Easycruise One Classical Greece Review Nov 4th-11th

[superdrews]

Review of Easycruise One Classical Greece November 4th-11th, 2007

Before I start with the review, the first thing I should say is stop reading, and go book the last one for the season on the 18th of November. Airfare is reasonable and the cruise should only be a couple hundred bucks for two people! It’s worth so much more.

I’ve been on over 10 cruises from Carnival, Norwegian, Princess, Costa, Royal Caribbean, and now on to the best one yet, Easycruise aboard Easycruise One!

We arrived in Athens the night of the 10th and stayed at the Hotel Grand Bretagne in the Plaka. We took the subway for 5E each from the airport to Syntagma Square. If you have ever used a subway before the Athen’s Subway is very easy to navigate. I wouldn’t recommend the Hotel as for the ridiculously expensive prices from the room (I got it with points and that would be the only way I would stay as it is not even close to worth the 269E/night that it was on the website). The spa was quite nice however with multitudes of steam rooms and saunas all with different scents and oils. The view from the rooftop bar of the hotel is unbelievable, as are the 10E each drinks!

We went out for the night when we arrived to have a beer and then we found an area with a bunch of restaurants and found a small place that sold Slovaki and Gyros. Slovaki is a Kebab of meat, chicken in mine, with sauce (normally a cucumber sauce but I opted for the mustard/mayo sauce that was terrific), with Tomatoes on a pita bread. The French fries came right on top and were better than any fry that I’ve had in the states. The Slovaki here was the best I had in Greece, but unfortunately I don’t have the name.

After exploring a bit around the Acropolis and heading to the flea markets at Montessori, which was full of junk as far as I’m concerned but certainly a fun experience, we hopped on the Metro Green Line to Piraeus. If you are coming directly from the Airport you will take the Blue line to the Green line changing in Montessori. The fare from Montessori to Piraeus was 0,80E. When dropped at Piraeus grab a taxi and state that you want to go to Marina Zea (pronounced Za-Hus). Don’t fall for the flat fee it should only cost about 3E plus 2E for bags. Easycruise One is the last ship on the pier to the right as you enter Marina Zea.

You’ll then board the boat and realize, yes, the cabins really are that small, and the orange really isn’t that overpowering or everywhere! The small cabins worked for the two of us, but at the $140 US that we booked the entire cabin at for the week, I would have sprang for a second cabin. I didn’t know that my father was traveling with me until about a month before we left, and the cabins at that time were more expensive. They have added shower curtains in the bathrooms, but should add a squeegee to assist with making the water going down the drain. Depending upon the angle of the boat it seemed to pool up in the corner away from the drain. The beds were on a small platform raised up about 6 inches off the ground. There were about 6 inches between the beds. They were somewhat comfortable but as I write this in the Airport in Greece waiting for a connection, I am longing for my Tempurpedic and Big fluffy pillows. I had a rough first night sleep as the pillows were very thin but I asked at the desk and they were more than happy to give me a couple more. The desk staff was excellent. There was a place at the foot of the bed for one full size suitcase, but the other was in the hall for the trip. There were 8 hangers, that hung over the bed, a foot wide shelf and four hooks on the hallway wall. For me it worked. We got by without having the cabin cleaned and hung the towels everyday and got by without a change. By the last day, the cabin was ready to be cleaned for sure and if I were staying any longer I certainly would have had it made up.

On to exploring the boat. On all of the mega liners that I had been on before, on the last day you hardly know your way around, let alone the first trip out exploring. Easycruise is different in this regard. On the top deck there is a hardly used workout room that has sun chairs, exercise equipment and not much else. Down a deck from there to the aft end of the ship is the deck bar and hot tub. For the nicer days this was the hangout area of the ship. The lounges around the hot tub are very comfortable. The hot tub was great and the first night it is where you should be to make new friends on the boat. They do have trouble keeping the temperature consistent from night to night which was ok by me, but might be troublesome for others. One deck down from there is the Fusion Restaurant. I only had breakfast in there a couple times and didn’t eat anything else on board. This is a cruise to experience the local culture, so we ate on land. Prices were quite reasonable so I wouldn’t consider this is a place where they “get you”. In fact I was waiting for the place where they “get you” the whole trip, and to my surprise, it never appeared! For the most part, that is the boat. There are a couple of other little coves with couches and books, but little else.

On to the best parts, the ports! About a month before the trip I was emailed an offer from kelly.agothas@easycruisecom to prepay for 5 excursions for 140E. Before booking you may want to email her and ask if they have the same special offer. I thought about it for a bit and booked them. Even though the best day that I had was on our own in Ithaki (the one port that wasn’t included), I would absolutely 100% recommend pre-booking and the cruise excursions (This coming from a guy who arranges all of his excursions on his own on cruise critic). It’s a terrific deal and the tours were terrific overall. They had a guest lecturer, Michael, from Cambridge University on board. He spoke on most of the tours and was by far the best guide I have ever experience in all of the cruises or vacations I have ever been on. Kelly Agothas, the awesome woman who plans all the tours, also accompanied us on all the tours and there was 1 additional guide for each bus. The additional cruise line representation is a nice touch and one that is rarely seen. It is impossible to please everyone, but Kelly came as close to this as possible.

The first morning I awoke, had some fruit and then watched us sail through the Corinth Canal, which was very impressive to go through. It wasn’t quite on the Panama Canal scale, but interesting none the less.

The first port was Corinth for Mycenae, Nemia and Ancient Corinth. First we went to see the first of three Olympic stadiums for the cruise. This was very interesting to see. Next we went to a Nemea. This is where the athletes and fans would prepare and stay for the games. There we met Professor Miller of the University of California at Berkley. He spent his life working on the excavation of the site and gave a very interesting lecture about the site. I’m glad he was able to meet with us. We also went to lunch. All the lunches on the excursions were very well done.

That night after re-boarding the ship we went to happy hour on the ship, where the drinks are half off from 8-9PM (3.5E Beer is $1.75E). We then went into town for dinner and desert as well as a little shopping.

The next morning we awoke in the port of Ithaki. There was an option of a ship sponsored tour or hike but we opted to rent a car. I had met a woman from New York named Donella (sp) and we had planned to meet at 10 am. I awoke at 10:15, hightailed it to get ready and we met at 10:30 or so and off we went to find a car rental. Bev and Brianna, A mother daughter from Calgary, also joined us. We found a place and had hot chocolate and the owner told us where to go to get a car. A word of caution to anyone renting a car on the greek islands, BE EXTREMELY PROFICIENT AT DRIVING A MANUAL! An automatic wasn’t available for the couple before us so they weren’t able to get a car, and after driving on those roads, I’m not so sure an automatic would have done the job. Fortunately all I drive at home is a stick. The rental was 35E and we put 12E in the tank. We hopped in with our photocopied map and headed for the hills. As we were driving along at the last second I saw a brown sign (which in Greece means some type of cool attraction). I whipped it around to the left, scared the hell out of everyone in the car that found themselves wondering “what in the hell did I get into the car with him for!” As we continued along I reinstated my driving skills pretty well! Up the hill we went winding are way around until we found the Cave of the Nymphs. It was deserted but we pushed on up a hill and around until we found the entrance to the cave. It was dark. It was really dark. Donella happened to have a little keychain flashlight that allowed us to enter at least a bit and see a very cool what appeared to be natural form of a face on the wall. I lit it up with the flash from my camera as the little light just wasn’t cutting it. I got a few pictures but not a good one of the face. In the cave there was a ladder/lift down but without a real flashlight I had to go down in in my imagination alone. Note to travelers, bring a good flashlight for Ithaki! Next we headed on back to the previous road and continued around the mountain. We came to yet another brown sign and headed for the Cyclopean Wall. We started up the path which dead ended at a bunch of goats. We took some photos of the goats and I bumped against the gate but didn’t think anything of it. We headed up the path and Donella stopped for a minute and the rest of us went the other way to head up to the Wall. All of a sudden a procession of bells were banging at a almost freakish pace and here came Donella screaming “The goats are coming” and boy they were! She made it out as 50 or so goats were sprinting right behind her! At this point I remembered leaning on the gate and got a little spooked and asked everyone if we should get out of there, as I thought I had let out the goats and I certainly don‘t have the skills to corral 1 goat let alone 50. Fortunately for me that wasn’t the case and the caretaker was behind the goats. We decided to hike up the mountain. I took some beautiful photographs, and we hiked up for about an hour before we realized that the wall just kept going and going so we headed back down. Back in the car we went to find some food. We continued on the road and ended up a monastery. It was neat but there was only one person that stayed there to take care of the place, no monks to be found. We took a few pictures and then headed off. It seemed like all the goats were having babies in the area as there were a ton of cute little goats of all around. We ended up in a little town near the School of Homer, which in all of our attempts to find, was unsuccessful. We stopped and ate at someone’s home that also serves as a restaurant. Nothing like seeing your cooks bed while you are eating! From there we went to Homer’s playground (there was a statue of him there). Brianna and I hopped on the Merry-Go-Round and spun around. That was quite fun! From there we went through a couple little towns, the girls stepped in the ocean, collected some pretty rocks, while I was skipping them, and off we went to the town with no way out. Well I should say 4 ways out but only one of which actually gets you out! Brianna suggested that we take this one road to go around the island (the road we saw on the map ended up being the coast not a road). So off we went and we came across a truck blocking the way with some workers doing some construction. This should have been a sign but they moved the truck and we continued on. The pavement turned to gravel, the gravel turned to rocks, the rocks turned to really rough rocks and then the road abruptly stopped! After razzing Brieanna a bit I took a picture of the end of the road and we were able to turn around and head up the steep downhill road we had just traversed. I was going as fast as I could as I wasn’t sure we would be able to make it up and out, but we did. This was our 1st attempt to escape the town. We tried twice more and ended up in exactly the same place! Apparently in Greece the 4th time is a charm. We headed back the way we came. After a nice drive we returned the car and headed to the ship, happy, but exhausted. After some rest I hit the hot tub, ate some dinner, had a few drinks and went to bed.

The next day we put in at the port of Patras for Olympia, the Birthplace of the Olympic Games. I took some great photos of Olympia and the required picture of myself at the starting line. We ate lunch and returned to the ship. This was a long day as it was about a two hour bus ride each way. The next morning was an early one at 8:30 AM so I did the sensible thing and went out drinking with the ships guides, and a few other people from the ship. At least we ate first! We had submarines which are a shot of some liquor that I wish I would have got the name of dropped in a glass of beer. They tasted like candy and we did a couple of those, had some wine, some beer and just generally had a terrific time. (If you can go out with the guides, do so, not only do they seem to know the best places and have interesting things to talk about, it seemed everything was less expensive when you were with someone that spoke fluent Greek). We made it back to the ship and got to bed at 3:30 am or so, so yes, 8:00 came way to early. I woke up, congratulated myself on not being hung over and we were in the port of Itea for Delphi.

Delphi is built way up in the mountains and the drive up was gorgeous. The ruins were spectacular. We got a bit of rain in Delphi but the gift shop was nice enough to hand out garbage bags so we made makeshift ponchos! The Temple here was awesome. It was quite a hike up to the stadium here but was well worth it. Like all the other tours we then went to lunch. We were in a quaint mountain town that has Snowboarding in the winter. We ate, I then purchased some type of Baklava that was the best I had in Greece. As I always do I then headed down a road that didn’t look like tourists go down. We kept going and going. We descended about a thousand feet or so and it came to the last road before a cliff. I snapped some good photos and we started up another road. I was praying that it would get us back to the bus area as it was about as straight up as a road could be. My Dad and I made it to the top where there was a school and Dad gave me the first scare of the trip because he was breathing harder than I had ever heard him breath and had his hand on his chest! Fortunately he caught his breath after we waited a few minutes, and continued on back to the bus. Most everyone was a bit late getting back so I decided to climb up the cliff next to us to get a few more photos. After sliding down once I made it and took some terrific photos of people making there way back to the bus and then saw the staircase that would have been much easier to come up on. I made it down, back on the bus and into town. Back on the ship for a bit and out to dinner we went. Itea was probably the most modern town we were in. There were artists in the street and what looked like Native American Indians playing music in the street. I saw many very cool posters. I passed on a modern art women in lingerie in a chair that I thought was really cool. After dinner I changed my mind and went back and it was gone so I missed out. We walked around town for a bit and went back to the ship.

Friday we awoke in the port of Aegina where we went to the Temple of Aphaia. We toured the sites and did lunch as usual. When we got back to the ship I hurried on and grabbed a pair of Jeans and got off quickly before the ship had to leave to let another vessel dock. Easycruise should have left a representative at the pier here as many people were confused as to the location of the boat and thought they had been left. I let everyone I recognized around know what happened and trekked to find a scooter! I found a scooter shop and off I went. Note to anyone renting a scooter, check your lights and signals before you leave! I didn’t and coming back at night was a bit tricky! I took the scooter out to the temple near town, took some photos and went on to see some stunning houses and then watched an amazing sunset. Heading back into town I zipped around up and down the side streets, hit up a grocery store (of which what I bought was lost on the way back. Note to self, don’t put a plastic bag near the exhaust pipe!) and headed back to the ship. After having a terrific time out with Michael and Kelly I was certainly game for another evening. We went for dinner and ended up in Heaven. (Nope we didn’t die, that was the name of the bar). We all headed upstairs had a bit less to drink that the previous time. We played cards and carried on for a bit and then headed back to the ship.

The next morning we awoke right where we had began the voyage a week prior. We visited a temple far out of town that was absolutely gorgeous near the silver mines of Athens. There was a good Greek Legend that took place here but unfortunately I can’t recall all of the details and would rather not take a shot at it with what I remember. Unfortunately this is where Michael and Kelly said there final goodbyes. Michael had a good talk on what he hopes we might take away from the trip and the main thing he summed up: When you here talk about Democracy and the Ancient Greeks in relation to our current Democracy as the same stop them as it is far from it. It really gave me something to think about on the bus into Athens to the Acropolis. It was quite amazing to see the old and new come together from up there. It’s an ancient monument surrounded by a modern city, which is quite a contrast. After learning a bit about it from our guide and spending sometime taking more photos down we went to lunch. From there the tour was over and we had the option to head back to the ship or be dropped at the Metro station. I opted for the metro station and lead 10 of us headed to Montaustraki Square to the flea market. Unfortunately only 8 of us made it, so definitely stay close to your group in the subway, especially if I’m the impromptu guide! From there we ate dinner, shopped a bit, and then headed back to the ship via the metro/taxi. Back on the ship it was rather quite as the hot tub was unfortunately closed. We headed down to Fusion and had a few beers and shared pictures and stories from the trip and played cards and said as many goodbyes as we could before heading to bed.

We woke up the next morning checked out and took a taxi to the Metro station. From there off we went to the airport and I’m hoping that Lufthansa gets us to our connection, as it will be close, wish me luck!



What can Easycruise improve on? Fire the DJ and throw the Madonna CD’s overboard! Keep the hottub open later, and absolutely don’t close it for “Safety Reasons” on the last night in Marina Zea. Put a squeegee in the room for the shower. Most of us didn’t feel like going out in the town and that would have been nice. The bartenders could have been a bit quicker on the drink getting. Having an activity of some sort on the last night might be good as well. Most importantly, stay in business, make more ships, take over the cruise market! Keep up the terrific work, keep getting guest lecturers of Michael’s caliber (that is a very tall request) and keep it affordable! Keep Kelly she is passionate, dedicated and did a terrific job. The Security Guard that checked everyone onboard was absolutely awesome. Oh, and let people keep there cruise card as a souvenir!

[nicaphile]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have been checking every day for a report from you. We board on the 25th (the 18th is not the last sailing). really looking forward to it.
Brenda

[nicaphile]

If you have time to answer before we head out on the Nov 25 sailing..
What were the temperatures like in each of your ports?
Was it generally warm enough to sit out on deck in the evening?
How militant were they about not bringing food on board? Can you bring snacks?
Is the water onboard drinkable? If not, must you purchase water on board or can you bring it in from shore?
Did they have a happy hour most evenings?
How long did the partying go on at night? Was it too loud to sleep (we're a little on the "older" side)
Thanks
Brenda

[superdrews]

The temperatures were 60-70 most days with few a bit over that. In the evening it was alright to sit in the hot tub every night, but it was quite windy sometimes so you probably wouldn't want to sit out on deck those days, when everyone just moved into the Fusion Restraunt. My Dad had no trouble going to bed at midnight most nights, other than me coming in a wee bit later. I drank the water out of the faucet occasionally and they sell small bottles of water for 0.5E and big ones for 2E.

If it's small, you can probably get it on, but if they see it, you can't.

[ufgrad2001]

Great Review SuperDrews.....thought I'd just add a few more comments from a different perspective. I went with a small group of friends (6 of us) and we did all the sites on our own (less Olympia which was an hour drive from port). We rented cabs and did the exact same tour, but had the flexibility to go at our own pace. Also we were able to do research on the highly-rated lunch restaurants and seek those out vs. going wherever the tour group took you & shop at our own pace. It ended up being cheaper for us, and I guess we are kind of an adventurous group. So if you have a group of 4 or more or want to meet people on the ship, it may be something to consider. Here's some other random tips:

1 - The free wine tasting on board - GO - the pours were huge, the information was good and it was free

2 - The Greek night ~9pm on the last night in Fusion 4 - go to this also - a ton of fun, lots of Greek dancing and music.

3 - In Ithaki (the one day on your own), be the first person off the boat, go to the main square, and rent a driver for the day. We got Yianni (he was the mayor of Stavros/taxi driver/restauranteur/wine maker, etc. Since there was no tour planned for the day, all EasyCruisers got off the boat at the same time, and just not many taxis to go around. I think this was maybe 20e per person, but a ton of fun and this town is DEAD!! Only a couple of restaurants even open for lunch, so get up early and get a driver! We saw the monestary, an olive press, gorgeous views, drank wine at his tavern, and he gave us a very informative tour of almost the whole island (maybe 2 hours)

4 - Also in Ithaki, one of our most fun evenings was hopping off the boat and drinking coffee/wine at the only coffee house open (right next to where the boat was docked. They had games there but all in Greek, so we checked out our games from the ship's front desk and brought them onshore. Had bread, cheese, popcorn and other apps with several bottles of Nemean wine. Taboo & Trivial Pursuit were our favorites - boys against girls. Also we brought a deck of cards and played Texas Hold 'em - that was fun also.

5 - After they check your bags the first time you get on the boat there are NO subsequent bag checks. We brought wine on board at almost every port (tucked under jackets) and pre-partied up in our neighbors suite a couple of nights.

6 - Make sure you layer clothing wise - could be pretty hot during the day and pretty cool at night. I brought a jacket/shawl whereever I went (day or night). Also as a girl I packed way too much, and really ended up wearing my warmest/most comfortable stuff the whole time. Also I should have packed 2 dresses/going out outfits and just reworn the whole time.....nothings very formal at the ports in the evening. We did go out to one really nice place in Pireas.

7 - Aegina is your one shot to easily rent scooters - if you want to do it, try it here. Also this port had the best prices on silver and other souvenirs. The $$ is so weak against the Euro that most of my souvenirs were pistachios (the island is famous for them) and olive oil and olive oil soaps. Everything else was so expensive!

8 - If you want to do the Acropolis on your own and not buy the tour from EasyCruise, it's good to know that the entrance fee is waived every Sunday. We just printed out Rick Steves walking tour and had a couple of guidebooks and did it on our own. Also wear really GOOD shoes at the Acropolis, the stones are very uneven and slippery. I bought 2 pairs of Skechers for the trip and they were awesome - wore them the whole time.

9 - Ugh, DON"T try to walk with all of your luggage from the Pireas metro stop to Marina Zeas....it was funny in retrospect, but it felt like miles with all our luggage. I was really worried my suitcase wheels were going to pop off and I'd have to carry it! I read all the advice on this before bigorangeboat.com went down, wish I had saved it electronically somewhere. Just take a cab!

If I think of anything else, I'll post later. Fun travels in Greece!

[ufgrad2001]

Oh I can't believe I forgot to mention this. Our first night on the ship, we went to happy hour and upon signing our first receipts for drinks, we were told by the bartender to tip on the last day when we left the ship. Our whole group was told this, so we just figured we'd leave a blanket 20% at the end and EasyCruise would somehow divy it up....actually didn't give it much thought.....

Then when we went to check out, of course it's chaos, we are trying to load 6 people into 3 cabs to make our flights and we check out, only to find out that EasyCruise does not allow you to fill in a line for tips. I felt so bad, but our only option was to go track down people and give them cash....uh ok, our cabs to the airport are waiting for us, and 1/2 the crew is sleeping at this time.... I actually meant to follow up with EC on this one. I felt really bad about not tipping anyone the whole time, don't know why that bartender told us not to tip.

In fact, when we were checking out there were at least 3 other people in line who had been told the same thing.

[superdrews]

For those that were on board and did not receive an email from me with a link to all of the pictures that I took, please email me at superdrew@(removethis)yahoo.com and I will send them straight away. It appears that a page of addresses did not make it home with me.

[superdrews]

I botched the title, we actually were on the ship from November 11th- November 18th.

[Michele Noel]

Thank you for the wonderful review. It seems that you were able to get ashore early in the am. On Easy Cruise two - we did not ever get into a port until 1PM and sometimes it was 3PM or even 5 PM. What time (approx) did you dock in the ports? Thinking of this for next summer. Loved Easy Cruise - very kind and helpful crew. Thanks, Michele

[superdrews]

Most ports we were docked at between 9 and 10 am, I only remember watching us sail during the day twice, once through the corinth canal, and once in the open sea. I think we got in port once at around noon.

[Michele Noel]

thanks so much for the prompt reply. Sounds like a good time was had by all. The itineraries for next summer seem to be different than what I read about for this past year.

[goldenboi]

With deference to superDrews youth and exhuberance, I was on the same trip for exactly the same time frame and felt a bit differently. The admin staff at the desk were about as unhelpful, as you can get. Day of boarding was chaos and there were only four couples trying to board at the same time which took almost an hour of waiting. Room numbers and service vouchers were very mixed up. Malfunctioning room keys had to be returned several times and the staff seemed angered by the repeat problems. Likewise, wait times at disembarkation were horrific. Having travelled before I got my bill the night before and went over the charges. Everyone else felt too rushed to give it a thorough review. I have heard back from one new friend aboard ship that not only was she overcharged for restaurant purchases that were not hers, but after settling her bill in cash she was still and additionally charged in full again on her credit card. During the trip, you had to pass the reception area to go ashore and you were often left with the impression that interacting with the passengers was the last thing they wanted to do.
In contrast to the wait staff in the Fusion 4 restaurant which were professional, courteous and really the sort you encounter in 4 star hotels. Go figure. Top notch service. And the food was exceptional for the price. Small touches in presentation did not go unnoticed. The Greek night was phenomenal, my only criticism is that there were not more entertainment nights like them. The sound system in Fusion 4 which doubled for the bar was overloud and made it hard to have conversation. Complaints were met with a shrug and a retort "people like it like this" Which people, apart from the DJ and his friends, we have yet to meet as everyone else was holding their ears.
The tours were a good deal at the package price (most said they paid $150) but we were not informed of them beforehand - unlike others. The cost for individual excursions purchased on board were as much as $90 each making them ridiculously overpriced by comparison to the full package price. In most cases local bus routes covered the same sites (Olympia was the exception but only because the boat docked at a less convenient port for the visit.) for next to nothing. The few times we opted for the tours, we found the food at the obligatory restaurant luncheon, simple and cafeteria-like. So take the tour for the info and convenience and possibly find a small taberna to get a good lunch, would be my advice.
We had a lot of so called 'journalists' on board who were taking full advantage of their free trip and taking multiple free turns with the masseuse. We later commiserated with her when she told us that she found out after the fact, that out she was expected to do them for free. Some of these dodgy characters wouldn't even identify the journals they were writing for. It seemed a bit sketchy. We made it a point to tip the people who made the trip fun in person either the night before departure or at breakfast. The check out time (9AM are you kidding !!!!!?) makes you feel you didn't so much leave the ship as get pushed overboard clutching your belongings. Noon would have been a bit more reasonable. Since many people have early flights there would have been plenty of turn over for arriving passengers. And again the 9AM deadline made for a great push of people with only two admin people handling the check outs.

So for the price, all in all I was not disappointed with the trip, amenities and venues. And with the dollar falling at every port, having paid for this in US funds in advance ($140 for a double cabin which I kept as a single) I would take them again, perhaps checking a bit more carefully into excursions and looking for local recommended restaurants. Oh and they do check for food if you are carrying bags, however they do not do pat downs!

And here is a hard learned lesson. Olive oil is not allowed as a carry on as with all other fluids (exception below). Iberia will not allow olive oil to be shipped in luggage unless it is in a wooden crate. Wood. Not Cardboard. So don't buy any except at the inflated airport prices (of questionable quality) where they put it in a specially sealed bag which IS allowed as a carry on. It was the one truly special gift that I wanted to remember my trip by and it is in the hands of a lovely gal at the cigarette concession! (your other option is to throw it in the garbage!)
Bon voyage!

[Mal de Mer]

I'm thinking about this cruise. Looking at the photo gallery, the ship looks pretty stark-- like aluminum chairs and tables in the food areas. Is that the way it is? I'm all for a great price for a "floating hotel" and putting up with the inconveniences of an affordable cruise line, but I'm having trouble discerning whether this looks like a cruise ship or a ferry.

[superdrews]

I wouldn't call it stark. The chairs in the dining room were comfortable. There are a few leather couches around the inside area of the ship. It does not however resemble a big box cruise ship which I personally find refreshing and that is why I booked another trip on Easycruise Life in October. Well, that and the super low price!

Originally Posted by Mal de Mer

I'm thinking about this cruise. Looking at the photo gallery, the ship looks pretty stark-- like aluminum chairs and tables in the food areas. Is that the way it is? I'm all for a great price for a "floating hotel" and putting up with the inconveniences of an affordable cruise line, but I'm having trouble discerning whether this looks like a cruise ship or a ferry.

[girloves2go]

Hi Superdrews,

Great post! I was on the same cruise, same dates. I'm sure we bumped into each other a time or two, at least. It was a wonderful week and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Below is a post I placed on Tripadvisor regarding the cruise. Thought I'd post the info here as well for those seeking info.

I took the Classical Greece Cruise Nov. 4 - 11 and it truly exceeded all my expectations. The room was not bad, the beds comfy, the room temperature was around 70 ideal degrees 24/7, and the shower was great. Rooms are small, but manageable. The facilities overall were much better than I anticipated with a nice reception area, a friendly/pleasant restaurant bar area, outdoor workout facility (weather permitting), and a spa that I didn't try. Overall, the staff was fabulous and quite accommodating...very friendly, too. Most made a point to address me by name before the week was up. Stelios himself even came on board to meet passengers and ask our opinion of the cruise experience. He and I discussed the value and impact of Tripadvisor...smart man!

I found the daily tours to historical sites to be well worthwhile and it sure did make seeing the sites easy. The busses they use are very nice and the tour coordinator is a charming, well-educated archaeologist who also brings in site experts for tours and presentations. Lunch is included...food is not great...some of the dining facilities had that generic feel...but it was fast and efficient for a group. The tours depart around 9 am and return around 4 pm, and then you have the entire evening/night free to explore the town, go to dinner, or hang out on the boat. There were also nightly events on the boat. I only attended "Greek Night" and it was really fun with traditional music and dancing, and the whole crew, including captains, participate.

Economically, Easycruise was a great choice for me. The drinks were a little pricey and food was fairly affordable and tasty, although I only ate one breakfast and dinner. There were a couple of questionable charges on my bill at the end but with the reasonable overall price, I just wrote it off. It was worth it.

Probably the best part of the cruise was the nature of the other passengers. True travel junkies, just like me! I felt like I found my people! There were folks from all over the world, but the majority came from the UK and US. Everyone I met was completely friendly but totally independent. I gathered with a group on a few occasions but also had the freedom to spend hours wandering on my own with no pressure to join a group. I was fortunate to meet some lovely new friends by the end of the week. The half price happy hour nightly at 7 pm was very popular and inspired some mild partying (but nothing too wild and crazy.) The hot tub was good too, never to crowded and completely empty in the morning. It was the perfect spot to enjoy traveling down the Corinth Canal.
As someone who often travels alone and on a budget, I've spent more than a few nights in seedy hotel rooms and struggled with public transportation to get around. Easycruise made everything much easier! It was so liberating to be chauffered about with no bus schedules to figure out and no accommodation worries, and I loved pulling into a new town every morning. Also, Easycruise is smaller and more agile than your standard huge cruise ship, so you get to pull into smaller ports without huge crowds, and you pull right up the the curb. You can come and go any time you want. The ports seem to be plenty safe, too. In every location it was easy to walk into town and back - no taxis necessary.

The only negatives for me were a slight moldy/sewage smell in my room (no one else had that problem) and some complications with my online excursion booking, which were later rectified. (Others had the same experience - I think they are working out the kinks.) But other than that, no complaints.

Side note - If you go, make sure to notice the "skinny" mirrors in the stairway. They easily take off 20 pounds, which was nice because I ate a lot of yummy Greek food!

I have no desire to go on a luxury cruise, but I'd definitely book with Easycruise again and may take the Ionian trip myself in the future. Have fun and let me know if you need more info or pics of the boat.

Julie

[girloves2go]

I have to agree that there was one crabby guy working at the reception desk who was consistently surly and rude - a point I brough up on my comment card at check out. But the others were so kind and helpful they made up for his lack of effort. My guess is the rude guy won't keep that job for long.

[superdrews]

Julie,

I was actually on the November 11th-the 18th cruise so unfortunately I didn't get to meet you. I misposted the dates and corrected them later down the line. Thanks for posting the review!

Andrew

[EugeneBancroft]

hi,
I was actually on the November 11th-the 18th cruise so unfortunately I didn't get to meet you. I misposted the dates and corrected them later down the line. Thanks for posting the review!

www.staffingpower.com

sentersoftech.

[ErikBam]

hi,
I have to agree that there was one crabby guy working at the reception desk who was consistently surly and rude - a point I brough up on my comment card at check out.