We are doing an 11 night cruise of the Eastern Med and while we have a few thoughts on what we would like to do/see at a few ports, perhaps you experienced cruisers can give us more/different ideas?

Salerno (Italy) - ???????
Kusadasi (Turkey) - no doubt the ruins of Ephesus are the best thing here?
Istanbul (Turkey - overnight stop) - Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, ferry down the Bosphorus to the Asian side? Shopping, shopping, shopping!
Volos (Greece - east coast)- and here we are stuck! Noone seems to know much about it.
Piraeus (Greece) - no doubt first priority is the Acropolis - then?
Valetta (Malta) - ancient city of Mdina - and?
Sorrento (Italy) - maybe just lunch in a great outdoor cafe drinking in the view?

And - our cruise leaves from Genova where we shall be filling in a couple of days beforehand there.

Sorry to ask so many questions - rush of blood to the head being a new member and seeing how much help and info current members seem to have at their fingertips!

If you do, it would be from Sorrento.

In Istanbul you should see Topkapi and the Blue Mosque... It is a great city and there is a multitude of different things to do there...

At Piraeus you should as you said see the Akropolis... It is the obliagory Athens tourist attraction...

There are many other things to do in Athens as well. There is an old center of town, the name of which evades me at the moment, that is a very nice place to walk around, etc...

In these big cities, it all depends on what sort of thing you want to see - like any big cities, they offer a lot!

1) An excursion to the Amalfi coast with its wonderful centers ( Ravello, Maiori, Vietri sul Mare ). Amalfi has a wonderful cathedral with a cloister called " Del Paradiso ". Taste the exquisite " Limoncello " ( a typical liquor of the South of Italy )...

2) A guided tour to Paestum to discovery the imposing ruins of three greek temples.

I believe that Msc doesn't offer an excursion to Pompei when the ship dock here.

Istanbul:

I suggest you to reserve an excursion. The main monuments aren't far from the port, but there are always long lines to purchase the tickets. So Take an half day tour to have a fully panoramic view of the city, and in the afternoon explore yourself the fascinating Grand Bazar and the Bazar of the Spices or admire the wonderful views from the Galata Tower. The last two places are very close to the port. For the dinner I suggest you to take a taxi for Ortakoy, a zone of the old Istanbul full of traditional restaurants. Taste the exquisite " kuzu shish kebab " ( lamb with spices ).

Volos:

The cruise lines offer an excursion to Meteora, a fascinating place with imposing byzantine monasteries built on high rocks.

La Valletta:

An excursion of half day to Medina ( the city of the silence ) and Mosta, an interesting mix of medieval and baroque architecture. In the afternoon explore yourself La Valletta, with the famous Palace of the Great Master of St. John and the Cathedral with the masterpiece of Caravaggio " The death of the Baptist ".

Sorrento:

A nice city with expansive shops and typical cafes. There is also an interesting archeological museum. The panoramic views are unfergettable.

Have a wonderful cruise....

To get see the major sights of Istanbul (Blue Mosque, Topkapi, etc.) take a tour from the ship... The lines can be BRUTAL otherwise. Ditto for Ephesus or any big museum you may want to see, etc.

Sure the tours are grossly overpriced but waiting around in queues for hours can be awful... On my cruise one could have spent a whole day just trying to buy tickets to some of these places.

Thanks Eric, for the Athens suggestion, it would be a shame to waste half the day in a traffic jam.

Cruiseny - really looking forward to Istanbul and thanks for your advice. Luckily we are there overnight, so hope to fit all the sights in.

Not a bad itinerary is it? Haven't been to the Western Med before, but have done Eastern, so it will be all new and exciting!

No-one mentioned Genova, but we have decided not to stay there before the cruise and are running off to Santa Margherita Ligure for a couple of days.

Only 8 weeks 3 days to go (we have an apartment in Rome for a week first before heading to SML)

Istanbul - we had a 2 night stop. The first day, we took a ship's tour of Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque and Tokapi. From then on we walked everywhere, using a superb laminated map out out by Lonely Planet - vert accurate, and we found the city easy to navigate, and distances reasonable. It is a wonderful city best experienced on foot.

Athens - with only one day, we wanted to see the Acropolis and the NAaional Archeological Museum, so took the ship's tour to the former, then left it, hopped a cab to the museum, then took the subway/train back to Piraeus. This was on a very clear Saturday in November - warn, little air pollution and no huge crowds anywhere. Workerd perfectly and - with a little planning and good maps/guides, I'd do the whole thing on our own.

Kusadasi - re. another comment above - bliss would be to have to roam back and forth trying, but never succeeding, to choos between Pompeii and Ephesus. If near either, do not fail to go. Take lots of pics and spend the following two years trying to decide which was better.

Valletta - save some time for that Caravaggio. If, by the time you get to Malta, you are all toured out, just go and look at that painting.

A week in Rome - we only had 4 days, but again found a great laminated street map that did not fail us, and we walked everywhere. If you have cause to break-in a new credit card with one gigantic indulgence, and like fish, La Rosetta - just off the Pantheon - is reputed to be the best seafood restaurant in Rome. It certainly ranks among our 10-best anywhere to date, enough to be forgiven the prices.

Funny you should mention it.....I've got a brand new Gold Amex card burning a hole in my pocket, just waiting for the cruise! Can see part of it will be well spend at La Rosetta!

Found the web site www.larosetta.com - all in Italian - but I can read the menu!