Katakolon : skip or not

[Sonata10]

Hi all,

 

We are planing the 1st cruise to Italy and Greek Isles. Our times is flexible between June 2016 and July 2016. We like to start in Rome, my daughter likes to go to Katakolon to then go to Olympia, (she loves Greek history and mythology) but not many ships from Rome stop by Katakolon. The only RCC go to Katakolon is Jewel of the Sea: 7 days (Rome, Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, and Katakolon)

My friend recommend me to chose the Celebrity Reflection, which is 11 days, the price just a little bit more than the 7 days cruise, not too much. The only problem is the cruise ship doesn't stop by Katakolon, its ports are Rome, Santorini, Athens, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Bodrum, and Naples.

 

Are there more things to do and to see in Kusadasi and Bodrum than Olympia? Which itinerary do you prefer? Should we take the Celebrity Reflection instead of Jewel of the Sea?

 

We are a family of three, parents in the 50's and one girl 15. We love history, culture and food. We don't need much activities on board, more likely to see the shows, relax, read....

 

Please give us some advice. Thanks

[paul929207]

While Katakolon/Olympus was interesting, I would not put it high on the list.

 

Accept that you can't see everything

[CruiserBruce]

Holland America goes to Katakolon.

[Sonata10]

Holland America goes to Katakolon.

 

How do you compare Holland America to RC and Celebrity ?

[CruiserBruce]

How do you compare Holland America to RC and Celebrity ?

 

That would be a very subjective question. Having sailed on RCI, IMHO HAL is better. Haven't sailed on Celebrity.

 

Europe/Med cruises are about ports, less about ships. Just trying to meet your desire to go to Olympia.

[Keith1010]

How do you compare Holland America to RC and Celebrity ?

 

Also subjective on my part but in our case we prefer Celebrity.

 

Key is to read about each cruise line and ship you are considering.

 

Read posts on the respective boards and members reviews.

 

Keith

[6rugrats]

While Katakolon/Olympus was interesting, I would not put it high on the list.

 

Accept that you can't see everything

 

I would agree. I think your daughter may be disappointed with this stop. I certainly wouldn't chose a cruise based on this port.

[cruisemom42]

I would agree. I think your daughter may be disappointed with this stop. I certainly wouldn't chose a cruise based on this port.

 

That's possible of course, but can't be said with certainty. Some people -- like me -- are really into ancient history and visiting the sites where important events took place. I enjoy places like Olympia even if the ruins don't seem terribly impressive to others....

 

That said, there is certainly a chance to get a good dose of Greek history in Athens. And Kusadasi has the beautiful ruins of Ephesus on offer. For that reason -- and the chance to visit Naples (originally a Greek colony in Italy, by the way), I'd probably choose the longer itinerary.

 

Bodrum is the only clunker. Not a huge fan of Bodrum...

 

At Mykonos, make sure you plan to visit Delos, the nearby island that played a central role in Classical Greece (i.e., the Delian League). It is very well preserved and well worth it.

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

 

 

 

Are there more things to do and to see in Kusadasi and Bodrum than Olympia? Which itinerary do you prefer?

 

Drop Katakolon, do Kusadasi instead. Katakolon is really bad compared to Kusadasi.

 

If your daughter is interested in history, then visit Efesus while visiting Kusadasi.

[skf]

We went to Katakolon in 2013. Frankly I do not remember anything about it, though I have a yellow Princess Katakolon t-shirt that they love to see at the Greek restaurant in town.

Kusadasi was super-excellent and I would recommend going there...try to avoid carpet shops unless you want carpets and tea.

Steve (aka Stavrou, to my Greek friends)

[Host Walt]

Windstar cruise lines has several cruises from Athens to Istanbul and vice versa. Ther also is a nine day cruise from Istanbul in May 2016 on one of their motor yachts that calls at

 

• Istanbul
  
• Cesme
  
• Kusadasi
  
• Kalymnos
  
• Rhodes
  
• Santorini
  
• Agios Nikolaos (Crete)
  
  
• Monemvasia
  
• Athens
  

We really enjoyed visiting Katakolon and Olympia and all the various athletic sites preserved as they existed way back in ancient times. However the Olympic sites is about all there is there.

 

 

 

Monemvasia is a seldom visited port (no deep water anchorage or infrastructure that can handle large ships. Windstar ships max out at about 250 passengers) but was one of our favorite stops.

 

 

 

Someone suggested Delos (near Mykonos) which is a standard port call for most of Windstar's cruises between Istanbul and Athens. Unfortunately they do not have a cruise that includes both Monemvasia and Mykonos in a single itinerary.

 

 

After a Windstar cruise that ended in Athens, we rented a car and did a lot of driving around the Peloponnesian peninsula. Bad idea. After the first day we decided to take organized tours and really enjoyed ourselve much more with guides and accesses that were not available to the general public.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Host Walt

[Sonata10]

Thanks for all your advice. My daughter decided that we would take the longer cruise and would have 2 days in Athens. That might give her more Greek history than Olympia site