Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of travel articles and special offers for Greece and I started reminiscing about the Greek Island cruise we did a while back. Even though it’s been a few years, the memories of how the whitewashed buildings popped out against the backdrop of a bright azure sky and the deep blue of the ocean are still vivid in my mind.
Seeing thousands of years of history come to life through the ancient vestiges as I visualized how it must have looked so long ago. Greece is a place I would love to revisit, as there are so many islands to choose from.
I would also love to go scuba diving in the Aegean Sea, to explore the underwater world surrounding the Greek Islands. Who knows, we might even find the lost city of Atlantis!
We sailed round trip from Athens and added a few days as a post cruise extension to visit the capital. Being more experienced travelers now, we would probably arrive earlier in case of flight delays or cancellations, to avoid the risk of missing the departure.
Our cruise ship wasn’t anything fancy but it served its purpose of taking us from one interesting port to another.
We had booked a package (flight + cruise + hotel). Sometimes, these packages prove to be more economical but one must put up with a loss of freedom and flexibility.
As soon as we cleared customs and collected our luggage we were ushered onto a bus, driven to the ship, made to attend an orientation meeting with the tour company and then straightaway on deck to participate in the muster drill. It wasn’t until after all of this that we had our first chance to finally break away from the group and enjoy some freedom before arriving at our first port of call, Mykonos, that same evening! Ouf!
On this Louis Cruise Lines, we were assigned a table and dining companions; we were lucky, and were seated at a table with people with whom we shared similar interests. This isn’t always the case, and while it may be possible to change tables it can be awkward. When traveling on our own, we often prefer to take a table for two. Not that we are antisocial, but we enjoy each other’s company and relish the time to talk about our day and plan for the next one.
See our post: Anytime Dining or Traditional Dining: Pros & Cons
Athens, the Greek Capital
Athens is an important historical center with a long history dating back more than 3500 years. There’s so much culture and history all over the city that we couldn’t pass up the opportunity of spending extra time in this fascinating place.
At the top of our list was visiting the Acropolis. This ancient citadel located on a hilltop in the heart of the city is something that I had dreamt of seeing for a very long time. Finally I was there, and I was in awe as we approached the top of the hill along the walking path to queue up at the entrance.
I still can’t believe another tourist’s comment we overheard as it just seemed so absurd to us—he told his wife that €10 (at the time) was too much to visit the Acropolis and see the Parthenon, and they turned back. Ah hum, isn’t this the top attraction to see in Athens? We did feel sorry for them.
See our post: Top 5 Things to Do in Athens
Mykonos
We only had a few hours to explore this port of call and opted to skip on taking an excursion to a nearby island to visit the Archaeological Site of Delos. I’m sure it’s interesting, but we didn’t want to miss out on exploring Mykonos. 
Instead, we wandered around the maze of alleyways and stumbled upon pretty little churches and encountered some of the resident cats. We explored the busy and happening small harbor, saw the famous windmills and Little Venice (Alefkandhra) with its Venetian homes built over the water’s edge. Very picturesque!
Indulging in Greek delicacies, we started our cruise with a mission: To find the best baklava and this is where we found them!
Good to know: It’s not always possible for cruise ships to dock and tender boats must be used for disembarkation, which takes longer. Also, be aware that in choppy waters no one goes ashore!
Kusadasi (Turkey)
Our cruise included a half-day stop in Turkey. Here, the main attraction to see is by far the ancient Roman city of Ephesus, a well preserve archeological site.
The vestiges as we see them today date back to the 4th century BC. The Library of Celsus, the amphitheater and the Temple of Hadrian were all impressive but for us it was the thrill of walking in the footsteps of giants like Cleopatra and Marc Antony and seeing the grooves left by the chariots in the marble street that impressed us the most. We were enthralled by the entire experience!
Of course, no visit to Turkey would be complete without a Persian carpet factory visit and presentation. No, we didn’t buy one, but we did enjoy the hot cup of freshly brewed mint tea!
Having some extra time in port before the “All aboard!” we wandered around the narrow alleyways of the Kusadasi Bazaar and found what we were looking for: Turkish Delights, which are a fruit flavored jelly confection covered in powdered sugar. My mouth is watering at the sweet memory…
Patmos
This small island’s must-see attractions are the ancient Monastery of St John, which dates back to 1088, and the Cave of the Apocalypse. Both are located in the village of Chora. The monastery can be seen from a distance as it’s erected on the top of a hill and the cave is only a 5-minute drive (or a 30-minute walk) away.
As the story goes, it’s inside the holy cave that, while in exile, St John the Theologian wrote the Book of Revelations. The cave also contains a rock with an indentation, which apparently was where the saint rested his head.
After our tour we had plenty of time to explore the town of Skala and even enjoy a plate of freshly grilled shrimp on the beach after a dip in the Mediterranean Sea before having to catch the tender boat back to the ship.
Rhodes
This was the only island where we could enjoy a full day in port, so we took advantage by venturing further to the Acropolis of Lindos before coming back closer to port and visiting the old town of Rhodes and its vicinity. Being docked near the walled city’s main gate made it easy to go explore the historical medieval town. We entered by the impressive Marine Gate and walked around to see the sights.
The imposing Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of St John was built in the 14th century. The Gothic exterior remains true to form, but following a gunpowder explosion in 1856, the Italians rebuilt the interior. Inside there was an exhibition about ancient and medieval Rhodes. Also, the castle is an excellent vantage point to get a bird’s-eye view of the old town.
The entire Old Town is interesting to see. The Street of the Knights takes you back to another era when the Knights Hospitaller ruled the city. Other highlights include the Clock Tower, Hippocrates Square with its medieval fountain and the 16th century Suleiman Mosque.
Outside the city walls there is the Acropolis of Rhodes with remnants of various structures; among them, the Temple of Apollo Pythios and the ancient theater and stadium. The archeological site is well worth visiting.
After our city tour, we went to cool off in the crystal-clear water of nearby Elli Beach, a very popular pebble beach.
Rental beach chairs and umbrellas were available.
Crete
Our ship docked in Heraklion (Iraklio) near the 16th century Venetian fortress, which was originally built to protect the harbor and city. Now the Koules Fortress is the ideal spot to get panoramic views of the sea and harbor. Inside there were artifacts on display, including more than 100 giant pithoi (storage jars).
To say that half a day in port was enough to explore the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean would be a lie, but somehow, we managed to do a quick city tour, visit the fortress and take an excursion to the Minoan Palace of Knossos.
Located about a 20-minute drive from the cruise port, the ancient Palace of King Minos of Knossos is well worth visiting. It’s the oldest excavated palace in Europe and it dates back thousands of years (approx: 4000) to the Bronze Age. The original palace was destroyed in about 1700 BC and rebuilt shortly afterward. Frescos and artifacts can be seen all over the site.
Also, the palace is associated with Greek mythology. Legend has it that King Minos, a mythological figure and son of Zeus and Europa, ordered the construction of this huge palace to house a Minotaur, which was also his son. Many versions of the legend can be found, just pick the one you like!
Santorini
There’s nothing like approaching Santorini and seeing what looks like snow-capped mountains turn into pretty little villages with bright white houses and churches (more on that later) clinging to the cliffs 400 meters above the sea. Spectacular!
We did an island tour and couldn’t help wondering why there were so many churches. There seemed to be one at every turn, even tiny ones. Lots of windmills too!
Apparently, the government would pay to bring electricity to churches and windmills, so people started building them on their property to avoid having to dish out the cash to get electricity brought across the rocky terrain to their homes. The situation got out of hand and the government had to put a stop to this madness! Some churches were so ridiculously small—they were about the size of dog houses. There was even a hotel constructed to look like a collection of windmills!
Getting lost in the narrow winding alleys is the ideal way to explore these little towns. In Fira, Santorini’s capital, a large area is pedestrian only, and navigating through its streets requires taking numerous flights of stairs.
Wanting to avoid waiting in a long line to take the cable car back down to the tender boats, we opted to walk down the stairs. Big mistake!
I wanted no part in riding a donkey downhill but to walk down the long stone staircase you had to follow the same path that the donkeys were taking.
The donkeys were zipping up and down by us and in the process the wind was lifting all the sun-dried dung in thick clouds, which we had to wade through. I’ll spare you the gruesome details, but how we regretted not having waited for the cable car! Let’s just say that when we got back to our cabin, we sealed our clothes in a plastic bag and contemplated throwing them out!
Alas, this was the end of another amazing adventure; the following morning we were heading back home…
Conclusion
As I said earlier, we had booked a package (flight + cruise + hotel) and sometimes, these packages prove to be more economical, but one must put up with a loss of freedom and flexibility going along with the group and the planned itinerary.
Some people like the idea that there’s nothing to plan, you just ask, “What time do we have to meet you?” and everything is taken care of.
We typically prefer to do a little more planning ourselves and do the sites we like and stay longer at the places that interest us. This is after all why we are sharing this information on this blog, to help you get the freedom to travel your way.
Returning to the Greek Islands for a longer stay would be something we would enjoy for sure. During our cruise, we did see many beautiful places but our time spent in each port was much too brief to really appreciate the islands. Experience has taught us that staying in a spot after the cruise ship crowds depart is definitely a much different atmosphere.
During the cruise, we usually only spent a half-day in each port, way too little, and we probably wouldn’t book such an itinerary knowing what we know now. The more we travel, the more we learn to travel better and we try to pass on to others what we’ve learned as we go along.
Happy and safe travels!
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