LHC1962 Posted January 26, 2019 #1 Share Posted January 26, 2019 (edited) Hello! Apologies if this has been asked before. We usually cruise with RC and are D+. Greek Islands on RC are not worth it as the ships are too big for the ports, and we want to do as many islands without paying over the odds for tenders etc. Can anyone please recommend a great cruise line or ship? Many thanks Edited January 26, 2019 by LHC1962 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 26, 2019 #2 Share Posted January 26, 2019 what is your budget? I would look at small ships that do the Greek Islands but then they are probably not a inexpensive as the larger main stream lines Go to the FIND A CRUISE link at the top of the page & see what ships are going to the islands you want then decide Or you could use the ferry system & spend as much time as you want on each island 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted January 26, 2019 #3 Share Posted January 26, 2019 27 minutes ago, LHC1962 said: Hello! Apologies if this has been asked before. We usually cruise with RC and are D+. Greek Islands on RC are not worth it as the ships are too big for the ports, and we want to do as many islands without paying over the odds for tenders etc. Can anyone please recommend a great cruise line or ship? Many thanks Why not trade that "D+" experience for an "A+" experience (food, service, included amenities like airfare, beverages, internet, etc) on an Oceania O ship (1100 passengers) or R ship (670 passengers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 26, 2019 #4 Share Posted January 26, 2019 12 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said: on an Oceania O ship (1100 passengers) or R ship (670 passengers). Oceania O class ships have 1250 pax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted January 26, 2019 #5 Share Posted January 26, 2019 2 minutes ago, LHT28 said: Oceania O class ships have 1250 pax Mea Culpa. Can't remember where I got 1100. In any case, not big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHC1962 Posted January 26, 2019 Author #6 Share Posted January 26, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, LHT28 said: what is your budget? I would look at small ships that do the Greek Islands but then they are probably not a inexpensive as the larger main stream lines Go to the FIND A CRUISE link at the top of the page & see what ships are going to the islands you want then decide Or you could use the ferry system & spend as much time as you want on each island Thanks for your reply. V helpful. No top line budget. Just don’t want to pay for the extras in the luxury cruise this time when we are interested in the destination for once, but want the flexibility of the ship Edited January 26, 2019 by LHC1962 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHC1962 Posted January 26, 2019 Author #7 Share Posted January 26, 2019 38 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said: Why not trade that "D+" experience for an "A+" experience (food, service, included amenities like airfare, beverages, internet, etc) on an Oceania O ship (1100 passengers) or R ship (670 passengers). Do their ships get into the Greek ports? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHC1962 Posted January 26, 2019 Author #8 Share Posted January 26, 2019 43 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said: Why not trade that "D+" experience for an "A+" experience (food, service, included amenities like airfare, beverages, internet, etc) on an Oceania O ship (1100 passengers) or R ship (670 passengers). Hard to trade when you get free booze Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted January 26, 2019 #9 Share Posted January 26, 2019 1 hour ago, LHC1962 said: Hard to trade when you get free booze 1 hour ago, LHC1962 said: Hard to trade when you get free booze On Oceania, you can pick free wine/beer at meals as your O Life perk. For $20/person extra (includes gratuities), you get unlimited premium booze anywhere all day. Plenty of free booze/ happy hours too. AND, you can bring as much wine and spirits onboard as you can manage. (Spirits limited to your cabin. Wine can go to dinner for $25 corkage). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted January 26, 2019 #10 Share Posted January 26, 2019 1 hour ago, LHC1962 said: Do their ships get into the Greek ports? Do realize that some Islands really have no "port." All cruise ships will tender then. However, the smaller is the ship and passenger load, the shorter will be the wait (hundreds vs thousands of passengers 👀) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHC1962 Posted January 26, 2019 Author #11 Share Posted January 26, 2019 15 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said: On Oceania, you can pick free wine/beer at meals as your O Life perk. For $20/person extra (includes gratuities), you get unlimited premium booze anywhere all day. Plenty of free booze/ happy hours too. AND, you can bring as much wine and spirits onboard as you can manage. (Spirits limited to your cabin. Wine can go to dinner for $25 corkage). Thanks for the info. We are not alcoholics , but enjoy free club membership. IE Happy hour, not available on P&O without years of loyalty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 26, 2019 #12 Share Posted January 26, 2019 4 minutes ago, LHC1962 said: Thanks for the info. We are not alcoholics , but enjoy free club membership. IE Happy hour, not available on P&O without years of loyalty there are probably other lines that go there besides P & O unless you prefer them like I said have look at the Find a cruise link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted January 26, 2019 #13 Share Posted January 26, 2019 2 hours ago, LHC1962 said: Thanks for the info. We are not alcoholics , but enjoy free club membership. IE Happy hour, not available on P&O without years of loyalty Not sure how P&O entered the discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jocap Posted January 26, 2019 #14 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Because you mention P&O, I wondered whether you're in the UK, and if so, whether you saw the cruise programme on Channel 5 last night? ... Jane MacDonald was cruising the Greek Isles on Celestyal, and explained that this was a destination cruise, not a holiday on a ship with a few ports which you might visit or else remain on board just to enjoy the ship. It's the 2nd time Jane has had a programme from the ship, as it spends the winter in Cuba. We sailed with them years ago, when the company was called Louis Cruise, and it's still one of our very best cruises because of the destinations, although the ship is old without the facilities provided by the vast ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquahound Posted January 26, 2019 #15 Share Posted January 26, 2019 6 hours ago, LHC1962 said: We usually cruise with RC and are D+. Greek Islands on RC are not worth it as the ships are too big for the ports, and we want to do as many islands without paying over the odds for tenders etc. I'm curious, what Greek ports are you wanting to go to that lines like RCI can't dock? When I cruised Greece, we hit Argostoli, Corfu, Santorini, Athens, Mykonos and Crete. The only place we tendered was Santorini where you don't have a choice but to tender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted January 26, 2019 #16 Share Posted January 26, 2019 You might Google "Variety Cruises" which is a small boat line that has been around for quite a few years. We once took a fantastic cruise on a 20 passenger boat operated by Zeus Cruises...who has since become part of Variety. You are right about the regular cruise ships. They are very limited in where they can go in the Greek Islands although places like Santorini, Crete, Mykonos and Rhodes are all decent places to visit. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diver2014 Posted January 26, 2019 #17 Share Posted January 26, 2019 We've been to the Greek Isles several times on Holland America ships. We like their brand and their rates are very reasonable. Their ships are not huge so they can dock almost everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iancal Posted January 27, 2019 #18 Share Posted January 27, 2019 We had the same issue. We solved it by packing light and visiting the Greek Islands independently by traveling on local ferries. This gives you the opportunity to go where you want, when you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted January 27, 2019 #19 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Folks need to always keep in mind that we are on Cruise Critic which is a blog primarily dedicated to those who cruise on major cruise lines. So when some of us talk about tiny boat lines (with boats holding 50 or fewer passengers) or independent travel via ferries to various islands, most will have no clue or choose to totally ignore the fact that there are other options then major cruise lines. I still remember pulling up to Shipwreck Beach in Zakynos and dropping anchor one gorgeous morning. Most on our boat then jumped or dove off the bow into the crystal clear waters and swam a few hundred yards into the absolutely amazing deserted beach (with an observation deck over a thousand feet above). It was fantastic...and something never experienced by anyone on a large (or even small) cruise ship. And then there was the day we docked at the tiny island or Paxos and all of us (about 20 passengers plus our young cruise director) hiked to a small village (about 50 souls) where a small restaurant owner ran all over the village gathering enough items to make us all lunch (and it was delicious). Yes, we understand that many cruisers are happy to visit places like Santorini (perhaps on days when there are 8000 other cruisers on that island) but would not be comfortable on Greek Islands that have fewer then 50 tourists. We have been fortunate to have experienced both worlds...each of which has their good points. But I just want to be very clear that there are other options then going to major Greek Islands with thousands of other cruise passengers. Ferries between the islands are indeed, another option. This does take some planning but can be quite rewarding. And one most always have some flexibility in case things go wrong. DW and her husband once had vacationed on Crete and taken the ferry over to Santorini. But the seas were so rough that their small ferry had to turn back to Crete. Before they even got back to Crete, my son-in-law had gotten on his phone and booked air (via Athens) to Santorini. They were not upset of flustered by having to change their plans, but simply made spur of the moment adjustments :). Such is the life of many travelers. Ob the other hand, try finding a ferry to Paxos of even the smaller anti-paxos. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHC1962 Posted January 27, 2019 Author #20 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Thank you all for taking the time to comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzaholic41 Posted January 27, 2019 #21 Share Posted January 27, 2019 I recommend flying into Athens and riding ferries to the Isles. I did this once and it was one of the best vacations I ever had. This way, I got to spend at least 1 day and 1 night in each location. Plus, I got to see places cruise ships don’t go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted January 27, 2019 #22 Share Posted January 27, 2019 5 hours ago, Cruzaholic41 said: I recommend flying into Athens and riding ferries to the Isles. I did this once and it was one of the best vacations I ever had. This way, I got to spend at least 1 day and 1 night in each location. Plus, I got to see places cruise ships don’t go. Given the fact that many of the islands are small and many of the ships visiting (sometimes several the same day) bring thousands of cruisers eager to “experience” those islands - going by cruise ship is increasingly unsatisfactory. it is much better to go by ferry - Island to Island- spending the evenings and nights (when the real magic is there). Aegean cruises are a perfect example of the success of of something almost completely destroying the purpose of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted January 27, 2019 #23 Share Posted January 27, 2019 We do agree with Navybankerteacher that the most popular islands (Santorini and Mykonos) are suffering from "Overtourism" brought about because of the huge cruise ships. Being in Santorini at night, after the cruise ships have departed is quite magical. And there are some amazing hotels (a few small places in Oia are fantastic...but very expensive). We now try to avoid going to those island on large ships during the prime summer months. Even as a long time cruise fanatic, we are forced to admit that the cruise industry has contributed to the ruination of quite a few places. And it is only going to get worse. Consider that MSC will have 29 ships within the next few years, and most of them will be running around the Med! And the old 1200 passenger ships have now been replaced by 4000+ passenger ships! Argh! Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF Posted January 28, 2019 #24 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Personally, I would pick a couple of islands and do a "land" vacation. We spend a week on Mykonos, with a day trip to Delos, and would like to go back, as there were things we did not get to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted January 28, 2019 #25 Share Posted January 28, 2019 35 minutes ago, SRF said: Personally, I would pick a couple of islands and do a "land" vacation. We spend a week on Mykonos, with a day trip to Delos, and would like to go back, as there were things we did not get to. DD and her DH did just what you suggest, based on our advice. The decided to spend a week on Crete and then take the high speed boat over to Santorini for a few days. Since those islands are completely different, they never had a dull moment :). Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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