Istanbul to Athens April 10, 2013

Looks like I have the airline using miles. What are the better areas in Istanbul for locations for hotels in proximity to the city must sees?

This will be our 4th Silversea Cruise. LOVE This line!

Good for you Todd. Hope you have a great time.

Sounds wonderful, Todd! I was in that area last year with part of my family, the exact same time, and the weather was perfect, perfect. In Istanbul following the cruise, we stayed in the Old Town for two more nights, (starting April 10) and walked everywhere to see the major sights and eat dinners. We all just loved it, and I'm sure you will, too!

Looking at Hillton Doubletree in Old Town. Newer Hotel - good location - good rates.

Todd,

Definitely stay in Sultanahmet (the old town). I've been to Istanbul 4+ times and have stayed in everything from the big fancy western chain hotels to small boutique hotels. On my last visit I stayed at Hotel Uyan .

The location is fabulous, a block from the Four Seasons (at less than a quarter the price) and a stone's throw from everything you will want to see. Breakfast is included and served on the rooftop lounge with commanding views of the area. I believe if you book directly through the hotel and stay three nights there is a complimentary airport pick-up.

There are many wonderful boutique hotels in interesting or historic buildings. Personally I'd recommend them over something like a Doubletree, but that's just me.

Suzanne is right...you have to stay in the Golden Horn neighborhood. We have found the Sirckeci Konak fabulous and wonderfully located. I have stayed at the Intercontinental and Ritz Carlton and preferred this hotel and its location. A number of us have used this hotel, as recently as a couple of months ago, and it consistently gets rave reviews...Mary Elaine and David just got back and loved it as much as we did and Judy and John DeConnick loved it as well. The service and is incredible, rooms are traditional and lovely and the price is right. The breakfasts are very good as well.

In Athens, we stayed at the Hilton and thought it was very nice.

http://www.hotelamira.com/

A dear friend emailed me about a boutique hotel in Istanbul - the Hotel Amira. It is a top rated Trip Advisor Hotel. So last night I booked it as there was only one room left. Looking forward to staying there. Thank you all for the recommendations. I have never been to Istanbul - this has always been on my list and it looks like it is all coming together. I love Silversea!!!!!

Don't know if I posted this but - this was a great deal on Silversea. Advertised Fare was $3,999 pp. We brought our own air - so we received a credit of $1000 pp. Then $500 Silversea Ship Board Credit and AMEX Platinum $300. We aslo booked using the Private Sale 20% off so that was another $600 off pp. BK rewards of $150 pp. So, net of discounts, shipboard credits, etc - $1880 pp! Smoking HOT Deal!

SMOKING!!!!!!

That sure is a GREAT deal !!

I forgot to ask....who is joining us? Smoking Hot Deal!!!

Oh the Internet is not terribly expensive - think of all the money you will save on this Smoking HOT Deal!

That is what the HUGE shipboard credits are for.. Remember in April Todd after doing all the tours I still had like $350 left over I had to spend in the gift shop after buying the nice bottle of wine... SMOKIN!

I think this is the bottle of wine :)

I Love this picture!!!!!!!!!

You look like me when I give instructions on how much Sambuca I want

Silver Sea 2014 is now open on their website

SMOKING HOT DEAL And everyone gets a Butler.

The Silver Box arrived! Doc Dancin'

SMOKIN!!!!

Also celebrating 9 years on LuxuryCruiseTalk.com

Look forward to your report & "pictures" of the hotel and your cruise. Have a wonderful trip Todd!!

April 3rd.
It is a week from today for you Todd!!
Take lots of pictures and notes for me.

Will do Jim - follow me on Facebook. We were just UPGRADED out of Vista to Veranda!!!!

Wow, what a fabulous itinerary! And congratulations on the upgrade! Have a wonderful time.

nice

All packed - filight tonight out of LAX to London at 9:30.

Bon Voyage. If your Silversea cruise is as good as ours last week, they you will have an incredible time. Almost every aspect was as good or better than previous cruises. ENJOY!

Our flight on BA was delayed to the point we were missing our connection to Istanbul and would have had to overnight at Heathrow. I called AA to see if there was anything they could do (I used their miles for the tickets). They put us on an earlier flight so all is working out.

That's good to hear Todd....nothing like starting off by missing a connection. Have a great time.

Had a great few days in Istanbul. The weather is much better today with blue skies, sunny and 60 degrees. We hit all the sites again today and got better exterior shots plus we went to the cistern. Currently at the Hotel Amira which was great. Beautiful Rooms, Great Service, Breakfast included was quite nice. The htel also has an amazing roof deck with views of the sea and old city. You can also see parts of the Blue Mosque from there.The location is amazing walking distance to all the major sites and a few blocks from the sea in the Old Town. Posting pics and daily activities on Facebook.

Leaving for the ship in a few minutes....giddy!

There are about 5 or six other couples from Cruisecritic on our sailing. Will be meeting at The Bar this evening.

Bon Voyage Todd.

Sounds like you are having a wonderful time. Thank you for the update reports.