We are on the same cruise with you, Ruth, and have spent the last 2 days so frustrated trying to find a somewhat reasonably-priced hotel in Athens for 2 nights prior to the cruise. They are all booked! What's going on? We tried Athens Gate, Hera Hotel, etc.; all solidly booked. The ones available want $500+/night which is too much for our wallet or had something wrong with them. We finally booked the Athens Key Hotel. The problem is none of the tour operators have it on their list for hotel pickup and drop off for tours which is why we are staying in Athens for 2 nights. So we had to list a nearby hotel for pickup for our tours!
Good luck to you finding a room.
JONI