Question about Mediterranean/Greece Cruises

[bbkitty]

Hi! Not sure if this is the place to put this question but here goes:

My mom wants to take a cruise to the Greek Islands. She first was pretty set on Celebrity then decided a smaller ship would be better. She kind of wants to fly into Athens and start from there. She wants to see Esephus(?) but not interested much in other Turkey. She's open to flying into or starting from Rome too. This is so broad, I'm sorry! After reading a gazillion threads/reviews about cruising in Greece I can see different advantages to big ship vs. little ship etc. Port time is important for sure! I guess itinerary is most important but just having a hard time finding everything she wants....any kind of advice?? This site helps SO much I figured I'd get some different opinions, thanks!!!:)

[cruisemom42]

I think a travel agent could really help you narrow down the choices.

 

Princess has a small ship that sometimes does a Greek Isles itinerary. Oceania has smaller ships but is a bit more expensive. I'm sure there are others.

 

P.S. Don't discount Turkey; it's a lovely country. Almost everyone who visits comes back and wants to spend more time there.

[YoungDubFan]

You may also want to check out Louis Cruise lines. They are a Greek based company and have 3,4,5,7 night cruises of the Greek Isles / Kusadasi (Ephesus) / Istanbul. They have older, smaller ships and their focus is the ports, not the cruise itself. If you look under the "Other Cruise LInes" section and search for Louis Cruises, you will find quite a few reviews / threads.

[paul929207]

I think you or your mother would be best served by talking to a travel agent to get some ideas.

[eh2zed]

Yes a good TA can get you what she wants.

[Essiesmom]

There are some luxury lines with very small ships that do a lot more of the Greek islands. But try this website to get a feel for what is available. Choose your departure port from the top list, or if you have a particular port she wants to visit, find it on the second list. EM

 

http://www.cruisetimetables.com

[maryann ns]

Azamara also has small ships.

 

You really need to rethink Turkey. We were in five ports there. They all had things of interest historicly, but Bodrum, Fethiye, and Antalya are great resorts and Istanbul is a wonderful city.

[bbkitty]

thanks very much! we were looking pretty hard at Louis Cruises. There is also a thing called Voyages to Antiquity? That seemed pretty good. I also got on Greeka and there are 3,4,5,7 day cruises that sound pretty cool and casual also. I'll ask her if she knows a good travel agent and we can go from there. thanks again for all the input!

[cruisemom42]

Voyages to Antiquity is a relatively new operation with one small ship (around 320 or so passengers). Their focus is history and they have some unusual itineraries. I sailed with them last season and have another cruise in October.

 

What I like about them is that all the shore excursions are included, as are all gratuities, wine/beer/soft drinks with dinner, and very reasonable air packages. They also have guest lecturers aboard with talks that complement the itinerary. Passengers are provided with a reading list of books ahead of the cruise to provide background.

 

The shipboard activities are necessarily limited due to the small size of ship -- there's no casino, no production shows (although they usually have a group called Concerto Strings that play classical music and put on a few shows over the course of the cruise), no facilities for children. Also most of the excursions focus on the historical angle -- you won't find beach excursions, jeep 4x4 rides, or the like. Most of the excursions are on the strenuous side. Of course, you can choose to do things on your own in the various ports.

 

I really enjoyed my cruise with them last year and am looking forward to another great experience this year. There is something very nice about seeing the Med on a small ship and especially for someone like me who is very into ancient history, ruins, and the like.

[aohkay]

I very much enjoyed the smaller ship experience in the Med last year.

[chipmaster]

There are so many permutations in Europe that I'd say list the ports you most want than find the line/ships that give you the top ports.

 

A TA can help you narrow it down, but in the end with so many lines and ships and possibilities you can either write it down, then go back a day or two later and see the list, and go back and forth, or you can just do it yourself between googling a few sites that have nice options to put in 5 ports, sadly I can't name names here, pretty silly.

 

I found it most useful to put down the top 2-3 cruises and even than it finally comes down to tradeoffs.

 

Happy planning!

 

 

Hi! Not sure if this is the place to put this question but here goes:

My mom wants to take a cruise to the Greek Islands. She first was pretty set on Celebrity then decided a smaller ship would be better. She kind of wants to fly into Athens and start from there. She wants to see Esephus(?) but not interested much in other Turkey. She's open to flying into or starting from Rome too. This is so broad, I'm sorry! After reading a gazillion threads/reviews about cruising in Greece I can see different advantages to big ship vs. little ship etc. Port time is important for sure! I guess itinerary is most important but just having a hard time finding everything she wants....any kind of advice?? This site helps SO much I figured I'd get some different opinions, thanks!!!:)

[Railer]

While planning my upcoming cruise I wanted to either start or finish in Athens. I knew the time of year that I could travel so I went to an on line travel agent and punched in my preferences and it gave me all the different options available. From there I had to do lots of research to come up with my final choice for cruise and cabin. I then got to the fun part, checking out the various ports and whether or not I wanted to book a shore excursion.

 

Russ

[patseacruiser]

Voyages to Antiquity has a lot of plusses as Cynthia has already pointed out. They have some interesting itineraries that are not the same week to week. They have promotions where they have free airfare and they have solo cabins. Of course, since it's a small ship and only about 400 passengers there are not a lot of single cabins so if you need one you have to book them early. Also, they try as much as possible to work for their past passengers. I have become friendly with some of their res agents, vp of marketing and vp of sales. Not hard since they are a small line and really strive to work with the passengers and travel agents. Take a look at their website and brochure.