Thread: Greek Islands Cruise Suggestions

My hubby and I are looking to plan a cruise through the Greek Islands and touching a bit of Italy perhaps. (Perhaps departing from Venice?)

We have never cruised the Mediterranean or Europe at all so feel quite inexperienced with this. We have done Alaska twice (Celebrity) and Caribbean 4 times. (RCCL).

I am looking for suggestions and experiences of cruise line to choose, length of Itinerary and time of year? Thinking shoulder season of May or early June or late September?

Any advice will be very appreciated!

Are you looking for small ship or mass market? I have clients on their 2nd sailing of a small ship doing Venice to Venice in October but they have quite a few Greece to Venice and different itineraries so they have recommended it. Compagnie du Ponant

We sailed the Greek Isles along with Turkey and Croatia for 14 night last year. Did two 7-night cruises back-to-back out of Venice.

Absolutely love the cruise!

We flew into Munich and after spending a few days there, took the overnight train to Florence and then a local train to Sienna, which is wonderful! We then took the train to Venice and spent the night in a great B&B before the cruise. After the cruise, we took the train to Munich, spent the night, then on to Amsterdam for a few days, then by train to Paris for a few days before flying home. Great vacation!

I highly recommend flying to Europe at least one or two nights before the cruise. With the 6 hour time difference, it'll take at least a day to get acclaimated. Plus, if your flight is delayed or cancelled, it affords you some time to still catch the ship.

And definitely purchase travel insurance! When traveling to Europe, this can be invaluable.

And take a look at flying into cities other than Venice and taking the train. This affords you some sightseeing opportunities, can often save you money, and is a great way to travel. Look at flights into Rome and Munich as some options. There are high-speed trains from Rome direct to Venice. Or if you want to spend some time in Italy, you can either take a train or rent a car and drive to Sienna. It's a magnificent town in the middle of Tuscany.

There are Greek Islands cruises of varying lengths and with several different cruise lines. Do your research and discuss the options with your agent because it's important to find one that fits your lifestyle, budget, and visits the ports you want to see.

I would recommend September or October - prices are better and weather is not as hot. We were there in October and got a great rate with beautiful weather.

We loved Santorini! But make sure you get off the ship as soon as possible as the line for the tram can get very long - as long as 1-1/2 hours! The only other way to get up to the town is to walk, but you better be in very good shape, or take a burro - about 10 euro per person, but the line is a joke.

Athens is a big city and the ship docks quite a ways from the city, so you need to sign up for a tour or hire a taxi. We did the taxi and it worked out very well. We found another couple who were interested in joining us and had a great time exploring the city.

In Katakolon there's a small train that goes to Olympia and is a much better and cheaper way to get there than the cruise line excursions. Cost was 6 euro for the two of us roundtrip (about $7.50) for the 32 kilometer 50 minute ride. Excursions run about $75 each!

Mykonos was very nice.

Corfu is great for shopping.

Turkey was wonderful and Croatia was amazing!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Pete

Originally Posted by luvcruisin14

My hubby and I are looking to plan a cruise through the Greek Islands and touching a bit of Italy perhaps. (Perhaps departing from Venice?)

We have never cruised the Mediterranean or Europe at all so feel quite inexperienced with this. We have done Alaska twice (Celebrity) and Caribbean 4 times. (RCCL).

I am looking for suggestions and experiences of cruise line to choose, length of Itinerary and time of year? Thinking shoulder season of May or early June or late September?

Any advice will be very appreciated!

We felt the weather was excellent when we sailed in late october .. i would suggest later in the season for pricing advantages.. however Europe is becoming more and more a 365 day a year cruise destination.