Need help deciding: Greek Island

[Cruiscs]

38 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

I wouldn't base my decision on the overnight in Istanbul. It can be cancelled without warning, as it already happened before (The Grand Bazaar being closed on Sundays is another "deterrent" 😕).

 

Santorini - Equinox being the only "big" ship in port would be a huge draw for me.

 

Malta - We found it to be a very interesting stop. We took a taxi (fixed price at the port) for 2 hours to visit M'dina and back to Valetta (55 Euro).

 

Katakolon -- we used a bus for 10 Euros pp at the port which took us to Olympia for 2-3 hours. It was enough. There is also a very interesting Technology museum 10 mins walk from the port entrance.

Thanks. 

[sofietucker]

Crete, Crete, Crete! Regardless of where you dock (Heraklion or Chania) there is tons to do. An island to visit for weeks and still never get bored. Plus: Rhodes! We were the in Sept, loved it, can't wait to go back. Again, tons to do and see. And then when you do go to Malta, will be fun to compare the two Grandmaster's Palaces, etc.

Edited January 25 by sofietucker

[realnice46]

I would choose option 2 as better irinerary.

[Cruiscs]

Leaning towards option 2

[di T]

Have enjoyed both itineraries and visited all the ports many times.Sailed both ships a number of times, not been on Silhouette since the makeover though.Loved staying overnight in Istanbul and have visited the city for short stays it is one of the places I would always recommend.Equinox we will be on in June from Barcelona to Rome then back to Barcelona ( b2b) One of our favourite Celebrity ships and personally we always love visiting Malta.Will be cruising from Athens soon to the Greek Islands it will be the first time we have embarked from there so a bit different, but will give us chance to see more of Athens before the cruise.Think both cruises sound great, enjoy whichever you pick.Extra day would decide it for me so option2 

Edited January 26 by di T
Spelling

[villauk]

49 minutes ago, di T said:

Will be cruising from Athens soon to the Greek Islands

I think there will be a mass exodus from the U.K. over the next few months to the Greek Isles on Infinity 😁 - the prices were too good to miss 😉.

[di T]

1 minute ago, villauk said:

I think there will be a mass exodus from the U.K. over the next few months to the Greek Isles on Infinity 😁 - the prices were too good to miss 😉.

The prices went down a lot after they had to change the itinerary, unfortunately we booked in the Uk and ages ago so paid quite a lot for the b2b.I asked if there was anything they could do but travel agent (first time using them) said no! Was talked into doing these cruises as a package with the flights and hotel etc. will go back to doing my own airfare and hotel bookings in future I would of saved well over a thousand pounds.Will not be using this travel company again.

[villauk]

5 minutes ago, di T said:

The prices went down a lot after they had to change the itinerary, unfortunately we booked in the Uk and ages ago so paid quite a lot for the b2b.I asked if there was anything they could do but travel agent (first time using them) said no! Was talked into doing these cruises as a package with the flights and hotel etc. will go back to doing my own airfare and hotel bookings in future I would of saved well over a thousand pounds.Will not be using this travel company again.

 

Oh that it a shame, but I’m sure you’ll still have a great cruise. I’m of the standing now that ‘you win some, you lose some’ - it probably all evens out over time (not nice when it happens though).
 

We managed to get the flight offer with ours and booked it together with our friends as our TA was concerned the flight allocation may not be available for both reservations if she did it separately. Thank goodness she did because within a couple of days there were no ‘package’ flights available for our date and airport. I always book my own flights so this is going to be an eye opener for us too, seeing how X handle it 🫣.

[mickey89]

The Silhouette has by far the better itinerary.  The stand out ports for tourists are 1. Kusadasi 2. Athens  3. Istanbul 4. Rhodes 5. Santorini 6. Crete .

 

Mykonos, Katakolon and Valleta are very missable -  all three best to stay aboard

[Cruiscs]

18 minutes ago, mickey89 said:

The Silhouette has by far the better itinerary.  The stand out ports for tourists are 1. Kusadasi 2. Athens  3. Istanbul 4. Rhodes 5. Santorini 6. Crete .

 

Mykonos, Katakolon and Valleta are very missable -  all three best to stay aboard

Mykonos has gorgeous beaches

Edited January 26 by Cruiscs

[mickey89]

1 hour ago, Cruiscs said:

Mykonos has gorgeous beaches

Cost €50 each way to get to anywhere decent and the Med water is never warm IMO

[Cruiscs]

3 minutes ago, mickey89 said:

Cost €50 each way to get to anywhere decent and the Med water is never warm IMO

For taxi?

[newtocruiseinblue]

I would recommend Option 2

 

I just did a very similar itinerary last summer and loved it. 
 

Athens will be fresh to you and I recommend staying near the Platka so you are within walking distance to most sites. I definitely recommend a sunset tour to the Temple of Poseidon. And possibly a day via the ferry to Aegina Island if you have time.

 

Rooftop dining in Athens is a must.

 

I’ve done Rome twice so was glad to get a change of pace in Athens. 
 

You will love Ephesus and Istanbul. 
 

There isn’t much in Katakolon  but Olympia. 
 

In Santorini - I recommend the Celebrity tour 

Sailing at the Caldera - 5 hours - seeing it via a catamaran was amazing and we still had plenty of time to explore the town. 
 

If you are docked in Fira town - take the cable car to the top - do not attempt the stairs! If you know you know. 
 

Happy cruising and cheers! 

[Cruiscs]

1 hour ago, newtocruiseinblue said:

I would recommend Option 2

 

I just did a very similar itinerary last summer and loved it. 
 

Athens will be fresh to you and I recommend staying near the Platka so you are within walking distance to most sites. I definitely recommend a sunset tour to the Temple of Poseidon. And possibly a day via the ferry to Aegina Island if you have time.

 

Rooftop dining in Athens is a must.

 

I’ve done Rome twice so was glad to get a change of pace in Athens. 
 

You will love Ephesus and Istanbul. 
 

There isn’t much in Katakolon  but Olympia. 
 

In Santorini - I recommend the Celebrity tour 

Sailing at the Caldera - 5 hours - seeing it via a catamaran was amazing and we still had plenty of time to explore the town. 
 

If you are docked in Fira town - take the cable car to the top - do not attempt the stairs! If you know you know. 
 

Happy cruising and cheers! 

How is Silhouhette? Have only been on one Celebrity ship before on Edge. Loved Edge. How do they compare?

[ElmaLee]

4 hours ago, mickey89 said:

The Silhouette has by far the better itinerary.  The stand out ports for tourists are 1. Kusadasi 2. Athens  3. Istanbul 4. Rhodes 5. Santorini 6. Crete .

 

Mykonos, Katakolon and Valleta are very missable -  all three best to stay aboard

Malta has a lot to see.  Valletta is worth a walk round, or visit the war time tunnels.  Mdina is also worth a visit.

[sofietucker]

50 minutes ago, Cruiscs said:

How is Silhouhette? Have only been on one Celebrity ship before on Edge. Loved Edge. How do they compare?

Have sailed both, just off Silhouette, completely different. Silly is much smaller,* many fewer restaurants; it does have the Lawn Club up top for something different but very different from Rooftop Garden. No Eden, fewer music venues. Spa much smaller. I *guess* it's been Revolutionized but not in any obvious way. If you like quiet, laid-back ships, you'll like it.

*But larger than the Connie, which we sail a lot, lol...

[sofietucker]

51 minutes ago, ElmaLee said:

Malta has a lot to see.  Valletta is worth a walk round, or visit the war time tunnels.  Mdina is also worth a visit.

We *adore* Malta, choose itineraries whenever possible, especially if they overnight there.

Cool smaller island:Gozo!

All the varied archaeolgy from 6,000 BC (older than Egypt, highly unusual and well preserved goddess culture)! Check out the archaeological museum right downtown.

Beaches & towns where they filmed Troy (Brad Pitt) and parts of Game of Thrones.

The Blue Hole!

The Knights of St John's Armory and Grandmasters' palace with all its tapestries of fighting the Turks.

The incredible golden light... Just a gorgeous island. Great food & wine too.

Edited January 26 by sofietucker

[sofietucker]

Also in Santorini is the Akrotiri excavation, which is incredible, very complex and rich, under roofs so not in the hot sun. They say this is the actual, original Atlantis! Highly recommend.

 

And the wine tours, they grow the vines in circular wreaths on steep hills, very unusual... Or boat out to the volcano to snorkel and hike (like Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft). You can completely avoid the Fira cliff with ferries around to the side of the island.

 

If you're there around Sept 9th, they light up the whole island with fireworks, to commemorate the volcanic eruptions of Thera (the pre-eruption island of Atlantis)...

Edited January 26 by sofietucker

[sofietucker]

Mykonos is also really exciting: take a boat to Delos for the biggest, brightest archaeological complex in the Med. It's so bright it can be seen from space, due to all the mica in the marble.

Wander the maze of streets in Mykonos town, built that way so pirates would be lost and confused.

Taxis from the pier to Paradise Beach should be no more than $17 euro. 

Great seafood.

 

Most important: DO NOT GO IN SUMMER. That's the rule for most of the Med anyway--all of Europe goes on vacation there in July and August.

[Cruiscs]

28 minutes ago, sofietucker said:

Have sailed both, just off Silhouette, completely different. Silly is much smaller,* many fewer restaurants; it does have the Lawn Club up top for something different but very different from Rooftop Garden. No Eden, fewer music venues. Spa much smaller. I *guess* it's been Revolutionized but not in any obvious way. If you like quiet, laid-back ships, you'll like it.

*But larger than the Connie, which we sail a lot, lol...

Much smaller? Silly is 122000GT while Edge is 130000GT. 
Many fewer restaurants? Silly has at least 7 speciality restaurants. 

[newtocruiseinblue]

21 minutes ago, sofietucker said:

Mykonos is also really exciting: take a boat to Delos for the biggest, brightest archaeological complex in the Med. It's so bright it can be seen from space, due to all the mica in the marble.

Wander the maze of streets in Mykonos town, built that way so pirates would be lost and confused.

Taxis from the pier to Paradise Beach should be no more than $17 euro. 

Great seafood.

 

Most important: DO NOT GO IN SUMMER. That's the rule for most of the Med anyway--all of Europe goes on vacation there in July and August.

Mykonos is the most beautiful island to take pictures! 

[sofietucker]

1 hour ago, Cruiscs said:

Much smaller? Silly is 122000GT while Edge is 130000GT. 
Many fewer restaurants? Silly has at least 7 speciality restaurants. 

This is a great topic; funny how they can be perceived so differently! I took a look at the restaurants; a few are free for lunch and a different menu, for a fee at night.

Silhouette has, in addition to its MDR, Oceanview Cafe, Mast Grill, and Spa Cafe (smoothies, etc.)--four total.

The two private restaurants Blu and Luminae.

And these for-fee places:

Al Bacio, Tuscan Grille, Murano, LPC, Sushi on 5, The Lawn Club Grill (cook your own steak), and The Porch (casual, seafood & sandwiches). 7 total for-fee restaurants.

 

The Edge has FOUR main dining rooms, each with a different cuisine and decor: French (like Murano), Italian (like Tuscan), Mediterranean, and "Cosmopolitan." Plus Oceanview Cafe, Mast Grill, Eden Cafe, Spa Cafe. So 8 total free restaurants.

2 private dining rooms, Blu and Luminae.

Then for fee:

Al Bacio, Eden at night, Raw on 5, Magic Carpet during the day, Edge Dinner (Magic Carpet at night), LPC, Fine Cut (steak), Le Grand Bistro (casual), Rooftop Garden Grill: so 9 total for-fee restaurants.

Not counting the Aqua and Suite classes (which also has its own Retreat lounge snack bar and pool snack bar on the Edge), that's a total of 17 places to eat on Edge, vs 11 on Silhouette.

[NCMtnBoys]

We did a seven night cruise last September round trip Athens which included Istanbul, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Mykonos and Santorini. Loved all of it! I was looking for a seven night sailing that included Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Istanbul. We made all the ports and enjoyed our time in each port. We had booked a five port excursion bundle through a company and each excursion visited places I had wanted to go. Honestly, it was incredible to be in all those places. Seeing the Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Ephesus, Oia, etc... one of the best trips ever.

[sofietucker]

One note on Athens: they have just started issuing timed tickets to the Parthenon on the Acropolis, to significantly cut down on traffic. If you are going, jump on this ASAP. (Fabulous new Acropolis Museum nearby too, BTW.) 

From Rick Steves:https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/greece/new-rules-for-acropolis-tickets

 

This site *seems* to be the most current and valid: https://acropolis-greece.com/  (The only one without a weird "suspicious/risky site" warning.)

Notice the difference between Acropolis site and Acropolis Museum...

 

Edited January 26 by sofietucker

[Cruiscs]

What is worth seeing i Crete? Understand that the cruise port is far from chania old town