7day Greek Isles from Athens NCL shore excursion recommendations

[NYFirstTimeCruiser]

Hi CC'ers.

     Looking for NCL shore excursion recommendations for the 7day greek isles cruise from athens. I know there's a wide selection but first time taking this cruise and first time in greece so open to anything. Will only take on ncl excursions even though it's cheaper outside. tnx

[Crazy planning mom]

Some of the ports you can explore independently.  If you prefer an excursion, I really enjoyed Opa, a Greek Celebration in Santorini and in Kusadasi, Turkey, Ephesus is a must see.

[KeithJenner]

Ephesus excursions were really cheap when we were there last year, and I’d recommend going there.

 

In Santorini the excursion to Oia is usually reasonably priced. We don’t usually take excursions, but we like doing them in Santorini as it avoids the hassle of the cable car on arrival.

[YVRteacher]

Do you go to Mykonos? One of the best NCL shore excursions we have experienced was out of Mykonos to Delos.  Yes, the boat ride there was long and choppy (I took seasick pulls and wore acupressure bands and was fine) but the time on the island was absolutely incredible. I will never forget it!

 

If you list your ports we can provide more feedback.

[NYFirstTimeCruiser]

It does have a ferry from mykknos to delos.

we'll get this one

[NYFirstTimeCruiser]

12 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Do you go to Mykonos? One of the best NCL shore excursions we have experienced was out of Mykonos to Delos.  Yes, the boat ride there was long and choppy (I took seasick pulls and wore acupressure bands and was fine) but the time on the island was absolutely incredible. I will never forget it!

 

If you list your ports we can provide more feedback.

Here's the ports

[NYFirstTimeCruiser]

6 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Some of the ports you can explore independently.  If you prefer an excursion, I really enjoyed Opa, a Greek Celebration in Santorini and in Kusadasi, Turkey, Ephesus is a must see.

We only have Bodrum Turkey in our itin. 

[YVRteacher]

We did this one in Rhodes and it was wonderful.  I would do it again.

[YVRteacher]

Santorini is challenging.  It used to be a wonderful port to visit.  Because it has become so popular, it can be over-run with tourists.  In the last 5 or so years, it has become a “thing” for newlyweds in Japan to come to Santorini to take a photo in wedding attire. When we were last in Oia, it was literally impossible to walk anywhere.

We did the same excursion @Crazy planning mom suggests.  It was wonderful the first time we did it and awful the second time a few years later.

 

For the Mykonos excursion, we had plenty of time after exploring Delos to explore Mykonos.  No need to book a guided tour of Mykonos as some of the best moments are found wandering the streets, stopping in cafes and seeing the windmills.

[Crazy planning mom]

4 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Santorini is challenging.  It used to be a wonderful port to visit.  Because it has become so popular, it can be over-run with tourists.  In the last 5 or so years, it has become a “thing” for newlyweds in Japan to come to Santorini to take a photo in wedding attire. When we were last in Oia, it was literally impossible to walk anywhere.

We did the same excursion @Crazy planning mom suggests.  It was wonderful the first time we did it and awful the second time a few years later.

 

For the Mykonos excursion, we had plenty of time after exploring Delos to explore Mykonos.  No need to book a guided tour of Mykonos as some of the best moments are found wandering the streets, stopping in cafes and seeing the windmills.

We did it this past October and it was very good.  Crowds weren't too bad but  understand crowds were worse in September 

[YVRteacher]

We did it in July and it was unbearable. Oia was so crowded and the restaurant at the winery had good food but the seating was so cramped it gave me anxiety.

[NYFirstTimeCruiser]

NCL dailies for Greek cruise from Athens on NCL Jade?

[kby1216]

Another vote for Delos and I really enjoyed Olympia but I can't remember what Island it was on. Also enjoyed the castle in Rhodes. 

[itsnotjustme]

We will be on this cruise with you.  Going back-to-back with the prior cruise to Israel and Cyprus.

 

100% agree with Delos recommendation.  We went there a few years back and it was fantastic.  Weather was marginal so other cruise ships did not make the Mykonos stop that day.  After a rough ride to Delos, we had the entire island nearly to our tour group only.

 

Santorini is a tough port.  After tendering in, you need to get up the cliff side.  There is cable car, with a potentially very long line, a donkey ride up a steep and stinky path, or walking up the same stinky path.  Going down at the end of the day is the same.  ALLOW ENOUGH TIME for a long wait in line if a busy day.

 

In Santorini, the archeological ruins at Akrotiri are fantastic, We used public transport to get to and from.  From the top of the cable car or donkey trail it is an easy walk to the bus station.  Schedules/routes are posted (photograph these for you return).  The site is somewhat like Pompei, but smaller and enclosed in a large structure to protect the work.  The red beach is a 20-minute walk (with rough sloping paths not for people in poor physical condition) from there, then catch the bus back.

 

We have not been to the other ports and still need to review/decide excursions.  We also generally stick with ship excursions unless we are going it ourselves such as in ports with easily accessed public transportation.  The 50 credit and we are Sapphire and get the 15% discount making these fairly price competative with non-ship excursions.