The Greek isles offer everything from sun and fun to culture, on ships big and small. Jane Archer takes a look at what’s on offer
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More than a million passengers cruised through Piraeus last year, according to figures from Clia UK & Ireland.But the port for Athens is just the beginning of the Greek cruising experience.
Clients thinking of a cruise in Greece may put Athens at the top of their hit list, along with Rhodes, Crete and Corfu, but probably because these are the resorts they have heard of.
Many may also know picture-perfect Santorini and Mykonos, both of which figure on many Greek island cruise itineraries, but unless they are fans of Mamma Mia!, filmed in Skopelos, or Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, based in Kefalonia, that’s probably ticked off all the places they know.
In fact there are about 6,000 Greek isles, of which 227 are inhabited, and while ships don’t visit them all, there are plenty more than those mentioned above for clients to see on an island-hopping cruise.
Katakolon, a town on the mainland, appears on a lot of itineraries because it is the gateway to ancient Olympia, but other ports tend to be the preserve of specialist cruise lines and companies with small ships that can get into little harbours and bays.
Cypriot-owned Celestyal Cruises, for instance, visits the islands of Symi, Chios, Syros and Patra, while Variety Cruises, a Greek company, ticks off the little-known Kythira, Hydra, Lipsi and Kea.
Silversea calls at Patmos, Nafplion and Volos. Seabourn visits Monemvasia, a town on the southeast slope of a rock (hence known as the Gibraltar of the East), Nisos Lefkada and Limnos. Voyages to Antiquity adds Gythion, Ithaca and Delos to the list.
All Greek islands have one thing in common, namely that they are small. Crete, the largest, is not even as big as Yorkshire; Patmos, one of the smallest, measures just 7.5 miles from north to south and 6 miles west to east. But, size aside, each has its own character and appeal.
Rhodes is popular for its beaches, medieval town and the ancient citadel in Lindos, Mykonos is loved for its lively waterfront bars and restaurants. In Santorini, most visitors stay in the blue-and-white villages of Fira and Oia, but they can also climb a volcano and visit the ruins of the Minoan city of Akrotiri.
In Patmos, tours visit the 11th century monastery and Cave of the Apocalypse where St John is said to have received visions of Christ; in Crete, they go to the Minoan Palace of Knossos, known in Greek mythology as the home of the man-eating Minotaur, a beast that was half-man, half-bull.
There’s more mythology at volcanic Limnos, home of Hephaistos, the god of fire, and Delos, the mythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.
Lots of cruise lines sail around Greece each year, typically from April to late October, offering everything from one-week voyages on big ships to seven nights’ island-hopping on small vessels and sailing craft. There are also longer cruises through the islands and on into the Aegean or Mediterranean.
Variety Cruises has one week cruises round-trip from Piraeus on the 49-berth sailing ship Galileo next year that circumnavigate the Peloponnese and include a transit through the Corinth Canal. The cruise, sold in the UK by Seafarer Cruises, costs from £714 cruise-only departing March 4.
Operators including Celestyal Cruises, Holland America Line and Oceania Cruises have itineraries that combine Greece with Turkey, while others just offer a taste of Greece and are ideal for clients who want a fun holiday rather than an overload of history.
Clients choosing MSC Cruises’ seven-night round-trip sailings from Venice on MSC Orchestra, for instance, can visit the Acropolis in Athens, climb the volcano in Santorini, visit ancient Olympia from Katakolon and laze on a beach in Corfu. Prices are from £449 cruise-only, departing April 24, 2016.
Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line offer a similar mix of experiences on their seven-night Greek island cruises next year, but replace Piraeus with a beach stop in Mykonos.
Royal Caribbean sails from Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) from £1,171 cruise-only departing July 3. Norwegian’s cruise is from Venice, from £569 cruise-only departing May 7.
Celebrity Cruises has a one week voyage from Piraeus to Istanbul on Celebrity Equinox that visits Santorini, Rhodes and Mykonos, plus Kusadasi (for excursions to Ephesus) in Turkey. From £750 departing June 11.
Azamara Club Cruises, meanwhile, has a 10-night voyage from Piraeus to Venice that stays in Mykonos a day and night so passengers can experience the island after dark, and also offers late-evening departures from Santorini and Crete.
For a more in-depth exploration of Greek history, Voyages to Antiquity has a 15-day cruise round-trip from Piraeus that starts with three nights in Athens, visits six Greek islands and also calls at Izmir and Canakkale in Turkey, for excursions to the former Greek cities of Ephesus, Pergamon and Troy.
Prices are from £2,445 departing April 16, 2016, including flights, transfers, excursions and gratuities.
Tried & Tested: Celestyal Cruises
Jane Archer cruised around the Greek isles with Celestyal Cruises
If it’s Rhodes, it must be day three of my four-night taster voyage around the Greek isles with Celestyal Cruises, formerly known as Louis Cruise Lines.
The Cypriot line changed its name last year and repositioned itself as a Greece specialist. As well as cruising the Greek isles and Turkey, its crew are from both countries, meals have a Greek slant and many wines are of Hellenic origin. On my cruise there were even Greek language lessons and dance classes.
The company has three ships – Celestyal Crystal, Celestyal Olympia, which many agents will remember as the former Thomson Destiny, and Celestyal Odyssey, although the last is leaving the fleet this month.
It will be replaced in February next year by Gemini, a 1992-built 1,074-passenger sister ship to Fred Olsen’s Braemar that once sailed for Cunard. It will be renamed Celestyal Nefeli (after the goddess of hospitality) and operate Odyssey’s same programme of three and four-night sailings from Lavrion, a little-used port outside Athens that Celestyal uses in preference to busy Piraeus.
The itineraries are packed – just hours after setting sail from Lavrion, we arrived in Mykonos for a late-evening visit and a chance to dine ashore. Soon after midnight everyone was back on board and we set sail for the next stop, Kusadasi in Turkey, for a morning excursion to Ephesus.
We sailed again at lunchtime, arriving a few hours later in tiny Patmos, where John the Apostle is said to have been exiled by the Romans for spreading the gospel.
With three islands ticked off in just 36 hours, it was nice to be able to spend the whole of the next day in Rhodes. It allowed time to spend the morning in Rhodes Town and the afternoon in Lindos, about one hour away by car.
Next day there were another two ports – Heraklion in Crete, for excursions to the Palace of Knossos, and Santorini, where tours visited Akrotiri and Oia – before the cruise ended in Lavrion the following morning.
While not ideal for clients who want a leisurely holiday afloat, this is a perfect itinerary for first-time cruisers who don’t want to commit to a long sea holiday.
It’s also great for non-cruise clients who would like an easier and more comfortable way to see the Greek isles than taking ferries. My four-night cruise is also ideal to combine with a few days on land.
Book it: Prices start from £309 cruise-only for four nights in March and April 2016. Celestyal also has three-night cruises that skip the day in Rhodes from £215, and one-week voyages from Lavrion or Piraeus from £597. celestyalcruises.com
