Regent Seven Seas at Kusadasi: When a Private Ephesus Day Adds Something

Regent Seven Seas includes shore excursions in its fares, so at Kusadasi a tour of Ephesus is already part of your voyage, and for many guests that is all they need. This page is for the others: travelers with a particular interest, families who want to set their own pace, and anyone whose ship arrives at an unusual hour.

Are Ephesus tours already included in a Regent fare?

Regent includes Unlimited Shore Excursions in its fares and calls them its hallmark inclusion. Beside them sits Regent Choice: tours at extra cost that Regent describes as unique itineraries with smaller groups, and its Regent Choice Small Group tours host up to 16 guests. For this port, reservations open 180 days before the cruise begins, or 240 days for guests receiving Concierge amenities.

Regent’s excursion page for Ephesus (Kusadasi) lists these Ephesus tours. Its Free Excursions and Regent Choice filters show which tour belongs to which group, so check there before you choose:

That is a generous choice, from a short walk through the ruins to a full day, and one tour is led by an expert archaeologist. If one of them covers what you came to see, book it with Regent and enjoy the day.

When does a private guide still make sense on a Regent cruise?

A private day is not a way of seeing Ephesus twice. It is for the days a group program cannot be shaped around you:

• A particular interest. On our Biblical Ephesus tour (5–6 hours) you stand in the Great Theater of Acts 19, spend quiet time at the House of the Virgin Mary and finish at St. John’s Basilica on Ayasuluk Hill. The Jewish Heritage tour (5–6 hours) finds the menorah carved into the steps of the Library of Celsus, then adds the Terrace Houses and the Temple of Artemis.
• A family or group moving together. Grandparents, teenagers and small children rarely want the same speed. With your own guide and car, the day pauses for shade and questions and moves on when you are ready.
• An arrival at an unusual hour. Two of the eleven calls are unlike the others: an 11:00 arrival and a 16-hour day. Both are worked through below.
• Your own language. Our licensed guides work in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Italian and German.

Which days is a Regent ship in Kusadasi?

Eleven calls from six ships: Navigator four times, Mariner and Prestige twice each, Grandeur, Voyager and Splendor once; Saturday is the most frequent day, with four. Three of Navigator’s visits fall in January 2027, when Ephesus keeps winter hours, 08:00 to 18:00 with the last ticket at 17:30. Source: cruisetimetables.com and CruiseMapper, checked 28 September 2026. Seven calls, both Prestige dates among them, appear on CruiseMapper alone; the 30 September times match Regent’s own itinerary page. If your booking differs, your booking wins.

How do you plan around an 11:00 arrival or a 16-hour day?

Tuesday 12 January 2027: Seven Seas Navigator, 11:00 to 20:00

A late-morning arrival in winter turns the usual order around. With the site closing at 18:00, the ancient city comes first, straight from the pier: two to three hours walking downhill from the Upper Gate. The afternoon goes to what matters most to you, the Terrace Houses, the Temple of Artemis or St. John’s Basilica, and we confirm each site’s hours for your date. The Jewish Heritage tour fits this call well, and Kusadasi’s old town fills the early evening before all-aboard.

Sunday 17 January 2027: Seven Seas Navigator, 07:00 to 23:00

Sixteen hours is the longest Regent call on the list, long enough to follow one story all the way through. Be at the Upper Gate when Ephesus opens at 08:00, with time for the Terrace Houses (about 45 minutes more). Then move on to Selcuk next door, where the Ephesus Museum keeps the city’s finest statues, St. John’s Basilica stands over the apostle’s traditional tomb and Isa Bey Mosque sits at the foot of the hill. Add the House of the Virgin Mary if you wish. A Create Your Own day is built for this; the Biblical Ephesus tour covers the Christian thread in 5–6 hours and leaves the evening free.

Which private day fits each length of Regent call?

Passages, Regent’s daily newsletter on board, prints the arrival and all-aboard times for each port. The all-aboard time comes before the departure time shown on schedule websites, and it is the time we plan your day backward from.

Tour pages: Best of Ephesus, Full Day Ephesus, Create Your Own. Entry is skip-the-line: we buy the tickets ahead at the Ministry’s gate price with no mark-up, paid separately from the tour. In 2026 that is EUR 40 per adult, EUR 15 more for the Terrace Houses, free for children aged 7 and under (entrance fees). You skip the ticket queue, not the security check.

Where will a Regent ship tie up at Ege Port?

Ege Port, on Kusadasi’s seafront at Mahmut Esat Bozkurt Caddesi No. 20, has two finger piers and four pairs of berths, and the port assigns them daily. The shortest pair, berths 3–4, takes ships up to 253 m. Regent’s ships are well inside that: Navigator is 170.7 m long, Voyager 206.5 m, Mariner 216.1 m, Splendor 223.6 m and Grandeur 223.7 m, so each fits any berth. Seven Seas Prestige, Regent’s largest ship yet and in service from 13 December 2026, goes wherever the port’s allocation puts her on the day. Wherever your ship lies, you walk the pier and through the terminal to the exit where the pier meets the town, and your guide is there with your name on a sign.