky island with almost no tillable ground and so totally unsuitable for growing grain, so why did they have windmills?
There is a short walking tour of Mykonos before heading out to Delos. I seem to remember those who went on the Mykonos excursion said it was mostly photo ops. Walking on Delos was not particularly arduous. We were there in early May, 2023.
I am a history geek and was thrilled with Delos. It was a important religious center and port in ancient Greece. There are 2 segments on the tour: the residential and commercial center and the sacred center. I especially liked the mosaics and seeing details such as the plumbing system. Some of the larger buildings could only be seen from the exterior. I found out afterwards, the lions are replicas but with the remnants of the temples you got the feeling of that ceremonial place on the site. As with many original artifacts in Greece, the originals are in the Delos Museum. The Museum is currently closed for renovations. It is a simple building you can see to the far left of the major site.
After the tour, We ate lunch on the seafront in Mykonos and then did some fine shopping after the tour. The windmills were to refine agricultural products before being sent elsewhere. It was one of the nicest days on the tour.
Back in 2011 when I did this tour, before Tauck started to provide "Excursion choices" the entire tour did a walking tour of the town and then a van tour of the entire island. On the other side of the island is an area made famous in the movie Shirley Valentine. There was no Delos option.
Ohh Shirley Valentine, that brings back memories! A bit of trivia, the guy who played Shirley’s lover was Tom Conti who back then was gorgeous. His most recent film was playing Einstein in Oppenheimer. I thought he was long dead and he certainly lost those looks!
Comments
I’m taking this trip next May. I hope you’ll add a review to the forum. Have a great time!
We are going in 88 days.
I'm booked for this trip for the Oct. 5 departure. I have a few questions:
1. How is the mobile (cell) reception? Will I be able to easily call the US and receive calls?
2. Besides the special event in Ephesus, are there any other "dressy" events?
3. Will an iron and ironing board be available?
4. Internet access?
5. For the land excursions, is Visa accepted/preferred? Is it better to use cards vs. cash (Euros)?
In Athens and other ports, varied but OK. At sea, poor to nil. Depended on location of the ship.
In addition to candlelight dinner in front of the library of Celsus at Ephesus, maybe the welcome dinner at Grande Bretagne, the farewell dinner aboard ship, and maybe the one or two nights you get to eat in the "special dining room" (fancied up breakfast room
) aboard ship.
Don't recall.
Weak to intermittent aboard ship.
It is a personal choice about cash, but would say VISA is accepted everywhere. On recent trip we had trouble with AMEX in France- some places wouldn't accept it and it wouldn't work at others.
We have done eighteen cruises with Wind Star, and I don’t recall seeing any irons nor ironing boards. I believe the laundry will press your clothes. Wind Star used to have a ship named Wind Song. It burned to the waterline in Tahiti. I don’t think they are likely to issue irons to passengers.
On the Adriatic Treasures tour only the hotels accepted AMEX, all others it was Visa or Master Card
I was just looking at some of Windstar’s cruising information sites. Passengers are not allowed irons on the ship. You can get things pressed by their laundry.
I will b e on the Aegean Cruise on the Windstar starting on 17 August. Question...Will I need to buy the laundry package for the entire trip or can I get laundry or just a couple of day? Thanks...
ME: The laundry package on Windstar is a good deal. I don’t know the current price, but for around a hundred bucks you can get unlimited laundry for the cruise. You can have individual items done, but the package is a good deal. We had one load done on our last river cruise that was only a relatively few items and it was more than fifty bucks. We had the same amount done on Windstar every day for around a hundred for the entire cruise. We are now Yacht Club Four Star on Windstar so we get free laundry, and a bunch of other stuff. Sixty-nine days and counting until we are on Wind Star (with Tauck) again. We can’t wait.
I have to chuckle when I read about the obsession with clothing. I was on the Treasures of the Aegean tour in May. Because of storms, my luggage was delayed arriving in Athens. By that time, I was already on the Windstar. Because of our island hopping, I did not receive my luggage until I arrived back on the mainland, 9 days without what I thought were necessities that I packed.
Did I survive? Absolutely, with no extra baggage! Besides what I wore on the plane, I had an extra outfit for sightseeing and a “dinner outfit.” Wearing the same clothes for several days is doable. I picked up an outfit on Mykonos, along with a hat, shoes and sunscreen. I sent a few items to the Windstar laundry and washed underwear in the sink. Nobody noticed or cared that I was wearing the same clothing in different combinations. It was a joke and conversation piece. The longer it went on, the less I cared about my “lost things.” No packing and unpacking. And when I returned home, my clothes were clean and I just had to hang them up.
I had a fabulous time Greece, and especially Ephesus. Instead of buying new clothes, I bought a beautiful hand knotted Turkish rug.
I found that all that I need are good shoes and hat, great friends and a happy attitude. And I will only bring a carry-on to my next trip to South Africa.
friedrich - same thing happened to our traveling companion on a may trip this year. Her luggage arrived Friday. By the time we reached Mykonos we went on a modest shopping trip to supplement what she had. She submitted laundry and clothing under the insurance Insurance claim that just settled. Tauck needed airline refusal before giving her compensation. Air was lufthansa via United which gave her the run around. She received comp from United finally. She was whole. Great trip. She also bought a rug waiting for delivery. Apparently they have a traveling salesperson in US. They keep missing each other!
Bucketlist, your companion and I seem to have had a similar experience. How fortunate that you were able to shop with your friend and give encouragement and fashion advice during a trying time. Time on Mykonos is limited so having a shopping partner helping with quick decisions is a godsent. I am sure your companion was island fashionable in Santorini. All those blues — domes, water, sky. Unforgettable.
MEH: I just re-read my post and realized I did not really answer your question. You can purchase the laundry package when you board for the entire week, or you can pay by the piece. You cannot get the laundry package for just a few days. The package is ‘per room’ not per person. Both people in a room get laundry for one price with the package.
We just got our final documents for the September 14th trip. It looks like there will be 40 Tauck guests among the 148 passengers. The trip shows sold out on both Tauck and Windstar so we will have about a hundred and ten non-Tauck guests. We have been to Ephesus before so we are really looking forward to the dinner in front of the library. That should be an amazing experience. I think I may need to bring the ‘real’ camera.
Yup!!!
I can’t wait to go next May! I think the date I’m going is sold out too!
Hey Alan. Do you eat desert in the dark, or is much of the meal by candle light?
Between the candles and stage lighting, you can see what you are eating for "dessert" . . . . . sort of!
It really is kind of magical.
Mykonos excursion choices-
We have the afternoon free in Mykonos, so the Delos excursion in the am seems good to me. However, it is billed as much more active. I can walk (up to 4 miles) and get hot easily. Is it too much? has anyone done it and have feedback?
We did it with another cruise line. The walking wasn’t bad. But there isn’t any shade
Gaildez: When are you going? I’m watching the weather and it appears to be getting a ‘bit’ cooler. We have signed up for the Delos tour which I plan on doing with a walking stick in one hand and an umbrella in the other. If it is too hot, we will switch to the Mykonos tour. We are on the September 14, trip.
The walking tour on Delos is not hard nor long, but some of it is slightly uneven and up-hill, and there is no shade, so take a hat and keep hydrated if you are going in late Spring thru early Fall. We were there in mid-May 2022- it was warm, bordering on hot, but not oppressively so.
What you see is all within visual range from the port- you walk from the pier with your guide and tour of what was the Agora of the Competaliasts (main plaza), the very dilapidated Theater of Delos, the ruins of a few residences with mosaic floors, columns, etc. If you look at Google Maps you don't get close to the ruins of the small Temple of Isis which is higher up on the rocky hillside. There is not Street View, but Goggle has numerous photo and 3D photo spots which will give you the lay of the land.
Other than the theater and one colonnaded wall of the former Temple of Artemus enclosed in scaffolding, most of what you will see are foundations, partial walls, a few columns, and a variety of marble and stone architectural elements (sections of columns, their bases and capitals, pediments, friezes, statue bases (no statues, except one!) etc. scattered about. . . also pretty wild flowers . . . . . and, like everywhere in Greece, a bunch of cats!
Our walking tour ended near the Terrace of Lions. We had time to see and photograph them and leisurely walk a short distance back to the the dock.
AlanS - I like the pictures. If you didn't know the figure in one of your pictures got its expression after seeing the below:
So Alan: Was the Delos tour the correct choice for you, or using hindsight would the Mykonos tour be a better choice?
How long is the boat ride to Delos?
Don't get me wrong, we loved the Delos excursion. In its day Delos was grand and the epicenter of Greek religion, however, today, Delos visually pales in comparison to Athens/Acropolis or Ephesus, Turkey, so I don't want to raise expectations.
IMHO we had the best mix- we had a short (just the right length?) walking tour of the old Port town before heading to the boat. The ride from the old port to Delos was fairly short, maybe 30 min. It may have been advertised as longer but it was calm that day so we could go at a reasonable speed.
As far as old Mykonos itself, there is not a lot going on in town- narrow lanes between white-washed buildings (small churches, residences, B&B, bars, restaurants, and souvenir shops, and windmills. One group of waterfront buildings is known as the Venice of Mykonos for obvious reasons (see pic below.)
Our great TD, Sophia, and one of the many tiny churches (there are over 1200 churches today on the island). Wind Star is in the background.
Research question- Mykonos is a rocky island with almost no tillable ground and so totally unsuitable for growing grain, so why did they have windmills?
There is a short walking tour of Mykonos before heading out to Delos. I seem to remember those who went on the Mykonos excursion said it was mostly photo ops. Walking on Delos was not particularly arduous. We were there in early May, 2023.
I am a history geek and was thrilled with Delos. It was a important religious center and port in ancient Greece. There are 2 segments on the tour: the residential and commercial center and the sacred center. I especially liked the mosaics and seeing details such as the plumbing system. Some of the larger buildings could only be seen from the exterior. I found out afterwards, the lions are replicas but with the remnants of the temples you got the feeling of that ceremonial place on the site. As with many original artifacts in Greece, the originals are in the Delos Museum. The Museum is currently closed for renovations. It is a simple building you can see to the far left of the major site.
After the tour, We ate lunch on the seafront in Mykonos and then did some fine shopping after the tour. The windmills were to refine agricultural products before being sent elsewhere. It was one of the nicest days on the tour.
Back in 2011 when I did this tour, before Tauck started to provide "Excursion choices" the entire tour did a walking tour of the town and then a van tour of the entire island. On the other side of the island is an area made famous in the movie Shirley Valentine. There was no Delos option.
Ohh Shirley Valentine, that brings back memories! A bit of trivia, the guy who played Shirley’s lover was Tom Conti who back then was gorgeous. His most recent film was playing Einstein in Oppenheimer. I thought he was long dead and he certainly lost those looks!
I adore that movie and it's one of the reasons I'd love to travel to Greece. She's so funny.
The subject of changing money came up on another thread. You donn’t want to buy any Turkish Lira either.