Wow! We are off of the ms Prinsendam — having cut the umbilical cord after 39 days. It went by so quickly and yet, living in Seattle seems so long ago.
Once the Prinsendam was cleared with immigration, we were one of the first off of the ship, hand carrying (and rolling) our own luggage off around 8:15 am. We headed to the official taxi line and confirmed the published fare of 28 Euros. The driver said it would take about 45 minutes to the airport – our flight was scheduled for 10:53 am
Athens was crowed and it was a long drive from the port to the airport– about 1 hour and 15 minutes – and we finally arrived about 9:30. Luckily, the Turkish Airlines check-in had no line, and the same was true for security. It took us a minute to understand the customer service agent’s question “what corridor do you want?” Finally, we got that he was asking if we wanted “aisle or window,” and were thrilled when we were able to get aisle seat across from each other in the emergency exit row. We were even more impressed that the flight attendants delivered a full lunch and beverage service to a completely full plane on the1-hour flight.
Once into Istanbul, we followed the signs to buy a Visa ($20 US dollars) and very straightforward. It is important to do this before going into the custom line or you will be sent to get a Visa and then start over at the back of the line. With the Visa applied in your passport, however, customs was a breeze.
After collecting our bags, we jumped into a taxi to the port. This is where the trip got interesting. As the driver pulled out of the airport, we quickly reached for our seat belts. The next half hour was like being on a NASCAR speedway: our driver had great control of the car as he weaved in and out of traffic and decelerated from 60 to zero 2 seconds before the intersection. We were in awe, while silently praying at the same time.
We have given the driver directions to the port printed from the NCL website. (Having purchased the cruise only 4 days ago, we had no documents.) NCL listed two ports, and the one the driver took us to was not correct. Luckily, he was willing to pull over, go to the police officer and ask directions. The ports are very close, but there is much traffic and congestion to get the last few blocks.
Finally, we arrived at the correct port. Embarkation for the Jewel took about 20 minutes, and soon, we were into ocean-view cabin #5074. We found it spacious and cool (a welcome relief from the heat.)