Taking cruise on Oceania-ports are Heraklion, Ashod, Haifa, Limassol, Rhodes, Patmos, Santorini. Do not want to use cruise excursions . Any suggestions thanks arlene

I've heard that people who book excursions often have priority to board the smaller vessels connecting from cruise ship to port when applicable. This is very crucial when your time on ground is limited and when there is lots of time to connect from port to the places of interest, say Santorini. Maybe checking the cruise critic forum you'll get more replies, as fodors is a more generic forum. What kind of suggestions you look for exactly?

All will depend on your interests and on the time at your disposal in these ports.