My husband and I are planning an Anniversary trip with another couple in 2007. We thought an intimate, chartered cruise (reputable cruise line)to So. Turkey, Croatia, Crete, Greece, etc. would be fun. Any ideas? Pitfalls to avoid? Best months for travel? Must-see places? We are open to all suggestions. Thanks in advance for your help!

You mention chartered, so you mean real small, right?

Something to consider... Princess has purchased a small ship from swan hellenic. It holds 680 passangers. That is small in cruise ship terms. They have named her Royal Princess. The reason I mention them is because when it sets sail next year(arpil), it's going to do some of the most exotic itineraries out of any cruise ship on water. A small ship like this provides choices for dinner, entertainment, swimming, spa, etc... and yet, it's small and intimate. It's worth looking into.

The best time to go is whether you like hot weather or not. July and August are super hot in the Med. Another this to consider, almost all of europe shuts down for most of august. May is still a tad cool, june is perfect. But if you plan on checking out the beaches, go during a warmer month.

Hope this helped.

It's not a private charter but Regent Voyager only holds 700 passengers. We are doing a Greek Isles cruise on the Voyager from Istanbul to Athens in October, 2007 which includes 2 nights pre-cruise in Istanbul in the cruise fare. This is the itinerary:
http://www.rssc.com/voyage/details.jsp?code=VOY071006

You can read more about it here:
http://www.bkrssc.com/07_VOY071006.htm

Any sailing on Regent would make for a wonderful anniversary trip.

Thanks for your suggestions. Have you taken a Costa cruise in that region?
I know it's the European line owned by Carnival.

Have read that NCL and Costa have more complaints than any other cruise lines. I haven`t been on Costa.

I was on NCL in Alaska about 5 years ago and Costa in the Caribbean about 7 years ago. I really can't recommend either line. If you're looking for something smaller and more personal thses cruise lines are NOT for you. Besides Regent, Seabourn and Silversea may also be cruiselines for you to consider (although Seabourn ships don't have balconies if this is important). Others like Windstar though I have no experience with them.