Venice to Athens July 27 SD1

[carlylecat]

After a 3 year hiatus we are heading back on SD this summer for our tenth cruise

 

Bringing along the entire family this time - 50th birthday party

 

I am looking for my favorite cruisers on the best cruise board ever (yeah SD'ers!) to provide some help / insight help on port information in the Adriatic and Greece as we have not done this route before - look forward to hearing your favorite stories / ideas for :

 

Hvar

Dubrovnik

Kotor

Corfu

Itea (Delphi)

Delos, Cyclades

Mykonos

 

 

 

Thanks all - I have enjoyed reading about all of your continued SD trips and am glad to be back in the fold -

[Zimmy]

Welcome back, Carlylecat. And Happy Birthday. I remember you I think - did we sail together on the New Years voyage a few years ago where we never made St Barts but had a great time anyway? Am I remembering correctly? Or do I have you confused with someone else.

 

We have done this itinerary on Silversea rather than on SD, but many of the ports were the same. Croatia is a gem, particularly the smaller, less visited islands, Hvar & Kotor. We took walking tours from the cruiseline, and then went back on our own and walked around again and ate at the charming seaside cafes. Dubrovnik is delightful when there is no large cruise ship in port, not so delightful when there is. We've seen it both ways. Walking the wall of the old town is a must do.

 

Corfu is a lovely, green Greek island. We've only been there once, and at that time we hired a cab driver to take us around the island. He took us to his village (of course he did, it's Greece) and we met his family. Mykonos is also fun to walk - beautiful vistas and lots of hidden nooks and crannys. There are bars which have balconies where you are practically in the water, and the family next door is hanging laundry on their balcony while you have a drink. Lots of fun.

 

Have you been to Venice and Athens before? If you haven't been to Athens for a while, the new museum built at the foot of the Acropolis is worth a visit. And if you have not been there, the Acropolis is a must. You can go there on your own and then hire a guide at the entrance. Venice is one of my favorite cities. I've decided that I like it better when I choose a hotel far from St Marks square.

 

You are going to have a fabulous cruise, and I hope that you'll write a review and tell us all about it.

[carlylecat]

Yes we cruised New Years in either 09 or 10 together - yes no st barts but a great trip none the less - if you remember the disappointment was quite high from my family - so much so that the next year we ended up chartering our own boat to make sure we were in st Bart's for New Years

 

 

thank you for the birthday wishes and the comments on the itinerary

 

We are very familiar with Venice but never been to Athens- certainly looking forward to the acropolis

 

Any comments on Athens hotels? We are currently booked at The Bretagne

[Zimmy]

 

Any comments on Athens hotels? We are currently booked at The Bretagne

 

I think you've made the best choice, both location and ammenity wise.

[carlylecat]

We really want to see Kleftiko, bandits Lair in Milos - would anyone know if we need to rent our own boat to take us there or does Sea Dream pass by there on its way from Milos to Athens

[Zimmy]

We really want to see Kleftiko, bandits Lair in Milos - would anyone know if we need to rent our own boat to take us there or does Sea Dream pass by there on its way from Milos to Athens

 

I haven't been there - in fact, I've never heard of it. But I do know that we have had great success with SD setting up private excursions to places we want to go. This has been arranged once we were on board, through the front desk with the assistance of the cruise director. They know the area and they know the purveyors, and what they have set up has been first class and well thought out. My opinion is that you are better off doing it that way because, let's face it, SD could change the order of the ports once you are onboard. If you've arranged things on your own in advance, where are you then? We only feel this way about SD - we have no hesitation booking our own private excursions with Seabourn or Silversea, but SD is a different animal entirely.