We are considering booking a cruise of the Greek Isles in July of 2024. Having never cruised, we would prefer a smaller cruise line / ship. We are a family of six, so it doesn't need to be super luxurious, otherwise it will be prohibitively expensive. We don't want to camp on the deck either. ;-) The humongous floating cities are not appealing. Any recommendations for smaller mid-level cruise offerings?
Posted by
Camarillo, California
3148 posts
Try contacting a reliable, long-established travel agency in Athens. They will be able to steer you in the right direction. I recommend Fantasy Travel, Aegean Thesaurus Travel and Dolphin-Hellas Travel.
Posted by
Frisco, Texas, US
262 posts
Cruising is a great way to see many Greek islands without having to worry about the ferry schedules, flights or hotels! We also like to avoid more than one 'day at sea' because the deck life doesn't appeal to us either. In 2016 we were on Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas, Venice to Dubrovnik to Crete, Santorini, Athens, and Kalikalon, then back to Venice. We are going again this September on Celebrity Constellation Athens to Venice stopping in Greece, Croatia, Montenegro, and Ephesus, Turkey. Royal Caribbian is more economical than Celebrity.
Posted by
Chico, CA USA
236 posts
Respectfully, I think cruising is an undesirable way to experience Greece. The best parts of each day in Greece are the long dinners and all-night gatherings in the town centers, not retiring to a dining room on a ship. Further, the country itself is rather easy to navigate, either by land or sea, so the benefits of being led on a fixed route are not that great.
I might offer an alternative, though, that you might consider for your group. Namely, there are a great many six-, eight-, ten-, 12-person, or more, voyages on essentially very large multi-cabin sailing ships or gulet-like motor crafts. These boats either tie up at the ports themselves so you have freedom to enjoy the towns at night, or anchor is secluded coves for a purely natural experience (often both in the same night as they might drop you off to enjoy the town until a certain hour and then cruise to a secluded spot for the night).
If this is interesting to you I can send you links. If you want you could even get the whole boat, plus crew, for your group alone. Plus, you have time.
Posted by
CO
58 posts
July in Greece sounds kind of miserable to me, extremely hot (90s no shade), ridiculously crowded, expensive, and not exactly family friendly.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Hello Everyone. Thank you for all the insights. We will likely make alternative plans based on the feedback in the forum. Happy Travels.