Help - Why Greek Isles?

[fmax]

I was on Splendour last year (Marseille, Villefrance, Livorno, Rome) and am planning another cruise for 2007 and really want to incorporate Venice in it.

 

However, the options I'm seeing are predominantly Venice plus the ports I was at last time (which I don't really have a problem with) or Venice plus Greek isles. I wouldn't really mind if it was a couple of greek isles but it seems really heavy going.

 

The problem is that I have the preconceived idea that one Greek isles is the same as the next. Logically I know this is probably far from the truth so can some of you experienced cruisers help me out and give me reasons why the Greek isles are really worth seeing and what makes them different from each other (Santorini, Rhodes, Mykonos, Athens, Katakolon, corfu)

 

Thanks, Frances

[Host Karen]

Having sailed Brilliance on the Greek Isles itinerary last June, I can tell you from personal experience that Athens, Santorini and Mykonos are nothing alike. Athens is a huge city with a lot of historical significance. The Acropolis alone is worth the trip there. We didn't see a lot of Santorini because we were there on a Monday when the museums were closed, but we plan to travel thousands of miles to spend more time in Oia where the scenery is spectacular. We enjoyed the winding cobblestone streets of Mykonos, and I hear the beaches are lovely as well.

 

I can't speak to the other places you mentioned, but these are "don't miss" places in my book.

[cberge]

Why not the Greek Isles if you have never been there before??? Great way to see and get a taste of them as well as the history they all have.As Host Karen said they are really nothing alike,and each one offers some unique scenery,history,local arts,food and beaches.I perso don't think you will be disappointed.Athens is a delight all by itself.

[Single Cruiser]

A lot of the smaller ships do Croatia, Greece mainland and islands, Turkey and Cyprus..

 

The one I propose to do next summer is:

 

 

 

Date Destination Ship Arrives Ship Departs

Thursday Heraklion, Crete 10.00pm

Friday At Sea

Saturday Dubrovnik, Croatia 8.00am 6.00pm

Sunday Corfu, Greece 8.00am 6.00pm

Monday Cephalonia, Greece * 8.00am 6.00pm

Tuesday Katakolon, Greece 8.00am 1.00pm

Wednesday Athens, Greece** 8.00am 6.00pm

Thursday Heraklion, Crete 6.00am 10:00pm

Friday At Sea

Saturday Limassol, Cyprus 8.00am 5.30pm

Sunday Rhodes, Greece 9.00am 6.00pm

Monday Ephesus, Turkey* 8.00am 6.00pm

Tuesday Mykonos, Greece 8.00am 6.00pm

Wedneday Santorini, Greece** 8.00am 4.00pm

Thursday Heraklion, Crete 6.00am

[mlbcruiser]

Perhaps you could do the cruise you like best and still see Venice again. I'm not sure where your ship would depart from, but I have done an E. Med. cruise and am about to do a W. Med. cruise (Turkey and the Greek Isles as well as a few other locations in Greece and Italy) in June. Just a suggestion (that may not be an option for you), but have you considered tacking on some time on land in Italy before your cruise? When we did the E. Med., we traveled around Italy by car for 4 days prior to our cruise (which left from Civitavecchia near Rome) and 4 days after. We spent a night in Como prior to the cruise, then drove to Venice, where we spent 2 nts., and spent one night in lovely Siena, which we adored. It was a short drive on to Civitavecchia from Siena. After the cruise, we stopped by Pompeii on our way to the Amalfi Coast to spend a couple of nights in Positano (GEORGEOUS!), followed by one night in Portofino (well, the town right next to it) and finally spent the final night in Milan since our plane home left from Malpensa Airport. We actually were able to see all the places we wanted to and didn't even feel rushed! You wouldn't have to go to a lot of places like we did, but you might just spend a couple of nights in Venice and then get on your ship. It would even be easy to take a train to Rome from there if your ship doesn't leave from Venice. We could have booked an E. Med. from Venice and considered it, but we definitely wanted to see the Greek Isles and Istanbul (which everyone seems to rave about once they've been there!), and need to leave from Civitavecchia for that cruise. (In this instance we are skipping Venice. Instead we are spending a wk. in SPAIN before our cruise this time! Good luck and enjoy your trip, whichever one you choose!

[fmax]

Thanks for the responses.

 

mblcruiser: I hadn't even thought of doing Venice pre-cruise, it's definitely worth considering and opens up more options for me as well. I'll have to look into that.

 

 

Frances

[A Sixth?]

Why the Greek islands? Well, I'll find out next month.:D I booked a Louis Cruise which sails out of Piraeus (Athens)

 

They have older smaller ships, but the itineraries are all Greek islands.

 

There's a discussion in the Other Cruises Lines about Louis Cruises.

[NHRedSoxFan]

FMAX -

we're going on a Greek Isles cruise out of Venice also. The good thing about it is that they are mostly 7 day cruises, making a pre- or post- cruise stay easier to schedule. We originally thought of staying 4 days after the cruise and ended up deciding on 8 days. Venice is not that far from the Italian Lakes and Florence. So we'll be at Lake Garda for 3 nights, Florence 3 nights, and the last two nights in Venice before flying home. The more I research and plan for the land portion, the more excited I get about the Lake. Have you ever seen a photo of Malcesine or Riva? It's something to consider.

[fmax]

checked out some pixs of Malcesine - looks beautiful, combination of Villefrance and the amalfi coast! I found the 7 day cruise exhausting as we were on the go from Sunday to Thursday so I was looking for something a bit longer with a day or so more sea days or some overnights. Maybe a longer cruise will also give me a a bit more of what I'm looking for.

 

However, it's definitely giving me something to consider if I decide to do a shorter cruise.

 

Frances