Have done greecetravel.com several ways

If you truly want to explore Greece spend

time there usually base at the Intercontinental Athens

$80/nt priceline.com venture out from there.

Cruises have also done will just do ports daily most time

will be on board so you will get more of an overview.

Both are tonnes of fun.

Personally like late spring and early fall

Beachea resort areas are hot and chock a block in August

cruisecritic.com has a tonne of eastern med options for

you all are good check ships and reviews carefully.

I almost did a Costa cruise out of Venice to Greece for $299

on Priceline.com this year but could not get the times

just right so Elected to spend more time in Venice instead

Have done Princess RCL and Travel Dynamics(upscale small

ships very educational more of a cultural experience)

all good based on budget of course.

Venice-Tourism.com most magical for me santorini.com #2

try to see those for sure...

Happy Planning,

Thanks for the tips, qwovadis!
I noticed you've been on the Princess line- I've heard great things- are they true?

Well first of all Greece is pretty hot during the time frame you specify. Is thats OK w/ you then so be it.
I don't think they do the dolphin thing over there. Thats more for the so. Pacific.
I suggest getting an inside cabin as your priority for a room is not demanding. And it will save money too.
Forget the stereotyped ideas. Cruises are not like that. Most cruises do have set dining times but also offer a whenever you want to option as well and also have speciality restaurants for a nominal surcharge.
There is no cruise that I know of that will cover Spain, the Dolomites and Greece for the time period you want. I would say stick to Greece as there will be many more options.
Food is always subjective. Generally NCL gets about the lowest marks for food among the mass market lines. Look into Celebrity for there newer ships, the Solstice and the Silhouette which is her sister ship. They are getting rave reviews. I also recommend the voyager class ships of the Royal Caribbean line.
We have taken 4 Princess cruises so of course we like them too. I think their food is a little better than RCI but again food preferences are probably the most subjective experience of any cruise.
The buffet food is made fresh so don't worry.
There are usually two main stage shows each night plus many smaller lounge type shows as well. Normal dress is casual and there are usually two or three formal dinners per cruise depending on the length. This does not mean a tux. A dark suit for a man and nice dress for a woman is fine. These days adherence to formal night guidelines is pretty lax.
To get a better idea go say Yahoo travel, plug in cruises and then the Med. eastern med is what you want if they offer that option, put in your cruise length and check out the deals. I would not book with yahoo as better deals can be found.
Good luck! There is alot of fun in the planning and ask away for any more ideas.
Larry

Hey Jacketwatch,
Thanks for the info- I've always wondered how much of the cruise stereotype is just hype and nonsense- it's nice to hear from someone with diverse experience on different lines!

Hey 2A
Think about Azamara.
http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/

Think small ships. The big one will give you many choices but they'll give all the things you loathe as well. I found the [almost] all-inclusive lines worked for me. Azamara is the best $$ wise - and they very good Aza-love.

If you want to track my journey through all the preconceptions re cruising go here:
http://thedogster.wordpress.com/the-azamara-army/

It'll either put you off - or encourage you.

Cruising is a very odd thing, at first.

i've never been to greece but i've been on about 10 cruises thus far. i can't offer much in the way of greece advice, but as far as how long you should cruise, i wouldn't go longer than a week. i don't think you're asking for too much as far as a first cruise, because there will always be plenty of shopping and good food (like jacketwatch said though, it's subjective). i hope you have a great trip.

Greece is great. Pick a cruise line that does not emphasize fun, as in heavy partying. We cruised HAL and it was great. Our cruise left Venice and went to Split, Athens, Istanbul, Ephesus, Mykonos, Santorini, Olympia and back to Venice. The ship was "medium size" 75,000 tons. All the stops on this trip were good. Split was so so. My best advice is to try to find private guides in as many places as possible, esp Athens. Check the internet, your travel agent or friends for private guides. the price ends up nesrt the same for two or three people. Beware cruise line excursions with "shopping opportunity listed. That is code for one thirtd to one half the time in a rug shop or T shirt store in some reomte area. Also I would aim for a 10 to 12 day trip. In a week you are just getting started when you are done. Too little time for the complete hassle of international air travel.

I too prefer private guides. For Greece be aware that a driver by law can't function as a "guide". The driver can take you to the various points of interest but can't go in. If you want a guide its a lot more $$. You can do it on your own if you wish. Larry

Gee, wouldn't a private guide be awfully expensive? What does that usually cost per day?

For a full day for both guide and driver its around $400.00 Yep, its quite high. The car or driver is about half that.

I don't think we can afford a guide and driver.

Oh, and what if we arranged a spring break or fall break trip? It could only be about 10 days total if we did that, but would the weather be improved enough that it might be worth it?

(Keep in mind, we live in Virginia, so heat/humidity aren't unfamiliar to us, but we'd love some relief from the 90 degree madness!)

We are going late Oct. to the Holyland and of course Greece has cruises then as well. The prices are less and you can always do semi private tours or shared tours which are much less. The weather then is much cooler too. We do private tours so if we get tired we can call it a day vs. shared tours which means you must wait until its over.

jacket, I've been doing some shore excursion research for a similiar time, same area - the do-it-yourself costs are boggling for a single traveler. I can't see any way I can organise my own excursions without costing much, much more than the ship's tours. Just one more little penance for being a tragic single...

Actually for our Holyland trip you should see the difference between the outside private vs. the ships private tours. We are getting around $550.00 per day in Ashdod and Haifa for just us or 2-3 people max. The ship(Celebrity Constellation) wants $1400.00 per person to get a private car from them!! Unbelievable. I am not dure what other cruise lines charge but this is really up there. Well you could try to share a tour with a smaller group. I'll they would luv the company of a world traveler like yourself and the cost is much less. Athens is no bargain either. I was able to talk the guy down to 400 Euros for a car and a driver. That part of the world is really high. OTOH in the Caribbean we got a private van, maybe up top 6 people, shared, for around $50.00 per person with a cooler of local pop and beer included. Are you cruising or doing land stuff?

Ahhh, of course: you're using the private ship tours as your price reference. I missed that. Yup, they are astronomical. Hiring a private helicopter would be cheaper. I found one day trip in somewhere or other for a mere 750 Euro - for one. I'm looking at some Azamara back to backs - found this deal:http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/promotions/explore-world-value-fares-1299

Sh-h-h-h, don't tell 'em.

Wow. Thats not bad at all. Is Azamara closer to say Oceania in terms of food, amenities and so on vs. a "normal" RCI ship? Even if they are marginally better those prices are pretty decent. The trouble is that for us my wife won't ever get on a smaller ship again. She had a tough time on the Tahitian Princess which is essentially the same ship in terms of dimensions as Azamara. Both come from the defunct Renaissance line which Oceania also uses. Anyway we hit some rough seas and with our cabin being f/w facing she got pretty sick. By sheer good luck we were able to relocate to an amidships mini suite about 3 days into the cruise, otherwise we probably would have had to get off early. so for us its large ships only though thats no guarantee if the seas get really rough.

I can't make comparisons - I haven't been on a mega ship - only Regent, and that's the same size as Azamara. I will say tho', that in all my many cruises on Azamara Journey and Quest I never once felt a thing. Smooth as silk.

So probably, your wife is needlessly scarred - but, having been sea-sick for days once off the coast of P.N.G. I quite understand where she's coming from. Can you trade her in for vacations?

Basically, the only thing I'll need to pay for on Azamara are excursions, my fave Pouilly Fume and the specialty restaurants.

Actually for her its a bit more. She gets queezy on winding roads, in stop and go traffic and when the seas rock. This has happened even on big ships. On top of that she gets terrible headaches with all this too. Its been brutal at times so we have to be careful. Practically all the time the seas have been fine so its been OK. We do always go for an amidships cabin. Do you consider Regent on a higher scale to Azamara?

Theoretically - but I'd choose Azamara any time.

Apart from included shore excursions I see little difference between the two - Azamara is super friendly and Regent is aloof and cold - other than that, frankly, there's not much difference these days.

Oh, just the matter of a few thousand dollars...

Thanks! Maybe I'll try to convince Sue to try that size ship again. BTW in all your travels have you found a genie with a magic lamp you could lend me.

Have cruised the Med twice - once on RCL and once on Celebrity - both were excellent. To save $$$ you may want an inside cabin, but in the Med I would invest in the view!!

We have been religious CruiseCritic.com members for years and have found that by being on a forum with fellow cruisers is great for banding together for private shore excursions. You can often choose your own itinerary for the day, see more, not be hampered by a large group on a tour bus, and usually save $$$!!!

All of the large cruise lines have restaurants that are independent of the mass dining - generally about $30 for dinner.......and awesome menus to choose from!! Most are trending towards "as you wish" dining for those that do not subscribe to dining on a regular schedule. The downside to that might be that you dine either alone or with different folks every night. (Don't make any lasting friendships that way.........and over the 25+ cruises we have taken we have made some really good, lasting friends at our various dinner tables.)

I agree with an earlier poster - you may want to consider May or September for cruising. On our last Med cruise we were in Santorini in May and we melted....hot, hot, hot!! Most ships dock in Fira, Santorini. Very much a tourist trap. If you have an opportunity, take a bus to Oia (pronounced EE-A) that's where the famous blue-roofed church is. Very quaint little town and not so touristy. We loved it!!

Also, in agreement with a poster.........take more than a week, and leave for Europe at least one day early so that you don't mess up your first day by being jet lagged. A bonus to that is that you will get to explore the port city before the ship sails!!

Happy, happy cruising.

Have cruised the Med twice - once on RCL and once on Celebrity - both were excellent. To save $$$ you may want an inside cabin, but in the Med I would invest in the view!!

We have been religious CruiseCritic.com members for years and have found that by being on a forum with fellow cruisers is great for banding together for private shore excursions. You can often choose your own itinerary for the day, see more, not be hampered by a large group on a tour bus, and usually save $$$!!!

All of the large cruise lines have restaurants that are independent of the mass dining - generally about $30 for dinner.......and awesome menus to choose from!! Most are trending towards "as you wish" dining for those that do not subscribe to dining on a regular schedule. The downside to that might be that you dine either alone or with different folks every night. (Don't make any lasting friendships that way.........and over the 25+ cruises we have taken we have made some really good, lasting friends at our various dinner tables.)

I agree with an earlier poster - you may want to consider May or September for cruising. On our last Med cruise we were in Santorini in May and we melted....hot, hot, hot!! Most ships dock in Fira, Santorini. Very much a tourist trap. If you have an opportunity, take a bus to Oia (pronounced EE-A) that's where the famous blue-roofed church is. Very quaint little town and not so touristy. We loved it!!

Also, in agreement with a poster.........take more than a week, and leave for Europe at least one day early so that you don't mess up your first day by being jet lagged. A bonus to that is that you will get to explore the port city before the ship sails!!

Happy, happy cruising.

Hm. Interesting points, all.
I should mention, I'm a teacher so my vacation time is limited by my school schedule. I can take a week off in March, a long weekend in October, or a longer period either in late May/early June OR late June, July or early August (depending on which summer classes I teach) September is right out, sadly. I would miss too many classes.