flatfeet

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to Greece and Turkey (leaving in 3 weeks!), and getting a TON of great info on this board as usual. THANKS. Going to Athens, Crete, Santorini, Rhodes, Bodrum and Istanbul for total 16 days. Hubby and I have had a very hectic year so plan to do a lot of lounging around and admiring the scenery on this trip. Nothing crazy there I think...except maybe this:

On the Athens - Crete leg (we're staying at Casa Delfino so based in Chania), I was originally planning to fly. Have read that ferry travel in Greece should be avoided whenever possible.

But now I read that the Minoan Ferry line has these two new "Palaces" ships that are very comfortable. Last summer we took an overnight ferry Stockholm - Helsinki, the cabin was quite nice and it was really fun! So now wondering...is this still a terrible idea, or does anyone have experience with the two overnight ships (one is the Knossos Palace the other starts with a "P" I think) and know that they are in fact enjoyable?

Need to decide soon between air/ferry (I'm already very late in book I know) so hope to hear from you! Thanks, FF

chepar

I don't know why you would consider taking the overnight ferry crazy. Have you looked at the ferries on the Minoan lines website? You can take a look at the cabins there, too.

Just last month we took the Festos Palace from Crete to Athens. The ferry was quite nice - nicer than I expected, really.

Although I had booked an inside cabin, we were upgraded to an outside cabin. The cabin itself was very similar to a cruise ship cabin, though it was actually larger than some cruise ship cabins I've stayed in.

The public spaces and restaurants of the ferry appeared to be nice enough, but they were very, very smoky and quite crowded. Since we had eaten an early dinner before boarding, we just walked around and returned to our cabin.

I would definitely do the overnight ferry again - I like the aspect of combining travel and hotel together. I had been expecting something strictly functional, like the overnight train we took a couple years ago from Venice to Paris. That our ferry cabin was as comfortable as it was was a nice surprise.

flatfeet

Thanks Chepar. My web browser is having problem with some links on www.minoan.gr so can't check out the cabins, but will take your word for it Thanks so much!

chepar

I would recommend the outside cabin over the inside cabin - the ferry arrives very early in the morning, and it's nice to have the window to let in a little light to help you wake up.

The places to eat on the ferry seemed to be more similar to a cafeteria or snack bar than an actual restaurant. The prices were not ridiculous, but expectedly higher than what you would find on land. I would probably eat before boarding the ferry.

We boarded a little before 6 p.m., though I believe we could have gotten on as early as 5:30. It seemed like we were the very first ones on, though. After situating ourselves in our cabin, taking a shower, etc. we decided to walk around and were surprised at how crowded the public spaces of the ferry were.

Syl

Took the overnight ferry from Crete to Athens several years ago in September. Smooth & comfortable.

GeoffHamer

Minoan Lines' two ships are the KNOSSOS PALACE and FESTOS PALACE, built in Italy in 2000 and 2001. They are fine ships and are a good way of getting to and from Crete. They do get booked up in advance, so you may have to consider ANEK Lines (www.anek.gr) as an alternative - they're not quite as good as Minoan Lines, but are still comfortable.