Greek Cruise Lines
White-washed towns cap the cliffs like snow on Santorini, a sliver of an island that rises dramatically from the Aegean sea. Santorini is the first stop on a seven-day all-inclusive cruise of the Greek Islands and Turkey offered by Five Continent Cruises' Pullmantur Line and by Golden Star Cruises. Aboard the M/V Zenith, a 1,880-passenger cruise ship. After visiting Santorini and Rhodes, the cruise stops at the Turkish town of Izmir--one of the few to do so--before continuing to Istanbul and Mykonos, an island that is frequented by the jet-set.
Five Continent Cruises
87 Akti Miaouli, Epirotiki Building
Piraeus, Greece 185-38
+30-210-429-1000
mccruises.gr
Golden Star Cruises
85 Akti Miaouli
Piraeus, Greece 185 38
+30 210-429-0650
goldenstarcruises.com
Seabourn Yacht Cruises
ephesus antique city image by Jale Evsen Duran from
Fotolia.com
Opt for a smaller size cruise with the 450-passenger Seabourn Odyssey, on which 90 percent of the rooms have private verandas. The ship stops at Mylos, the earliest Minoan settlement and where the Venus de Milo, now in the Louvre, was discovered in 1820. After stops at Rhodes, Chios and Patmos, the ship travels to Kusadasi, Turkey, allowing travelers to see the ancient city of Ephesus. Another cruise visits Patmos, Crete and Pylos before heading west across the Ionian Sea to Sicily, Malta, Naples and ends in Rome. Seabourn runs cruise vacations April through November.
The Yachts of Seabourn
6100 Blue Lagoon Drive, Suite 400
Miami, Florida 33126
800-929-9391
seabourn.com
Odyssey Sailing Cruises
Beach in Hersonissos island Crete image by ensticto from
Fotolia.com
Odyssey Sailing offers 22- or 24-cabin yachts that visit Kea and Delos among the islands along with the medieval fortified towns of Monemvasia and Nafplio in the Peloponnese. Optional excursions to the ancient city of Knossos on Crete, the ruins of Mycenae outside of Nafplio and the ancient ruins of temples and cities on Delos are available.
Odyssey also offers a Cyclades Islands tour on its 49-passenger M/S Galileo motor sail boat. The ship visits the popular islands as well as the less explored destinations of Kythnos, Syros and Folegandros. The Cyclades adventure is casual, with frequent swim stops, traditional cuisine, language lessons and a night of Greek dancing. Each cruise offers specials for specific cruises, and cruises depart April through October from Piraeus in Athens.
Odyssey Sailing Greece
Antonopoulou 158 D
Volos, 382 21
Magnisia, Greece
+30-24210-36676
odysseysailing.gr/cruises/
