Best side of ship for Athens to Istanbul cruise

Does anyone have recommendations for which side of the ship is best for this cruise with stops at Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini, Kusadasi, Istanbul.

Do you see anything cruising the Dardanelles Strait? Coming into Istanbul, which is the best side to be on?

You cannot predict which way the boat will dock.

Coming in to Istanbul the old town will be on the port side but you really want to be up on a top deck to take in the whole scene.

I don't think there is any real advantage to any side. In Athens, you dock in Piraeus, an industrial area. Kusadasi, the town is in front of you. There's a small island on starboard side with fort and small lighthouse, but that probably will interest few people. Santorini, you anchor out in the water, so won't see much from either side, although I'm hoping to at least glimpse a lighthouse on a cliff at the very southern end of the island. We will be approaching from the south, coming from Turkey, and if I see anything, it will be on the starboard side. Of course, some ships are scheduled to get into port at a certain time and actually get in earlier. You wake up and you're in port, so you see nothing. Someone has mentioned Istanbul already - nice views port side of the old part of town (Sultanahmet)area, and likely to have closer views of the modern side from port side when docked (assuming the ship doesn't turn around to make it easier to go back out), but probably nothing truly spectacular. I've been to Mykonos, but I don't remember much except the town. I hear they have a new dock so perhaps you won't tender. Either way, I doubt you'll see a lot.

We are doing a cruise that goes through the Dardenelles. I've read that it is scenic, but we go through most of it in the middle of the night, so I don't know how much we'll see. Kusadasi to Istanbul is a LONG way, and by the time we have daylight, I doubt we'll be close enough to anything to get good views anyway. Of course, we travel in the fall, with shorter periods of daylight than in summer.

In general, on ocean ships, you don't see a lot. That's why we usually save our money and get an inside cabin.