Cruise of Greek Islands

Hi Nancy! U shd know that most Gr Isle cruises are v short (4-5 days), AND are mostly about the sea voyage, often having only 3-5 hours in a port, no time to get the flavor of the island. These huge ships can only go to 5-6 deepwater ports (all very 'touristic") & you're stuck in huge crowds of 2500-3000 people. Ick. Yet there are a few smaller ships that can go to smaller isles and at least spend overnight in a port. Here's one that's 6 days, w. overnight in Mykonos & one of my fave places, Nafplio. http://www.dolphin-hellas.gr/Cruises/Variety-cruises/small-ship-cruises-greece.htm#axzz1rkCHUSzn And this one looks like a winner goes to Folegandros, Paros, Antiparos, Syros, lots of swim stops ... I like this a lot. http://smallships.travel/Galileo-Jewels-of-the-Cyclades.html No accom. recommendations because I never do cruises. You also could consider consulting a quality GREECE-BASED agency, and having them construct a 3-island trip for you, using regular ferries, arranging "transfers" from port to hotel etc. Aegean-Thesaurus and Dolphin-Hellas have good reviews working via e-mail to arrange such trips.

Rick - I saw your reply recommending 2 Variety Cruises of Greece. We, too, were interested in those, however, saw a couple of negative posts about the Jewels of the Cyclades Trip, including comments about ships not leaving port and not following the itinerary. Are you comfortable recommending these cruises? Denise

We did a Greek Island cruise a few years ago on a small cruise company that is now out of business (EasyCruise). I would say to not worry too much about the ship because you spend a lot of time in ports. On our cruise it was two islands a day. We would wake up in a port, get off for 3-5 hours, get back on for a couple of hours and then we were at the next port where we would stay for 3-5 hours. My opinion is that you should go for the route and the islands they are stopping at instead of how nice the ship is. We only saw the huge cruise ships at places like Santorini. The smaller ships will get you to other nice islands that are less crowded.

Wow, "a lot of time" is 3-5 hours??? How on earth do you get to see anything but the shopping areas near the port? What about strolling through the villages, visiting the archaeological sites, or just sitting in a cafe to enjoy some people watching? What about taking the time to relax, unwind and taking in the sights and sounds of life on the island away from the port?

Thanks for the replies and comments. We are looking at the Wind Spirit cruise as an option. Anyone have any experience with that cruise line?
Nancy

Nancy, many on the Steves forum are independent travelers, not as many are users of cruises. You'd be likeliest to find people with experience on a specific cruise line by posting that question on http://www.cruisecritic.com/

Nancy heed previous post, go to cruisecritics.com its a cruise only forum, everyone on it cruises ( unlike here ) and they have specific forums just for small ships, and for individual ports and cruises.. it will be way more help in the long run then here where only a few of us have cruised( and when I do I do not use this forum, I use cruisecritics too)

That all said, Nancy it would be very easy to do your own visit to the islands, pick 3 or so and just find out about the ferries.. that way you could really enjoy a few days on each island.

Thank you.
- Nancy

Nancy, We are considering the Windstar cruise (Istanbul to Athens, or vice versa). Same company as Wind Spirit. It will be our first cruise so we don't know if we'll like it, but, as far as cruises go, it comes recommended. Seems like a good way to cover a fair amount of territory.

I agree with Janet....find a Greek travel agency...go to greektravel.com, lots of recommendations. The real 'life' of the islands is when the cruise ships depart, either early morning or late afternoon. And you need to stay on each island for at least a day or so to truly experience them. It's not at all difficult to take the ferries between different islands...the agency can set up an itinerary and all transfers, accomodations for you and it will be a much more enjoyable experience, then having 1,000+ people descending on the tiny villages all at once!!! Unless, of course, you are looking for just the cruise experience, and don't care about the individual islands (which are all quite different, by the way!)

Nancy, As someone else mentioned, you may get some good information by having a look at Matt Barrett's excellent Greece Travel website. To find the type of cruise you're looking for, your best bet would probably be to contact one of the Greek Travel Agencies mentioned on the website. I've dealt with Fantasy Travel in the past, and would certainly recommend them. Another large travel agency is Dolphin Hellas Travel. In terms of "which islands or routes would be best", my suggestion would be to focus on a particular group of islands (ie: Cyclades). Naxos, Mykonos and Santorini are all very popular destinations. Of course, the route will be dictated to some extent by the Itineraries offered by the cruise lines. Santorini would make a good "last stop" as it's somewhat unique and also has an airport so it will be easy to get back to Athens or other places. You may get some ideas by having a look at some of the videos on the website: www.greecetravel.com/videos/index.htm#fantasy The last video entitled "Greek Island Cruise" may be of special interest. Good luck with your planning and Happy travels!

IMO, the problem with the Greek "specialist" travel agencies' cruise offerings is that they really push Louis Cruise Lines as their main options. If the OP is already looking at the Windstar/Windspirit or Star Clipper type cruises, we're definitely not talking about the same thing!! My main beef with Louis is that they are geared for the "most islands I will have my toes touch, for the least cost" crowd. They will do things like dock from "7am to 10am" or from "2pm to 6pm"... huh, seriously?!!! This literally forces you to buy their whirlwind excursion or just wander around in the port town aimlessly shopping for a couple of hours. Smaller ships, like the Windstar, give you more port time and allows you more options on how to use your time. If you're in port in Santorini from 7am to 6pm, for example, then renting a car becomes a very viable option and the excursion offerings tend to be far more varied. The entire quality of the overall cruise experience is hugely better too than with Louis. I've just spent many, many hours in the last week digging through various cruise options for the Greek islands myself and these are the major points that I have come across to keep in mind... Although the "DYI ferry island-hopping" alternative is a great way to go, sometimes a cruise does fit the bill best if traveling with a varied group of 5 people, as the OP mentioned.