MochaChip23

@zdcatc12 Would you please share who you booked the tuktuck tour with?

Thank you so much for our insights and the links! For a one-day cruise stop, experiencing Mykonos town and Delos, if that fits, will be tops for us. Walking on one of the beaches and observing the surroundings would also be fun but don't think renting sunbeds for the day is good use of the day nor do I want to spend $40 per drink. 🙂

Ah, Mykonos is tops to you from the listed and it's one we really want to visit. Just curious if you have other suggestions.....we have option to choose something different since we are not going until 2024.

I will check Celestyal and what they have to offer.

@pdmlynek Thanks for your reply. What are your favorite ports in Greece?

@GreenFamily Funny I had been thinking about a land tour of Greece at first then decided on the cruise and now I am wavering and reconsidering a land trip. The cruise is just so much easier and gives a flavor of many places but it also limits how much you can see in one place. My younger daughter really wanted a land trip and the older one likes the cruise. My husband is indifferent, just wants to go, lol. May I ask which cruise and /or itinerary you are contemplating? Our last cruise was NCL Italy/Croatia and it was great. We did private excursions in all the ports which were all fantastic. We didn't get to see Greece at all during that trip so decided Greece should be focus for us next. I totally agree in the end whichever choice any of us makes will be a great one. We have the BEST times traveling with our family and experiencing new things together.

Thanks for informing me of this!

@John Bull Thank you for your reply, it really helps me get a good picture of us in some of those ports. We are probably not going to all the archeological sites near all these ports. We will enjoy this experience in Athens and Kusadasi. We are going to be very happy to see Mykonos and Santorini as you suggest by walking around, taking in the surroundings/people and taking LOTS of pictures (these are girls with social media). Istanbul sounds wonderful with lots to see and experience so it seems this could be a good trade-off for option #1 vs #3. Option #1 2 days Istanbul and no Crete vs option #3 with 1 day each Istanbul and Crete. Do you think that's a good trade off?

Your response is very helpful, thank you! Sounds like we should keep Istanbul on the must see list. Lol we wouldn't knowingly sign up for any long lunch excursion or a carpet demonstration but thanks for the warning!

A couple of you have suggested we look at other cruise lines and/or itineraries for visiting Greece. If you have any suggestions for either, I'm open to suggestions! We prefer 7 day cruise since we are planning to stay 2 days in Athens but could go up to 9-10 days if totally worth it for cruise.

@Wishing on a star Our timeframe is Summer 2024 so we have time to plan. I've heard good things about Istanbul but you said you would stay on board for that one. Is there a particular reason why? Thanks for reminder to check cruisemapper for how busy some of these ports might be.

@cruisemom42So you think it would be better to visit Crete (in #3) vs staying overnight in Istanbul (#1)? That's the main difference between #1 and #3.

Thank you @cruisemom42Thanks for your advice. I was thinking Paros would be good since it is similar to Mykonos which is top on our list. And if for some reason Mykonos gets cancelled (I hear it happens for high winds) we would still have Paros. But I hear you saying we would be remiss to miss Istanbul and Ephesus. Any experience with Crete or Bodrom?

Thank you @Hlitner and @CruiserBruce for your insight. Only option 2 has early arrival for Mykonos (7am) and I did see Kusadasi is very short on all 3. I'll do some research.

We're deciding between 3 NCL cruises for next year and are torn between 3 itineraries. We are family with 2 adults and 2 girls ages 18 and 22. We have not been to any of these ports. Planning to stay in Athens for 2 days before or after the cruise. We originally wanted to make this a Greece only but Turkey is in all the itineraries but slightly different. Istanbul and Kusadasi seem interesting but afraid of missing out on Crete and Paros? The girls are most interested in Santorini and Mykonos which are in all 3. Any advice from folks who have been to these ports? Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 CRUISE ITINERARY CRUISE ITINERARY CRUISE ITINERARY DAY 1 DAY 1 DAY 1 Piraeus (Athens), Greece Piraeus (Athens), Greece Piraeus (Athens), Greece Departs 5:00 pm Departs 5:00 pm Departs 5:00 pm DAY 2 DAY 2 DAY 2 Kusadasi, Turkey Rhodes, Greece Kusadasi, Turkey 6:30 am - 1:30pm 8:00 am - 6:00pm 6:30 am - 12:30pm DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3 Istanbul, Turkey Bodrum, Turkey Istanbul, Turkey 9:30 am - overnight 8:00 am - 6:00pm 8:30 am - 6:30pm DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4 Istanbul, Turkey Mykonos, Greece Mykonos, Greece Departs 4:00 pm 7:00 am - 9:30pm 1:30 pm - 10:30pm DAY 5 DAY 5 DAY 5 Mykonos, Greece Iraklion, Crete, Greece Rhodes, Greece 11:00 am - 8pm 7:00 am - 6:00pm 9:30 am - 7:30pm DAY 6 DAY 6 DAY 6 Rhodes, Greece Santorini, Greece Iraklion, Crete, Greece 7:00 am - 6:00pm 8:00 am - 9:30pm 7:00 am - 6pm DAY 7 DAY 7 DAY 7 Santorini, Greece Paros Santorini, Greece 8:00 am - 9:30pm 7:00 am - 6:00pm 8:00 am - 9:30pm DAY 8 DAY 8 DAY 8 Piraeus (Athens), Greece Piraeus (Athens), Greece Piraeus (Athens), Greece Arrives 7:00 am Arrives 7:00 am Arrives 7:00 am