From Constantinople to Constantza (R. 82):—Rumanian Mail (quickest) twice weekly; Austrian Lloyd alternate Fridays and alternate Saturdays; Società Nazionale weekly.
From Constantinople to Odessa (R. 83):—North German Lloyd fortnightly; Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co., direct line, weekly; Syria and Egypt lines fortnightly; Anatolian line fortnightly; Austrian Lloyd fortnightly; Società Nazionale weekly; Messageries Maritimes weekly.
From Odessa to Batum (R. 84):—Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co. weekly; North German Lloyd monthly.
From Batum to Constantinople (R. 85):—North German Lloyd alternate Saturdays; Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co. alternate Thursdays; Austrian Lloyd weekly; Messageries Maritimes, N. Paquet & Co., and Società Nazionale all fortnightly.
Overland Routes. Travellers bound for the Central or Eastern Mediterranean, and in particular those who wish to avoid the long voyage to Gibraltar and thus to save five, six, or more days, will choose an overland route to one or other of the Mediterranean ports. Marseilles is reached from London by the ‘P. & O. Express’, starting on Thursdays, or by the ‘Calais-Mediterranean Express’, daily in winter, in 20–20¼ hrs., or by ordinary express in 22½ hrs.—Genoa is 27 hrs. from London, viâ Paris and Mont Cenis.—Venice is 32¼ hrs. from London viâ Bâle and the St. Gotthard.—Trieste is reached in 43½ hrs. from London viâ Milan.—Naples is 46 hrs. from London viâ Paris and Rome.—Brindisi is reached in 45¼ hrs. by the ‘P. & O. Brindisi Express’, starting on Friday mornings, or by ordinary express, viâ Boulogne and Paris, in 54½ hrs.
Lastly, the traveller who proposes to explore the Mediterranean from east to west, and who desires to economize time, should consult Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Time Tables, or the German Reichskursbuch, or Hendschel’s Telegraph, as to the great Oriental expresses to Constantinople and the Black Sea.
Hints to Steamboat Passengers. During the height of the season (in Egypt Jan. and Feb., in other parts of the Mediterranean March, April and even May) passages often have to be booked a month or six weeks in advance. Holders of return-tickets or combined tickets must secure berths for the return-voyage also long beforehand.
Heavy Baggage, to be stowed away in the hold, should be sent on board at least one or two days beforehand. Each passenger should endeavour, for his own sake and that of others, to limit his requirements for the voyage to one or two cabin-trunks of moderate size. Private cabins should, as a rule, be kept locked, and small articles should not be left lying about on deck unwatched.
Landing or Embarkation by small boat is often an unpleasant proceeding, as the boatmen are apt to be extortionate in their demands, especially when the sea is rough. The charge for each passenger with his baggage should be ascertained beforehand and only paid at the end of the trip, or the whole transaction may be entrusted to one of the hotel-agents. Small articles carried in the hand should not be allowed out of sight.