Best Greek Isle Cruises

which cruises of the agreed isles is best and why?

Oceania Riviera if you want lots of Greece.

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Mediterranean-cruises/athens-to-athens-RVA181014/?sr=%2FMediterranean-cruises%2Fport-santorini-JTR%2F

Windstar!

https://www.windstarcruises.com/cruise/greece/treasures-of-the-greek-isles/?id=10&sid=1674

Hard to say exactly what's "best".... but we're happy with our booked RCI Vision Med/Greece in May 2019 out of Barcelona.

We have cruised among the Greek Islands on more than 2 dozen cruise ships. But the best experience (by far) was when we joined 18 other passengers (10 Dutch and 8 Germans) on an old small yacht called the Sea Crown and spent a week cruising in the Ionian Islands. The islands we visited (such as Paxos) cannot be visited on cruise ships :). The company that offered this cruise, Zeus Cruises, was later bought out and is now part of Variety Cruises who still offers lots of small boat cruises. That week cruise really cost us about the same as a cruise on a large mass market cruise ship.

On that small boat cruise, on most mornings we would drop anchor at some small island and everyone would jump off the bow to swim in to a nearby (and deserted beach). Later in the morning we would sail over to another more populated island and go ashore to explore, perhaps have lunch, meet the locals, etc. Despite having been on far more then 100 cruises, this one week on that small yacht was the best.

For anyone who is curious here is a picture of that small yacht as she looks today:

https://www.charterworld.com/index.html?sub=yacht-charter&charter=sea-crown-3155

Hank

Variety Cruises, or some other yacht-type ... possibly Windstar. The large mainstream line ships have several things against them when it comes to Aegean Sea Cruises: they are too big to even call at a number of the smaller islands, and, when they do call at a port, they inundate it with thousands of passengers. The islands/ports are for the most part very small - they cannot be experienced as part of a huge crowd.

If you have the time, and are willing to put in the planning effort, consider seeing the islands at their best: by spending a night or two on several- booking travel between them on the many ferries which criss-cross the Aegean

^Agree completely. This is exactly what we do. It does take a different approach to travel-most especially for those people who prefer to have every day of their trip mapped out prior to leaving home. We will typically arrange air. Last time it was flying to Athens and home from Paris, via a flight from Crete.

Just about everything in the six weeks in between was based on spontaneous travel. We have a general idea of how the ferry system works between group of islands. If we like an island we stay longer, if not we leave earlier.

If you do this pack light. It is one reason why we do carry on. So much easier to role a 20" bag each than struggle with some larger ones. Not certain how it works in the summer months. We typically go in spring in late Sept/Oct. when there are fewer visitors and accomodation is easy to obtain.

We love Greece and we do like cruising. But once you have a taste of the islands from a cruise we think this is way to go. And, if you are travelling in Dodecanese (Rhodes, etc)) you have the option of crossing over to Turkey and travelling along their Med coast. You will find lots of caiques for hire along this coast-day trips or longer, groups or charter.

The Cypriot line Celestyal cruise round the islands, staring from Piraeus.

Star Clippers is doing a Mama Mia itinerary next year. You’ll be visiting all the small islands.